Begining Blues For Keyboard

 

O1I TABIIOI ffiTI ABOUT TH E AUTHOR ........,............o.........o.o....... IN T R O D U C T I O N . . . . . . . o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . o . . . . . . . . . . . . o

CHAPTER 3-Blues Helodies

30

....3 ....3 Transposingh e TWelve-Bar lues ................ Drowningn My Blues .............. 2 The MajorPentatonic Major Pentatonic cale 3 ........3 ........ The Major'sBlues Major'sBlues 4 .............. The Minor Pentatonic cale .........5 ......... 5 The Miner's lues ....... 6 Dominant th Chords 7 ................... The BluesScale ...3 ...3 8 The BluesScale BluesScale ChordsandThe Dcrminant th Chordsand ............ 8 GetTo t............... ............9 Combining entatonic cales Everything lues Tension nd Resolution

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39

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Transposing h e TwelveBar Blues ....1 .... 19 l'4aking Blues BluesMelody Melodywith with Arpeggios ...........0 MordiGros......... Mordi Gros......... ............. 0 Triplets . . . . . . . . . . . . . .l . . . lnverting riads ...2 ...2 2 nversion xcercises.............. .............. 3 -he Left LeftHand-Swing Hand-Swingo o r Shuffle eel ....... ....24 Working Meloncholy lue = u n k yT h u n k y FunkyThunky Y a l o r C h o r d s n t h e M i n o rB rBlues

.........24 .............26 ......27 .................27 .... 8

............3 Lofoyette's lues Lofoyette'slues ...5 5 ...5 Chicago ianoSounds n The Minor Blues 55 Rush'sRoads 56 Playing ff of Triads 56 Bending h e 3 r d 57 TriodB/ues............. ...............58 DominantTthChord Chord Playingff f the DominantTth Playing .......59 Dominont lues

 

Endings andTurnarounds Turnarounds.......... Neighboring hords............ Turnarounds........ MoreTurnarounds More Turning urnaroundsnto Endings ............. Leader............. h e Leader Followingh Following lntros CHAPTER 8-lntros,

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Voice Leading

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CHAPTER 9-Walking Bass and an 90 Introducion to the Slow Blues .......90 h e Blues Wolkingh Wolking . . . . . . . . . . . .l . . B u i l d i n gW gWalking ass ine .......92 o the Next Measureo FromOne One Measure GettingFrom Getting 3 ................... PracticeMakingBass ines.............. ...94 ii-v-I ............-....... Sod nd Lonely lues

n D .. CompingShuffle Shufflen 7l .....72 The Beauty f Fi11s......... l Ur$COGmFHY .................. 3 uitorPloyer ..... 4 CompingWith Octaves n F........... ..........74 Octovion Octovio Dominant th Chord nversions.............. .........75 VoiceLeading Voice Leading ith Dominant th Chords ....76 ...............,.77 Hideaway omp YouCon You ConRun RunBut ButYou YouCon't Con'tHide......... Hide......... .........77 ScratchMy BackComp BackComp .....78 Ihe Bluestch.......... Blues tch.......... .....78 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8. . . . P a r a l l e lt lt h s . . . . . . . . 1ues........ Porollel1ues........ Porollel ..........79 .................. 0 Minor 7th Chord Inversions........... TenO'Aock Ten O'Aock Blues ....... |

1'-

82 . . . . . . . . . . . .2 ... . . . . . . . . . . . .3 ... ..... 4

A compact disc is available or 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 t o help insure that yo u a re ca p tu ri n g th e fe e l o f th e e xa mp l e s, i n te rp re ti n g th e rh yth ms correctln and so on. T he track numbers below the symbols correspond directly to the example you want t o heaa Track I will help you tune an electronic keyboard to this CD, Have fun

95

 

using riplets atternusing typical shuffle ass attern handworking working harder. his s a typicalshuffle lt s ime t o get the left hand as notateda beingnotated alsouses uses he triplet eel n the left hand, u t instead f being in the right hand. t also hat he eighths r e swung. he marking, ndicationhat oteswith with an ndication showna a s eighth otes triplets r sshown eachbeat beat s held longer han the second. eighth note of each S wing ths means hat the first eighthnote page2 2l. you did o n page ikeyou notes ike eighthnotes lmagine ccentingh ccentingh e first and hird of three riple eighth Swing ths

with just your left hand. songwith P lay hrough h e next song hree riple eighth playinghree Now you are ready o add he right-hand art. The right hand s playing coincides ith the third handcoincides note n the left hand ighthnote notes ripletsper riplets per beat. S o, he second ighth ou will have don t worry. Y ouwill first,don right-handriplet. riplet. lf this seems ricky a t first, note in the right-hand eighthnote eighth and t will becomeeasy. book,and lots o f opportunity o practice t throughout his book,

J=60

Swing Sths

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24

2-The Twelve-B ar lues Chapter2-The Chapter

WORK NG

 

Roosevelt The Honeydripper" Sykcs, 1906,was gtftedas born in 1906, was equally piani.st, equallygtfted as a hlues hluespiani.st, songwriter and singer. He freqtrentl-v ang angw,hile w,hilehe he played, but also accompaniedmany great blues vocalists.Roosevelt vocalists. Roosevelt egan eganhis his career n St.Louis St.Louisat at th e age of 14, ran away to play in barrelhousesn barrelhouses n Mississippiand Mississippi and Louisianawhen Louisianawhen he was 15, 15,and and made his irst recording or Okeh records n New Yorkat Okehrecords Yorkat the th e age of 23. He later spent spenta a great deal of time in Chicago wherehe where he was an integralpart integral part of the Chicago bluesscene, blues young pianists, scene, nfluencing many espec'ialllt MemphisSlim. Memphis Slim. Listen to blues by Roosevelt The Honeydripper" Sykes Sykeson on SmithsonianlFolkways recordings or some ncredible playing, including ncredibleplaying, pattern you ust learned. examples f the shffie bass basspattern

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Practicethis pattern hrough h e descending descendingycle ycleof of Sths. H e r e s an exercise o take you through six keys:

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Now play h e other six keys o finish h e cycle B , E,A,D E,A, D and G . cycleof of 5ths:Gb, 5ths:Gb,B, Chapter2-The Twelve-BarBlues Chapter2-The

25

 

Sometimesh e twelve-bar lues s played n a minor key. Look at what happens hen w e Sometimesh take diatonic riads rom the natural naturalminor minor to makea makea twelve-barblues. twelve-barblues. Let'sstart Let's start with with the key o f A Minor:

A I

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B 2

3

E 5

D 4

G 7

F 6

patternof The pattern of diatonic riads or minor keys s: .

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

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

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H e r e s a m i n o r b l u e su ea l o n e i r s t . su s i n g n v e r s i o n s f m i n o r r i a d s . P l a y h e b a s s i n ea P

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Chapter 2-The Twelve-Bar lues Chapter2-The

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handwhich which i s played n straight blues has an eighth-note attern n the left hand This minor blueshas eighth notes are o f equal ime value. swung. This means hat all the eighthnotes eighths ather than swung.This The resulting eel s more like unk or rock. notes:Bb, Bb, b n dA b . h e key of C Minor has hree flat notes: Remember,he yn o t e s n t h i s b l u e so so u t l i n e h e m i n o r r i a d s . I n t h e N o t i c e h o w a l m o s ta ta l l o f t h e m e l o d yn Your eft hand s ntroduced o detail.Your n more detail. bluesmelodies melodiesn next chapterwe chapterwe will look a t blues roots,but but in alternating ctaves. his ype o f entirelyo o f roots, comprisedentirely a new bass ine. lt is comprised bass ine s very common.

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Transpose his blues nto the key of A Minor. Start b y writing out t h e Transposehis chordprogression chord progressionuse useRoman Roman umerals). our eft hand handwill will play he roots dw i l l m a i n l y u t l i n e n v e r s i o n s f t h e t r i a d s . o f t h e c h o r d s .Y .Y o u r r i g h t h a n dw You'reon You're on your way to playing h e blues n twelve keys

2-The Twelve-BarBlues hapter2-The hapter

27

 

eo f t e n h e V c h o r d s m a j o r n s t e a d A m i n o r b l u e s l w a y s t a r t so so n a m i n o r c h o r d , u t q u i t eo .T h i s s h e c a s e n t h e sa r e m a j o r .T o f m i n o r , a n d o m e t i m e s o t h t h e I V a n d h e V c h o r d sa e2 4 . T h e f e e l o r t h i s e w e l e a r n e d n p a g e2 n e x t b l u e s , h i c h u s e s h e s a m e h u f f l e a s s i n ew ge i g h t h s .B .B o t h h e m e l o d ya ya n d h e b a s s i n ea ea r e s w u n g . b l u e s s s w i n ge Minor,one of the saddest eys. Look out-this blues s in B Minor,one

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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 sh shas a darker, r sadder 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 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 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 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 you play o convey a f eeling, at her t han t o f ollow a r ule.

28

2-The TWelve-Bar lues Chapter2-The Chapter

 

Here'sa major blues or you t o learn. Here'sa

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Chapter -Blues Melodies 33

 

page 3), or everymajor every major everymajor major scale here is a relative seepage relativeminor minor scale see Justa s o r every minor pentatonic cale here s a relativeminor relativeminor relativeminor pentatonic cale. he root of the relative key s a 6th above h e root of the major key. key. Major Pentatonic Formula: I C Major Pentatonic: C A Minor Pentatonic:

2 3 DE

Numbering he notesof notes of the minor pentatonic relative o its root givesus givesus a new formula:

5 5l G AC ACDE

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Let ' s f ind t he not es of t he C Minor P ent at onic:

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The C Minor Pentatonic Pentatonic cale ontains wo blue notes or the key of C: Eb nd Bb. t also bluenotes contains hord tones rom all hree triads used n a C blues progression. isten o h o w bluesprogression. a C b l u e s o u n d sw sw h e n h e m e l o d y s t a k e n r o m t h e C M i n o r P e n t a t o n i c c a l e .

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SwingSths Swing Sths

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34

Chapter3-Blues Chapter 3-Blues Melodies

THEM'NER',S M'NER',STUES TUES @ THE

Track 15

 

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R eview t he pent at onic scale or mula:

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Minor Pentatonic Scale Formula bl 4 5t,7 l

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Major Pentatonic Scale Formula

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RayVaughan came o StevieRayVaughan Stevie '80s. He prominence n the 1970s prominencen 1970sand and took soloing with pentatonicscales o new heights. Listen to his strongly minor pentatonic lavored playing on "TexasFlood" (Epic Records).

CALES MINORPENTATONICCALES TWO.OCTAVE INGERINGSO RTHE MINORPENTATONIC 2 €>

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3-Blues Melodies Chapter3-Blues Chapter

35

 

chor ds

S o f ar , t he chor ds w e' ve used t o play t he blues have been t r iads- t hr ee- not e cont aining he r oot , 3r d and 5t 5t h of t he scale hey ar e f r om.

Now we're going o add one more note to the chords o make hem 7th chords. Let's every other note: look a t the notes of the major scale scaleagain, nd his time, notice everyother

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G 5

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We can use every other note o f t he scale o builda build a four-notechord: four-notechord:

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A 6

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Tomake To make C Dominant th chord,or chord,orC7,we C7,we ower BfZ). B to rom halfstep half step a major Tthby the CEGBO | 3 5 b7 This s a C7 chord.

ThisisaCMajorTchord.

of 5ths. Play h e cycleof Practice laying ominant positionaround ominant7th 7th chords n root position around h e cycle root of eachchord eachchord in your left hand.

a you start,play start,playa Beforeyou This exercise etsyou ets you playing ominant ominantchords chords n your left hand. Before piano.N Now C on the piano. middleC C7 chord with with your left handstarting handstarting n C one octavebelow octavebelowmiddle p l a yC yC , E a n d B b , u t l e a v e u t t h e G . l t s o u n d s l m o s te te x a c t l y h e s a m e , u t l e s s m u d d y , " o r c l u t t e r e d . P i a n op o p l a y e r sh sh a v e o b e c a r e f u lo lo f p l a y i n g o o m a n y n o t e s , o o c l o s e together n the lower lower ranges f the piano.Sometimes piano.Sometimes ou can eave note out of a chord, ,p l a y i n g n l y h e l , a n d s t i l lg lg e t h e s a m e o u n d . n t h i s e x e r c i s e o u w i l l l e a v e u t t h e 5 t h ,p 3 and b 7of eachchord. eachchord.

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

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Another way to understand ominant 7th chords s to build them from the major scale n which their root is the 5th degree. For example,C is the 5th degree f F Major. So builda build a C 7 chord by takingevery takingevery other note of the F Major scale tarting tartingon on C.

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W e can make t he minor pent at onic scale bluesier b y adding one mor e not e t o it - t he t 5. T hir scale is often called the blues scole. keyboar d player ' s avor it e blue not e- t he

Here s the C Blues cale: The Formula: InC:

I C

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4 F

u5 G'

5 G

b7 Bb

S i n c et e t i n c l u d e s l l h r e e b l u en en o t e s , t h e 3 , b a 5 n db db 7 , t h i ,s ,s c a l e s g o i n g o p r o v i d e o u w i t h sw i l l c o m eo eout of this scale, o you tb l u e s o u n d s .S .S o m eo eo f y o u r f a v o r i t e i c k sw a l o t o f g r e a tb ek e y s . s h o u l d e a r n t v e r y w e l l i n a l l w e l v ek

: G H T .H A N D IN G E R IN G SO R T H E L U E S C A L EN EN T W E L V E E Y S bluesscale ontains ix notes, ach achone-octave one-octave Since he bluesscale )or f i n g e r i n g a se i t h e r w o g r o u p s f t h r e e ( l - 2 - 3 , - 2 - 3 )o a group of two and a group o f four ( l -2,1-2-3-4). ou can e y o u p r a c t i c e dm a j o r s c a l e s p r a c t i c e l u e s c a l e su s t i k ey (see h e Practice ip on the bottom o f page 0 ) .

E Blues Scale

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ues Scale 3 uesScale

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Ab Blu e s ca le

Eb Blu e s ca le 3 ues Scale

3-Blues Melodies Chapter3-Blues Chapter

37

 

why: seewhy: et'ssee 7th chordscreate chords create ension n a chord progression. et's Dominant7th Dominant t7 t h 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 c h o r d s a n n t e r v a l a l l e d t r i t o n e , w h i c hs another name or a diminished th or halfsteps). steps). augmented t h ( a distance f six half

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The interval rom E o Bh s a tritone. Played E and Bbcreate Bbcreate a very unresolved together,E together, or tense ound. ound.Your Your ear earwants wants o hear hearo one Play notesmove movesomewhere. somewhere.Play o r both of the notes each note in E and Bb ogether, hen move eachnote andA . half-stepo o F andA by one half-step 3rd. maior3rd. of a tritone o a stable oundingmaior oundof You have ust resolved he very unstable ound basiso f most harmonicmovement n our culture. Blues This type of resolution s the basiso moveharmonicmoveon dominant hords.The harmonic olelyon harmony s unique n that it frequently s based olely another and he tritone never ully resolves. dominant th chord o anotherand ment s rom one onedominant I n h i s b l u e s , y o u ' l l l a y o m i n a n t t h c h o r d s n y o u r e f t h a n d , a n dm e l o d i e sr o m t h e b l u e s hd o m i n a n t T t h h o r d , y o u ' l l nw i t h i n e a c hd t h a n d . n a d d i t i o n o t h e t e n s i o nw s c a l e n y o u r r i g h th and handa find some nreresting issonancesclashes) etween h e chord ones n your left hand Welcome o the blues notes.Welcome melodynotes. some of the right-handmelody

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sf w e c o m b i n e l l h e n o t e s r o m t h e t h r e e d o m i n a n t t h c h o r d s n O b s e r v ew ew h a t h a p p e n sf C7-C, E ,G , B ;F7-F,A,C, Eb nd G7-G, B ,D,F) and number h e m bluesprogressionC7-C, a C bluesprogression i n relation o the key:

W it h t he except ion o f B , all of t hese not es ar e f ound in eit her t he C Major P ent at onic scale

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 c c a l e C , E t , F ,G ,G , B b ; .

