Any note you hit in this scale, usually sounds right when soloing. Even beginner piano students can have fun practicing blues improv just have them stick to the black keys while you. The 14 most common and usable guitar scales printable and ready to use 1. This is because this scale is really the blues scale with one note missing. To play the blues is a fascinating undertaking because it can be both simplistic and yet intangibly tricky to master. Recently i did a post about the 3 most important jazz scales for beginning improvisers.
The major blues scale is some less common than the minor blues scale and therefore we start with minor and you find the major by scrolling down. The blues scale for pianokeyboards pdf file adg productions. There are a total of 430 finger exercises in this book. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. Blues piano scales, chords, and chord progressions for. The secret piano blues scale the professionals dont tell. In fact there are so many other scales that we can use to solo over a blues progression, that it would be a pitty to only use one scale all of the time. 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. The harmony of blues music is not usually sophisticated.
Just the blues scale can be considered a basis for a particular key blues. The a flat blues scale consists of a flat, b, d flat, d, e flat, g. Here ive organised them in groups of fingering rather than keys. How to play a jazz piano solo with 3 easy blues scales duration. Piano pentatonic blues scales overview with pictures. I have also included the 5 box patterns you need to learn in order to memorize the blues scales in all keys. Free minor pentatonic blues scale chart saras music studio. This pdf contains the scale charts for the blues scale in all keys for guitar in standard tuning. To summarize, the most important scales to learn first are the major, dorian, and mixolydian scales because they help you navigate major 7th, minor 7th, and dominant b7 chords, respectively. Often new players are drawn to the instrument because of a desire to play the blues. While its a good idea to familiarize yourself with the blues scale for each key, you can usually fall back on the root blues scale at. For the sake of brevity, ill only look at playing blues in the key of c.
Gordon is he feels, one of his most important books because of the nature of the blues scale and how it is used to improvise in many styles of contemporary music. It occurs between neighbouring white and black notes, and between the neighbouring white keys. Jul 7, 2016 piano scales sheet music now for both hands can help beginners shape hands correctly for scales and chords. Pentatonic scales are killer scales to play over blues and over iivv changes. The 12 minor scales, however, come in 3 variations the harmonic minor scale uses the same keys as the parallel major scale same starting note, but major, but lowers the 3rd and the 6th the melodic minor scale uses the same keys as the parallel major scale, but lowers the 3rd when ascending going up. This pattern of whole and half steps is what creates the sound of major. The major blues scale is some less common than the minor blues scale, and therefore we start with minor and you will find the major by. The exercises in this book use the major scale, pentatonic scale, blues scale, and chromatic scale. You can get more charts in with custom tunings using my interactive scale generator here. The blues chord progression lasts 12 bars thus the phrase 12bar blues that move in a familiar pattern using those three chords. Several typical pentatonic blues licks will be used as a starting point to develop your knowledge of the pentatonic scale. Blues piano scales scales are the sources of both melodic lines like licks, runs, riffs, etc and harmonic materials like chords, patterns, progressions, etc.
In some respects, teaching the this scale as the first jazz scale makes sense. Download our free pdf versions of each scale with fingering. When you have the chord progression memorized, try playing the chords with the left hand while your right hand plays a simple melody, riff, or blues scale. Usually its the next scale learned after the major and minor scales. The major blues scale is some less common than the minor blues scale, and therefore we start with minor and you will find the major by scrolling down. Each scale is provided as a separate pdf download with finger numbers above each note. Switch out the regular twooctave majorminor scales for a minor pentatonic blues scale. The scales are used often for composing melodies and for improvisation. How to form the blues scale on piano piano scales duration.
The most common types of scale are major scales, minor scales and the blues scale. Heres a little something that ive been working with in the studio this week. Today i am going to teach you the a flat blues scale. They are written in treble and bass clef in all twelve keys. Adding a blue note to the regular pentatonic scale result in the pentatonic blues scale. Are these standard piano fingerings for the blues scale. Lets learn the blues scales on piano and keyboard in every key. There are 3 groups and its easier to learn a particular finger pattern and apply it to the group rather than learn each scale separately. Tim wrote the well known exploring jazz piano and improvising blues piano books and has several others to his name. Once youve memorized the notes, ill give you the fingering for those notes. After the pentatonic minor scale and major scale, the blues scale is probably the most widelyused scale in guitar improvisation.
Many highly advanced blues guitarists make use of not one single scale, but combine many different scales. A blues scale consists of 6 different notes, namely the. Blue scales alfreds basic lesson book 2 blues ladders. Scales in general we can think of all scales as a derivative of the major scale. When this happens, the blues scale is often the first jazz scale that the student is taught. These make great handouts for piano teachers to use with students. Here is a pdf of the 36 important scales major, dorian, and. Learn how to play the b blues piano scale piano lessons. May 31, 2016 below are some of the less common musical scales on piano. This scale is much used above all in blues,pop,jazz,soul,funk,rhythm and blues,rock. The image to the right shows both the c and a relative minor of c blues scales.
