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.

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
AllRight,Ok,YouWin
BackattheChicken
Shack
C.C.Rider
EmptyBedBlues
FineandMellow
GreenOnions
ImToreDown
MemphisBlues
PineTopBoogie
PrideandJoy
RoyalGardenBlues
SearchinforaWoman
Shake,Rattle,nRoll
St.LouisBlues
SweetHomeChicago
StormyMonday
TBoneShuffle
WestEndBlues

JazzBlues
AfroBlue
AfterHours
AllBlues
BessiesBlues
BlackCoffee(ballad)
BlowintheBluesAway
BlueBolivarBlues
BlueTrane
BluesConnotation
BluesforPhillyJoe
BluesforStephanie
BluesMarch
BluesontheCorner
CedarsBlues
ChasintheTrane
Chicken,The(fusion)
ChitlinsconCarne
(Latin/fusion)
CominHomeBaby
CoolStruttin
CousinMary
Decision
Doodlin
EyeoftheHurricane
(Hancock,V.S.O.P.)
FilthyMcNasty
FiveSpotAfterDark
FreddietheFreeloader
GingerbreadBoy
GothamCity
Israel
JodieGrind,The
JumpinwithSymphony
Sid(swing)
Matrix
MissileBlues
Mr.Day
NoLine
Nutville
OneforDaddyO
RedTop
Route66(swing)
SackOWoe
Sandu
SeorBlues(Latin)
StolenMoments
TeeniesBlues
ThrillisGone,The
(blues)
TwoDegreesEast,Three
DegreesWest
VierdBlues
Walkin'
WhenWilltheBlues
Leave

RiffBlues
BagsGroove
BemshaSwing
BessiesBlues
BluenBoogie
BlueMonk
BlueSeven
BluesbyFive
BluesintheCloset
BluesWalk,The
Bud'sBlues
CJamBlues
Centerpiece
Champ,The
CoolBlues
DigDis
FreddieFreeloader
Misterioso
NightTrain
NoBlues(Pfrancin)
Now'stheTime
SonnymoonforTwo
Speedball
Spontaneous
Combustion
TenorMadness
ThingsAin'tWhatThey
UsedtoBe

BebopBlues
AuPrivave
Barbados
Billie'sBounce
Birdlike
Bloomdido
BluesforAlice
Buzzy(CharlieParker)
Cheryl
ChiChi
Continental
CookinattheSippinat
Bells
CoolBlues
DanceoftheInfidels
Mohawk
Now'stheTime
Oolyacoo
ParkersMood
RelaxinatCamarillo
Straight,NoChaser
Twisted
WeeDot
YabadaOolYa(Dizzy
Gillespie)

MinorBlues
BigP
Birk'sWorks
Equinox
Footprints
Hassan'sDream
Mr.P.C.
SeorBlues
WhyDontYouDo
Right?

Bluesw/Bridge
Locomotion
Unit7
SomeoneElseisSleepin
In
Bikini
ScotchandWater
Word,The(Beatles)
TheBalladOfJohnAnd
Yoko(Beatles)
ICanHelp(BillySwan)
I'mOnFire(Bruce
Springsteen)

Non12BarBlues
C.C.Rider[old](16)
ClosetoYou(16)
CRSCraft(8)
GetaHaircut(8)
HeartbreakHotel(8)
I'mYourHoochie
CoochieMan(16)
KeytotheHighway(8)
LetsDance(16)
MustangSally(24)
Oh,PrettyWoman(16)
Sidewinder(24)
TravelinBlues(16)
WalkingbyMyself(8)
WatermelonMan(16))
WorriedLifeBlues(8)

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: