Showing posts with label Blues Scale. Show all posts

Recommended Fingering for Blues Scale

Recommended Fingering for Blues Scale

Right hand C (1) Eb(2) F(3) Gb(4) G(1) Bb(3) C(4)

For 2 or more octaves use the following fingering:

up = 123413 123413 123413

down = 431432 131432 131432

These three piano styles (rock, blues, and boogies) have a few common characteristics. We will cover one feature this time.

They all use the blues scale.

What exactly is the blues scale?

We all know there are 12 major and 12 minor scales. The way to form them is by using the formula:

whole whole half whole whole whole half steps

The blues scale is different from the traditional scale.

Blocked 5ths and 6ths Bass Patterns

C

CG / CA / CG / CA

F

FC / FD / FC / FD

G

GD / GE / GD / GE

Here I am playing Beach Buggy Blues from a very long time ago!

Walking Bass Line

C

C, E, G, A (single bass notes)

F

F, A, C, D

G

G, B, D, E

Extended Walking Bass Line

C

C, E, G, A (ascending) Bb, A, G, E (descending)

F

F, A, C, D (ascending) Eb, D, C, A (descending)

G

G, B, D, E (ascending) F, E, D, B (descending)

A former piano student playing the acoustic piano.

Previous Posts on the Blues:

Beach Buggy Blues

Bittersweet Blues

Don't Want To Leave You Blues

How To Play Clarinet Blues

out-with-blues-scale-in-with-mixolydian

Surfin' for Dem Blues

Trems and Fills

Another great resource to add to your library, Salsa101 Do you like to play Salsa music?

All the best,

-- LadyD

"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Friday Freebie: Piano Scales

Minor pentatonic blues scale on A (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I am often asked questions regarding various music scales, such as Major, Minor, Blues, etc.
So, I thought I would gather up some information for you. Remember this:

Scales played in the correct musical way
are very exciting and rewarding
James Galway - Flautist

Piano Scales (former posts from my blog)

1. How to Play Blues Scales

2. How to Play Minor Scales

3. How to Play Pentatonic Scales

4. How to Play Bebop Scales

Free Printables

Cmaj Scale

Cmin Scale

C Pentatonic Scale

Blues Scales

What are the benefits of playing scales?

Scale practice doesn't make playing songs better. Practicing your scales makes your scales better. Plus, your sight reading and improvisation will improve.

*How do I find time to practice?
*How can I get better at playing in different keys?
*How do I decide/recognize what the left hand chords are in a piece of music?
*How can I play and read sheet music faster?
*How do I decide on proper fingering?
The answer to these and many other piano playing questions can now be yours.
Step-By-Step Piano DVD Course Helps You Become A Better Piano Player
www.LearnPianoTips.com

"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Surfin' for Dem Blues

Walking along the harbor, I looked up and saw our flag!

"Surfin' for Dem Blues!"

I have quite a collection of blues cds in my music library.

Here's just a few artists:

1. Walter Trout

2. Charlie Daniels

3. Bill Magee

4. Whitney Conwell

5. Bonnie Raitt

Image via Wikipedia

The Blues Scale

This scale is derived from adding a "blue note" to the minor pentatonic scale.

This blue note is on the #4 or b5 and a tritone away from the tonic.

C Blues Scale:

C, Eb (b3), F, F# (#4), G, Bb (b7), C.

The blue note gives the blues scale its characteristic,

bluesy sound. Notice that none of the thirds in the I, IV,

and V chords, are present in the blues scale.

If you play guitar or have a bend wheel on your keyboard,

begin your practice with notes that can bend from b3 to a

natural 3, and 6 to b7.

Blues Chords

The I, IV, and V chords form the backbone of the blues.

You can make the chords into dominant sevenths like the

1, 3, 5, b7 or even ninths like 1, 3, 5, b7, 9.

Improve Your Piano Playing
Access Free Piano Tutorials Here

When I Found Jesus (I Lost The Blues) Larry Carter

The Best Blues Web Sites

B.B. King Official Website

http://www.bbking.com/

Blues Acess; Blues Magazine about Festivals

http://www.bluesaccess.com/ba_home.html

Electric Bass Lessons on the Net

http://www.islandnet.com/~luka/lessbass.htm

Blues Music, Riffs and Licks
http://www.blues-link.com/

Blues World of Radio, Records and More
http://www.bluesworld.com/

Blue Highway Band
http://www.bluehighwayband.com/

Lonnie Brooks Band
http://www.lonniebrooks.com/

Charlie Daniels Band "Devil Went Down to Georgia" Grand Ole Opry

The Devil Went Down to Georgia
By:  Charlie Daniels

Dm gets boring if you don't have the rhythm. Try to arppegiate the chord.

Violin solo to these chords on guitar:
Dm, C ;  Dm-C-Bb-A-G-F-E-Dm ; Bb-C-Dm

[Dm]The devil went down to Georgia
he was looking for a soul to steal
He was in a bind cuz he was way behind
he was willin' to make a deal
When he came across this young man
sawin' on a fiddle and playin' it hot
And the devil jumped apon a hickory stump
and said boy let me tell you what[Bb-C-Dm]
[Dm]I bet you didn't know it
but I'm a fiddle player too
And if you'd care to make a dare
I'll make a bet with you
Now you play a pretty good fiddle boy
but give the devil his due
I bet a fiddle of gold against your soul
cuz I think I'm better than you[Bb-C-Dm]
The boy said my name's Johnny
and it might be a sin
But I'll take your bet your gonna regret
cuz I'm the best that's ever been

[Dm]Johnny your rosin up your bow
and [C]play your fiddle hard
Cuz [Gm]hells broke loose in Georgia
and the [Dm]devil deals it hard
And if you win you get this shiny [Gm]fiddle made of gold
But [A]if you lose the devil gets your soul

Violin solo:  Dm, C ; Dm-C-Bb-A-G-F-E-Dm

[Dm]The devil opened up his case
and he said I'll start this show
And fire flew from his fingertips
as he rosined up his bow
And he pulled the bow across his strings
and it made an evil hiss
Then a band of demons joined in
and it sounded something like this[A-C-Dm]

Devil Solo:  Dm C Dm (7 times) then G-A-Bb-C-C#-Dm  C-C#-Dm

[Dm]When the devil finished Johnny said
well you're pretty good ol' sun
But sit down in that chair right there
and let me show you how its done

[D]Fire on the mountain run boys run
[C]The devil's in the house of the risin' sun
[D]Chicken in the bread pin pickin' out dough
[C]Granny does your dog bite no, child, no

Solo:  Dm, C, Dm, C, Dm, C, {A} {A} {A}  A-C-Dm

[Dm]The devil bowed his head
because he knew that he'd been beat
He laid that golden fiddle
on the ground at Johnny's feet
Johnny said devil just come on back
if you ever want to try again
'Cause I told you once you son of a bitch
I'm the best that's ever been

And he played [D]fire on the mountain run boys run
[C]the Devils in the house of the risin' sun
[D]Chicken in the bread pin pickin' out dough
[C]Granny does your dog bite no child no

Outro solo- Dm, C, Dm, C, Dm, C-Dm-Em-G-A-G-F-E;
Dm-C-Bb-A; Dm-C-Bb-A; Dm,  C-Dm

There's a wealth of material on the net regarding the blues.

We've just touched the surface. You can use the search box

to find more of my posts on the blues.

Wishing you a wonderful and safe

Happy 4th of July!

"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Soloing Techniques

Another one of my favorite keyboard players is Jamal Hartwell. Listen to his instruction on soloing. You will learn lots just by watching this clip. Jamal covers the G Blues Scale... G, Bb, C, Db, D, F, G (sometimes A) I've added a bit more here:

"The first key we're going to start with is the key of G and you're going to do a G blues. So we are going to start right on G and play our G seven scale. The blues is compressed with all seven scales so all the scales we're going to learn is our seven scales. We start on G two, three, four, five, six, seven, one. Notice all the way notes very easy and we're just going to go for a bass line. One, three, five, seven, right, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, that way we can know what notes we're actually playing when I say one, three, five, seven. Also when we go to the four chord we are playing the forth scale so our C is our four chord and our five chord will be our D. So there is your scale, we are also going to learn the blue scale out of G which is (playing). So you have G and B flat C D flat D and then the F at the top (playing). That's blues works over all of our three chords and all of our three minor chords as well, it's a pretty universal chord that we are going to use throughout the whole piece. We are going to start by playing a one, three, five, seven and G and doing a little blues with my right. (playing) That's your G blues one chord, G."

http://www.ehow.com/video_4393461_playing-1st-chord-g-major.html

* Song: 107 degrees in the shade by Alex Bugnon

Swiss-born keyboardist and composer Alex Bugnon has played in New York and Europe.

“After exploring all of the sophisticated and progressive funk that helped me find my sound, I knew I needed to get back to a sound that was more laid back and straight to the point, where the songs, rather than fancy
production, are the focus,” he says. “With the success of artists like Norah Jones and Alicia Keys, it’s clear to me that, like myself, people are tired of the overproduced, heavy machine-oriented music that excited them in the past. These are complicated times we live in, and it’s inspiring to see a trend towards making life simpler and focusing on the more important things.”

http://www.alexbugnon.com

* Preview Song 107 Degrees in the Shade

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B)))))27ST/qid=1004554352/sr=1-2

* Reviews on Amazon:

"Alex Bugnon exhibits a high level of creativity and playfulness throughout this work, plenty of suggestive and smooth pieces, but signed with a very personal style. 107 in the shade, for instance, initiates with an exotic melody played in accordion. His French roots are shown in the first two tracks. Elegance and brightness would be the most appropriate terms to describe this notorious CD.