The secret piano blues scale the professionals dont tell you about. For example, in an a minor blues scale, the added note would be d sharp. Here are the blues scales in all 12 keys listed in circle of fifths order. Throughout the book there are patterns of these two. The blues scales are really fun to learn, because if you are playing a blues song it sounds really good to just throw in a blues scale walk here and there. We provide downloads for common scales including major, the three minor scales natural, harmonic, and melodic, the blues scale. Move up the scale finger by finger until you hit the e sharp with your fourth finger.
Before learning how to build these scales here is a reminder of tones and semitones. Like the other piano scale lessons, im going to give you the notes of the scale. The major scale is easiest to see by looking at the white keys on the piano. I remember being introduced to the blues scale in jazz band when i was a sixth grader. How to play the blues on the piano or keyboard dummies. They think that learning the blues scale will help them to write and perform blues style music and they are correct.
Learn how to play the a blues scale on piano free video. The pentatonic scale is a great scale for improvising and soloing. Piano scales sheet music for both hands for beginners piano. I have also included the 5 box patterns you need to learn in order to memorize the blues scales. These are the four most common scales in pop and rock music. At this point in our study of the blues, now its time to introduce the blues scale.
Suffice it to say that the scales for blues piano cannot be exhausted in this particular lesson because there are a variety of them. Blues scales are used in many musical kinds for example in blues, jazz, rock and roll, funk, soul rhythm and blues, dance, pop. This pdf covers all 12 scales pretty well should give you a good idea what to use as does this site. The root, flat 3rd, 4th, flat 5th, 5th and flat 7th notes of the major scale. Blues scales for piano adding a blue note to the regular pentatonic scale gives the pentatonic blues 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. Pattern 1st 2nd flattened 3rd 3rd 4th 5th 6th flattened 7th 7th. For right hand fingering, start on the a with your thumb. For instance, in the c blues scale the notes are c eb f gb g.
Oct 24, 2019 the most common types of scale are major scales, minor scales and the blues scale. The scale is made up of the notes a, c, d, e sharp, e, g, and a. A blues scale consists of 6 different notes, namely the root, flat 3rd, 4th, flat 5th, 5th and flat 7th of the major scale. To play your own 12bar blues, just follow these easy instructions, playing with either hand or both hands.
The blues scale is very similar to the minor pentatonic scale, but with an additional lowered 5th note lowered by half a stepsemitone, or blues note. While its a good idea to familiarize yourself with the blues scale for each key, you can usually fall back on the root blues scale at just about any point in a jazz solo. I have quite a few students who are fans of playing the blues. The blues scale for each key consists of the minor seventh chord in this case, cm7, plus the fourth and flat fifth f and gb. Since our weather has been so blue up here, i thought it might be fun to work on our improv skills with minor pentatonic blues scales. These scales are for obvious reasons perfect when playing blues on the piano. These scales are for obvious reason perfect when playing blues on the piano. They just ooze that minor bluesy vibe or sweet major vibe. Blues scale fingerings for piano leave a comment the blues scale is a staple of jazz musicians the world over, but i realised while teaching a student of mine the other day that i have never worked out a thorough system of fingerings for the blues scale in all the keys.
The mixolydian blues scalethe most useful scale of all. Mar 11, 2015 recently i did a post about the 3 most important jazz scales for beginning improvisers. If you are new to jazz piano, check out the lessons on the major and minor scales. Blues scales are the most famous sounds of the xx century music.
Almost all music genres being born in the last hundred years come from blues above all in notclassical music. The scale is used in many different styles of music, such as rock, blues, and jazz. I am always getting asked by piano players, guitarists and solo instrumentalists to show them the blues scale. In addition, it is a common method to put extra empathize on the tones of the involved chords when the actual chord is being played.
Many highly advanced blues guitarists make use of not one single scale, but combine many different scales to make their sound stand out more. Blues scales blues is an irresistible tonality for a guitar player. Below are listed the twelve minor dorian minor, major, and dominant 7th scales. Blues scale in general it can be used on every chord but above all on min7 th and dominant 7th chord. For instance, in the c blues scale the notes are c eb f gb g bb c. You just need to know the right notes for each key. The only 3 chords you need to master the blues on piano. Learn how to play the a flat blues scale on piano free.
Essentially, the blues is a specific progression that uses the c7, f7, and g7 chords. The blues scale is one of the first guitar scales we explore on the guitar when learning how to solo. Blues scale lesson, blues scale in all keys by michael. In this lesson you will be learning some ways to use the pentatonic scale in a solo. To see the blues chord progressions with their relevant blues scales in every key please see the the chart on the next page. Clicking here and on the image below will open a pdf file of the guitar major scale chart that prints nicely. The pentatonic scale, major and minor free piano lessons. The guitar major scale is happy upbeat and useful in a variety of styles of music. When playing a twelve bar blues in the key of bb, use the bb blues scale anywhere in the chord progression. Scales, arpeggios and cadences, two octaves margaret denton, piano major scales, arpeggios, and cadences, 2 octaves these scales are arranged pianistically by groups according to fingering patterns to facilitate memorization harmonic form of the minor scale is shown. We provide downloads for common scales including major, the three minor scales natural, harmonic, and melodic, the blues scale, and others. Feb 18, 2015 blue scales alfreds basic lesson book 2 blues ladders langzaam slow. Guitar scales printable charts of the most commonly used. Typical pentatonic blues licks welcome to lesson 3 of the pentatonic scale, pentatonic blues licks.
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