I bought this book by Tim Richards years ago, and I wanted to start working out of it again. Unfortunately I lost the CD. Maybe someone here has it, and could send me the MP3?

Hi Montunoman,

I can't help you with the CD but perhaps this will help:

https://www.udemy.com/courses/search/?src=ukw&q=blues+piano (sales ends today but they have sales all the time)

or

https://www.homespun.com/piano-keyboards/

Thank you Takie for the info.

Montunoman,

I'd like to send you some files you might be very interested in but don't know your email addy.

Regards

Taike

Montunoman, ask some Blues Piano questions here on SZ.
John C.

Hi John,

I'd be interested in how you use the major vs the minor blues scales.

Also applications of the blue scales on none blues forms such as rhythm changes, I vi ii V ....

Hi Paul,

The files have been sent.

Enjoy!

Taike

Thanks again Takie for your help!

No worries.

Found anything useful?

Yes, I've been trying to teach my wife how to accompany herself on piano , teaching her chords structures, inversions, common chord progressions, rhythmic patterns.... Some of the material you sent is superb for that sort of playing.

Thanks again, TAIKE!

Montunoman, we will start here and build.
I have written many papers on this subject; you will find it exciting.
John C.
Let’s bass the study in the key of C major. We will use roman numbers for the steps of the scale.

C D E F G A B C
I II III IV V VI VII VIII

A basic Blues scale uses the C F G
CHORDS I IV V

MAJOR SCALE C D E F G A B C
BLUES SCALE C Eb F G Bb C

What is a blues note? It is a note which makes you uncomfortable, and when you get off it we go aaaaah.
Example: C chord being played C E G Blues note is Eb – it is against the harmony we understand.

C Minor chord: C Eb G
We are playing Minor against Major.
Blues chord progression:
C C C C F F C C
I I I I IV IV I I
G F C C
V IV I I

Chords in the key of G major are
G C D I IV V of the Major scale.
Enough for the first step.
John C.

PS, keep in mind that jazz is played --- Chord and single notes againct that chord. Change the chord and the impro notes must change.

Paul,

Check your mailbox.

Taike

Gracias amigo : )

The pleasure's all mine.

Thank you John for sharing your knowledge. I'll add two other blues scales:[/b]

Major Blues Scale 1, 2, b3, 3, 5, 6 ( like a major pentatonic with a b3, which resolves the major 3rd.

[b]Minor Blues Scale 1, b3, 4, b5, 5, b7 ( like a minor pentatonic with an added b5 or #4)

A good jazz/blues player knows how to weave in and out of these scales and even add more tones outside of the scale. Look at Charlie Parker's "Billies Bounce" for example.

A simplified explanation which has helped me, is to use the major blues scale on the " I" chord and minor blues scale on the IV chord. The V chord has lots of options but I tend to favor the minor.

A jazz/blues will have all sorts of turn around changes like
iii /VI on bar bar 8 or iii, VI , ii V on bar 11 and 12. the iii chord can be half diminished and the VI chord altered dominant ( #9 or b9, #5 or b5) which all contain notes from the minor blues scale.

For years I mainly used the minor blues over the whole 12 bar cycle but I am enjoying expanding beyond that.

Paul, I'm not an expert but I do tend to play more blues than most here, and by blues I'm including taking a blues(y) approach to tunes that may not necessarily be thought of as blues (ie. Standards, Pop, Rock, etc.). And of course, 'blues' comes in many forms, from the very primative (simplistic?) 'Mississippi Delta blues, to very sophisticated modern variations. There's (obviously ) a world of difference between B.B. King's 'The thrill is gone' and Monk's 'Round Midnight' but I consider them both 'blues'. But I digress. I don't want to get into what defines a particular song or playing style as 'blues', that would be way too subjective. But I think we would all agree that the one thing that all blues forms share is the ability to elicit strong emotions. Towards that end, I think that unless an artist has the ability to 'feel' and project those emotions outside of themselves, it will hard for them to give a convincing blues performance. Certain life experiences can make projecting these emotions (through music) either harder or easier. A look back at it's origins and at some of it's greatest players is a testament to that.

One thing that has not been stressed in this post is the importance of LISTENING. Blues is a case where the emotional is more important than the cerebral; where 'soul' outweighs technical skill or ability. LISTEN; listen intently to the (blues) artists that move you emotionally. Try to figure out WHY they move you like they do. See if you can incorporate those things into your own music and see if you can recreate the same kind of emotional response that they did. In the end, Blues is all about feeling. If you can feel it you can play it; conversely, if you don't or can't feel it, you will be hard pressed to produce a convincing blues performance. Chords are great, improv is great, feelings are great-er.

