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Berklee College of Music

The Songwriter’s 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 it’s 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, I’m 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, I’m 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 one-
63
chord groove, various chords in the key of C, blues-colored chords, and a fast chord
progression.

A. Melody Over One Chord

C

& 44 b œ œ œ œ j j Œ ‰ œj œ œj œ j Œ œ
œœ œ œ b œ œ bœ ˙
Five - foot two in her high - heeled shoes We all stop and stare But

& w œ œ œ Jœ œ œ œ Œ Ó
J
∑
she struts right on by

97
 B. Melody Over Major-Key Chords
C Amin F G

4
& 4 bœ œ œ œ œ j b œ
j
œ Œ ‰ œj œ œj œ b œj ˙ Œ œ
œ œ œ
Five - foot two in her high - heeled shoes We all stop and stare But
F G C

& w œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ Ó ∑
J J
she struts right on by

C. Melody Over Blues-Colored Chords

C 7( # 9) F7 C 7( # 9) F7 C 7( # 9) F7 C 7( # 9)

4
& 4 bœ œ œ œ œ j b œ
j
œ Œ ‰ œj œ œj œ b œj ˙ Œ œ
œ œ œ
Five - foot two in her high - heeled shoes We all stop and stare But
F7 G7 C 7( # 9) F7 C 7( # 9) F7

& w œ œ œ Jœ œ œ ˙
J Ó ∑
she struts right on by

D. Melody Over Fast Progression

C F C F C F C C F C F C F C

& 44 b œ œ œ œ j j Œ ‰ œj œ œj œ j Œ œ
œœ œ œ bœ œ bœ ˙
Five - foot two in her high-heeled shoes We all stop and stare But
Amin G F G C F C F C F C

& w œ œ œ Jœ œ œ
J
œ Œ Ó ∑
she struts right on by

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

 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, you’ll
use the reverse process. You’ll use the scale over any of these types of chord progres-
sions.

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
song’s 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