Blues

FromFundamentalsofJazzImprovisation:

WhatEverybodyThinksYouAlreadyKnow

Dr.MarkWatkins DirectorofJazzStudies BrighamYoungUniversityIdaho

2010byMarkWatkins Materials herein are provided for personal use. No part may be reproduced without written permission from the author.

Background
Inthe19thCentury,AfricanAmericanmalesprimarilyperformedBlues.Itwassungandusually accompaniedbyguitar.Manybluessingershadsometypeofdisability,albeitnotrequisite. Formsvaried.Inflections,pitchvariations(bluesnotes),andotherelementswereinheritedfrom filedhollersandworksongsdatingbacktotheslaveera.Bluesatthistimewasprimarilyinrural areasoftheSouth. Bythe1920s,blueshadbecomecommoninnorthernterritoriesandfocusedinurban communities.PerformerswereprimarilyfemaleofAfricanAmericandecent.The12barform hadbecomecommon.Accompanimentmayincludepianoorarhythmsectionofpiano,bass,and drumset.Often,otherinstrumentsjoined. Blueswasandsometimesstillisawaytodealwithlife.Inasenseitisgrouppsychotherapy.One wouldsingaboutonestroublesinordertofeelbetter,sympathyfrompeers,expression.

BluesNotes

Extendedchordswerenotthenorminthe19thCentury.Triadswerethemainstayofhymns, gospelmusic,marchingbands,andotherstyleswithdominant7thchordsfunctioningatcadence points,notasasoundfortonic.Theuseofaminor7thoveratriadisauniquesoundwhennot functioninginadominanttotonicresolutioncontext;yet,tonicinthebluesaswellas subdominantanddominantareallmajorminor7thchords.Whethervocalorinstrumental,this notemaybeconsideredabluesnoteandacontributortothebluessound.

Probablythemostsignificantofthebluesnotesistheflat3.Thisissobecausethe3rdisa functionalnote,notanextension,colortone,orinanywayredundant.Harmonically,the3rdof tonicismajor(excludingminorblues).Whenaminor3rdisplayedbyaninstrumentalistorsung byasinger,averydistinctrubresults;rhythmsectionplayersholdtothemajorharmony.Ifthe performerknowsandhears,thisrubisawonderfullysoulfulsound.

Bythe1940stheflat5hadtakenitsplaceamongstacceptablenonharmonictonescommonto theblues.Sustainingthenoteisnotuncommonbutthereisastrongtendencytomove melodically.Itsresolutioniseitheruptothe5thofdowntothe4th.Notationofthisnoteiseither

flat5orsharp4.Technically,thisdependsonwhereitisgoing,sharpforuporflatfordown. Successofthe4th(theflat5slowerresolution),whichrubsagainstthe3rd,iscontextual.Thiswill bediscussedfurtherwiththeminorpentatonicscalebelow.

PentatonicsandtheBlues
FivenotescalesusedmelodicallydatebacktotheancientGreeks.Theyareknownaspentatonic scalesandarefrequentinmusicfromIrelandtoAppalachiatoChinaandpointsbetween.Any groupoffivedifferentnotesisapentatonicscale,buttwoaremostusedinclassicalmusicand jazz:majorandminor.Themajorpentatonicscalesiscomprisedofdegrees1,2,3,5,and6ofthe majorscale.Theminorpentatonicis1,flat3,4,5,flat7startingonthetonicoftheblueskey. Otherwaysandmeansarediscussedinthesectionspecifictopentatonics,i.e.relativeminor relationship. MajorPentatonic

MinorPentatonic

Manybluesmelodiesandimprovisationsarebasedonthesescales.Theflat3bluesnotecanbe addedtothemajorpentatonictogreateffect.Thesoundofthemajorpentatonic,especiallywith itsmajor6th,harkenstoanoldergenerationbutisinvaluableinmanycontextstoday.Resolution fromtheflat3tothemajor3rdistypical.Theminorpentatonicalreadycontainstheflat3andthe flat7.Whentheflat5isaddeditbecomeswhatisoftenreferredtoasthebluesscale. MajorPentatonic(withflat3)

