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Berklee Blues Progression in Songwriting
Berklee Blues Progression in Songwriting
j
j
j
b
We all stop and stare
But
&
w
she
struts right on by
63
LESSON 36 Major Blues Over Progressions 98
B. Melody Over Major-Key Chords
C. Melody Over Blues-Colored Chords
D. Melody Over Fast Progression
& 4
4
b
C
Five - foot two in her
j
j
b
Amin
high- heeled shoes
j
j
j
b
F
We all stop and stare
G
But
&
w
F
she
G
struts right on by
& 4
4
b
C 7(
#
9) F 7
Five - foot two in her
j
j
b
C7(
#
9) F 7
high- heeled shoes
j
j
j
b
C7(
#
9) F 7
We all stop and stare
C7(
#
9)
But
&
w
F 7
she
G7
struts right on by
C7(
#
9) F 7
C7(
#
9) F 7
& 4
4
b
C F C F
Five - foot two in her
j
j
b
C C
high-heeled shoes
F
j
j
j
b
C F C F
We all stop and stare
C C
But
F
&
w
Amin G
she
F G
struts right on by
C F C F
C F C
Listen again, and sing along with the recording. Did you hear how the melody seems
to float above the chords? When you compose a melody by using this scale, youll
use the reverse process. Youll use the scale over any of these types of chord progres-
sions.
Writing Exercises
Sing the following exercises along with Rhythm Track 26: Five-Foot-Two (CD 64) or
to your original rhythm track using any chords in a major key.
Practice
Reset the lyrics to Five-Foot-Two in three different way using only the notes of the
major pentatonic blues scale.
Five-foot-two in her high-heeled shoes
We all stop and stare
But she struts right on by
Set Your Own Lyric
Create an original lyric, and set it using notes from the major blues scale.
Rewrite the Hits
From the songs you know, find an example of a melody that uses the major blues
scale over chords in a major key. Then create your own major blues setting of that
songs lyrics over the same chords.
Write a Song
Create a song where the verse uses a chord-tone melody (see units II and III) and the
chorus uses a major pentatonic blues melody over a chord progression.
LESSON 36 Major Blues Over Progressions 99
64