A 'Two-Speed' Approach To Blues

Bb 'blues scale' pitches: Bb major pentatonic pitches:

b4
& b 4 bœ œ nœ œbœ œ œbœ œ nœbœbœ nœ œ œ œ œœœ
œœœ
œ œ œœ

When both are combined, we have a wider pitch selection; probably a better reflection of what's available in the blues
language. The notes in red do not belong to the original blues scale:

b
&b bœ nœ bœ nœ œ œ bœ œ
œ œ

Fig. 1 - Simple "boogaloo" style 12 bar progression in Bb:

B¨7
b
&b

E¨7 B¨7
b
&b

F7 E¨7 B¨7 F7
b
&b

Fig. 2 - Typical "jazz/bebop" blues progression in Bb: (Measure 4 gives an opportunity for
tension, going into the IV chord:)

B¨7 E¨7 (optional) B¨7 F‹7 B¨7

b
&b
(optional again - don't get
E¨7 Eº7 too hung up on this chord!) B¨7 D‹7(b5) G7(b9) (perhaps the most
important chord of all!)

b
&b
C‹7 F7 B¨7 G7 C‹7 F7
b
&b
(these last four measures are significantly (there are many different turnarounds you could use in these last two measures)
different to the previous sequence)

© J.Taylor 2012
 Fig. 3 - Use of C harmonic minor to describe Chord VI7, in measure 8 of 12 bar jazz blues:

7 B¨7 D‹7(b5) G7(b9) C‹7 etc.

bb ∑ ‰ œJ œ œ nœ bœ œ œ bœ œ œ œ Œ
&
(even just a descending scale like this can sound jazzy if it's placed right - it describes the change beautifully...)

It's also common to add the Bb to this scale as a passing note. Some sources describe this as a "harmonic minor bebop scale".

Fig. 4

7 B¨7 D‹7(b5) G7(b9) C‹7 F7 etc.

b œ nœ bœ bœ œ œ œ b œ œ j
&b ∑ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

Also, be aware that the C harmonic minor tonality includes a diminished 7th arpeggio. We could consider this to be built from
either the 3rd or the b9 of the G7b9 chord (same notes either way). This arpeggio is invaluable in line construction:
Fig. 5

7 B¨7 D‹7(b5) G7(b9) C‹7

b œ œ œ œ bœ œ œ œ œ etc.
&b ∑ ‰ J œ nœ

Finally, we should know that there is a common variation to this part of the progression, which is to fall chromatically using dom. 7ths:

Fig. 6
7 B¨7 A7 A¨7 G7(b9) C‹7 F7 etc.
b
&b

In measure 6, Edim7 can be introduced to create a rising bassline, like so:

5 E¨7 Eº7 B¨7/F D‹7(b5) G7(b9)

b
&b

If you want to bring this sound out in your solo, it may be helpful to consider that Edim7 has the same notes as Bbdim7, and
therefore you can think of the change as being Bbdim7 - Bb7:

Fig. 7
E¨7 B¨º7 (Edim7) B¨7/F D‹7(b5) G7(b9)
b b œ nœ œ œ œ œ bœ œ ‰ Œ
&b ∑ œ J Ó ∑
© J.Taylor 2012
 Use of tension in measure 4, resolving onto subdominant in measure 5:

B melodic minor used to

Fig. 8 imply Bb7altered:
B¨7 B¨7½ E¨7 Eº7 etc.
3 bœ œnœ bœ
b #œ nœ nœ #œ œ œ œ j
& b Ó™ bœ nœ bœ ™ bœ œ œ œ ∑
3
3

B diminished 7th arpeggio

Fig. 9 used to imply Bb7b9:
4 B¨7 E¨7 etc.
b œ bœ nœ bœ nœ bœ œ œ œ bœ bœ œ œ
&b ‰ œ nœ œ œ
J 3
3 3

B diminished scale, constructed from

Fig. 10 two dim.7th arpeggios e.g. Bdim7
combined with C#dim7 (or call it Bbdim7 if you prefer!)

b
&b œ nœ œ œ bœ bœ nœ bœ bœ œ œ nœ œ j ‰ Œ Ó
nœ #œ #œ nœ

B diminished scale lick, resolving onto

Fig. 11 Chord IV in measure five.
B¨7 E¨7
3 b œ n œ œ# œ œn œ œ œ n œ b œ b œ œ#œn œ b œ #œj nœbœnœ
b nœ nœ œ #œ
& b ‰ ‰ œJ bœ#œj nœ œ œ Œ
3 3 3 3 3 3 3

And here's another one. This time, the pattern is minor 6th intervals,
Fig. 12 rising by minor 3rds:
B¨7 E¨7 etc.
b œ b œ3n œ n œ b œ n œ b œ
b ‰ ‰3 3
#œ nœ œœ œ #œ œ bœ Œ Ó
& b j œ b œ bœ nœ
œ n œ œ nœ 3
3 3 3 3

Bb whole tone scale lick, again resolving onto

Fig. 13 Fig. 14
Chord IV in measure five.
Bb whole tone scale B¨7 E¨7 etc.
œ n œ œ
b #œ œ#œnœ#œ œ #œ #œ nœ œ nœbœ œ 3 œ œ
& b #œ œ
bœ J ‰ Ó Œ ‰ bœnœ#œnœ
œ œ œnœ J 3 3 3
3 3
© J.Taylor 2012
Fig.15 a la "Blues For Alice"

1 FŒ„Š7 E‹7(b5) A7(b9) D‹7 G7 C‹7 F7

&
Extended cycle of fifths turnaround, to set up...

5 B¨7 B¨‹7 E¨7 A‹7 D7 A¨‹7 D¨7

&
...Chord IV, right where you'd IV becomes IV minor... ...then chromatically descending
expect it! II-Vs (related to the cycle of fifths
by tritone substitution) to set up...

9 G‹7 C7 F7 D7 G‹7 C7

&
...the last four measures, which are the same
as the standard jazz 12 bar sequence.

Fig.16 a la "Bluesette"

1 B¨Œ„Š7 A‹7(b5) D7(b9) G‹7 C7 F‹7 B¨7

&
The same extended cycle of fifths turnaround, to set up...

5 E¨Œ„Š7 E¨‹7 A¨7 D¨Œ„Š7 C©‹7 F©7

&
...Chord IV, right where you'd IV becomes IV minor... Slightly different through here -
expect it! I call this "downstep modulation"

9 BŒ„Š7 C‹7(b5) F7(b9) D‹7 G7 C‹7 F7

&
Notice how similar Bmaj7 © J.Taylor 2012
and Cm7b5 are. Only the
root note is different.
 Fig.17 a la "Unit Seven"

1% C7 Starts like a normal C major blues... F7 C7 G‹7 C7

A
& ™™
5 F7 Chord IV in the required place! C7 B¨‹7 E¨7
slightly different through here...

&

A¨Œ„Š7 G7(#5) 1.
C7 A7 D‹7 G7 2. C7 A7(b9)
9 These two measures are more like a
C minor blues really. Fine
& ™™
This is the big difference.
D‹7 The middle eight section G7 CŒ„Š7 E‹7(b5) A7(b9)
begins here...

B
&

D‹7 G7 E‹7 A7 D‹7 G7 DS al Fine

&
Form = AABA

Fig.18 a la "Wave"
% Essentially A7b9, links to the
DŒ„Š7 B¨º7 D7 two measures later... A‹7 D7

A
& ™™
GŒ„Š7 Chord IV in the required place! G‹6 becoming IV minor, again F©13 F©7(b13) B9 B7(b9)
...extended cycle of 5ths turnaround...

&
E9 similar to regular blues, but B¨7 A7 D‹7 G7 D‹7 G7
IIdom7 used... ...followed by its
tritone sub. this vamp replaces usual turnaround.

& ™™

G‹7/B¨ C7/B¨ FŒ„Š7/A

And here's the middle eight...

B &
F‹7/A¨ B¨7/A¨ E¨Œ„Š7/G A7(#5) DS al Fine
&
Form = AABA
© J.Taylor 2012
Fig.19 a la "West Coast Blues" - head changes:

B¨7 A¨7 This is the distinctive twist here -

B¨7 B‹7 E7
Tritone sub of Bb7, preceded by
bVII7 used for the first time. its own Chord IIm7

&

E¨7 The rest of the head changes are a simple I, IV, V blues really... B¨7

&

F7 E¨7 B¨7 D¨7 G¨7 F7

...except for the the "tritone" or "LadyBird" turnaround.

&

B¨7 solo changes: A¨7 B¨7 B‹7 E7

&

E¨7 E¨‹7 A¨7 D‹7 G7 D¨‹7 G¨7

As well as the modifications above,
the solo changes employ the "Blues For Alice" chromatic II-Vs through here...

&

C‹7 F7 B¨7 D¨7 G¨Œ„Š7 BŒ„Š7

tritone sub for tritone sub for tritone sub for
G7 C7 (modified) F7 (modified)

&

Fig.20 a la "Freddie Freeloader":

B¨7 Basically, a really simple I, IV, V blues...

&

E¨7 B¨7

&

F7 E¨7 A¨7 ...but here's the twist. bVII7 again, this time in the final two measures.

&
© J.Taylor 2012
 Fig.21 Minor blues changes - variant 1:

C‹7 D‹7(b5) G7(b9) C‹7 G‹7(b5) C7(b9)

&

F‹7 C‹7

&

A¨Œ„Š7 G7(b13) This chord and the previous one C‹7 A¨7 D‹7(b5) G7(b9)
bVI∆, as seen in "Unit Seven" are found side by side in the key note the different turnaround
of C harmonic minor. for a minor key tune.

&

Fig.22 Minor blues changes - variant 2:

C‹7 D‹7(b5) G7(b9) C‹7 G‹7(b5) C7(b9)

&

F‹7 C‹7

&

Essentially Ab13/D Essentially Db13/G

D7½ Think Eb mel. minor G7½ Think Ab mel. minor C‹7 A¨7 D‹7(b5) G7(b9)

&

Fig.23 a la "Footprints":

C‹11

&

F‹9 C‹11

&

Here's the twist on this one...