Bluesmelodies ound Bluesmelodies greatwith oundgreat with notes rom both the majorand minor pentatonic cales ombined. A s you play hrough Everything lues, otice which notes are from the maior pentatonic s c a l e n dw h i c h a r e r o m t h e m i n o r p e n t a t o n i c c a l e .

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

39

 

blues creatingblues composer and experimentwith creating Once again,t's again, t's time for you to be the composerand Blues,here here i s a n accompaniment rovided. f you have he C D that i s melodies. In C Blues, with a alongwith playing our own blues along practiceplaying or this book,you'll book, you'll be able t o practice availableor available rhythm section differentscales scales hat you can use: Remember, e have alked about three different major pentatonic minor pentatonic blues scale scolecon be os effective s Choosing otes rom ust one scolecon et your eor be your guide. notes rom combined coles. etyour usingnotes using Here are a few other things to think about: ' lmagine hat there are lyrics.You so a story, story,s tellinga lyrics.You are telling r e m e m b e r o s p e a k n c l e a rs rs e n t e n c e s . . Tension s ok. Just be sure o follow it with some resolution. . Repetition nd calland parts of the blues. integralparts call and response re integral ' Less s more. Spacebetween phrasesmakes makes hem stronger. Spacebetween phrases

W

Track 20

C BLUES

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

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Here'sa shuffle n F using Here'sa usinganother handalone alone another ype of shufflebassline. play h e left hand shufflebassline.First, First,play and remember o swing he eighth notes. In your right hand, ou'll be adding riplets. Since he bassline s swung, our left and right hands basslines handswill will play ogether o n the first a n d third part of each riplet.

M CHICAGOTIME

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(Cbo beingplayed. o r ah) s beingplayed. noticewhere where the b 5(Cb this bluesand bluesand notice b5 Playeach Play eachphrase phrasewith with , in it a few times o get familiarwith familiarwith how it is used. ecauseh h e bassline Transposehis Transpose his basslinento basslinento the key of C. lt's easy, ecause o u t l i n e s a c h h o r d h e s a m ew ew a y :R :R , 3 , 5 , 6 , ' 7 . Co *[ugh

Chapter 4-Playing a Shuffle

43

 

:h e o u played figure hat i s very common n t h e b l u e s :h ln bars9 bars9 and l0 of ChicogoTime better when you add h e root o n toP. evenbetter iguresounds soundseven o the 5 . This igure resolvingo resolving y o u r r i g h t h a n d t h u m b n d s e c o n d i n g e rw rw i l l a l t e r n a t e e t w e e n h e pinkie epeats h e root on toP. Try it slowly.

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t5 and 5, while your

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better soundbetter will sound ickswill blues icks favoriteblues Sometimes our favorite in the higher anges f the piano. lf, or example, o u will noteswill with guitar players,most of the guitar notes playwith play o w range. f you play igures n the relativelyo b e in a relatively eC ) dm i d d l eC eo f t h e p i a n o a r o u n dm l o w t o m i d d l e a n g eo player s n the same ange' our sound guitarplayer while h e guitar ,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 w i l l g e t l o s t ,o

sound. There will be too much going on in one ran8e. B ut , f in t he same sit uat ion, you play n t he upper r ange o f t he keyboar d,your sound w ill come t hr ough o n t h e t oP . o f cour se, t he guit ar p| ayer might not I ike y o u

but somedoing,but playing omet hingabove w hat t hey are doing, t imes it ' s ver y ef f ect ive. Use discr et ion. List en o gr eat ' player sand s and t hen t r ust Y our ear s.

ya n d e a s i l y n a l l twelve keys. Here is an exercise L e a r n o f i n d h i s c o m m o n i c k q u i c k l ya taking it through four keys starting with E (a favorite key o f guit ar plaY er s) . C ont inue o f 5ths. cycleo through h e cycle ths s Swing th

r8 to#

'rack

23

G7

D7 ^

-d'L-J-J + + + 2

\\

-

a

2_

-

-

2_

tIl

-_ w

-

a -

J-

-

-t-

,

----T

a-

7-

-

JJJJ

-

-

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lllllll

practiceslowly and stop if you feel atigued. lt takesa takesa little patience o 8et used o playing iguressmoothly. smoothly. these repetitive igures

--oa -

Chapter 4-Playing a Shuffle

44  

FlotFiveShuffle ives ou some Shuffleives more practicewith practicewith your newo5 ick,aswell ick,aswell a s a new bass somemore line pattern.

FIATFIVE FIVESHUFFLE @ FIAT SHUFFLE

Track 29

SwingSths Swing Sths

J=80

C7 55

t2

,-3-LJJLJ-J-J-

7

7

F7

G7

5)

12

,

J

,,

3

,

happeningn Observewhat'shappening Observewhat's n the last bar. That little musical igure, nd h e G 7 chord, s called turnoround. turnaroundbrings turnaroundbrings ou back o the beginning f the form s o you c a n We'll chorus).We'll playanother play another chorusonce chorus once hrough he form is usually eferred o as one chorus). l e a r nm nm o r e a b o u t u r n a r o u n d s l i t t l e a t e r n t h i s b o o k .

You'veheard hem-maybe you've already You'veheard played hem. lf you haven't, ou undoubtedly alreadyplayed ngredient essentialngredient want to. Tremolosn the right hand, ver a nice niceshuffle shuffle roove, re an essential i n the blues ound.A ound.A tremolo s a rapidalternation rapidalternation etween w o notes. Sometimes lues playerswill call his a roll. There are a few different notes you can tremolo between hat sound great. We'll start obvious: h e root. with the most obvious: Chapter 4-Playing

45

Chapter

a Shuffle

 

You can tremolo between he root and the b3of the key over almost he whole b l u e sp sp r o g e s s i o n . ln the keyof key of F: Putyour Put your thumb thumbon on F, n d your 2nd or 3rd fingero Ab.Now Now roll your hand fingero n Ab. backand back and orth between h e two notes. t mightseem might seemawkward first,but awkwarda a t first, but it will become more naturala natural a s you keep keepworking working at it. The key is to keep your hand relaxed. lf this technique s new t o you, be carefulnot careful not t o overdo it in the beginning. t is better to practicenew practice new techniques techniqueso o r a few moments requently, requently,ather ather han rying o sit down and master omething llat once. T h i s s h o w t r e m o l o so so r r o l l e dn d n o t e sa sa r e n o t a t e d n t h e w r i t t e n m u s i c :

Tremolo o n F and Ab or 5 beats. andAb T h e n e x t s o n gw gw i l l h e l py py o u d e v e l o p h i s n e w e c h n i q u e .

TREMSANDTLLS TLLS w TREMSAND

SwingSths Swing Sths

Track 30

F7

1- 3

ebl

C7

5 ) -'t

Bbt

F7 4l 2?

Notice what happened n bar 9. That little F# s an enharmonic respelling f the b5(Gb) n t he key o f C , w hich is t he chor d you ar e playingover playingover i n t hat bar . P lay he F f , uickly w it h t h e C a n d s l i d e 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 h i s a c r u s h o n eo eor agroce not e.W e. W e' ll do mor e of t his in t he next f ew chapt er s.

4-Playing a Shuffle 4 7 Chapter4-Playing Chapter

 

In the pre-electric n d early earlyelectric electricdays days f the blues, ianists ianistsike ikeOtis Otis Spannwere playing unamplified ianos n noisy clubs clubsand and had to find ways of beingheard. being heard. This led to the development f techniqueso techniqueso make makebig big sounds. Lickswere Lickswere frequently layed n the high ranges f the piano, otes groups oteswere were remoloed lustersgroups remoloedor or playedn played n octaves nddissonant nd dissonant lusters notesa o f notes a major o r minor 2nd apart played imultaneously) imultaneously)ere ere barkedout barkedout in the guitar hesesounds breaks. hese sounds re stilla still a n ntegral art o f playing playinghe he style.A style.A good blues eyboardist needs o know exactly exactlyhow how and when t o use hem in order to enhanceh enhance h e music. wing 8ths

,= 100

E l 5 3

w

Track 3 |

E7

ors'sBtuEs

B7 5

3

A7 43

B7

E7

The most mportantpart mportantpart o f learning learningh h e blues s istening.t's istening.t's ime o r you o start shopping around o r your own favoritesounds favorite soundso recordings.Listen o n recordings. Listen o Otis Spann olo or with MuddyWaters' Muddy Waters' incredible and. Check out MaceoMerriweather, M emphis Maceo Merriweather, afayette eake,Memphis you grabsy MeadeLux Lux LewisandJimmyYancey. LewisandJimmyYancey. top Slim,Meade Slim, your recordingat recordingat the spot that grabs topyour the most and see f you can igure igureout player s playing. f you don't out what sound he piano pianoplayer a l r e a d yh y h a v e m a n y b l u e s r e c o r d i n g s ,h ,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 You available hichwill hich will give giveyou you a samplingsee book).Y sampling see h e discographyn the backof backof this book). also ind classic lues ecordingsn canalso can ecordings n your library. BluesSounds S-Piano BluesSounds ChapterS-Piano Chapter

49

 

Otis'sBlues n Page49. Th e playedOtis's when you played playingwhen Let's ake a look at what you were playing Af,, areAf,, notesare played s a cluster.The notes oundplayed out with a classicOtis Spann ound startsout first line starts t7-three notes b5, out o f t h e notesout heseare h e thu 5 and h e keyo o f E, heseare D . In relation o the key andD and s a c l u s t e r , a n dn t h e t h i r d b a r h e y a r e E B l u e s c a l e . n h e f i r s t w o b a r s h e y ' r ep l a y e d sa he playingh o f playing wayso theseways w e know means layed n e at a time. Both o f these hichw arpeggiated,hich b5,5 and b 7 sound great n any key. You should know where progressionn greatover over he blues progression thesenotes these notesare are in every key and b e able o grab hem quickly. $''ira*rrsrrF*4#Ha*n

play h e following our-bar igure n all welve m oving hrough h e keys n ascendingths ( o r keys,moving welvekeys, w e learned. n your right atternw h e first basic huffle attern hand,playh Sths). n your left hand,play downwardSths). downward b7 hand play he b5,5 and for that key. Experimentwith playing h e notes individually,s a repeated luster, r try trilling hem. Here are a few keys o get you started:

wf

Swing ths

73

Fory

Track 32

II i

I i I

"_

50

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

 

Undersung ianist Lafayette Leake played w,itha w,ith a ho st of Chicago bluesguitaristsan d vocalists n the 1950s and' 60s nc'luding nc'ludingOtis Otis Rush'sand Rush's and Muddy Water'smain Water's main rival fo r attentionon attention on the Chic:ago cene,H owlin' WolJ'Q he ter Burnett .

c

o i Y

.)

d 6

(, co

z o I I

-

F n I c

Swing8ths Swing 8ths

A7

A7 3

)

M IAFAYETTE'S T UES TUES

Track 39

E7 4321

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

53

 

F r e q u e n t l y ,m ,m i n o r b l u e sw sw i l l b e a f u n k yo yo r jazzyblues, ith a whole different eel rom a s h u f f l eo 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 however,hat tunes,however, tunes, hat soundsimilar sound similar o Otis's Blues pag" 49), except hat the i chord is m i n o r . n t h e s ec e c a s e s h e f o r m i s u s u a l l y, y, IV V. For example, example,n n he keyof keyof F,he F, he chords in the progression ould b e Fmin, Fmin,Bo7 Bo7 n d

been working C7. Since he soundswe've soundswe've beenworking on in his hischapter chapter ome rom the blues cale, which smainly he minorpentatonic,they'll w o r k f i n e o v e r a b l u e sw sw i t h a r , I Y 7 , Y 7 progression. elow s an example f a minor blues huffle. t includes ounds ou know, but puts hem into a slightly ifferent ontext.

This blues s in the style of a very successfulune uitaristand and vocalist * A pickup s a note u ne that left-handed uitarist Otis Rush ecorded o r Chess ChessRecords Records alled (or notes) hat occur alledS MonyRoods. Roods. S oMony before he first full r rv r 'r K:_7 measure f a piece. wingSths wing Sths

ffir Rt/sH's ROAD S

Track 40

2

x pickup/ notes

mf

---

tremolo

I

Fmin

Fmin

5

I

J5

111

wl

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

so f i t t h e c h o r d sa s h e y c h a n g e sm e l o d i e so na l t e rb r b l u e sm I n C h a p t e r3 r3 , y o u e a r n e d h a t w e c a na conceptone step urther and considerplaying eliberatelyo f f (page 0). Let's ake hat conceptone chord. eachchord. of" each keyboard playedkeyboard playingoff off of triads that might be the most frequentlyplayed Here is a way o f playing s o u n d n p o p u l a rm u s i c :

(t

p 'a(x

{ I

o u could say t's a quick I-IV-I Progression i th harmonically,o analyzett harmonically, lf you wanted o analyze che V chord in second nversion, nd he I chord i n root position see he triads review chord i n the blues s Everychord sectionon on triad inversions n page22). Every 15,and and he section o n page 15, then treated as a I-IV-I. Alternatively, o u could lust think o f i t as tension-resolutioncomingback. away rom the chord ones and hen comingback. movingaway moving

t'snice nice o add h e b 3a s a groce otePrecedingh e When we play hese igures f f of triads, t's note. Some mainnote. irectlybefore before h e main quickornamental ornamental ote played irectly gracenote note i s a quick 3rd. A grace playerbending bending note. l t guitarplayer becauset sounds imilar o a guitar bendingh h e3rd becauset o f u s call his bending and notesa blacknotes where h e black ponwhere others,depending pon some keys han n others,depending more natural n somekeys feelsmore feels how i t works: your fingers.Here's fingers. Here'show underyour white notes all under can simply keyso o f C , F or G , you cansimply note,a a s n the keys note,and blacknote, and he 3 i s a white note, lf the b 3i , . black b 3 slideyour 2nd finger rom the to the 3 .

c

4 2- ) I 'rzck

)-)

G

F 4

)-)

4 I

I

47

he playingh t's a little more awkwardTry playing blacknote, t'sa l f t h e 3 i s a w hit e not e, and t he 3 i s a blacknote, ' 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. Swing ths s

5

2-3

I

55

33 l1

32

tq

'r?

c

4 2.

3l

R/qlN BOOQER/qlN BOOQE

hapter 6-A

65

Look a t Boogie-Woogie

 

It's time to put the two parts together. SwingSths Swing Sths

a=120

c 5

@ JtMMv',SOOGIE

Track 60

3

c 5

3,

I

James Edward "Jimmy" Yancey is thought by many to be the master of boogie-w,oogie,but boogie-w,oogie, but his quiet stage demeanor did not lend itselJ'to stardom, and he did not tour or rec'ord as proliJtc'ally as his own protogdes. On the quently bandstand, J mmy .freque ntly provided

accompaniment to his w,ife, a vocalist, Estelle " Mema" Yancey. Despite J mmy Yancey's subdued natLu'e, is musit'v'as part ofthe hctogie' woogie L'raze. immyYancey is respected by both blues and iazz enthusiasts as a master of'his art.

U

4

= s

6

U

d

o F d l

o o

F

o I c

Look at Boogie-Woogie 5 V

6-A Chapter6-A Chapter  

comPc o m p i n gs a w o r d t h a t c o m e s r o m t h e w o r d " a c c o m p a n i m e n t . " u s i c i a n s s e o r guitar playersplay behind a soloist' playerso ing" a s a catch-all erm for what piano players Basically,o comp s to play he chords. l w i t h t h r e e e l e m e n t s f m u s i c : r h y t h m ,h a r m o n ya n d m e l o d y ' W h e n c o m p i n g , o u d e a lw what chords o play harmony), aving knowingwhat with knowing dealwith Over the next few pages, e will deal making h e chord control over where you want t o Put them in the time (rhythm) and he band m o r i o n s o u n dg o o d ( m e l o d y ) . f y o u m a s t e r o u r c o m p i n g k i l l s , o u w i l l m a k e ta n d b e i n d e m a n d s o u n dg r e a ta

plays n the first and handplays Let's tart with a simple omping xercise sing riads.Your eft hand plays n two and our' handplays while your right hand bar,while eachbar, o f each beatso third beats

J=90 , \\

t

W BTUESN G rack 6 I

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I

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A

r-\--------

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A

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t

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,

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-T

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s.i$4s.itr6} is 111 "**aE{6ii{i'1' '?raq*u4e''i

Transpose h e above exercise n t o t he key o f F . D et er mine t h e or the I, [V andV chords. $ inuersionssed

ffi

f

fu .***,*-*,,*"'*:t 'F

lar.:r. rdi ii*,4r'.

