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.
A

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 JazzBlues RiffBlues MinorBlues Non12BarBlues
AllRight,Ok,YouWin AfroBlue BagsGroove BigP C.C.Rider[old](16)
BackattheChicken AfterHours BemshaSwing Birk'sWorks ClosetoYou(16)
Shack AllBlues BessiesBlues Equinox CRSCraft(8)
C.C.Rider BessiesBlues BluenBoogie Footprints GetaHaircut(8)
EmptyBedBlues BlackCoffee(ballad) BlueMonk Hassan'sDream HeartbreakHotel(8)
FineandMellow BlowintheBluesAway BlueSeven Mr.P.C. I'mYourHoochie
GreenOnions BlueBolivarBlues BluesbyFive SeorBlues CoochieMan(16)
ImToreDown BlueTrane BluesintheCloset WhyDontYouDo KeytotheHighway(8)
MemphisBlues BluesConnotation BluesWalk,The Right? LetsDance(16)
PineTopBoogie BluesforPhillyJoe Bud'sBlues MustangSally(24)
PrideandJoy BluesforStephanie CJamBlues Oh,PrettyWoman(16)
RoyalGardenBlues BluesMarch Centerpiece Sidewinder(24)
SearchinforaWoman BluesontheCorner Champ,The Bluesw/Bridge TravelinBlues(16)
Shake,Rattle,nRoll CedarsBlues CoolBlues Locomotion WalkingbyMyself(8)
St.LouisBlues ChasintheTrane DigDis Unit7 WatermelonMan(16))
SweetHomeChicago Chicken,The(fusion) FreddieFreeloader SomeoneElseisSleepin WorriedLifeBlues(8)
StormyMonday ChitlinsconCarne Misterioso In
TBoneShuffle (Latin/fusion) NightTrain Bikini
WestEndBlues CominHomeBaby NoBlues(Pfrancin) ScotchandWater
CoolStruttin Now'stheTime Word,The(Beatles)
CousinMary SonnymoonforTwo TheBalladOfJohnAnd
Decision Speedball Yoko(Beatles)
Doodlin Spontaneous ICanHelp(BillySwan)
EyeoftheHurricane Combustion I'mOnFire(Bruce
(Hancock,V.S.O.P.) TenorMadness Springsteen)
FilthyMcNasty ThingsAin'tWhatThey
FiveSpotAfterDark UsedtoBe
FreddietheFreeloader
GingerbreadBoy
GothamCity BebopBlues
Israel AuPrivave
JodieGrind,The Barbados
JumpinwithSymphony Billie'sBounce
Sid(swing) Birdlike
Matrix Bloomdido
MissileBlues BluesforAlice
Mr.Day Buzzy(CharlieParker)
NoLine Cheryl
Nutville ChiChi
OneforDaddyO Continental
RedTop CookinattheSippinat
Route66(swing) Bells
SackOWoe CoolBlues
Sandu DanceoftheInfidels
SeorBlues(Latin) Mohawk
StolenMoments Now'stheTime
TeeniesBlues Oolyacoo
ThrillisGone,The ParkersMood
(blues) RelaxinatCamarillo
TwoDegreesEast,Three Straight,NoChaser
DegreesWest Twisted
VierdBlues WeeDot
Walkin' YabadaOolYa(Dizzy
WhenWilltheBlues Gillespie)
Leave
 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: