Begining Blues for Keyboard

(O1I TABIIOI IffiTI A B O U T T H E A U T H O R . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . o . . . . . . . . . o4. o . . . . . . . I N T R O D U C T I O N . . . . . . . o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . o .5. . . . . . . . . . . o

CHAPTER 3-Blues Helodies

30

Blues ....3 | Transposing the TWelve-Bar ................ 3| in My Blues Drowning .............. 32 Scale The Major Pentatonic 33 ........ The Major'sBlues 34 .............. Scale The Minor Pentatonic ......... 35 The Miner'sBlues .......36 Dominant7th Chords 37 ................... The BluesScale ... 38 Tth ChordsandThe BluesScale Dcrminant ............ 38 GetTo1t............... ............ 39 Scales CombiningPentatonic 39 EverythingElues .....40 Tensionand Resolution

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Transposing the TwelveBar Blues .... 19 l'4aking a BluesMelodywith Arpeggios ........... 20 MordiGros......... ............. 20 Triplets . . . . . . . . . . . .2. .l . . . lnverting Triads ...22 nversionExcercises.............. .............. 23 -he Left Hand-Swing or ShuffleFeel........ ....24 Working .........24 Meloncholy Blue .............26 = u n k yT h u n k y ......27 FunkyThunky .................27 Y a l o r C h o r d si n t h e M i n o r B l u e s . . . .2 8

............ 53 Blues Lofoyette's ...55 ChicagoPianoSoundson The Minor Blues 55 Rush'sRoads 56 Playingoff of Triads 56 The 3rd Bending 57 TriodB/ues............. ...............58 Playing off the DominantTthChord .......59 DominontBlues

Endings andTurnarounds Turnarounds.......... N e i g h b o r i nC g hords............ ......... MoreTurnarounds TurningTurnaroundsinto Endings Followingthe Leader.............. lntros CHAPTER 8-lntros,

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68 .69 70 ................

Voice Leading

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Track I

85 87 88

CHAPTER 9-Walking Bass and an 90 Introducion to the Slow Blues .......90 Wolkingthe Blues . . . . . . . . . .9. .l . . B u i l d i na g W a l k i n gB a s sL i n e .......92 GettingFrom One Measureto the Next 93 ................... PracticeMakingBassLines.............. ...94 ii-v-I ............-....... Blues Sodond Lonely

7l CompingShufflein D .. .....72 T h e B e a u t yo f F i 1 1 s . . . . . . . . . l Ur$COGmFHY .................. 73 GuitorPloyer .....74 CompingWith Octaves ..........74 Octovioin F........... Dominan7 t th ChordInversions.............. .........75 VoiceLeading With Dominant7th Chords ....76 ...............,.77 H i d e a w aC y omp YouConRunButYouCon'tHide......... .........77 .....78 ScratchMy BackComp Ihe Bluesltch.......... .....78 ............7 . .8. . . . P a r a l l e6lt h s . . . . . . . . 81ues........ Porollel ..........79 .................. 80 Minor 7th Chord Inversions ............ TenO'Aock Blues ....... 8|

1'-

82 . . . . . . . . . . .8.2. . . . . . . . . . . . . .8.3. . . .....84

A compact disc is available for this book. This disc can make learning with this book easier and more enjoyable. This symbol will appear next to every example that is on the CD. Use the CD to help insure that you are capturing the feel of the examples, interpreting the rhythms correctln and so on. The track numbers below the symbols correspond directly to the example you want to heaa Track I will help you tune an electronic keyboard to this CD, Have fun!

95

lt's time to get the left handworking harder.This is a typical shufflebasspattern usingtriplets in the right hand. lt alsousesthe triplet feel in the left hand,but insteadof beingnotatedas tripletsir'sshownas eighthnoteswith an indicationthat the eighthsare swung.The marking, Swing8ths meansthat the first eighth note of each beat is held longer than the second. lmagineaccentingthe first and third of three triple eighthnotes like you did on page2l. Swing8ths

Playthrough the next songwith just your left hand. Now you are readyto add the right-handpart. The right handis playingthree triple eighth notestriplets per beat. So,the secondeighthnote in the left handcoincideswith the third eighthnote in the right-handtriplet. lf this seemstricky at first,don't worry. You will have lots of opportunity to practiceit throughoutthis book, and it will becomeeasy.

J=60 Swing Sths

c

24

Chapter 2-The Twelve-BarBlues

WORK'NG

Roosevelt"The Honeydripper" Sykcs, born in 1906,was equallygtftedas a hluespiani.st, songwriter and singer. He freqtrentl-vsang w,hilehe played, but also accompaniedmany great blues vocalists.Rooseveltbeganhis careerin St.Louis at the age of 14, ran away to play in barrelhousesin Mississippiand Louisianawhen he was 15,and made his first recordingfor Okeh recordsin New Yorkat the age of 23. He later spenta great deal of time in Chicago where he was an integral part of the Chicago blues scene,influencing many young pianists, espec'ialllt Memphis Slim. Listen to blues by Roosevelt"The Honeydripper" Sykeson SmithsonianlFolkways recordingsfor some incredibleplaying, including examplesof the shffie basspattern you just learned.

U

o

l

N N L

U F l F F

z

U I F

U F d l

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Practicethis pattern throughthe descending cycleof Sths. H e r e i s an exerciseto take you through six keys:

.= 60

U

o F o I

SwingSths

c

lr

Now playthe other six keysto finishthe cycleof 5ths:Gb,B, E,A, D and G.

Chapter2-The Twelve-BarBlues

25

Sometimesthe twelve-barbluesis playedin a minor key. Look at what happenswhen we take diatonictriads from the naturalminor to makea twelve-barblues. Let's start with the key of A Minor:

A I

c

B 2

3

E 5

D 4

G 7

F 6

The pattern of diatonictriads for minor keys is:

.

i

..o

ii-Iiliv

The"one" chordThe"four" chordThe"five"chord-

v VIVII will beA Minor will be D Minor will be E Minor

i iv v

H e r e i s a m i n o r b l u e su s i n gi n v e r s i o n o s f m i n o r t r i a d s . P l a yt h e b a s sl i n e a l o n ef i r s t . P

BLUE ffi MEIANCHoLY

Track ll

)= 100

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26

Chapter 2-The Twelve-BarBlues

21

= Piano.Soft.

This minor blues has an eighth-notepattern in the left hand which is playedin straight eighthsrather than swung. This meansthat all the eighth notes are of equaltime value. The resultingfeel is more like funk or rock. the key of C Minor hasthree flat notes:Bb,EbandAb. Remember, N o t i c e h o w a l m o s ta l l o f t h e m e l o d yn o t e s i n t h i s b l u e so u t l i n et h e m i n o r t r i a d s . I n t h e next chapterwe will look at bluesmelodiesin more detail.Your left handis introducedto a new bassline. lt is comprisedentirelyof roots, but in alternatingoctaves.This type of b a s sl i n e i s v e r y c o m m o n .

, = 100

f=

FUNKYTHUNKY StrorghtSths

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Track 12

Cmin(i)

C m i n( i )

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35

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Transposethis blues into the key of A Minor. Start by writing out the Your left handwill playthe roots (useRomannumerals). chord progression s f the triads. m a i n l yo u t l i n ei n v e r s i o n o o f t h e c h o r d s .Y o u r r i g h t h a n dw i l l You're on your way to playingthe blues in twelve keys!

Chapter2-The Twelve-BarBlues

27

A m i n o r b l u e sa l w a y ss t a r t so n a m i n o r c h o r d ,b u t q u i t eo f t e nt h e V c h o r d i s m a j o r i n s t e a d o f m i n o r , a n ds o m e t i m e sb o t h t h e I V a n d t h e V c h o r d sa r e m a j o r .T h i s i s t h e c a s ei n t h e , h i c h u s e st h e s a m es h u f f l eb a s sl i n e w e l e a r n e do n p a g e2 4 . T h e f e e l f o r t h i s n e x t b l u e sw b l u e si s s w i n ge i g h t h s .B o t h t h e m e l o d ya n d t h e b a s sl i n e a r e s w u n g . Look out-this bluesis in B Minor,one of the saddestkeys.

BLUES WORRY'NG .= 60

SwingSths Bm i n t2

mf

Fil

Bm i n I

W i t h o u t t h i n k i n g a b o u t i t , y o u p r o b a b l y n o t i c e d t h a t a m i n o r b l u e s h a s a d a r k e r ,o r s a d d e r s o u n d t h a n a m a j o r b l u e s . D i f f e r e n t m u s i c a ls o u n d s e v o k e d i f f e r e n t e m o t i o n a l r e s p o n s e s i n u s . l t ' s i m p o r t a n t t o l e a r n t o t r u s t y o u r i n s t i n c t sa b o u t s o u n d s o y o u w i l l c h o o s e w h a t yo u play t o c onv e y a fe e l i n g ,ra th e r th a n to fol l ow a rul e.

28

Blues Chapter2-The TWelve-Bar

Here'sa major bluesfor you to learn.

ry#ry BTUES THE MAJOR',S Track 14

I

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I

C h a p t e r3 - B l u e s M e l o d i e s 3 3

Justas for every major scalethere is a relativeminor scale(seepage | 3),for every major pentatonicscalethere is a relativeminor pentatonicscale.The root of the relativeminor key is a 6th abovethe root of the major key. Major Pentatonic Formula: I C Major Pentatonic: C A Minor Pentatonic:

2 3 DE

Numberingthe notes of the minor pentatonic relativeto its root givesus a new formula:

ACDEG lbr45tl

5 5l G AC ACDE

G(A)

Let' s fi nd the notes of the C Mi nor P entatonic:

cEb

FGBb

lo3

4sb7

The C Minor Pentatonicscalecontainstwo blue notes for the key of C: Eband Bb.lt also containschord tones from all three triads used in a C bluesprogression.Listento how a C b l u e ss o u n d sw h e n t h e m e l o d yi s t a k e nf r o m t h e C M i n o r P e n t a t o n i cs c a l e .

BTUES @ THEM'NER',S

J=80 SwingSths

c

34

Chapter 3-Blues Melodies

Track 15

T

a c

R e view t he pent ato n i c s c a l e fo rm u l a :

Minor Pentatonic Scale Formula bl 4 5t,7 l

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Major Pentatonic Scale Formula

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StevieRayVaughan came to '80s. He prominencein the 1970sand took soloing with pentatonic scalesto new heights. Listen to his strongly minor pentatonicflavored playing on "TexasFlood" (Epic Records).

SCALES FORTHE MINORPENTATONIC FINGERINGS TWO.OCTAVE A Minor Pentatonic

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Chapter 3-Blues Melodies

35

chords

S o f ar , t he c h o rd s w e ' v e u s e d to p l a y the bl ues have been tri ads-three-note c ont aining t he ro o t, 3 rd a n d 5 th o f th e scal e they are from.

Now we're going to add one more note to the chords to make them 7th chords. Let's look at the notes of the major scaleagain,and this time, notice every other note:

c

D 2

I

E 3

G 5

F 4

B 7

Tomakea C Dominant7th chord,orC7,we lower the major Tthby a halfstepfrom B to BfZ).

We can use every other note of the scaleto build a four-notechord:

CEGB l3 57

A 6

CEGBO | 3 5 b7 This is a C7 chord.

ThisisaCMajorTchord.

Practiceplayingdominant7th chords in root positionaround the cycleof 5ths. Playthe root of eachchord in your left hand.

This exercisegets you playingdominantchords in your left hand. Beforeyou start,playa C7 chord with your left handstartingon C one octavebelow middleC on the piano. Now , u t l e s s" m u d d y , " p l a yC , E a n d B bb, u t l e a v eo u t t h e G . l t s o u n d sa l m o s te x a c t l yt h e s a m e b o r c l u t t e r e d . P i a n o p l a y e r sh a v e t o b e c a r e f u lo f p l a y i n gt o o m a n y n o t e s ,t o o c l o s e together in the lower rangesof the piano.Sometimesyou can leavea note out of a chord, a n d s t i l lg e t t h e s a m es o u n d . I n t h i s e x e r c i s ey o u w i l l l e a v eo u t t h e 5 t h ,p l a y i n go n l y t h e l , 3 and b7of eachchord.

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A n o t h e r w a y t o u n d e r s t a n dd o m i n a n t 7th chords is to build them from the m a j o r s c a l ei n w h i c h t h e i r r o o t i s t h e 5th degree. For example,C is the 5th degreeof F Major. So build a C7 chord by takingevery other note of the F Major scalestartingon C.

35

C h a p t e r3 - B l u e s M e l o d i e s

obt

Ab7

Position in scale: I F F Major scale: C7 chord: Position in chord:

2 3 4 GABb

56 CD

c I

7l EF E 3

2 3 4... G A 8h... Bb G b7 5

We c an m ak e t he m i n o r p e n ta to n i c s c a l e b l uesi er by addi ng one more note to i t-the t5 . Thi r scal e is often called the blues scole. ke yboar d play er ' sfa v o ri te b l u e n o te -th e

H e r e i s t h e C B l u e ss c a l e : The Formula: InC:

I C

13 Eo

4 F

u5 G'

5 G

b7 Bb

5 n db 7 , t h i ,s c a l ei s g o i n gt o p r o v i d ey o u w i t h S i n c ei t i n c l u d e sa l l t h r e e b l u en o t e s , t h eb 3 , b a a l o t o f g r e a tb l u e ss o u n d s .S o m eo f y o u r f a v o r i t el i c k sw i l l c o m e o u t o f t h i s s c a l es, o y o u s h o u l dl e a r ni t v e r y w e l l i n a l l t w e l v ek e y s .

: G H T . H A N DF I N G E R I N GFSO R T H EB L U E S C A L EI N T W E L V E KEYS Sincethe bluesscalecontainssix notes,eachone-octave f i n g e r i n gh a se i t h e rt w o g r o u p so f t h r e e ( l - 2 - 3 , l - 2 - 3 ) o r a group of two and a group of four (l -2,1-2-3-4).You can p r a c t i c eb l u e ss c a l e sj u s t l i k e y o u p r a c t i c e dm a j o r s c a l e s (seethe PracticeTip on the bottom of page l0).

E Blues Scale

i :es Scale

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Blues Scale Formula: bT I b3 4 b5 5

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B BluesScale

Ff, BluesScale

3 uesScale

Cf, BluesScale

Ab BluesScale : ,es Scale

Eb BluesScale 3 uesScale

Chapter 3-Blues Melodies

37

Dominant7th chords createtension in a chord progression.Let'ssee why: W i t h i n t h e n o t e s o f e v e r y d o m i n a n t7 t h c h o r d i s a n i n t e r v a lc a l l e da t r i t o n e , w h i c ihs a n o t h e r n a m e f o r a d i m i n i s h e d5 t h o r augmented4th (a distanceof six halfsteps).

A

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The intervalfrom E to Bhis a tritone. Played together,E and Bbcreate a very unresolved or tensesound.Your ear wantsto hear one or both of the notes move somewhere.Play E and Bbtogether,then move each note in by one half-stepto F andA. You havejust resolvedthe very unstablesoundof a tritone to a stablesoundingmaior3rd. This type of resolutionis the basisof most harmonicmovementin our culture. Blues harmonyis uniquein that it frequentlyis basedsolelyon dominantchords.The harmonicmovementis from one dominant7th chordto another and the tritone never fully resolves. I n t h i s b l u e s , y o u ' lpl l a yd o m i n a n t7 t h c h o r d si n y o u r l e f t h a n d , a n dm e l o d i e sf r o m t h e b l u e s s c a l ei n y o u r r i g h t h a n d . I n a d d i t i o nt o t h e t e n s i o nw i t h i n e a c hd o m i n a n t T t hc h o r d , y o u ' l l (clashes)betweenthe chord tones in your left handand find some inrerestingdissonances some of the right-handmelody notes. Welcome to the blues! .&;^"iA -FT ff ff ii sf cf i' lw- F r I t r r r \rl-l

j = 8o t*rr ?f

Track 18

I

f,

tb

c7 5

38

ebt 4

C h a o t e r3 - B l u e s M e l o d i e s

Tfl ,\t

tT rr

O b s e r v ew h a t h a p p e n si f w e c o m b i n ea l l t h e n o t e sf r o m t h e t h r e e d o m i n a n t7 t h c h o r d si n a C bluesprogression(C7-C, E,G, B!;F7-F,A,C, Eband G7-G, B,D,F) and numberthem in relationto the key:

W it h t he ex c ep ti o n o f B , a l l o f th e s e n o te s are found i n ei ther the C Maj or P entatoni c s c a l e( C , D , E , G , A ) o r t h e C M i n o r P e n t a t o n i cs c a l e( C , E t , F ,G , B b ; .

Bluesmelodiessoundgreat with notes from both t h e m a j o r a n d m i n o r p e n t a t o n i cs c a l e sc o m b i n e d . Blues,notice which notes are from the maior pentatonic As you play through Everything s c a l ea n d w h i c h a r e f r o m t h e m i n o r p e n t a t o n i cs c a l e .

