Figure 10-1 minor 3rd_ whole step _ half step = Just because the word “blues” appears in a song's ttle doesnt mean that the song isa biues, “Limehouse Blues” and “Bye Bye Blues” are great tunes, but they are not blues, Neither are Chick Corea’ “Blues For Liebestraum™” nor Cedar Walton's “Bremond Blues” Most blues are 12 bars long, but some blues are longer, or shorter, and some ‘2ebar tunes are not blues at al. Why? Because ‘the blues more than just a musical form; its a sound, a feeling, and an attitude, These things can't be conveyed by written notes on the page. IF you're totally unfamiliar with the blves, listen to a B. B. King recording before you read ary further.” Two main elements make up the blues: the blues scale and the chord changes. We'll atk about the changes first. Blues Changes here are zilions of sets of "blues changes” Having said that, lets get back to realty: There is a single, commonly accepted set of three-chord blues changes, more or less unchanged since the ‘earliest days of jazz, and stil played today. Figure 10-2 shows the changes for @ basic blues in C. All three chords—C7, F7, and G7—are dominant 7th chords. Well call them (restive to C)1, IV, and V. Madern examples of three-chord blues include Miles Davis' "Blues By Five"? and two by Thelonious Moni, “Biue Monk"? and "Misterioso:"4 Blues changes evolved slightly in the 1930s, 1s shown in figure 10-3. Note the additions of the IV chord (F7) in the second bar, and the V chord (G7) in the last ba olf raditional music theory doesn't “explain” the blues wery well. Ccnsider this: The | chord in the blues is a dominant 7th chard. Also, the blues scale is unlike any other scale found in Western music. Take a lock at figure 10-1, which shows the blues scale based on C. It has two minor 31ds (C to Eb and G to Bt), a chromatic passing note between F and G (FF), anc consecutive half steps (6 F4, G)—intervalic arrangements not found in such ‘Western scales as the major and metodic minor scales. The interval structure of the blues scale is "minor 3rd, whole step, half step, half step, minor 3rd, whole step.” Clues scale mince 3rd__ whole zz evolved in the nineteenth century from diverse “African-American, European, and Latin-American sources, including African call-and-response chants, field-hollers, gospel music, the marches and popular songs of the day, ring shouts, and a largely Cuban influence called “the Spanish tinge.” However, no cone source of jazz was more important than the blues. The blues has its own traditions, but is also the single Diggest part of the jazz tradition,Figure 102 Figure 10-3 él 41 The Blues Scale lWof the scales that you've learned so far—scales from major, melodic minor, diminished, and whole-tone harmony—can be played on the blues. However, the oldest, most basic melodic material played on the blues is the blues scale, shown here Memorize the interval structure “minor 3rd, whole step, half step, half step, minor 31d, whole step.” You can play the blues scale, not just on the blues, but on any tune ‘And you can play the blues scale on any chord. Althaugh you can play the blues seale on any chord, it is most often played on dominant 7th and minor 7th chords.C blues scale The most unusual thing about playing the blues scale on the blues is that you can play the same blues scale over all three chords of 2 basic blues. Basic blues in C consists of three chords: C7, F7, and G7. You can play the C blues scale over all three of these chords. As you may remember, | said earlier that the blues isn't “explained” very well by traditional music theory. ‘As an example, playing the blues scale ever the I-N-V chords of a basic blves yields dissonances hardly acceptable in traditional theory. But these dissenances: have been present in jazz since its inception. The Minor Pentatonic Scale he second most-played scale in blues improvisation is the minor pentatonic scale, which we mentioned briefly in Chapter 9. Figure 10-23 compares the € minor pentatonic scale with the C blues scale. The C minor pentatonic scale (which is the fifth mode of the Eb pentatonic scale) is a C blues scale without the chromatic passing note. As with the blues scale, you can play a single minor pentatonic scale over all the chords ina blues. The C minor pentatonic scale sounds good aver all three chords of a blues in C (C7, F7, G7).Cminor pentatonic scale c= 3rd wholestep wholestep minor 3rd whole ste — n eed ee = = SSS ‘Clues scale minor 3rd__whole step __halfstop _halfstep _minor3rd__ whole stea SSS = C pentatonic scale whole step whole step minor 3rd There are many five-note scates, but the term + *pemtatonic scale” usually refers to the five-note scale shown in figure 9-2. Here are some easy ways to see, hear, and think of what a pentatonic scale is. + tis 1-2-3-5-6 of the mejor scale. + itis the major scale without the fourth and seventh notes (in the key of C, leave out F and 8). ‘sIntervalically, you can think of it as “whole step, whole step, minor 3:d, whole step.” Pentatonic scales give music a greater feeling of space. Constructed of whole steps and minor 3rds only, with no half steps, pentatonic scales lack the chromatidism of other scales. More ai, space, and light enter the music when you play ths lerger-interval scale.The Modes and the Minor Pentatonic Scale L ike any other scale, the pentatonic scale has modes, These modes crigina‘e from the different notes that you can use as the starting point for the scale, as shown in figure 9-5, The fifth mode is played so often that it has acquired its own name: the minor pentatonic scale, which is closely related to the blues scale. More on the blues scale in Chapter 10, The minor pentatonic lick shown in figure 9-6 is the First ‘one that many jazz musicians learn to play. howe Ast mode — = 2nd mode = Sj oe 3rd mode = 4th mode — o 4 the “minor pentatonic" scale. 5th mode —~ Hist eSModes of the Major Scale igure 2-4 shows the C major scale and all of its modes. Think of modes this way: The C major scale has seven different notes, and you can play the scale starting on any one of its seven notes, This means that there are redlly seven different C major scales—one that starts on C, one on D, one on E, one on F, and soon through B. Each mode has a Greek name, shown to the right of the made. The Roman Figure 2-4 ‘The C Major Scale and Its Modes Clonian =. = SE D Dorian a EPhrygian Flydian ral 6 Mixolydian a A Aeoliannumerals I through Vil shown to the left of each mode correspond to the modal name on the right—t is lonian, lis Dorian, iis Phrygian, and so forth. This is the same in every major key. Greek modal names are not esoteric; they are ‘everyday terms that jazz musicians use. For example, ‘you might hear a conversation like t First musician: “What's the chord in ‘the second bar?” Second musician: “F Lydian." fm The lonian Mode and the Major 7th Chord From the modes come seventh chords. You construct seventh chords by playing every other note ‘of each mode, as shown in figure 2-5. “Every other Figure 2.5, Clonian mode root 2nd = 3rd ath = Sth 6th 7th octave 1 note” will be the root, 3rd, Sth, and 7th of the resulting chord. These notes are called chord tones, because they define the quality—major, minor, dominant—of each seventh chord, Inthe lonian mode of the C major scale shown here, every other note has been boxed, the boxed notes forming the seventh chord shown on the right. The boxed notes are the first, third, fifth, and seventh notes of the made, and are also the root, 3rd, 5th, and 7th of the chord. Figure 2-6 shows 2 C major 7th chord. A common symbol for this chord is the triangle, as in CA. This chord is called "major 7th” because of the Figure 2-6 intervalic relationships between the root of the chord and its 3rd and 7th. Major 7th chords have a major 3rd, 2 perfect 5th, anda major 7th, Because this chord is built off of the first mode, itis called a | chord. 5 Common alternate chord symbols are ¢, C47, Cena, and EN7. CB.and C2, although slightly diferent, are used interchangeably with Ca.Figure 2-10 have @ major 3rd, a perfect 5th, and a minor 7th, as shown in figure 2-10, ee Because this chord is built off of the fifth mode, it is called a V chord, Figure 2-11 Figure 2-11 shows an example of the Mixolydian made. The first eight notes of Freddie Hubbard's tune *Philly Mignon“? (named for drummer Philly Joe Jones) ascend the G Mixolydian scale. The first eight notes of Sonny Rollins “Pent-Up House“ ascend the D Mixolydian <7 -=S3e5 Figure 2-12 D7 scale, as shown in figure 2-12. The |, Il, and V chords—major 7th, minor 7th, ‘and dominant 7th—are the three most commonly played chords in jazz. Since each chord has a perfect Sth (there are chords with a bS or #5, which we'll oon get to), the 3rd and 7th are the variables. They determine whether the chord is major, minor, or dominant—that is, they determine what's called the quality of the chord. The following rules sum up the differences between the