;;

Playingn a Band

69

Chapter7-Rhythm, Comping,  

The triads in the Blues n G (page good voice (page69) creategood 69) were i n certain nversions o create leading.Notice leading. Notice how the top note stayed he same when you moved rom the I chord t o samewhen t h e I V c h o r d ( m e a s u r e a n d 5 ) . A l s o , h e t o p n o t e o f y o u r v o i c i n g so so r t h e w h o l e i r s t eight barswas bars was the root of the key.You key. You can almost nevergo nevergo wrong with the root as he top note o f your chord. Keepinghis playmore more complexchords complexchords Keepinghis idea you play idea n mind will help helpyou and progressions. l n Comping Compingn n D, you will use he samepattern handwill samepatterno riads,but your right handwill o f inverted riads,but playa play a dotted-quarter hythm (seepage (seepage20). 20).

coMPlNGN D @ coMPlNGN

Track 62

J=80

D 5

)

1l

5

D

3 I

D

70

Chapter7-Rhythm, Chapter 7-Rhythm, Comping,Playingn P layingn a Band

 

rhythm,we're we're going to make the left hand work a with that rhythm, comfortablewith Now that you're comfortable little harder. Your left hand is going to play he first shufflepattern you learned (page24). he shufflepatter in playinghe beats, hink about playing nsteadof of just counting he beats,hink Swing he eighths. nstead handsshould should ine up on the first beat of your left hand and then adding our right. Your hands every bar and the "and of 2" of every bar. Another way to think of it is that your right hand together with the fourth note o f your left hand. each bar togetherwith secondchord chord of eachbar plays he second

@ coMPtNG

Track 63

J=80

5

HUFFIE,N

I

L"t's assumehat assume hat our shuffleust became n uPtemPo oogie-woogie exercise gain, o r r o c k - a n d - r o l l u n e . P l a y h r o u g hnotes he sa m e almost straightwith a s written, but play he eighth exacdya exacdy

the metronome set a t 120.

n a Band Playingn Chapter7-Rhythm, Comping,Playing  

s a shuffle n C . There s a melodypart GuitorPloyers GuitorPloyer melodypart written for guitar i n small, ue-sized or availableor notes)so notes) so that you get a chance o be the fill-master . f you have he CD that is available this book,you book, you can playalong play alongwith with it. Otherwise t might be time for you to start hanging out with some ellow blues bluesplayers players nd working working on these concepts ogether. Communicationwith cation with other musicianss musicianss the most importantmusical important musical killyou kill you can have.

Track 54

SwingSths

- t08 )

C7

4 )

b I

7|

gn a B a n d h a p t e r7 r7 - R h y t h m , C o m p i n g , l a y i n gn  

You don't alwayshave alwayshave o play playall else s someoneelse all of the notes n the chords. In fact, f someone already omping, r playing very densesolo densesolo right in the midrange like a guitar player) you could choose o layout lay out completely, r play playsomething somethingwith a more open sound. playa a repeated One way to add to the groove without cluttering he sonic space s t o play rhythmic igure n octaves. l n Octovio, our right hand playsa handplays a rhythm that is typical typicalo o f what a horn section might play. Again, o u will have o subdivide Makesure sure o note subdivideo o eighth eighthnotes notes o count the rhythm. Make the beatson beatson which your right hand plays. handplays. SwingSths SwingSths

) = 100

af'l (r) & ( 2 & ) 3 ( & 4 &) &)

3OTOCTAVIA Track 65

l(&2)&(3&4&)

After you have havemastered masteredOctovio, Octovio, lay hrough it again againwith with your right handone handone octavehigher octavehigher han written. A great hing about h e tradition of bluespiano bluespiano s that you get t o use he whole rangeo rangeo f the piano. Have un with it.

73

74

C h a p t e r7-Rhythm, Comping,Playingn P layingn a Band

 

do f d o m i n a n t t h c h o r d s , t ' s m p o r t a n t ho f b l u e s a r m o n y s b a s e d n t h e s o u n do S i n c em u c ho every key. Good voice eading s something ou'll always with them in everykey. familiarwith t o b e very familiar dominant th chords. nvertdominant or,and and hat means ou need o be able o easily nvert want o strive or, have our notes, hey have our positions. chordshave SincedominantTth chords SincedominantTth

Let's ook at a C7 chord: .A

C7 Root Position

C 7 lst lnver sion

C7 2nd lnversion

C 7 3r d I nver sion

p l a y h r o u g h h e f o l l o w i n ge fw i t h a l l t h e d o m i n a n t 7 t h g e x e r c i s e o f a m i l i a r i z e o u r s e l fw with the excePtiono f root position, notice:with chord positions n all keys. Something o notice: y o u w i l l a l w a y sh sh a v e a w h o l e s t e p b e t w e e n h e d o m i n a n t 7 t h a n d t h e r o o t i n y o u r voicing.Try it with your left hand, o o . F7 C7

15

fr@

--ack

66

Now cont inue dow n t hr ough t he second half of t he cycle o f 5t hs. D on' t f or get , guit ar player s ike t o play n shar p keys like A and E , s o don' t ignor e t hem

gn a B a n d C h a p t e r7 - R h y t h m , C o m p i n g , l a y i n gn  

dd o m i n a n t7 t7 t h c h o r d s o c o m p t h r o u g h a b l u e s n G , u s i n g N o w w e c a n u s e n v e r t e dd swing or straighteighth straighteighth eel. Because e know classic hythm that will work over a swingor ,a s h e t o p n o t e o f t h e c h o r d . ,w e ' l l s t a r t w i t h t h e r o o t ( G ) ,a s o u n d s o o d ,w T h e r e ' sn sn o l e f t h a n d p a r t w r i t t e n h e r e . S o m e t i m e s , h e n y o u ' r e c o m p i n g n a b a n d , t thand or a few yw i t h b o t h h a n d s .F .F o c u s n l yo y o n y o u r r i g h th s o u n d s o o c l u t t e r e d f y o u p l a yw ds h u f f l e a t t e r n . rw i t h a s i m p l e e f t h a n ds t i m e s h e n , f y o u w i s h , r y i t t o g e t h e rw 5

G7 45 '74<

4 2 I

a /

& tlej

3ie4e)

{e ;)

5A

7 +2

1

e] G7

The 5th o f G 7 i s D, so voice of the first chord. chord.The Let's ry putting he 5th in the top voiceof . hen you move o the CT,your o u r f i r s t c h o r d w o u l d b e G 7 i n 3 r d i n v e r s i o nW ecausehere here is no D in C7. Try to make t change s rop note has o change, ecause .T h e r e a r e t w o cm o v e r a t h e r h a n a b i g e a p .T l i t t l e a s p o s s i b l e , a k i n g m e l o d i cm ke i t h e r o n e a n d n o t e s n C 7 t h a t a r e o n l y a w h o l e s t e p r o m D ( C a n d E ) . P i c ke make hat the top note of your C7 chord. you get to the V m7e. nYt onud' dl l iisncdotvheartoi rf yyoouu rpslealyfw fwhheaV t wiinl l lhsat pi n p ve enw nw ew i l l r shieonn ,h ,h e t o p v o i c ew cEhxopredr,D ,iD not have o move-the D is common o both chords I and V).

75

gn a B a n d C r a p t e r 7 - R h y t h m , C o m p i n g , l a y i n gn  

The followingexample followingexample s a compingpattern compingpattern n t h e s t y l e o f g u i t a r i s t F r e d d i e K i n g ' sc sc l a s s i c shuffle, ideawoy. h e example s in E,which E,which s t h e k e y o f t h e o r i g i n a ls ls o n g .