The preceding turnaround seemed to be heading for Dm, so the return of
F©‹7(b5) F7(#11) E‹7(b5) A7(#9) C‹11 Cm comes as a surprise. However, the Dm triad will sound great over this
chord, as it gives the upper structure extensions.

&
© J.Taylor 2012
Fig.24 a la "Birks' Works":

C‹7 D‹7(b5) G7(b9) C‹7

&
Here's the twist. Another appearance of bVI, this time as a dominant, replacing
A¨7(#11) the usually essential Chord IV in measure five. C‹7

&
E¨‹7 A¨7 D‹7(b5) G7(b9) C‹7 A¨7 D‹7(b5) G7(b9)
tritone sub of D7

&
This is slightly different too - again, it
relates to the cycle of 5ths via tritone substitution.

© J.Taylor 2012
Fig.25 "Canon for Cannon"
(top line only) Jamie Taylor
Med. up swing Intro
C7 B¨7 E7(#9)
q = 180 A‹7 D7 G‹7 F‹7
> >
4
& 4 Ó™ ‰ œJ. ‰ œj œ œ #œ œ œ bœ. ‰ nœj nœ
œ bœ bœ ‰ j
.> bœ œ # œ nœ nœ bœ nœ.
œ #œ
>. >

Head
A‹11 B‹7(b5) E7(b9) A‹7 E‹7(b5) A7(b9)

‰
& nœj nœ œnœ œnœ œ ™ w
™ ‰ œj œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™ œJ œ œ œ œ ‰ œj œ œ œ œ œ œ

D‹7 A‹7 D7 C7 G‹7

F‹9
˙™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ >œ œ >œ œ >œ
& Œ ‰ J
œ œ #œ œ™ J œ nœ œ

B¨7 E7 A‹7 E pedal on 2&4 

œbœ œ œ œ œ œ œ nœ n>
œ œ œ #>œ œ œ ™™
œ œ œ ‰ b œ œ œ œ œ J œ nœ œ œ
& #œ œ#œ nœnœ J œ
> 3 3
to coda
Solos

A‹7 B‹7(b5) E7(b9) A‹7 E‹7(b5) A7(b9)

& ™™ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑

This is the twist on regular A minor blues - an extended cycling turnaround here...

D‹7 A‹7 D7 G‹7 C7

& ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑

..and this works because Bb7 and E7 are related via

tritone substitution.

F‹7 B¨7 B‹7(b5) E7(b9) A‹7 B‹7(b5) E7(b9)

& ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ™™

 A‹(Œ„Š9)
Coda B¨7 E7(#9)
A‹7 D7 G‹7 C7 F‹7 E7 A‹ n U
#>œ >œ. j œ >
. j j jU nœœ
5
& J‰ŒŒ‰J ‰nœ œœ#œ œbœ ‰nœ œ#œnœ œbœbœ. ‰bœj œ # œ nœnœbœnœ. ‰#œ. ‰nœ. Œn# œœ ? 4
> >. > > >
on cue
Copyright © J.Taylor 2012, all rights reserved
Fig.26
"Always Rising"
5/4 swing J.R. Taylor
175bpm

Intro riff, R+R

A bass starts B Gtr. joins, on cue - R+R, til head

Œ ∑ Œ
? ™™45 œ œ bœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ bœ œ œ œ ™™ ™™ œœ œœ bœœ œœ ‰œœj œœ œœ œœ œœ bœœ œœ bœœ nœœ œœ œœ
∑
& ™™
‰J ‰J

Head, on cue ...this time, going to Chord IV via

C Extended cycle of 5ths turnaround... tritone substitution again.
bass plays changes
F7 B¨7 E¨7 A¨13 D¨7 F©7 B7(#11)
™ œ œbœ œ ‰ œ œ œ œ œ œ œbœ œ œ œ œ œbœ œ ‰ œ œ œbœ nœ #œnœbœ nœ Œ
& ™ J J
B¨7 Then it's a bit like B¨‹7 E¨7 B‹7 E7 C‹7 F7
"Blues For Alice"...
(solos only) ..but the II-Vs rise chromatically this time, hence the title!
œ œbœ œ ‰ œ œ œ œ œ œ œbœ œ œ œ nœ œnœ œ ‰ œ œ œ œ bœ œ œ œ œ Œ
& J J

D¨‹7 G¨7 G‹7 C7 F7 A¨13 D¨Œ„Š7 G¨Œ„Š7(#11)

..and this works because Gb7 and C7 are related via tritone substitution. "Ladybird" turnaround to finish!
last time end here
bœ œbœ œ bœ œ œnœ nœ œnœ œ œ œ œ œ œbœ œ œ œ œ œ bœ œ œ œ >œ.
& ‰J ‰J J‰ ‰J Œ

Solos R+R on C
Use intro riff
for drum solo.

Copyright © J.Taylor 2012, all rights reserved