MinorPentatonic(withflat5):TheBluesScale

FormandHarmony
Twelvemeasuresisthemostfrequentlyusedlengthforablueschorus.Thereareonlythree differentchordscreatingitsunderlyingharmonicframework:fourmeasuresoftonic,two measuresofsubdominant,twotonic,twodominant,andtwotonic.BflatandFarethemost commonconcertkeysforthebluesbutarenotexclusive;bluescanbeinanykey. FundamentalStructure

Fromthesechordsandtheirstructuralplacement,manychordscanbeaddedorsubstituted allowingmuchdiversity(seeAnalysisbelowandthesectionsFundamentalChordProgressions andSubstitutionsandTurnarounds).Someofthemostfundamentaloptionsincludethe following. iiVinmm.910 InsertingaiiVontopofthestructuralVchordformm.910isprobablythemostcommonusage inthebluespresently.

VIVinmm.910

QuickChange(m.2)andTurnaround(m.12) Aquickchangeisajumptothesubdominantinm.2.Turnaroundsareprogressionsthatbringthe musicbackorintoasection;inthiscase,backtothetopoftheform.Turnaroundsvaryandcanbe asimpleasthedominantchordbelow.

Phrasesareusuallygroupedintothree,fourbarunits.Threemelodictypesaretypical:AAB,riff, andthroughcomposed.AABmelodiesrepeatthefirstphrasebutadjustforthesubdominant harmony;thethirdphrasecontrasts.Riffbluesoftenstatethesamemelodythreetimes.Through composedtuneshavelittlemelodicrepetitionandcannotbegroupedwithAABorriffblues principles.TheAnalysissectionbelowgivesexamplesofthesemelodictypes. Non12BarBluesForms Eightbarbluesprogressionsvaryconsiderably.Oneofthemostcommonis:

8barBlues,Example1:

Otherpossibilitiesinclude: 8barBlues,Example2:

8barBlues,Example3:

8barBlues,Example4:

8barBlues,Example5:

8barBlues,Example6:

Likewise,therearemanyvariantsofthe16barblues.Mostareanextensionofsomepartofthe 12barform.Thefollowingexamplesarenotnecessarilyinanorderofcommonality. 16barBlues,Example1:

16barBlues,Example2:

16barBlues,Example3:

16barBlues,Example4:

16barBlues,Example5:

Twentyfourbarbluesareextant,oftendemonstratingtheproportionsofthe12barblueswith doubledurations.

Improvisation
Listeningisalwaysthefirststeptowardslearningtoimprovise,listeningtogreatperformances. Listeningtotheunderlyingharmonyanditsrelationtomelodicmaterialisessential.Duetothe prevalenceofbluesnotes,oneshouldfirstbecomefamiliarwiththeprimaryconsonancesofthe bluesprogression,thesoundofin.Careshouldbetakentoheartherubscreatedbybluesnotesas nonharmonictones.Ifthesenonharmonicpitchesareheardasconsonances,someofthesoulis lost.Onesear,abilitytodiscerninfromout,isadverselyaffected.Whenaperformerisfamiliar withtheconsonantsoundsofchordtones,bluesnoteshavegreateraffect.Conversely,ifan individualistaughtTheBluesScale,forexample,astheirfirstmeanstonavigatetheblues,the dissonantflat3,4th,flat5,andeventhesoulintheflat7canbelost.Theirabilitytohear consonant/dissonantrelationshipsinothertunesisinfluenced. Theseexercisesshouldbepracticedwithaccompaniment:playthechordsonthepiano,workwith apianist,usearecordedrhythmsection,etc. ChordTones(TheSoundofIN) Singthechordtones.Firstsingtherootsthroughtheform,thenthe3rds,5ths,and7ths.Singthe chordsaccordingtothetunebeinglearned.Theexamplebelowisthemostsimple.

Arpeggios Singthechordtonesarpeggiatingintime,quarternotesfirst,theneighths.Thefollowingexample usestheiiVoptionformm.910.