YOU M CANRUN CAN RUNBUTYOU BUTYOUCAN'I HIDE

Track 68

SwingBths SwingBths

)- il6 it

A7

E7

o'Y fr# b b 'a

-

,

-E

au

A hh lr

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l^

. 5 ilJ { iai -

f n Y ou C on Run but Y ou C on' t H ide, h e bass ine is w r it t en out f or your lef t hand. lf yo you u w er e o n a gig w it h a bass player , he bass player w ould play t hat line, and you w ould not want to double it. Instead, ou could either play nothing with your left hand, usu ally ya a saf e choice) o r t he r oot , 5, 6 shuf f le pat t er n f r om page 24.

gn a B a n d C h a p t e r7 r7 - R h y t h m , C o m p i n g , l a y i n gn  

l n C h a p t e r 5 , y o u l e a r n e da da b o u t p l a y i n g f f o f t r i a d s . Y o u c a n u s e t h i s c o n c e p t o r ge x a m p l e s i n t h e s t y l eo e o f t h e c o m p i n gp a t t e r n o r t h e c o m p i n g s w e l l . T h e f o l l o w i n ge hM y B o c k N o t i c e t h e l e a d i n g - t o n e n t h e t h i r d e i g h t h c l a s s i c l i m H a r p o t u n e , S u o t c hM makes his a very distinctive attern. note of eachbar. each bar. The tension t causes causesmakes

Swing ths F

Track 59

\ )

\i ),

I

)

I

eh e t r i a d p a t t e r n u s t a ea n c h a n g eh N o w t h a t y o u k n o w d o m i n a n t T t h h o r d n v e r s i o n s , w ea another classic ompingpattern little bit to get anotherclassic ompingpattern hatJimmyYanceyavored alled orollel t hs intervalbetween between wo notes n the pattern remains hat o f a 6th-hence the name). {the interval My Bock pattern you learned in fhe B/ues tch and see how Let's look again at the Scrotch ScrotchMy w e can change a f ew t hings t o get a par allel 6t hs pat t er n:

77

gn a B a n d C h a p t e r7 r7 - R h y t h m , C o m p i n g , l a y i n gn

/5  

Porollel /ues ivesyou ivesyou a chance o practice he most commonly heard way of playing parallel ths. In this welve-bar lues, lues,he he IV chord appearsn appears n the secondbar, secondbar, o r just o n e measure. his s common n several lues tyles. tyles.Next Next time you listen o a blues ecording, listen or a "quick V" in the second ar.

J  = 8 0

?.

Swing Sths

F7

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Track 70

PAPALLELTUES

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Transpose orollelBlues nto the key keyof of D. lf it seems ricky to play. start b y playing playinga figuringout the ScrotchMy Bock , a D triad and figuringout . (page78) in D. B/uestch (page78) Pattern you learned n fhe B/uestch

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gn a B a n d C h a p t e r7 r7 - R h y t h m , C o m p i n g , l a y i n gn  

tw a n t t o u s e A s y o u u s e d o u r - n o t e h o r d s o c o m p o n a d o m i n a n t T t h b l u e s , y o um i g h tw yo r em o r e f r e q u e n t l y n a f u n k yo .T h i s w i l l b e t h e c a s em so n a m i n o r b l u e s .T m i n o r 7 t h c h o r d so jazz-style lues,where specifically ased n minor 7th chords. w here the harmony s specificallyased

Tc h o r d : L e t ' s h e c ko ko u t m i n o r 7 t h c h o r d n v e r s i o n s i t h a C m i n Tc CminT

CminT

CminT

CminT

48 F.@ Track 7 |

Root Po sit io n

lst lnversion

2nd nver sion

3r d lnver sion

fw i t h i n v e r s i o n s f m i n o r 7 t h Play hrough h e f ollow ing exer cise t o f a m i l i a r i z e o u r s e l fw , oving eo f 5 t h s n t h e o p p o s i t e i r e c t i o n m c h o r d s .T .T h i s i m e w e ar e going ar ound t h e c y c l eo up in 5ths. CminT

GminT

49

*sq Trask 72

D minT

A minT

Bm i n T

C o n t i n u eu eu p t h r o u g h h e r e s t o f t h e c y c l e . yw h e n y o u a r e c o m p i n g i t h m i n o r 7 t h c h o r d s . T h e v o i c e e a d i n g o n c e p t s o u k n o w a p p l yw lf, or example, o u wanted o start a minor blueswith the root at the top o f your voicing, e a A m i n Tc Tc h o r d n l s t i n v e r s i o n : y o u w o u l d u s ea AminT

D e t e r m i n ew ew h i c h n v e r s i o n f D m i n T you would use o keep h e note A as he top note of the iv chord.

79

80

P layingn a Band 7-Rhythm, Comping,Playingn Chapter7-Rhythm, Chapter

 

T e nO nO ' C l o c k l u e s s e s n v e r s i o n s f m i n o r 7 t h c h o r d s . T h i s i s a f u n k y u n e w i t h a melody, comping compingpattern pattern and a bass ine pattern hat introduces new rhythm n your l e f t h a n d . O n t h e C D t h a t i s a v a i l a b l eo r t h i s b o o k ,y r p l a y i n gh gh e ,y o u w i l l h e a r h e g u i t a rp melody. For some help n coordinating coordinatinghe see he box at t h e he compingand compingand bassparts, bassparts,see bottom of the page.

r00

ryrEN O'CLOCK LUES

Track 73

AminT

DminZ

EminT

AminT

DminT

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T o c o u n t t h e r h y t h m s i n e a c h h a n d ,s hand Playeach eachhand ,s u b d i v i d ee ee a c h b a r i n t o e i g h t h n o t e s . Play separ at elyunt ely unt il you ar e comf or t able w it h it .

5l

& W hen you w ant t o put t he t w o par t s t oget her , make a not e of w hich beat s t he hands play oget her and w hich t hey play apar t . In this case, our two handsnever play at the same ime.

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Chapter 7-Rhythm, Comping, Playing n a Band  

II|IPINO

nliil$l larnaunlt lntrot,

you'vealready o t quite a blues but there are a few more essentialngredients going,but stew going, bluesstew sc o m e o a d d r e s s n e o f t h e m o s t m p o r t a n ta n d c h a l l e n g i n gs P e c t s n e e d e d . T h ei m e h a sc of blues playing-turnorounds n d endings. a r m o n i cm o A l l t h o s e d o m i n a n t T t h h o r d s n t h e b l u e sp r o g r e s s i o n r e a t e o n t i n u o u s w e need o haveSreat' ometimes ramatic So,w resolved.So, soundresolved. tion because hey don't sound motion' endings o wrap u p the story. Turnarounds,n the other hand, d d o the forward a s well as room f o r learna here s a classic ocabularyo learn piano,here aspect f bluespiano, anyaspect As with any W e'll start with the basics. your own design.We'll

used o lead ou back o the top o f the form. A turnaround igureused A turnaround s a musicaligure V7 chord eads ack o the tonic' halfcodence)ince he dominantV7 on aV7 chord (a halfcodence) ndson usually nds S o m eo eo f t h e c o m p o s i t i o n sa sa r l i e r n t h i s b o o k n c l u d e du du r n a r o u n d s . h e y n c l u d e d a Y l return t o the top o f t h e indicate o sign repeatsign repeat a and form, chord i n the last bar o f the form. Try t o find hem.

BASIC URNAROUNDS u p from t h e 3rd o f the I chord t o the root o f the V chord' walksu Basswalks

"c7

Swing Sths

G7

52

trs6

TrackT4

54

b7 Basswalks down from the o f the I chord t o the root o f the V chord' Swine " c 7ths

53

1.'

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at

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-

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Track 75

notes out side t he key) appr oaches oget her w it h usingnotes W e can put these two chromotic using two hands. Swing ths C7 G7

54 ffiffi \./

Track 76

It

-

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It

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,.

--T-

O

a s in t he chr omot ic T h e w o r d " c h r o m a t i c " a l s o i m p l i e s m o v e m e n t i n half - st ep ncr ement s, sa l l o f t he w hit e not es and all o f t he black not es e w h i c h i n c l u d e sa s c o l e a t w e l v e - n o t e s c a l ew on the piano).