SwingSths

=80

BTUES @ EvERvrH'NG

Track 19

C7

45 23

t-tj--'t\i<

I 5

I

F7

c7 )

C h a p t e r3 - B l u e s M e l o d i e s

39

Once again,it's time for you to be the composer and experimentwith creatingblues melodies. In C Blues,there is an accompanimentprovided.lf you havethe CD that is availablefor this book, you'll be able to practice playingyour own blues along with a rhythm section! Remember,we havetalked about three different scalesthat you can use: major pentatonic minor pentatonic blues scale Choosingnotesfrom just one scolecon be os effectiveos usingnotesfrom combinedscoles.Letyour eor be your guide. Here are a few other things to think about: ' lmaginethat there are lyrics.You are tellinga story,so r e m e m b e rt o s p e a ki n c l e a rs e n t e n c e s . . Tensionis ok. Just be sure to follow it with some resolution. . Repetitionand call and responseare integralparts of the blues. ' Lessis more. Spacebetween phrasesmakesthem stronger.

W C BLUES

Track 20

/ I

C h a p t e r3 - B l u e s M e l o d i e s

4l

Here'sa shufflein F usinganother type of shufflebassline.First,playthe left hand alone and remember to swing the eighth notes. In your right hand,you'll be addingtriplets. Sincethe basslineis swung,your left and right handswill play together on the first and third part of eachtriplet.

M CHICAGOTIME Track 2 |

Swing8ths

F7 3

3

F7

C7

3 I

23

5

ebt

[bs,s]

c7

F7 5

)

13

2

Co *[ugh this bluesand notice where the b5(Cbor ah)is beingplayed. Playeachphrasewith , b5in it a few times to get familiarwith how it is used. Transposethis basslineinto the key of C. lt's easy,becausethe bassline o u t l i n e se a c hc h o r d t h e s a m ew a y :R , 3 , 5 , 6 , ' 7 .

Chapter 4-Playing a Shuffle

43

you playeda figurethat is very common in the b l u e st:h e ln bars9 and l0 of ChicogoTime resolvingto the 5. This figuresoundseven better when you add the root on toP. y o u r r i g h t h a n d t h u m ba n d s e c o n df i n g e rw i l l a l t e r n a t eb e t w e e nt h e pinkierepeatsthe root on toP. Try it slowly.

b5,

t5 and 5,while your

l7

Fsw lrack 22

J-1 -) 33 { octave. one uP h a n d r i g h t Now playthe ex e rc i s e a g a i n ,b u t m o v e y o u r 1

Sometimesyour favoriteblueslickswill sound better in the higherrangesof the piano. lf, for example,you playwith guitar players,most of the guitar notes will be in a relativelylow range. lf you playfiguresin the l o w t o m i d d l er a n g eo f t h e p i a n o ( a r o u n dm i d d l eC ) while the guitarplayeris in the samerange'your sound w i l l g e t l o s t ,o r i t w i l l a d d t o o m u c h c l u t t e r t o t h e

sound. There will be too much goingon in one ran8e. B ut, i f i n the same si tuati on,you pl ay i n the upper r ange of the keyboard,your sound w i l l come th r ough on t he toP . of course, the gui tar p| ayer mi ght not I ike you pl ayi ngsomethi ngabove w hat they are doing,but som eti mes i t' s very effecti ve. U se di screti on. List en t o gr eat ' pl ayers and then trust Y our ears.

L e a r nt o f i n d t h i s c o m m o n l i c k q u i c k l ya n d e a s i l yi n a l l twelve keys. Here is an exercise taking it through four keys starting with E (a favorite key of gui tar pl aY ers). C onti nue through the cycleof 5ths. SwingBths

r8 to# 'rack

23

G7

D7 G^

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practiceslowly and stop if you feel fatigued. lt takesa little patienceto 8et usedto playing these repetitive figuressmoothly. Chapter 4-Playing a Shuffle

7-

JJJJ

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44

a-

--oa -

FlotFiveShuffle givesyou some more practicewith your newo5 lick,aswell as a new bass line pattern.