Just my .02 worth.

chas

I’m with Chas here. And, to be quite honest, the listening thing goes for just about any genre. You want to play great salsa, you listen to nothing but salsa for a few months, you are going to feel it and consequently play it much better. Want to play reggae? Same deal. Like bluegrass? Like zydeco? Like bigband?

A few month letting just about any genre seep into your soul, worm its way under your skin, and I guarantee you’ll play it better than any amount of study while you continue to listen to a potpourri of music genres. If you think about it, the people who you want to sound like mostly listened to just one genre. Worked out pretty well for them didn’t it?!

Two or three months of nothing but the blues, you ain’t gonna need no book! 😎🎹

I absolutely agree with Diki and Chas about listening to music that we want to perform. Music is an aural art form after all. Have you ever tried to learn a language just from a book? It doesn't work!

Books won't hurt though, they can help you learn things like grammar, syntax, form and analysis ( both in music and language)


Even though I am a somewhat proficient music reader, I try to learn everything by ear first. Sometimes I even transcribe the parts for later reference or analysis.

Just this morning while taking a walk I listened and scatted along with this Chalice Parker recording ( I didn't look at the notation) Later when I got home, I sat at the piano and SLOWLY picked out the head/melody- by ear. It helped that I knew the changes, and what notes logical "fit" over certain chords.

After several listens this song going to be stuck in my mind for a long time, which is a good thing!

So many great points, Chas. I am not any kind of expert musicologist, but I believe blues can be traced back to African slaves in the United States. Singing was a way for them express themselves, connect, and suffer together as a community.

The closest thing that can be found to the slaves songs are field recordings made by folklorist/musicologists in from the 1930's in Southern jails.

Here's a recording of "work" songs from a Mississippi prison during that time period. One can assume that most of the prisoners in this recording are sons and grandsons of slaves, so they may have actually learned these songs from former slaves.

Paul, it's great that these historic recordings were made and preserved. It's important to learn and observe the history of what has become so much of America's musical landscape (especially blues, jazz, gospel, afro-cuban, etc.). I'm guessing there is a pretty good catalog of these works in the Library of Congress.

Below is a clip I just keep going back to. Not blues, per se, but interesting nonetheless. The entire clip is very interesting and entertaining but if you can't listen to the entire clip (you really should, for context), at least listen to his magnificent solo starting at about 6:10.

chas

[video:youtube]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNuQbJst4Lk&ab_channel=GaitherVEVO
[/video]

BTW, try to listen with headphones or good monitors, and also, what am I doing wrong that this clip doesn't show up in this post as a composite video? If you know what's wrong, please fix it. Thanks.

Many years ago Johnny Smith was my favorite guitar player. He played a D’Angelico guitar, and used a Ampeg guitar amp. I liked him so much that I bought the same guitar and amp. Went to see him in person, and bought all his books.

After a short period, I gave his books away. I listened to his records. About four years later I found myself playing his chord voicing, and his jazz lines.

I agree with Diki and Chas, listen, listen, listen.
John C.

Hey Chas, that was a very neat explanation of the origins of Amazing Grace and also the pentatonic scale.

To post a full screen video you have to be in "full screen" mode on your post. Then find the "media tag" box, and select " YouTube" and paste the video there.

Kind of hard to explain but easy to do. I'd make a video tutorial if I could.

Got it. Thanks Paul.

chas

I think the main thing is TOTAL immersion. I find that, as long as you listen to ONLY the genre you wish to get your head around for a considerable length of time (weeks if not months!) you quickly gain an ear for what to play, and more importantly, what NOT to play.

But dilute your immersion by listening to a lot of other stuff, you tend to lose that filter.

To a certain degree, it’s possibly more important to learn what not to play, or at least to recognize the minute you play something that isn’t idiomatic and make a mental note to never play it again, and I think that degree of sensitivity only comes after you steep yourself in a genre to the exclusion of all others.

If you don’t restrict your listening to other genres you get to hear licks or changes that are not idiomatic and they tend to influence you subconsciously.

It’s definitely a PITA to be that focused for a couple of months or weeks, not to mention the effects on those around you who have to put up with your monomania (!) but I honestly feel it’s the best way to absorb a genre you previously didn’t spend much time with…

.....and by all means, don't OVERTHINK it .

chas (loves good-humored sarcasm)

For me, I think that total immersion system bypasses the critical thinking aspect! I hate to admit it, but I learned far more by immersion than I ever did by study…

The goal is to ‘feel’, not think..! The minute I find myself thinking about what to play, it all goes to hell in a handbasket! Develop your instinct, then trust the instinct…

😎🎹