MixolydianScales Practicemixolydianscalesintimeoverthechanges,stillwithanaccompaniment.Additional methodsofapplyingscalestochordchangesisfoundinPracticeTechnique#5.Thefollowing exampleaddsthequickchangeandsimpleVturnaroundandisinthekeyofBflat.

 PentatonicsandBluesScales PreparemajorandparallelminorpentatonicsviaappropriatePracticeTechniques.Majorand minorpentatonicsapplyprimarilytotonicchords.Themajorpentatoniccanbeusedpurelyasa fivenotegroupofmelodicchoicesorwiththeadditionoftheminor3rd.

Minorpentatonicscanbeplayedpurelyorwithanaddedflat5creatingTheBluesScale.This scaleismostoftenappliedtothetonicchordsbutcanbeusedtoblanketanentirechorus. Multiplechorusesofblanketingcanlosemelodicandharmoniceffect.

Patterns Patternscanbepracticedasanexercisetobeincludedinanimprovisationifitsinclusionflows naturally.Placethedesiredpatternineverypossiblelocation(asadrill).Bluespatternwillhave anelementofthebluessuchasaBluesScalederivative,andflat3tomajor3rdpair,orsomeother useofbluesnotes.

GuideTones Delineationofthebluesstructureismadeclearbyemphasizingnotesthataremostdifferent betweenchords.Guidetonesmaybeembellishedandneednotebedirectlyonbarlines.They generallyconsistofthe3rdsand7thsofchord,whicharetheprimenotesforchordqualityand function.

Analysis
BasicBlues1:CJamBlues(Ellington)
Fundamentalchordstructure:IIVIVI. Melody:riff.Ariffisarepeatingmotiveandcommontotheblues.Riffbluescanusethesame melodyforallthreesectionsoftheblues.Thisthreesectionformconceptisexplainedbelow,Fine andMellow.

 BasicBlues2:FineandMellow(Holliday)
Melody:AAB;IambicPentameter ThetextisAABbutmayhavenewtextforeachchorus.MelodicmaterialisAABthroughoutbut willbevariedinseveralways.Often,themelodywillonlyadjustafewnotestofittheIVchord withnosignificanttransposition.Atothertimes,themelodicconstructisshiftedupordownfor thesecondAtofittheIVchord.Interpretiveembellishmentsofbothpitchandrhythmare commonlyapplied.Historically,AABiscalledbarform. IambicPentameter:5stressedsyllablesoneachline.Embellishmentsmaystilloccurcreating unevennumbersofsyllables.Thisiambicpentameteroftenfitswithinthefirstfivehalfnotesof eachline(i.e.halfnotesonbeats13131ofthefirstthreemeasures). Harmonically,thestructurefitswithintheIIVIVIpatternoutlinedabove.FineandMellowadds theIVchordtomeasuretoandaVinmeasure11.Chordsubstitutionsarefurtherexplainedin subsequentexamples. Oneshouldalsonoticetheprominenceoftheflat3bluesnote(Aflat)inthemelodythroughout.

Formcontinues

Substitutions1:BlueSeven(Rollins)
UseoftheIVchordinthesecondmeasureiscommonandoftenaddedevenwhenitisnot includedonthescoreorleadsheet.Somerefertothisasthequickchange. MovingfromtheVtotheIVinmm.910isoftenappliedtotheblues.Inaperformance,onemight call,Takeitfromthefive,toinsertthissubstitutionifnotinthescore. Therearemanyturnaroundpossibilities(seethesectionTurnarounds).Mostplayerswillnot leavetonicinm.12butwillapplyaturnaround.Inthiscase,V7suffices. Melody:riffbluesAABhybrid.Measure5isanembellishedversionofmeasure1andadjustedfor IV;theAflatisappropriateastheflat7ofIVandtheEisthesharp11,acolorcreatinginterest. Riffprinciplesapplytomm.23,67,and1011beingidentical.Bnaturalsinmm.3,7,and11are sharp11toF7.AnAissoundedinm.8toparalleltheAinm.1whiletheFsharpissharp11toC inm.9astheEinm.5issharp11toBflat.Thesemotivicparallelsshowtheriffprinciples appliedwhereastheembellishmentsandpitchadjustmentsdelineatetheAABform.

Substitutions2:TenorMadness(Rollins)
Measures910usewhatmaybethemostcommonformulae:iiV7insteadofV7forbothbars. Thisisprecededbyasecondarydominantinm.8:G7toCminorisV7/ii. Amoreextendedturnaroundisseeninmm.1112.G7toC7toF7toBflatisacycleofdominants. Melody:AAB.ThelastpartofAreturnsasthelastpartofB.Inclassicalterminology,thismightbe consideredroundedbinaryasfollows,||:A:||BA.

Substitutions3:BluesforAlice(Parker)
ThisanalysiswillbemoreclearlyunderstoodafterstudyofthesectionsFundamentalChord ProgressionsandSubstitutionsandTurnarounds. ThesechangesareoftenreferredtoasBirdBlues.AnFmajorinm.1(insteadofF7)signalsthe progression. Startinginm.2thechordsmoveinaiiV7cyclelandingonIVinm.5.Thefirstchordofm.2is oftenhalfdiminished;thisreducesthecontrastbykeepingthe5thinthekeysignature.Themajor 7fromFinm.1alsomakesthetransitionsmoother:major7thEinm.1istherootofEinm.2. AsomewhatcommonchordprogressionisivflatVII7I,i.e.inthekeyofF:BflatminortoEflat7 toF.Intheblues,tonicisreturnedtoinm.7.Althoughanothersubstitutionprincipleis incorporatedform.7inBluesforAlice,theprecedingprogressionassumetonic.Bflat7inm.5 changesmodestoBflatminorinm.6,whichbecomesminorivofaivflatVII7Isequence. Measure7landsonAminorinsteadofF. Themediantiiiisasuccessfulalternatefortonicinmajorkeys(IIIinminor).Measure7applies thisprincipleandbecomesiiofaiiV7progression.TheEflat7ofm.6totheAminorofm.7 worksnotonlybecauseoftheiiiforIsubstitutebutbecauseatritoneresolutionisagoodforward motionsound.TherootsEflattoAareatritonapart. Thenexttwomeasuresaremoreeasilyunderstoodwhencalculatingbackwardsfromm.10, whichwillbeexplainedmomentarily.Measures1011applytheoptionseeninTenormadness above.InsteadofV7forbothmeasures,iiV7isused;inthiscase,GminormovestoC7. WithGminorexplainedasasubstituteforC7inm.10,theprecedingbarsareclearer.Onemust understandtheconceptoftritonesubstitution(seethesectionSubstitutions).Thisallowsachord atritoneawayfromthechordinquestiontosubstitute:DflatisatritoneawayfromG;Dflatcan beusedinsteadofG.InTenorMadnessabove,asecondarydominantwasusedinm.8,G7toC minor.AsimilarprincipleisusedinBluesforAlicebutattachedtoVinsteadofii.GivenGminorin m.9isasubstituteforC7(aiiV7cansubstituteforV7andviceversainmostinstances,asabove), asecondarydominantofVcanbeinsertedinm.8buttoC7,theV,insteadofthemoredirectG minor,ii:G7equalsV7ofCorV/V.C7canbeGminortoC7;V7canbeiiV7.So,V/VcanbeVofii VorV/iiV.WithanimaginaryV/VorG7inm.8,atritronesubstitutioncanbeunderstood:Dflat isatritoneawayfromG.BothG7andDflat7aregoodresolutiontoC7;Dflatisused.