@ FIATFIVESHUFFLE Track 29

C7

SwingSths

J=80

55

t2

,-3-LJJLJ-J-J-

G7

F7

c7

G7

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12

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3

,

Observewhat's happeningin the last bar. That little musicalfigure,and the G7 chord,is A turnaroundbringsyou backto the beginningof the form so you can calleda turnoround. playanother chorus(once through the form is usuallyreferredto as one chorus). We'll l e a r nm o r e a b o u tt u r n a r o u n d sa l i t t l e l a t e r i n t h i s b o o k .

You'veheard them-maybe you've alreadyplayedthem. lf you haven't,you undoubtedly want to. Tremolos in the right hand,over a nice shufflegroove,are an essentialingredient in the bluessound.A tremolo is a rapidalternationbetweentwo notes. Sometimesblues playerswill call this a roll. There are a few different notes you can tremolo between that sound great. We'll start with the most obvious: the root.

45

Chapter 4-Playing a Shuffle

You can tremolo betweenthe root and the b3 of the key over almost the whole b l u e sp r o g e s s i o n . ln the key of F: Put your thumb on F,and your 2nd or 3rd fingeron Ab.Now roll your hand backand forth betweenthe two notes. lt might seemawkwardat first, but it will become more natural as you keep working at it. The key is to keep your hand relaxed. lf this techniqueis new to you, be careful not to overdo it in the beginning. lt is better to practicenew techniquesfor a few momentsfrequently,rather than trying to sit down and m a s t e rs o m e t h i n ga l l a t o n c e . T h i s i s h o w t r e m o l o so r r o l l e d n o t e sa r e n o t a t e di n t h e w r i t t e n m u s i c :

Tremolo on F andAbfor 5 beats. T h e n e x t s o n gw i l l h e l p y o u d e v e l o pt h i s n e w t e c h n i q u e .

FTLLS w TREMSAND

SwingSths

Track 30

F7 1-3

ebl

C7 5 ) -'t

Bbt

F7 4l 2?

N o t i c e w h a t h a p p e n e d i n b a r 9 . T h a t l i t t l e F #i s a n e n h a r m o n i c r e s p e l l i n go f t h e b 5 ( G b )i n th e ke y of C, whic h i s th e c h o rd y o u a re p l a y i n g over i n that bar. P l ay the Ff,qui ckl y w i th t h e C a n d s l i d e t o t h e G , t h e 5 i n t h e k e y o f C . S o m e p e o p l e c a l l t h i s a c r u s ht o n e o r a g r o c e n o te . W e' ll do m or e o f th i s i n th e n e x t fe w c h apters.

Chapter 4-Playing a Shuffle 47

In the pre-electricand earlyelectricdaysof the blues,pianistslike Otis Spannwere playing unamplifiedpianosin noisy clubs and had to find ways of being heard. This led to the developmentof techniquesto make big sounds. Lickswere frequentlyplayedin the high rangesof the piano,noteswere tremoloed or playedin octavesand dissonantclusters(groups of notes a major or minor 2nd apart playedsimultaneously) were barkedout in the guitar These breaks. soundsare still an integralpart of playingthe style.A good blueskeyboardist needsto know exactlyhow and when to usethem in order to enhancethe music.

,= 100

Swing 8ths

El

w ors'sBtuEs

Track 3 |

5

3

E7

B7 5

3

A7 43

B7

E7

The most importantpart of learningthe bluesis listening.lt's time for you to start shopping around for your own favorite soundson recordings. Listento Otis Spannsolo or with MuddyWaters' incredibleband. Check out Maceo Merriweather,LafayetteLeake,Memphis Slim,MeadeLux LewisandJimmyYancey. Stop your recordingat the spot that grabsyou the most and see if you can figureout what soundthe piano playeris playing.lf you don't a l r e a d yh a v e m a n y b l u e s r e c o r d i n g st,h e r e a r e s o m e g r e a t b l u e s p i a n o c o m p i l a t i o n s available which will giveyou a sampling(seethe discography in the backof this book). You can also find classicbluesrecordingsin your library. Chapter S-Piano BluesSounds

49

Let's take a look at what you were playingwhen you playedOtis'sBlueson Page49. The first line starts out with a classicOtis Spannsound playedas a cluster.The notes are Af,,B t7-three notesout of the b5, and D. In relationto the key of E,theseare the thu 5 and the E B l u e ss c a l e .I n t h e f i r s t t w o b a r st h e y ' r ep l a y e da s a c l u s t e r , a n di n t h e t h i r d b a r t h e y a r e which we know meansplayedone at a time. Both of thesewaysof playingthe arpeggiated, b5,5 and b7 sound greatover the blues progressionin any key. You should know where these notes are in every key and be ableto grab them quickly.