So if you additionally consider there is not minor track, the recommendation is almost an invitation to acquire this interesting album plenty of joyful inspiration and creative rapture.

This is really my first incursion around this young talent, but keeping in mind the rest of good positive reviews, we are in front of another brilliant finding."

"this is sunday morning,read the paper in bed, snuggle up and just plain mellow out! Best of a great artist".

* From a Gm9--> Am9--> D7b5#9

Piano Lessons - Soloing Techniques and Freestyle - LearnGospelByEar.com

Urban and Contemporary Worship Play by Ear is the quickest way to learn any song by ear. After learning how to play by ear with no one to show me, it forced me to develop an easy and quick process and procedure to learning songs by ear quickly. Many of the musicians, when I was learning how to play, did not know theory nor were they able to explain the process to learning songs. After so many years of finally learning theory, I began to see a remarkable pattern to all songs and I am exposing these secrets to you. By learning these secrets, you will not only be able to create your own music without knowing how to read it, but you will be able to play any song you hear GUARANTEED! "It just cannot get any easier than this......" This is the ultimate DVD for beginners and for musicians looking to get back into playing.

http://LearnGospelByEar.com
Warmest Regards,
~ LadyD

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How To Play a Blues Scale

Image via Wikipedia

Surfing around the web this week, I was thinking a lot about blues scales and I found an interesting article that talked about how to play a blues scale on the piano. It was rather informative and made me realize that blues scales are important. I've pasted this article below for you to check out yourself. It's a great way to begin moving your right hand with blues scales and playing chords with the left hand.

How to play a blues scale on the piano
By SuzDoyleMusic

http://www.ehow.com/how_4455659_play-blues-scale-piano.html

* PLAY THE REGULAR C Major SCALE.
On the keyboard, play notes 1 through 8, also called the letter names C, D, E, F, G, A, B and C.

* NOW PLAY THE NOTES OF THE C BLUES SCALES
Instead of C scale notes (1,2,3,4,5,6,7, and 8), play notes number 1, b3, 4, #4, 5, b7 and 8 (note names C, Eb, F, F#, G, Bb and C). Use your Thumb on the white notes and the pointer or middle finger on the black notes.

For additional information on the C,D and A Blues Scale visit:

http://ladydpiano.blogspot.com/2008/07/learn-blues-piano.html

* BONUS
Can you figure out the riffs to Smoke on the Water, Iron Man, and Indagadadavida? They all use notes of the C Blues scale (hint: They start on the C note)

* PLAY THE BLUES - C CHORD
Press and hold the C chord with your left hand, and play the C Blues scale with your right hand

* PLAY THE BLUES - F CHORD
Play the F chord in your left hand, and play the C blues scale with your right hand.

* PLAY THE BLUES - G CHORD
Play the G chord in your left hand, and play the C Blues scale with your right hand.

Tips & Warnings

The C blues scale (based on the 1 chord of the scale), also works well with the 4 chord (F), and the 5 chord (G).

Most blues songs are made out of just 3 chords (the 1, 4 and 5 chords). You can improvise and make up melodies using the blues scale built on the 1 chord, which goes nicely with all 3 chords used in the song.

Learn How To Play The Piano>

* Just for fun listen to this 2 min. video
A great old number that always seems to go down well!

Old Piano Roll Blues!

Cheers,
~ LadyD

Blues Piano Links

I love to "Boogie with the Blues!"
Here I am going to a Biker Rally. I love hearing the blues, especially Daryl Mansfield playing his blues harp!
My Grandson looks mighty fine on a Harley!

I would say my #1 choice to learn the blues on dvd would be Willie Myette's Blues n' Boogie. See and hear for yourself just a few of his videos and then read his message below. I hope you enjoy a few of these great blues piano sites and YouTube videos!
* Blues n' Boogie

http://www.playbluespiano.com/index1.php

* Online Blues Piano Lessons

http://www.playpianotoday.com/blues/index.html

* Blues Scales for the Piano

http://www.expertvillage.com/video/1161_piano-blues-scales.htm
* Blues Jazz Piano Techniques

http://www.bluesjazzpiano.com/
* Ragtime Blues

http://www.doctorjazz.co.uk/
* Beginner Blues for Piano

http://www.8notes.com/school/lessons/piano/beginner_blues/default.asp
* Play Blues Piano

http://www.learn-piano.org/play-blues-piano.html
* Blues Improvisation

http://www.musilosophy.com
* Learn To Play Blues Piano

http://www.freepianolesson.com/links/learntoplaypiano.html
* New Orleans Blues Piano

Learn Blues Piano!