three chards: + Major 7th chords have a major 3rd anda major 7th? + Minor 7th chords have a minor 3rd and a minor 7th.10 Dominant 7th chords have a mejor 3rd and a minor 7th. The Il-V-I Progression ‘he |, Il, and V chords often occur as a Il-V-1 chord progression, the most common chord progression plied in jazz. The chords in the previous examples— D-7, G7, and CA—are the -| progression in the key ofC. Can you find Ii-V-I in the key of F? Here's how to do it: The second, fifth, and first notes of the F major scale are G, C, and F The ll chard is always @ minor 7th chord, the V chord is always a dominant 7th chord, ard the I chord is a major 7th chord. The ll-V-l in the key of Fis G-7, C7, FA. Think through the l-V-I in every key; you don't need your instrument to do this. 7 Freddie Hubbard, Here Ta Stay, iu Note, 1962. 4 Sonny Relies Pus Four, Prestige, 1955. Think “rrajor-najor-ajor” "© Think “minge-rinor-minor”Figure 2-13 FR? BT E-7 AT He? By E-7 A7 a 3 oy " v Woy nooy inkey of E in key of D inkey of E inkey of D IV doesn’t have to end with |, as in the IV changes in the first four bars of Richard Rodgers’ G7 ca “IDidn't Know What Time tt Was" (Figure 2-13). ‘And \V-I doesn’t have to be preceded by Il as in the V4 at the beginning of Bob Haggart’s “What's New?" (figure 2-14). Also, Il chords, V chords, and | chords often occur randomly, seemingly unconnected to the chords around them, as in the progression shown in figure 2-15, Figure 2-14 wok Open your fake book," and select an easy tune inkey of c like "Just Fiend” “Satin Doll,” or “Tune Up." Analyze ‘each choid—is ita ll chord? A V chord? A | chord? Figure 2-15 p-7 br Ba AT Bb-7 aa o7 ea Winc Vina’ tinBb Vino Hina tina, ving lineb Look for I-V, Vl, and lI-V-1 progressions, Remember ‘these rules: ‘Minor 7th chords are Il chords. + Dominant 7th chords are V chords. ‘+ Majar 7th chords are | chords.‘You may see some chords with unfamiliar chord symbols—sus b8, 111, 15, alt, @, and so on, Not to worry, we'll gat to them soon. Figure 2-16 shows the changes to “Just Friends.” Each chord has been analyzed to determine whether it is all, Vor lehord. The figuee also shows which key each chord is from. Notice how often "Just Friends" ‘modulates from one key to anather. The first two chords are a V-lin the key af , followed immediately by all-Vin Bb. You play the two chords in parentheses in the last bar only when you're going back to the top -and playing another chorus; they are called a ‘tumaround. Along with the first chord back at the beginning of the tune they form another IW. Figure 2-16 ing " Heo. y wey Nev ina ind ing ine H-7 BT E-7 AT A-7 D7 GA (D-7 67)he second most common set of chord changes played in jazz (the blues is first) are those from “I've Got Rhythm,” an AABA tune composed by George Gershwin for a Broadway show.’ Gershwin had ne idea that his all-time most popular tune—at least in terms of ‘the sheer number of times the changes have been played—would not be “Summertime” or "& Foggy Day," but “I've Got Rhythm.” “Eve Got Rhythm" was an immediate hit with the jazz musicians of the 1930s. The changes were fun to play over; they could be altered, substituted for, bent this way and that, and otherwise reshaped creatively? As bebop evolved in the early 1940s, “Rhythm” changes became the basis for countless heads. A “head” is often an original tune based on another tuna’s changes.? Here are just a few of the many heads based on Rhythm changes: » Sonny Rollins’ "Oleo"4 + Miles Davis’ "The Theme"5 and “The Serpent's Tooth”® » Benny Harris’ “Crazeology"? + Thelonious Monk's “Rhythm-A-Ning”8 + Sonny Stitt’s “The Eternal Tangle"? * Charlie Parker's “Anthropology,"10 “Moose The Mooch,"1! and "Steeplechase" 12 Rhythm changes can be scary for beginners; there are so many chords, and they go by so fast. ‘One way jazz musicians judge each other's competence is by how well they play Rhythm changes. Pay heed. Practice!Figure 11-1 shows the more-or-less original changes to Gershwin’ "I've Got Rhythm* Figure 11-2 shows a variation that emerged during the 19305. Notice the following changes: «Diminished 7th chords have been added, +The G-7 chords have been changed to G7. + Some of the V chords have a f5 alteration. Figure 11-1 Bo G=7) 0 C-7 =F? eh G-7) C7 FF Bb By cb cb 7 7 F7. G-7 co7 FT abo G-7) C-7 FT Bb oBb7 cb eb Bho? 8Figure 11-2 Bhoogo7) c-7 C77 G77 FF Bb opby> gb OE? z phe G7f c-7 F7 Fr FTA obs. D7 67 a F7 FB Bh pen c-7 che7 D-7 G7 cot -#7—BhOCBhD seh? «ky r7AS ah