$''ira*rrsrrF*4#Ha*n wf

4ths (or playthe followingfour-barfigurein all twelvekeys,movingthroughthe keysin ascending right your In learned. we downwardSths). In your left hand,playthe first basicshufflepattern b7 b5, as a 5 and for that key. Experimentwith playingthe notes individually, hand play the started: you repeatedcluster,or try trilling them. Here are a few keysto get Swing8ths

73

Fory Track 32

II i

Ii I

t"_ 50

C h a p t e rS - P i a n o B l u e sS o u n d s

Undersungpianist Lafayette Leake played w,itha host of Chicago bluesguitaristsand vocalistsin the 1950s and' 60s inc'ludingOtis Rush'sand Muddy Water'smain rival for attentionon the Chic:agoscene,H owlin' WolJ'Q hester Burnett).

c

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.) d 6 co

(, z o I I

-

F n I c

Swing8ths

A7

A7 23

)

M IAFAYETTE'S BTUES Track 39

E7 4321

C h a p t e rS - P i a n o B l u e sS o u n d s

53

F r e q u e n t l ya,m i n o r b l u e sw i l l b e a f u n k yo r jazzyblues,with a whole differentfeel from a s h u f f l eo r d e l t a b l u e s . T h e r e a r e b l u e s tunes,however,that sound similarto Otis's Blues(pag" 49), except that the i chord is m i n o r .I n t h e s e c a s e st h e f o r m i s u s u a l l yi , IV V. For example,in the keyof F,the chords in the progressionwould be Fmin,Bo7and

C7. Sincethe soundswe've been working on in this chaptercomefrom the bluesscale, w h i c h i s m a i n l yt h e m i n o r p e n t a t o n i c , t h e y ' l l w o r k f i n e o v e r a b l u e sw i t h a r , I Y 7 , Y 7 progression.Below is an exampleof a minor b l u e ss h u f f l e .l t i n c l u d e ss o u n d sy o u k n o w , but puts them into a slightlydifferentcontext.

This blues is in the style of a very successful tune that left-handedguitaristand vocalist * A pickup is a note Otis Rushrecordedfor ChessRecordscalledSoMony Roods. (or notes)that occur before the first full r rv r !'r K : _ 7 measureof a piece. SwingSths

ffir Rt/sH's ROADS

Track 40

5

I

111

wl

t2

x pickup/ notes

J5

mf

---

tremolo

I

Fmin

Fmin

C h a p t e rS - P i a n o B l u e sS o u n d s

55

I n C h a p t e r3 , y o u l e a r n e dt h a t w e c a na l t e r b l u e sm e l o d i e st o f i t t h e c h o r d sa s t h e y c h a n g e (page40). Let'stake that conceptone step further and considerplayingdeliberately"off of" each chord. Here is a way of playingoff of triads that might be the most frequently playedkeyboard s o u n di n p o p u l a rm u s i c :

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p 'a(x

{ I

you could sayit's a quick I-IV-I Progressionwith lf you wanted to analyzeit harmonically, che IV chord in secondinversion,and the I chord in root position(seethe triads review on page 15,and the sectionon triad inversionson page22). Everychord in the bluesis then treated as a I-IV-I. Alternatively,you could lust think of it as tension-resolutionmovingawayfrom the chord tones and then comingback.

b3 When we playthesefiguresoff of triads,it's niceto add the as a grocenotePrecedingthe 3rd. A gracenote is a quick ornamentalnote playeddirectlybeforethe main note. Some of us callthis bendingthe3rd becauseit soundssimilarto a guitar playerbendinga note. lt feelsmore naturalin some keysthan in others,dependingupon where the blacknotes and white notes fall under your fingers. Here'show it works: lf the b3i, . blacknote,and the 3 is a white note,as in the keysof C, F or G, you can simply b3 slideyour 2nd fingerfrom the to the 3.

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G

F 4

)-)

4 I

I

47

l f t h e ' 3 is a whit e n o te , a n d th e 3 is a blacknote,it's a little more awkward.Try playingthe '3 with y o u r 2 n d f i n g e r a n d t h e 3 with your 3rd finger. 8ths s Swing

2-3

5

I

55

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