8l

82

C h a p t e r8 - l n t r o s , E n d i n g s n dT u r n a r o u n d s

 

To playmore play more involved urnarounds, o u need o be familiarwith familiarwith the neighboring hords for the key. Neighboring hords i e a half halfstep stepaway away rom the chord you are approaching. A o 7 s a n e i g h b o r i n gh o r d o G 7 . D h 7 s a n e i g h b o r i n gh gh o r d t o C 7 . Swing8ths Swing 8ths

eD cl

C7

Here i s a basic urnaround urnaroundyou you have havealready already l e a r n e d , u t w i t h a n e i g h b o r i n gh o r d u s e d t o a p p r o a c hh hh e V c h o r d :

55 {' .M

Play he followingexercise o familiarize ourself ourselfwith with neighboring hords. Notice that each inger s moving movingonly only a halfstep. half step.There There s no need o moveyour move your handaway hand away rom t h e piano as you move from chord t o chord. Just slide slideeach each inger o its neighboring ote. Remember, ll halfsteps half stepson on the piano pianoare are between betweena a black note and a white note, note,except blacknote except where the halfstep half step s between wo white notes: notes:E E to F and B to C. T h i s e x e r c i s e s e sd sd o m i n a n t7 t h c h o r d s n l s t i n v e r s i o n .W h e n t h i s i s m a s t e r e dt dt r y i t u s i n g o o t p o s i t i o n , n d n v e r s i o n n d 3 r d i n v e r s i o n .P r a c t i c et et w i t h t h e l e f t h a n d , o o . SwingSths SwingSths tC7

obt

C7

t7

56 f Track78 Track 78

gbl

a\

A7

c7

C h a p t e r - l n t r o s , E n d i n g sn s n dT u r n a r o u n d s 8 3  

eo f J i m m y Y a n c e y . E x a m p l e6 e 6 4 i s a t u r n a r o u n d h a t i n c l u d e s a r a l l e l r d s n t h e s t y l eo Swing8ths Swing8ths

c7 57{

3,\ /

Let ' s t ake t he same t ur nar ound and make it int o a t r iplet f igur e. SwingSths SwingSths

A'G

C7)..?.-"r,

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I

t

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Example 6 is the "walk-up" urnaround gain, ut with the inner voices illed n. Swing ths C7

,n\ 59 r

I

C7IE F

Ff,diM

C/G

I

\A 4 4D 7 5 G 7 ",)

iffi

Going rom the C7 to the F s ike C h e c ko ko u t t h e h a r m o n i cm cm o v e m ,evnetnn h t hoius guhr nhai sr o nm d .p l e s i n C . T h i s i d e aw aw i l l b e c o m e eu xa a \ ' 7 ( C 7 ) o I ( F ) p r o g r e s s i o n ,v playing. bluesplaying. o blues approacheso learn differentapproaches a s you learndifferent importanta more important

84

dT u r n a r o u n d s C h a p t e r - l n t r o s , E n d i n g s n dT

 

S t u d y h e s e e x a m p l e su n t i l y o u a r e c o m f o r t a b l e e n o u g hw hw i t h e a c h u r n a r o u n d o transpose t to any key.

TURNAROUND I Swing8ths Swing 8ths

J =8 0

F7

obl

c7

50

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.

rracii 82

TURNAROUND #2 J =80

SwinsSths SwinsSths

e\ D7

G7

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83

TURNAROUND 3

J= 80

Swing ths

D

DTIFI G

Gildim

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C h a p t e r8 r8 - l n t r o s , E n d i n g s n dT u r n a r o u n d s 8 5  

of turnarounds. nstead f takingu s back o the top o f unctionof Endings ave he opposite unction the form, hey take us out. Interestingly,o u can ransformmany urnaround igures n t o endingon a I chord nstead f the V 7 . endings ust by endingon H er e' s a f amiliar t ur nar ound t r ansf or med int o an ending: SwingSths Swing Sths

0

c/G

c7

DD7

C7

63 l

W s--

Track 85

T his ending appr oaches h e I chor d f r om below :

J

SwingBths SwingBths = 8, n0 C 7

B7

C7

64

ffi

rack 86

'

J

'

LJ

-J

HARMONY ESSON: r n e i g h b o r i n cgh o r d i s a l m o s t t h e s a m e h i n g a s p l a y i n g Approaching chord with i t s u p p e rn bIU . hot d have h e same 3r ds a n d en any key, he V7 chord and t he a Y l - l l . T h i s s b e c a u s en but inverted: 7ths,but 7ths,

In the key o f C : The 3rd and 7th of G7 (V7) are B (3rd) (7th).The3rd 3rd and 7th o f D'7 (II7) are F (3rd) and and F (7th).The Cb, hich s he enharmonic quivalent f B (7th).

and any two dominant (seepage page38), 38),and a tritone (see calleda D band G i s called The intervalbetween intervalbetweenD 7th chords a tritone away from each other share th e same 3rds and 7ths.

8-lntros, Endings n dTurnarounds Chapter8-lntros, Chapter

86  

player, inger, armonica guitarplayer, Let'sassume ow that you're n a band, acking p a soloist guitar Let'sassume need o listen listenand and follow the soloist hrough h e ending. He or she player, tc.). You'll You'llneed a break, veryone Duringa mightwant might want the band o breok omewhere uring he last ew bars. During a codenzo*. playa playa a fill i n time o r might play soloistmightplay playing u t the soloist.The soloist.The soloistmight sropsplaying srops lastchord chord (or two and play he last barsand eepcounting counting hrough h e bars ln the first case, o u simply eep caseof a cadenza,o u need o stoP playing nd 17)at at the right ime. In the caseof chordsbU7t o 17) wait for the soloist's ue o come back n and end h e tune. * A cadenza i s an out-of-timesolo passage,hich hich c a n out-of-time solo passage, tw i s h e s . g o r s h o r t a s h e s o l o i s tw b e a s o n go

with this example f a shuffle playalong alongwith o r this book, book,play availableo l f you have he CD that i s available endingwith ending with a break. f you don't havethe CD, ry this a t your next iam session. Swing ths =80

R7

7 E7

A,

65

w

rack r ack

87

plays cadenzaon the bIIZana the final chord. This is shown I n this example,he soloistplays example,he soloist over the last wo chords. hold sign,over with the fermoto4\ , or holdsign,

D7 66

FsS

-.ack

88

c7

G

zcTtD n \ c 7 c 7 ci l a tm zcTtD AA

G7

C h a p t e r - l n t r o s , E n d i n g s n dT u r n a r o u n d s 8 :  

l r#it*i #lu :il i'i:l*i*+J#;#ir

ffi$$frffi$ffi,

o f them do. As with every other manyo with a n introduction, u t many startswith bluesstarts Not every blues

n, a s aspect o f t he blues hat w e' ve t alked about , her e is some st andar d vocabular y o lear n,a well as some room for creativity.

playa a four-bar, -IV-I intro with a little urnarounda t A commonway common way o start a blues s o play the end. Swing Sths

J =80 G7

F7

2 I

67 ffi . . ..1

Track

/G Nt c 7

89

about o play ncludes riff a short repeated igure hat i s the basis o r lf the songyou're songyou'reabout tp l a y t h a t i f f a s h e n t r o . N o t i c e h o w w e l l h e r i f f n b a r tm i g h tp t h e s o n g ) , y o u r t h e s o l o i s tm 3 w or ks as an int r o. SwingBths

J

=80

G7

F7

c7 tt

Ab7 G 7

4 I

b

68 ffi -.-J

" Track 90

4

5

focus on the rhythm and s e t t h e n intro might ust focuson Alternatively,n Alternatively, Swing 8ths

J=80 G7 s I

n

groove.