Love Blues Piano?
So Do I. With My Program, You'll Be
Playing Blues That Amazes Even You.
"I Can Prove It."

Up till now learning how to play the Blues like a real pro took hours of "hunting and pecking" at the piano to get the right combination of notes.
Maybe you have looked over the shoulder of a pianist by the bar or listened to recordings till they wore out just trying to replicate that incredible Blues piano sound!
You know the sound I am talking about. I mean that "meaty", "fat" Blues sound that hits you in your soul. It's the sound of a Pro and you know it when you hear it.
If you're like most people, you sit there in awe marveling at their command of the instrument and ability to captivate an audience with just three simple chords.
But, you know better. You know that it is not just three chords that they are playing. (You know because you can already play those chords, but not like that!)
Are you like me?
A Quick story...
When I was a beginner, there was pianist who I hung around with. Now, Damien knew all of those cool Blues licks. But, when I asked him to show them to me, he would play something really fast and say "Did you get that?" Of course I didn't! But, he wouldn't slow it down and I had to walk away with the "scraps" that I could pick up.
I read books and listened to CDs, but I wanted to get into this Blues piano sound fast.
Years later, I now know that Blues sound. I eventually learned by a lot of time, practice and patience! However, I've made it easier for you to learn how to play drop down, no holds barred, kickin' Blues piano without reading a lick of music.
It's time to take your Blues playing to the "Pro" Level.
JazzPianoLessons.com has been teaching thousands pianists (just like you) how to take their playing to the next level. This is what I like to call the "Pro" level.
No matter where your current level of playing is at, I'm going to show you techniques that you simply will not find anywhere else.
You'll learn, step-by-step, techniques like turnarounds, endings, grace notes and neighbor chords for a Gospel sound. I'm also going to teach you styles like Boogie Woogie, New Orleans, Shuffles, Choo Choo Cha Boogie and more.
Now, I'm not talking about boring lessons here.
I hate those lessons where you need to do this, then this, then this (I'm sure you know the ones I'm talking about) only to find out that you are still not playing after a month! I want you to be able to apply these techniques the day you start, so I've designed my lessons to be easy to get into right away.
I'm going to teach you so many tricks, you will be igniting those keys!
-Willie
Learn more about the Blues Piano Package.

http://www.LadyDpiano.com

Learn Blues Piano

I love the Blues! When I first started learning how to play the Blues, this is what I found out:
C Blues scale and G Blues scale share similar notes:
C Blues scale: C-Eb-F-F#-G-Bb-C
G Blues scale: G-Bb-C-C#-D-F-G
The A Blues scale also works really nice. Those notes are: A-C-D-D#-E-G-A
Common notes: C-G-Bb Now, the other notes in the G Blues scale: C#-D-F are "pretty good" tensions on the chords of the Blues.
There are many different ways for fingering Blues Scales. I will show fingering I use and a lot of professional musicians: 1 (C) 2 (D#) 3 (F) 4 (F#) 1 (G) 2 (A#) 3 (C) and I'm going to explain why. When your 5th finger is on C (2nd C) you can't continue to walk up.When 3rd finger is on C you can go down but you can go up as well. Also I don't think the fingering of D# F F# is comfortable enough for a maximum speed of the riffs and licks.
Here's a good website for understanding the Blues,Jazz and Latin Styles
http://www.playpianotoday.com/blues/index.html
I know that the Blues Scale has 6 notes:
C Eb F F# G Bb C
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 ( use thumb if going up an octave)
And a good vid I found for Blues Scales:

But the guy who has helped me to play the Blues is Willie Myette! I have purchased his Blues n' Boogie dvds and have learned so much with what to do with my l.h. and how to play cool riffs in my r.h. Willie is a great teacher. I highly recommend this resource. Get yours today!

Learn Blues Piano!

Love Blues Piano?
So Do I. With My Program, You'll Be
Playing Blues That Amazes Even You.
"I Can Prove It."

http://www.LadyDpiano.com

Related articles

1. How to Play Blues Scales

2. How to Play Minor Scales

3. How to Play Pentatonic Scales

4. How to Play Bebop Scales

What are the benefits of playing scales?

Scale practice doesn't make playing songs better. Practicing your scales makes your scales better. Plus, your sight reading and improvisation will improve.

Related articles

When I Found Jesus (I Lost The Blues) Larry Carter

Charlie Daniels Band "Devil Went Down to Georgia" Grand Ole Opry

About Me

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Thank You!

Billie

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