The scale is made up of the notes a, c, d, e sharp, e, g, and a. The scales are used often for composing melodies and for improvisation. Steve neff has been playing and teaching saxophone and jazz improvisation around the new england area for the last 30 years. In the following video from a recent facebook live session, i answered questions about. Often, musicians will find a favorite solo from a song to transcribe and then. This book also comes with a 33 minute mastering the blues scalevol. Jamming to backing tracks is a perfect way to start play blues improvisation on piano solo over chords.
Pentatonic scales for jazz improvisation ebook written by ramon ricker. A very common concept in the area of improvising is to play a solo over chords. Piano pentatonic blues scales overview with pictures. Chordscale improvisation for keyboard a linear approach. You will work out of a 28 page book so you will see every note, every chord, every progression in the book. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read pentatonic scales for jazz improvisation. This is the hardest part about learning to use the major blues scale. Learn to play piano by chords blues and improvisation. Blues scales blues is an irresistible tonality for a guitar player. After the pentatonic minor scale and major scale, the blues scale is probably the most widelyused scale in guitar improvisation. Beginning jazz improvisation intermediate level piano music 10. The mixodorian blues scale for blues soloing learn jazz. Phil woods told me a long time ago that 80% of jazz is iivi, and hes definitely. How to really improvise using the blues scale youtube.
For right hand fingering, start on the a with your thumb. The c major pentatonic scale, for example, is obtained from playing specific notes from the c major diatonic scale. Every scale determines a key,that is an harmonic combunation of tones based on that scale. Mar 22, 2018 we learn how to improvise over the 12 bar blues in c major using a single hand grip. How to play a jazz piano solo with c, f, g blues scales.
Its such an essential tool of blues playing that you. Pentatonic scales for jazz improvisation by ramon ricker. The more that you practice these essential scales for jazz and blues piano players, the more comfortable that youll feel playing them and the more sounds that youll create. Honestly, these tips are for everyone who wants to improve their improvisation. Pattern 1st 2nd flattened 3rd 3rd 4th 5th 6th flattened 7th 7th. Apr 25, 2017 how to use blues and pentatonic scales in jazz improvisation. Im starting at the very beginning and working my way through. We have learnt previously that every major scale has a relative minor scale which contains the exact same notes, but starts and ends on the 6th note of the major scale.
A while back we took a look at the most basic lesson in guitar improvisation. Haerle presents the scales used in improvisation and explains applications. Dont get me wrong on this, its perfectly legitamite to use the. Wolfagnag mozarts turkish march is in a major scale or key. Improvising the blues on the piano is a lot easier than you might think. The fingerings of the major blues scale resemble fingerings that you may already know for the minor blues scale but starting on different notes. Tons of runs for the contemporary pianist by laverne.
Oct 19, 2016 blues piano improvisation the blues scale ok, ok one scale, then no more theory. Try to play chords like c, em, f, g and am with your left hand and then create melodies from the white keys c, d, e, g, a with your right hand. Often new players are drawn to the instrument because of a desire to play the blues. How to play a jazz piano solo with 3 easy blues scales featured article, how to, instruments, keyboards, teachers resources october 30, 20 march 29, 2019 drew roberts its important to learn music theory if you want to get into jazz improvisation, but an easy place to start is the blues scale. A simple and easy approach to blues piano solo playing. Simply remove the 4th and 7th note of any major diatonic scale and then you have the major pentatonic scale. Ability to improvise any song using the pentatonic scale. Then begin improvising on a major or minor blues structure, just using blues scale notes. In celebration of jazz appreciation month, here are 3 videos to jumpstart your beginner jazz improvisation skills beginner jazz improvisation. Question the use of blues scales in improvisation has always regarded books on improvisation, and one would ask. Move up the scale finger by finger until you hit the e sharp with your fourth finger. What is new, this book adds to the theme than others. By playing all the white keys except f and b which makes it the c pentatonic major scale, you could bring the sound of a pop song to the piano.
For instance, in the c blues scale the notes are c. To play the blues is a fascinating undertaking because it can be both simplistic and yet intangibly tricky to. In general it can be used on every chord but above all on min7 th and dominant 7th chord. These are the four most common scales in pop and rock music. Ability to compose piano music by using the pentatonic scale.
The scale syllabus can help you uncover new sounds. Ive been playing piano for 10 years now mainly classical and swing jazz. All chords imply a scale, or in some cases multiple scales and these scales are used extensively for jazz improvisation. Tim wrote the well known exploring jazz piano and improvising blues piano books and has several others to his name. Volume 3 contains 12 jazz piano exercises and explorations by the acclaimed jazz piano educator, pianist, author, and recording artist tim richards. Almost all music genres being born in the last hundred years come from blues above all in notclassical music. Everyone secretly wishes to sit next to the piano, close their eyes and let magic happen. If youre just browsing, scroll to the bottom of this page and listen to the audio example to get an idea of what this lesson is about.
Ross ramsay improvisation is the art of realtime composition. We learn how to improvise over the 12 bar blues in c major using a single hand grip. Dont put it off until tomorrow or until you have the scale under better control. It is a pdf file that you can download immediately so you can get to work. When we combine all three scales, we get a scale that looks like this. Saxophoneimprovisation, pentatonic and blues scales. Top ten jazz piano books lately, someone had asked me my opinion on music resources, like dvds and music books, that i would recommend to them whether it was for purchase or visiting their local library for their own research. For many students, when starting out with blues improvisation, its very easy to get locked inside the notes of the blues scale and never deviate away from 6 tones. Scales shown in all keys and treble and bass clefs include blues, ionian, dorian, phrygian, locrian as well as whole tone, chromatic, augmented and many more. Jazz improvisation fundamentals for teachers and students, covering the blues, modes, scales, progressions and more.
Dont get me wrong on this, its perfectly legitamite to use the minor pentatonic scale over dominant blues chords. Imaginative lyrics convey the blues spirit of lifes ups and downs to the early grade student. In this piano course we will use what we know about chords from the accompaniment courses, learn the blues and start improvising wonderful music based on. Blues scales a topic that usually takes a maximum of 2 pages a regular book of jazz theory, here extends to 80 pages. Here are pictures and notes of the major pentatonic blues scales. Today were covering what many would consider the second most basic lesson, and an excellent practice sandbox before you move on to more complicated techniques the 12 bar blues and blues scale combo. A nice combination are the chords am7, dm7 and e7 together with the a pentatonic blues scale.
Phil woods told me a long time ago that 80% of jazz is iivi, and hes definitely got a point, especially relating to basic jazz improvisation. In the blues i might jump between 10 different patterns during the same solo, but they are still just patterns. The exercises in this book use the major scale, pentatonic scale, blues scale, and chromatic scale. Youll improvise through the blues sequence many, many times, until you get the feel of it. Lets learn the blues scales on piano and keyboard in every key. Just the blues scale can be considered a basis for a particular key blues. You will work out of a 28 page book so you will see every note, every chord, every progression. As the name indicates, this scale consists of 5 notes. This scale is much used above all in blues,pop,jazz,soul,funk,rhythm and blues,rock. Improvisation is a skill that requires the musician to take melodic ideas that theyve learned and to then spontaneously and artistically construct the melodic lines in a way the expresses a mood or feeling. The blues scale is usually used on either a v7 or minor7 chord. Youve probably heard us say this many times before. This set of entertaining pieces in a jazzblues style was written especially for children. Ive always wanted to get into the blues and have bought several books on blues and boogie woogie in the past but never been able to get into it.
Highlights of the art of improvisation the art of improvisation is a twovolume set that includes the features listed below, and more, to help you learn and master jazz improvisation. More than a pattern book, this lays out the theory behind the use of pentatonic scales in jazz, and follows with transcribed solos and exercises. You cannot view this unit as youre not logged in yet. The 1st month we will lay the foundation for improvisation, including the 12bar blues. Piano improvisation in jazz, pop, blues and latin styles. Its a great way for beginners to sound very cool, without having to be as good as oscar peterson. How to construct a blues scale, and how its related to a minor pentatonic scale. The best way to get used to playing the blues is to have a go at improvising over the top of a 12 bar blues chord progression. Ive met plenty of people whove told me that they cant improvise or play jazz, and while i know that some people have natural gifts, i also know that the. Plus, chapters on phrasing melodies, the swing concept, phraseology in modern jazz, chord.
There are a total of 430 finger exercises in this book. This book will guide you through exploring some of the many possible scale choices that can be used with chords and chord progressions, giving you a greater range of expression. The mixodorian blues scale for blues soloing learn. Practicing, using the exercises found in this booklet or in vol. Over 350 concise musical examples to illustrate what youre learning. All this makes me believe that improvisation is a lot less about making something happen out of thin air and more about pulling from your abilities bag of tricks so quickly that is seems like magic. How to improvise on piano using the blues scale youtube. Easytoread explanations of 7 elements of improvisation, in 5 skill levels.
Blues music scales chart for jazz improvisation jazz theory. Blues scales are used in many musical kinds for example in blues, jazz, rock and roll, funk, soul rhythm and blues, dance, pop. Free 12 major blues scale sheet steve neff music blog. Mastering the blues scale volume 1 minor has 100 great blues licks in all 12 keys. Blues piano improvisation the blues scale ok, ok one scale, then no more theory. You must learn and be able to play the blues scale if youre going to be a blues piano player. For instance, in the c blues scale the notes are c eb f gb g bb c.
It covers modal scales and exercises from brightest to darkest, melodic minor modal scales,whole tone scale, diminished scales, pentatonic and blues scales. A blues scale consists of 6 different notes, namely the root, flat 3rd, 4th, flat 5th, 5th and flat 7th of the major scale. A big jazz musician wrote a sentence in his book and he was particularly struck by it when i was eighteen and it simply said that blues is the soul of jazz. Learn how to play the a blues scale on piano free video. Play the blues an introduction to 12bar blues and blues improvisation. Pentatonic scale is one of the easiest scales to master. Knowing the pentatonic scale helps you to create many. Getting away from just playing the notes in a blues scales when improvising. Still a favorite after 14 years, this book has become a standard in the field.
A model scale and its exercises are first presented, then the remaining scales are presented in counterclockwise circle of fifths order, so that you can practice transposing easily for all the exercises. At this point in our study of the blues, now its time to introduce the blues scale. Blues scales are the most famous sounds of the xx century music. In this video from a recent facebook live session, i answered a great question on beginner jazz improvisation if you have no experience soloing. Blues piano improvisation advice and tips play blues. Learn how to improvise with a special and unique method. Download our free pdf versions of each scale with fingering. The most obvious way to do this is in form of improvising is to combine a scale with chords in the same key, for example, playing the c major scale over chords belonging to the same scale. The longest musical phrase begins with a single note. Or, in the same way, the g blues scale with the chords g7, c7 and d7.