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The Songwriters Workshop:
Melody
Jimmy Kachulis
Lesson 36
Major Blues over Progressions

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LESSON 36
Major Blues Over Progressions
Major pentatonic blues melodies can be sung over any chord progression in a major
key. The major blues scale is particularly useful when the chords change quickly
much easier than matching all those chord tones. But its also used over any chords
that have a blues color in them (see the Appendix for blues scales and chords).
Hit songs that use the major blues scale over a progression are very common. These
songs use the scale over the following types of chord progressions:

One Chord: Hold On, Im Comin, Great Balls of Fire, Midnight Hour

Chords in a Major Key: Heart of Gold, Man in the Mirror, September,

Desperado, Crocodile Rock, When a Man Loves a Woman, Beast of
Burden

Fast Chords: Hit Me With Your Best Shot, And When I Die, Soul Man,
Believe Me Baby (I Lied), The Way You Do the Things You Do, In the
Midnight Hour, Gimme Some Lovin

Blues Chords: Hold On, Im Comin, Boogie On Reggae Woman, Purple

Haze, In a NY Minute (Ronnie McDowell), Bird Dog

Listen
Listen to the first part of Major Blues Over Progressions: Five-Foot-Two (CD 63). As
you listen, notice that the same C major blues pentatonic melody works over a onechord groove, various chords in the key of C, blues-colored chords, and a fast chord
progression.

63

A. Melody Over One Chord

C

j
& 44 b
b

Five - foot two

& w
she

in her

high - heeled shoes

J
struts

right on

j j j
b

We all stop and stare

But

by

97

B. Melody Over Major-Key Chords

C

Amin

4
& 4 b

Five - foot two

in her

j
b

j j b j

We all stop and stare

But

she

high - heeled shoes

& w

struts

right on

C 7( # 9)

F7

C 7( # 9)

j j b j

by

C. Melody Over Blues-Colored Chords

C 7( # 9)

C 7( # 9)

F7

4
& 4 b

Five - foot two

in her

F7

G7

& w

F7

j
b

high - heeled shoes

C 7( # 9)

she

struts

We all stop and stare

But

C 7( # 9)

F7

right on

F7

by

D. Melody Over Fast Progression

C

j
& 44 b

Five - foot two
Amin

& w
she

98

in her

high-heeled

shoes

struts

right on

L E S S O N 3 6 Major Blues Over Progressions

We all stop and stare

j j j
b

j
b

J
by

But
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 progressions.

Writing Exercises
64

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.

L E S S O N 3 6 Major Blues Over Progressions

99