Anotherreasonthissoundsgoodisthetritoneresolutionconceptexplainedaboveasappliedto mm.67.Chordswhoserootsareatritoneapartcanbeplacedinsequence.TheDflatofm.8 progresseswelltotheGminorofm.9. TheiiVsubstituteforVisplacedinm.8turningDflat7intoAflatminortoDflat7. Measure7movestom.8bymeansofthesametechniquejustpresented.AflatminortoDflat7 becomesDflat7alone.ThedominantofDflatisAflat.AtritoneawayformAflatisD.Thus,D canbesubstitutedforAflat.ReturningtheAflatminortom.8,theDofm.7createsatritone resolutiontoAflat.D7inm.7becomesiiVorAminortoD7andthecycleisbacktotheAminor substituteforF(iiiforI). Measure11startswiththesameiiiforI,AminorforFsubstitutionandproceedscyclically.AtoD toGtoCtoFisacircleof5ths,orcycle,progression.InthekeyofF,thequalitiesareiiiviiiV7I. WhenviisalteredtobecomeVI7acycleofiiV7siscreated,asbelow. Melody:ThroughComposed.TherearenorepeatingelementsinthemannerofariffbluesorAAB form.Noticethenotechoicesinmm.1,2,4,10,and11.Measureonehasthemajor7ofF.The flat9ofAisinm.2.Whenarestfollowsanupbeatnote,thenotewillsoundontheharmonyof therestbeat;thus,thefourtheighthnoteinm.4willbeheardonbeatthree.TheCsharpisthe sharp5ofF.EflatonC7isabluesnote,m.10.Onmajorandsometimesondominantchords, fourthsarecontroversial.Intheblues,thefourthscaledegreemayworkwhenassociatedwith thebluesscaleoftonic.However,thesustainedfourthscaledegree(G)oftheD7inm.11isnot thefourthoftonic.Itworksbecausethemelodicsequencefrommm.1112(andintom.1)is strongandbecausetonicinthebluesisverypowerful,GdoesntconflictwithF7orFmajor.

 MinorBlues:Mr.P.C.(Coltrane)

Minorbluesgenerallyuseaminortonic(mm.14,78,and1112)andminorsubdominant(mm. 56).IntheplacewhereVisusedstructurally(mm.910),thequalityisnotminor;asinaclassical minormode,dominantborrowsthemajor3rdofthechord(theleadingtoneoftonic).Often,a minorblueswillusesometypeofchordsubstitutionintheactive,dominantfunctioningarea. Mr.P.C.usesminorforiandivasexplained.Measures910includeatritonesubstitution.Oneof themostcommonsequencesinthebluesisiiVinmm.910;thisisDminortoG7inMr.P.C.A tritoneawayfromDisAflat.Measures910inMr.P.C.movesfromAflattoG. Melody:AAB.LikeTenorMadness,Mr.P.C.hasanelementofroundedbinarywithafragmentofA returningattheendofB(comparemm.34,78,and1112).Transpositionofthemm.12 melodyoccursinmm.56toadjustfortheivchord.

ExtendedBlues:WatermelonMan(Hancock)
Acommonmethodoflengtheningtheformofthebluesisbyrepeatingmm.910.Watermelon Mandoessotwice,creatinga16barchorus.

 Harmonically,chordsarekeptsimple;veryunlikeBluesforAlice.ThisistypicaloftheFunky styleofthelate1950sandearly60s. Theaccompanimentcouldbelabeledanostinatoasitisarepetitivevamp. Aharmonylineaccompaniesseveralspotsofmelody,originallybytenorsaxophone.