F7 5

'r2

69 --- ",

ffiffiw \. ,./

Track 9 I

ni

c7

88

C h a p t e r8 r8 - l n t r o s , E n d i n g s n dT u r n a r o u n d s

 

lf you're playings o l o p i a n o , o r y o u ' r e w i t h a b a n d b u t t h e l e a d e r says piano, t ake t h e so v e r t h e c h o r d p r o g r e s s i o n . intro..." hen y o u can put any of your f avor it e l i c k so s o r l i n e so Swing ths G7

F7 i 3, I

C7

nD c7

I

'rack

92

iW#iiffiffiffi;#9""'*'0"'u

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P roduce roduce , c comp ompo ose , p e former Willie Dixon had a career in professionalboxing professional boxing beJore ursuing a musical career. Dixon led several bands n Chicagct n the 1940s. The mostpopular of thesewas thesewas The Big Trio, with Leonard " Baby Doo" ThreeTrio, Three ump p on piano-a sophisticatedum Castonon Caston blues rio with tight arrangements y Dixon, often eaturing three-partvocal harmonies. n the I950sWillie Dixort producedsessions produced sessionsor Leonard Chess, wrote tunes br Chess Chessartists artists like Muddy Waters,Howlin' Waters,Howlin' Wolf and Little played in Muddy Waters' andplayed Walterand Walter '50sprogressed,Willie band. As the Dixon rose o greaterfame and had an incredible nfluenceon nfluence on the Chicago Dixon c'laims o have scene.WillieDixon scene.Willie written over 250 songsand songsand has said, "l em the Blues." He certainly put his stamp irmly on blues his history. tory.

makeu u P wo, four-bar Pict a shuffle r o m earlier n the book and make ea m e l o d i c o c u s , n d m a k e h e V-IV-I intros. L et o n e i n t r o h a v ea other as rhythmica s p o s s i b l e .

xi:] i ::rn:]*1 1:'] :'] |tI+ ]9 {] 9 |+gF s]i;:]| :1 ' t]w4 ]l li i:i ::l*9gssn

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sn dT u r n a r o u n d s 8 9 C h a p t e r - l n t r o s , E n d i n g sn  

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walking bassline.n this chapter, e will look In Chapter 6 you were introduced o the walkingbassline. inesare are constructed.As a keyboardplayer, o u are doing a t how walking ines closelya more closely o one. l f you are not playing respondingo one of two things: ither providing bassline r responding player, ou need o be hearing h e bass learly learlyenough enough bassplayer, here is a bass ecausehere the bassline ecause sw i t h a w a l k i n gb a s s l i n e r o v i d e s .A b l u e sw cc h o i c e s .A e g o o d h a r m o n i c n d m e l o d i cc t o m a k eg ways o "walk" through differentways manydifferent here are many ecausehere opportunities or choices ecause manyopportunities many which chord changes boutwhich n addition,here addition, here will b e choices bout changes.n givenset set of chord changes. a given hus stretching u t the progression. blues,hus s you start o slow down the blues, speciallys t o play, specially and hen flesh-out ere,and Playing low blues s a huge opic which we will begin o address ere, here we will look at more complex chord motion, Keyboord,here lntermedioteluesKeyboord, further in lntermediotelues n d voicings, ow to improvise ver hem and how t o play n the styles f several basslinesn basslines influential lues igures. attention o the left hand. paying lose loseattention lowly,paying he Blues lowly, PlayWolking heBlues PlayWolking Sths SlowSwingSths SlowSwing

)= 66

73 5

W

Track 93

F7

tuEs wALKTNGTHE c7

90

9-Walking Bass nd a n Introduction o the Slow Blues Chapter9-Walking Chapter

 

Let ' s f ook mor e closely a t how t he bassline or W olking he B lues s const r uct ed: l)

Look a t t he f ir st beat of each bar . I n almost ever y measur e, h e r oot of t he chor d is played playedon on t he f ir st beat . T he only except ions ar e bar s f our , eight and t w elve, w her e t he 5t h of t he chor d is played. N ot ice t hat i n each case w her e t he 5t h of t he chor d is played on beat one, t he chor d being played s t he t onic I and it is being cont inued f or a second bar . l f you st ar t your w alking basslinesw it h t his kind of skelet on and f ill i n t h e blanks, you cannot go too far astray.

C7 7l

c7

7

\.

, . L

F7 l.

C7 l

'a

-

V-

I

V-

D escendingi n e

G7

,4-

-

u

Ascending ine

c7

F7

l a l

U.

the notes 2 ) Look at the shape f the line. Most bars are eitherascending either ascendingthe barsare all g o u p the staff, r descendingthe descendingthe notesall notes all go down). Whether a m e a s u r es e s a s c e n d i n gr g r d e s c e n d i n ge g e p e n d s p o nw nwhichoctave ou choose or each oot when you outline he root motion. There are n o hard-and-fastulesabout u lesaboutwhether whetheryou youshould up or down rom one root shouldwalk walkup havewalked walked to the next. In the first bar of Wolkingthe lues,the assmight assmighthave from C down t o F rather han up. A s always, ear guide ou. e t your earguide always,e notesyou you playon playon beats wo, hree and our of each 3 ) The notes eachbar bar connect h e roots(or Sths). Most of thesenotes scaleo o f the chord. these notescome come rom the scale Others are eading r possingoneswhich whichare are outside h e scale ut help t o c o n n e c t h i n g s m o o t h l y .S .S i n c e o u a r e w a l k i n g , o u w i l l g e n e r a l l y take smallsteps smallsteps ather han arge eaps. h e most important eaps.However, However,h t h i n g s o m a k e h e c h o r d c h a n g e s l e a ra e s o u n dg dg o o d , o ra n d h e l i n es there will always e some exceptions.

7

F7

C7

72

E is a chord tone for leads'to and F7

c7

' leading' C hr omat ic or'passing' ones

Chord tones

dan Introductiono the Slow Blues C h a p t e r9 r9 - W a l k i n g B a s s n da  

There are manyways manyways o get from C7 (I) to F 7 (IV) in four beats: ln Wolking h e Blueswe walked up. We used some therwisew e somechromatic chromatic ones because therwisew would havegotten havegotten to F too quickly.

C7

F7

73

A n alternative alternativemight might be to break up the ascendingpat t er n, but st ick t o t ones t hat ar e w i t h i n h e s c a l e f t h e C 7 c h o r d ( FM FM a j o r ) .

c7

F7

74

Another way to get from C to F i s to walk down. C7

F7

75

l n the twelve-barprogression, twelve-barprogression,here h ere are three times we stayon stay on C7 for two bars. That m e a n s i g h tb tb e a t s f C 7 l e a d i n go go e i t h e r F 7 ,G ,G 7 o r a t u r n a r o u n d . l n Wolking Wolkingh h e Blues, e played he 5th of the chord on beat one of the secondbar, but i t secondbar,but would be OK t o play he root (C) again.

C7 76

):-'

-

G7 tI

-

Y o u c a n c h a n g e h e d i r e c t i o n o f y o u r w a l k i n g l i n e whenever you want. You can also wheneveryou put a lar ge int er val leap i n w her ever it seems r ight . The fourth bar of Wolking he Blues d o e s n ' t w a l k i n j u s t o n e d i r e c t i o n ,b ,b u t i t d o e s i t s j o b b e c a u s et et o u t l i n e s C 7 c h o r d a n d t leads o t he F 7 chor d w it h t he not e E .

C7

F7

77

Look again t the basslineor basslineor Wolkingh Wolkingh e Blues. his ime, eachb a r noticehow how beat our of eachb ime,notice leads o beat beatone one of the following followingbar. soundgood bar. Most of the time,but always,t will soundgood time, but not always,t to approach root from a half-step way. The only rule follow.The way.Don't Don't think of i t a s a rule o follow. i s o m a k e t s o u n dg dg o o d .

9

Chapter9-Walking Chapter 9-Walking Bass n d a n Introduction o the Slow Blues

92  

In Chapter , you studied iatonic riads pag" | 5). As you learned hen, he ii chord s m i n o r . T h a t i s w h y i t i s s h o w n w i t h a l o w e r c a s eR nn u m e r a l . T h e i i - V - I c h o r d e R o m a nn progressions progression s commonly commonlyused used n a slow blues o substitute or the V-IV-I that normally makesup makes up the last our bars barso o f a twelve-bar lues. n the key o f C, this progression ould be DminT G7 C. The bass basswalks walkseasily easily hrough his progression.

80

qsw

c

G7

D minT a

,1

l-t

Track 94

Sodand Sod and Lonely lues s a slow w b l u e s n G u s i n g i i - V - I ( A m i n 7 ,D 7 , G 7 ) t u r n a r o u n d .

J=60

Swing8ths Swing8ths

c7 5

ANDTONELY TONELYLTJES LTJES w sADAND

Track 95

C7

G7

5

3 A?7

I

G7