TuneList

Early/TraditionalBlues AllRight,Ok,YouWin BackattheChicken Shack C.C.Rider EmptyBedBlues FineandMellow GreenOnions ImToreDown MemphisBlues PineTopBoogie PrideandJoy RoyalGardenBlues SearchinforaWoman Shake,Rattle,nRoll St.LouisBlues SweetHomeChicago StormyMonday TBoneShuffle WestEndBlues JazzBlues AfroBlue AfterHours AllBlues BessiesBlues BlackCoffee(ballad) BlowintheBluesAway BlueBolivarBlues BlueTrane BluesConnotation BluesforPhillyJoe BluesforStephanie BluesMarch BluesontheCorner CedarsBlues ChasintheTrane Chicken,The(fusion) ChitlinsconCarne (Latin/fusion) CominHomeBaby CoolStruttin CousinMary Decision Doodlin EyeoftheHurricane (Hancock,V.S.O.P.) FilthyMcNasty FiveSpotAfterDark FreddietheFreeloader GingerbreadBoy GothamCity Israel JodieGrind,The JumpinwithSymphony Sid(swing) Matrix MissileBlues Mr.Day NoLine Nutville OneforDaddyO RedTop Route66(swing) SackOWoe Sandu SeorBlues(Latin) StolenMoments TeeniesBlues ThrillisGone,The (blues) TwoDegreesEast,Three DegreesWest VierdBlues Walkin' WhenWilltheBlues Leave RiffBlues BagsGroove BemshaSwing BessiesBlues BluenBoogie BlueMonk BlueSeven BluesbyFive BluesintheCloset BluesWalk,The Bud'sBlues CJamBlues Centerpiece Champ,The CoolBlues DigDis FreddieFreeloader Misterioso NightTrain NoBlues(Pfrancin) Now'stheTime SonnymoonforTwo Speedball Spontaneous Combustion TenorMadness ThingsAin'tWhatThey UsedtoBe BebopBlues AuPrivave Barbados Billie'sBounce Birdlike Bloomdido BluesforAlice Buzzy(CharlieParker) Cheryl ChiChi Continental CookinattheSippinat Bells CoolBlues DanceoftheInfidels Mohawk Now'stheTime Oolyacoo ParkersMood RelaxinatCamarillo Straight,NoChaser Twisted WeeDot YabadaOolYa(Dizzy Gillespie) MinorBlues BigP Birk'sWorks Equinox Footprints Hassan'sDream Mr.P.C. SeorBlues WhyDontYouDo Right? Non12BarBlues C.C.Rider[old](16) ClosetoYou(16) CRSCraft(8) GetaHaircut(8) HeartbreakHotel(8) I'mYourHoochie CoochieMan(16) KeytotheHighway(8) LetsDance(16) MustangSally(24) Oh,PrettyWoman(16) Sidewinder(24) TravelinBlues(16) WalkingbyMyself(8) WatermelonMan(16)) WorriedLifeBlues(8)

Bluesw/Bridge Locomotion Unit7 SomeoneElseisSleepin In Bikini ScotchandWater Word,The(Beatles) TheBalladOfJohnAnd Yoko(Beatles) ICanHelp(BillySwan) I'mOnFire(Bruce Springsteen)

WorksheetPacket#6:Blues
Scale Writeallscalesuptotherootanddown. Donotusekeysignatures. Includeaccidentalsascendinganddescending. Inpracticethebluesscalecanstartonthetonicofthetuneandthetonicofthescale:keyofthe pieceisBflat,Bflatbluesscaleused.Or,thebluesscalecanstartonthe6thofthekeyofthepiece: tuneinBflat,Gbluesscaleused.Intheformersituation,thescalecanbeusedonlyonthetonic chorddelineatingthedifferencesofIV,ii,andV;or,thescalecanblankettheform.Inthelater situation,thescaleisusuallyonlyusedontonic. ChordProgressions Writechordvoicingsasintheexamplegiven. KeepvoicingscenteredaroundmiddleC. Playallchordsonthepiano,listen,becomefamiliarwiththesoundofthebluesvoicings. Twoworksheetsareprovided.Theseexamplesdemonstratetwodifferentvoicingsandtwo variationsofthebluesprogression.Voicingsandprogressionsareinterchangeable.They representonlyasmallsampleofbluesvoicingsandchordsubstitutions. Patterns Severalexamplesaregivenwiththechordmostappropriatetothepatternincluded. Findtwopatternsthatarespecifictothequality(major).Sourcesmightincludeatranscription,a jazzimprovisationtextbook,Aebersoldplayalongseries,abookonjazzpatternssuchasJerry CokersPatternforJazz,areputableprofessional(i.e.AaronMiller,RyanNielsen,Mark Watkins,JayLawrence,KeithPhillips,JustinNielsen,oravisitingguest). Includetheappropriatechordsymbolandpatternsource. Addpatternstothelogtoincreasevocabulary.

Scale
Example:

Progression1

Progression2

Patterns(treble)
Examples:

Patterns(bass)
Examples: