LearnJazzPiano.com archives: Simple Blues
annajoy30 -- 09/27/2004, 14:42:07 -- #7489
NEW
hey, im 13 and i just started playing jazz a year ago.  i taught myself some of the basics, i havent had any lessons.  im not very good and i was wondering if anyone could help, show me scales, cool ideas for soloing, chords, etc.  email me at annajoy30@juno.com
thanks!

albetan -- 09/27/2004, 18:27:38 -- #7498
Go to Search Engine (upwards) write "beginning" selecting "Files".
Welcome Annajoy to LJP.

Jacosky -- 09/28/2004, 06:50:03 -- #7513
having problem reading notes on stave
Dear Scot, I love ur site and I think it's interesting. I'm just a beginner and need ur help on how I could read and interprete the notes on the stave. Hope to hear from u soon.

Monty Alexander: Transcriptions of Standards
Scot -- 09/28/2004, 12:14:48 -- #7529
Hi Jacosky-

You need to take some piano lessons, at least for a little while (a few months). This way you will learn to read music and understand how music is applied and played when you are at the piano.

Or, take some music theory classes at your local Community College, or get a book about theory.  

But most importantly- as a beginner, you must take some lessons from a good teacher for a little while. Very important!

albetan -- 09/28/2004, 18:37:52 -- #7543
Hi Jacosky: To read and perform the notes on the stave is very easy.
Please go to Search engine (upwards), write "piano at sight" selecting "files".
Afterwards write "beginning" selecting "files".
Good luck and enjoy LJP.

zands -- 10/30/2004, 06:17:29 -- #8455
GOOD TIPS
Hi,
I'm new to learnjazzpiano.com and i am getting used to the system,
My Blues :
A good trick i do if someone asks to play straight away or something,
to sound really good and advanced is simple:
Just get a bass riff eg. C/B flat/A flat/ G
feel free to jazz it up by playing two G s quite quickly then a B flat,
then back to C to repeat the pattern.
With the left hand just use the C blues scale = C/E flat/F/G flat/G/B flat/C.
Now just play the bass riff and play around with the right, discover your boundries of what you can do and which notes you can play together and repeat over again, this is improvistaion, there is no repeated pattern

in the right , just make it up as you go along !

If you want something more advanced,
feel free to give me a shout !!

Herbie Hancock Transcriptions
Scot -- 10/31/2004, 11:58:50 -- #8492
Hi Zands- welcome to LJP!  Thanks for posting.  We're having a good discussion about your post in the main forum in the Lobby Lounge.

father -- 01/14/2005, 08:31:04 -- #10378
I want to be Goooood
I have ambition to be the best jass pianist in Nigeria and I want you to personally help me. I know I will be able to cope if I am being trained. Thanks.

j.caldas -- 01/22/2005, 08:42:24 -- #10595
Hi!!!! I´m a piano student from BRAZIL and I love this web page! In fact, I´ve just started my studies less than a year ago, so i´m still "crawling" on all the piano stuff! But I got into it because of my passion for the instrument and jazz!!! I got the simple blues part, some other sheet music too, and I don´t know where to go now! I would love some more simplified sheet music of great songs... Can anyone help me with that???

The Ultimate >Jazz Fake Book: extremely useful!
beloka -- 02/20/2005, 21:33:22 -- #11390
Some explanation
First of all: great site, Thanks !!!

I have had piano lessons for a year a while ago and am starting to play again. I hvae some basic notions of reading music but i cant figure out these chords above (blues chords)like the F7 (Eb  G A E), shouldnt that be an F A C Eb. Ok i figure the F is played by the left hand as bass but what are G and E doing in there. I know they are part of the scale, but shldnt the chord be named differently then like : F9/13 or so...
sorry if i missed something
Eric

Scot -- 02/20/2005, 23:27:20 -- #11394
That's because in jazz a 7th chord is just a roadmap for harmony. So sometimes we play a 13th, almost always a 9th.  Take a look at the "basic" section where this idea is talked about.

beloka -- 02/21/2005, 19:17:28 -- #11427
some explanation
Shame on me !!!!
should have gone to basics first!

tnx for this site
Eric

Herbie Hancock Transcriptions
musicman91 -- 02/25/2005, 22:11:03 -- #11589
want to learn to play blues, jazz style but don't read music !!
I play by ear only and want to learn to play more a blues, jazz flavor or style.... I currently play more like elton john, beatles, billy joel style....Is there a cd or dvd that I can buy to follow by ear and learn that way ?
I appreciate anyones help ... thank, Joe

Whacky -- 02/26/2005, 11:05:04 -- #11601
I guess you should ask yourself; "how did I learn to play like Elton John, The Beetles and  Billy Joel?"

I'm guessing the same technique would work to learn blues and jazz (listen to it - a lot)

Scot -- 02/26/2005, 13:50:36 -- #11602
Yeah, exactly. If you learn by ear, then you have to listen to the kind of music you want to learn, and listen to it all the time.  Get some Oscar Peterson, Monty Alexander, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, etc, and listen to those guys.

The Ultimate >Jazz Fake Book: extremely useful!
Jerry1 -- 03/14/2005, 21:43:23 -- #11934
I'm a Fresher!!!
Hey guyz,
I'm hoping every one is around!
I need urgent help on the jazz piano. Thank God
I found this site. Cos I can feel hope rising up
my bones.
I'm a Nigerian and I love jazz music bcos of it's
"free-style" kind of play, I  love exploring the piano.
I'll be Indeed very glad if someone will explain some
things you think I have missed out(in my years of ignorance!)
thanks a'kilo.

Jerry1 -- 03/14/2005, 21:49:08 -- #11935
sorry!!
my mail address is mjerrybrooks@yahoo.com.
I must admit that you guys (scot'n crew) are great.
all these for free!!!
Thumbs up Mr. Scot.

Scot -- 03/17/2005, 22:03:36 -- #12030
The best way to get information is to ask specific questions. What tunes are you working on these days?

Herbie Hancock Transcriptions
mynameis -- 03/29/2005, 01:36:38 -- #12277
How is jazz
Can someone explain how jazz is taught by a teacher? My teacher cannot teach me jazz and i cant find any teacher that teaches jazz or blues.

oku elochukwu -- 03/30/2005, 10:07:56 -- #12319
i need more chords/improvisation skills
i need a help to improve my improvisation skills to be very fast.

PRS -- 05/03/2005, 21:40:42 -- #13512
Question????
Hi, I'm Chilean and am lerning to play piano by myself... my question is why on seccion " the basics" the  C7 is ( e - g- Bb - d ) and the same note on seccion  "simple Blues" is e - a -Bb - d).???? thanks, Percy

The Ultimate >Jazz Fake Book: extremely useful!
Chacky -- 05/04/2005, 11:24:15 -- #13525
Hi PRS

This is because in jazz we tend to add some "extentions" to make a chord have more "color".

Sometimes the fifth of chords is not important to be played, so that is why we decided to play the 13th (in this case "A" note) and that makes a chord sound more interesting.

As you also see, we also add the 9th for the same reason. Color!!

Remember this. As some one said "If it sounds good, it is good".

Hope this help.

Chacky

SolArt -- 06/10/2005, 07:00:48 -- #14846
Help for Beginners
Hey all you who are just starting out on piano, I recommend to find yourselves a piano teacher to get you started with the basics of piano playing, books are very helpful too, however with a teacher you can ask questions & I'm sure most teachers are very beneficial & will prevent you from starting any "bad" habits. Also learn music theory to give you a framework in which to play. Few are those who can pick anything up by ear. This however can be developed with lots of hard work. I've heard many players who boast about "I can't read a note" as if they're proud of this & often their playing sounds often very simplified to me. It's best to be able to read AND to play by ear. Just like it's important to be able to read & write a language, it's very helpful & important to likewise learn the written language of musicians, & it'll open many doors. Plus then later on as you develop your skills you can analyze others written music  to your benefit.

Whacky -- 06/10/2005, 08:15:05 -- #14854
Excellent points!  I was one of those "ear players", but I really didn't start learning how to play the "piano" until I studied with some serious classical teachers.  Prior to my lessons I had a very harsh crappy sound - wait a minute - maybe I should have kept that???

-oh well:)

Herbie Hancock Transcriptions
mintzer -- 06/25/2005, 03:02:12 -- #15580
Keep up the good work!
Hello Scott,

discovered yr. lovely site a few weeks ago. Thank you very much for all the good work! I'm currently "taking part" in the blues lessons and shall post a report about my experiences with the pieces involved as soon as I've got my act together.

Many thanks and also many greetings to all the members,

Bob

Scot -- 06/26/2005, 21:09:34 -- #15635
Outstanding, hope you have a lot of fun working out these blues thigns. Let us know if you have any questions!

jaymusiq -- 07/09/2005, 12:55:15 -- #16334
Blues
Lesson 2

The Ultimate >Jazz Fake Book: extremely useful!
reggy -- 07/21/2005, 00:41:12 -- #16772
i dont really understand the blues scale yet
i am into studying the blues scale and i dont quite get it yet because may be im too used to western music

Scot -- 07/21/2005, 13:04:25 -- #16784
What exactly don't you understand?

SolArt -- 07/21/2005, 13:33:26 -- #16788
Do you mean country-western?

An EASY way to remember how to build the common blues scale is it's 2 minor third & a whole step units joined by a half step.

ie.  C Eb F                   F#                      G  Bb  C

(This tip makes it really easy to sing it!)

Herbie Hancock Transcriptions
JohnnyHands -- 08/08/2005, 17:42:54 -- #17409
Re:Question????
Percy, you wrote this:

>>
Hi, I'm Chilean and am lerning to play piano by myself... my question is why on seccion " the basics" the  C7 is ( e - g- Bb - d ) and the same note on seccion  "simple Blues" is e  - a -Bb - d).???? thanks, Percy
<<

The answer is that those are both C7 chords with different extensions(extensions are 9ths, 11ths and 13ths), but both, in jazz terms, are C7 chords.   Jazz chord charts usually just give you the chord symbol with the seventh and leave it up to you which extensions you want to add on top of it.

Technically though, the chords have different names, the (e-g-Bb-d) chord is a C9 chord because only the 9th extension (the 'd') is added.  The (e-a-Bb-d) chord is a C13, because the 9th and the 13th (the 'a') are added.  Sometimes a chord chart will tell you specifically to play, say a C9 or C13, and that's just the arranger wanting to emphasize that that chord sounds good in the arrangement.

If your not familiar with 9ths, 11ths, and 13ths (or roots, 3rds, 5ths, and 7ths for that matter), here's a link to a lesson on the learnjazzpiano.com site that might help:

http://www.learnjazzpiano.com/citadel/scotcit.mvc?room_desc=1&room_id=1074922438&hall_id=1074921458

Good Luck!

Lee Lewis -- 08/14/2005, 13:33:04 -- #17587
loven it
Hi, thankyou, i love jazz but i got stuck at a certain stage of my music, i hated not being able to play, i was bored of hearing the same stuff, when i did play. hopefully this is the kick up the jacksy i needed?
thankyou

itwasme -- 08/26/2005, 01:56:55 -- #18016
blues scales
Anyone know where I can get the left and right hand fingering for all the blues scales?

The Ultimate >Jazz Fake Book: extremely useful!
donna41 -- 09/02/2005, 20:35:45 -- #18466
I'm astounded
Just for the heck of it, I went to google and typed in 'learn jazz piano' and lo and behold this website popped up!  Thank you thank you.  I've been trying to play jazz for 30 years and at last I'm picking up on understanding how to play it.  Info on walking base line was terrific.  Info on voicing and leaving out the root in the right hand was awesome, and I learned all this in my first setting.

You guys are great to share!

Donna

bg05 -- 09/04/2005, 02:18:59 -- #18505
Explanation of How to Form the Chords?

They're labeled 7ths but they contain a sixth and ninth. Is there an explanation?

SolArt -- 09/04/2005, 07:42:02 -- #18511
They were just "thrown in". As I've mentioned elsewhere, I like "accurately" notated chord symbols, but these above versions are for the more experienced player who adds them him/herself.

Herbie Hancock Transcriptions
bg05 -- 09/04/2005, 12:46:33 -- #18525
Thanks SolArt, I was about to write that I saw an earlier message explaining it
Thanks very much.

SolArt -- 09/04/2005, 16:33:42 -- #18533
No sweat.

Scot -- 09/05/2005, 17:39:23 -- #18586
Bg- be sure to read the entire lesson because it explains why the extra notes are thrown in.

The Ultimate >Jazz Fake Book: extremely useful!
caliyute02 -- 09/08/2005, 21:02:03 -- #18796
Anyone here heard of Soulive?
Hey guys!!! Does anyone here enjoy both Jazz and hip-hop? They sound so good together. Anyways, I’m listening to a few tracks from the new Soullive album called break out. Has anyone heard it? I got it from my internship at umvd. They mix jazz music with hip-hop beats. I'd just thought to share with you guys. They have a website if you want to hear a few clips. See ya.

www.soulive.com

nawsan -- 09/11/2005, 10:41:27 -- #18877
Hi I am from Burmar but my ethnicity is Kachin.I love this site very much and it is very useful for me as learner of jazz piano.In my country jazz piano books are not easily found.So I like this site .

roadrunner -- 09/11/2005, 15:37:11 -- #18888
search doesn't work
went to the top right corner of the site, typed "harmonic voicings" (with and without quotation marks), selected "files," and there were no results. The same thing happened with "scales and chords" and "modal scales." Does anyone know what the problem is?

Herbie Hancock Transcriptions
7 -- 09/11/2005, 18:00:28 -- #18892
Probably you got no results because nobody's uploaded any files with those particular names.

Go to "Albetan's Area" and click on "List Files" in the line of links at the top of the page, or simply click on the link below:

http://www.learnjazzpiano.com/citadel/scotcit.mvc?action=files&sub=file_list&room_id=1075579460&hall_id=1074923352

Albetan has a lot of files that address many of these issues.

There is lots of information on this site, but  sometimes you have to nose around a little to find it.

oh_ryan -- 09/14/2005, 22:05:42 -- #19050
Cocktail jazz...
This looks like a great site! I have always wanted to  play jazz. I have an ear for it but I have trouble getting it out into my fingers... I was classically trained but now I would like to learn to play jazz style, "cocktail" jazz piano style... I'll give it a shot!

albetan -- 09/15/2005, 20:55:35 -- #19098
Thanks, 7, for promoting my room.

Roadrunner:
Pleease write:
voicings
scales
chords
modes

selecting files

The Ultimate >Jazz Fake Book: extremely useful!
bawie -- 09/30/2005, 07:48:38 -- #19463
Blues
I love jazz!

ayofetom -- 10/01/2005, 00:53:05 -- #19478
THANKS
I APPRECIATE U FOR OFFERING ME THIS KIND OF MUSIC PIECE WHICH I HAVE BEEN OPTING FOR LONG TIME AGO. I WILL BE MORE GRATEFUL F THIS PIECE COULD BE SENT AS A NEWSLETTER EVERY WEEK THANKS VERY MUCH

guillame -- 10/29/2005, 13:20:02 -- #20411
Blues Chords
I am confused about the Blues Chords Defined.

Every chord chart tells me C7 Chord is CEGBflat
                           F7 Chord is FACEflat

What am I missing?

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wdennissorrell -- 10/29/2005, 14:46:30 -- #20413
Those you list are indeed the bare chords, it's just that you can have many more notes used than just the minimum. Sometimes notes are omitted(like maybe the root, or the third, or the fifth, etc.) while other notes are added such as the ninth, thirteenth, etc. Also it is important, at least to me, to remember that the blues scale includes a minor third, perfect fourth, diminished fifth, perfect fifth, and a minor seventh. These are not limits, more like suggestions. The most important issue is how does it sound, if you like it great, if your audience likes it so much the better. More notes, within reason, gives a much more interesting sound. So experiment and see what works for you.

guillame -- 10/29/2005, 16:16:03 -- #20414
To wdennissorrell
Thank you for the enlightenmnet re the Blues Chords.
Since I am a novice I tend to rely on the literal/bland stuff, but i see  your point

Bill

rassi -- 11/03/2005, 14:38:16 -- #20577

Tak a lok:
http://aebersold.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=JAZZ&Category_Code=_HANDBOOK

preben

The Ultimate >Jazz Fake Book: extremely useful!
casparus -- 11/12/2005, 23:45:34 -- #20941
those defined chords are all 13th chords-NOT 7th chords, so why not show a 7th, and THEN a 9th and then a 13th or whatever, so the beginner ( which this is aimed at ) knows what is what and which is which?

albetan -- 11/13/2005, 17:48:16 -- #20970
You may substitute any chord by other of same family.
So C7 may be substituted by C9, or C11, or C9+11, or C13.
In Jazz always you see a C7 you may perform it as C13 with more tension and more rich sound.
See these files at Albetan's area:Extended chords,
Substitute chords,
A & B Forms of voicings.

Scot -- 11/17/2005, 13:05:11 -- #21155
If you read the basics lesson it says in regards to showing the 13th that it DOESN'T MATTER how the chord is built.  What matters is how it sounds.  All jazzers make a 9th chord when the 7th chord is written on a lead sheet. Most of the time even more notes are added.  There's absolutely no reason to get beginners thinking that they are stuck in 7th chord mode, and then have them work up to 9th chords, etc etc, because all that does is put them in a box.

The chords are a roadmap to  beautiful music and as long as they sound good, or sound the way you want, or both, you can play whatever you want.

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bobfrog247 -- 01/14/2006, 04:32:18 -- #23119
Blue Notes
I am first a guitar player and then I like to try and play anything else I can get my hands on. I got my hands on a 1979 Rhodes Mark I Stage Piano and thats what lead me here. Anyhow, speaking as a guitar player; the commonly refered "Blue  Note" is the addition of the Flat 3rd in the Major Pentatonic Scale which makes up the Blues Scale. The Blues scale consisting of 1 2 b3 3 5 6 8, also the b5th and b7th can be added as so called "Blue Notes". The b5th and b7th sound ok in certain situations but I really like the Flat 3rd... try it in B The scale would be B C Db D Gb Ab B. When 'trying' to play the piano I like to build chords using the blues scale, also try substituting the Blue not for the third when building Major Chords. Hope this helps

7 -- 01/14/2006, 12:10:08 -- #23121
bobfrog247,

You write The B scale would be B C Db D Gb Ab B

Both the B major scale and B minor scale are on the "sharp side" of the circle, so it would be correctly written B C C# D F# G# B, but no matter whether you use flats or sharps the above scale degrees are 1 b2 2 b3 5 6 8.

Would it be safe to assume that you actually meant to say:

1  2  b3  3   5   6  8
B  C#  D  D#  F#  G# B

?

singincowboy -- 02/10/2006, 10:34:14 -- #24076
Re: Blue Notes
Bobfrog247,
I am also a guitar player, with loads of jazz-perience. Anyways, I would like to point out that that is NOT a blues scale. It is an INVERTED BLUES SCALE, it is commonplace on guitar, a true blues scale is a MINOR pentatonic with the added (tritone)blue note. The difference in blues scale shapes on guitar is simple enough, when playing a B blues scale the notes would in fact be B D E F F# A B the scale you noted is an EXTREMELY important scale, that I use much more than a blues scale. Here is an example of how the two scales are different but still related.

F Blues Scale
F Ab Bb B C Eb F
Ab Inverted Blues Scale
Ab Bb B C Eb F Ab

Same notes right? On guitar it is easy to remember that if you're using a G shape Inverted Scale, you find the blues scale with your first finger at the same fret that you would find the E shape barred chord, if you're interested to know more, just pm me.
Sean

kathink -- 03/01/2006, 18:36:26 -- #24728
chords
hello,
i don't really see how the chords are formed. the F7 and the C7 seems to be all different and then i don't really see either how this fits in with the blues scale. it would be helpful if somebody could explain this to me, thanks :)

john_seth -- 03/09/2006, 19:08:30 -- #25075
To kathink
/...some guy from philippines)
Maybe this could help...

Try to play the F major scale on your left hand. Say 1-4-5-4 progression or 1-4-2-5 (FM7-Bb7-Gm-C7). One bar for each chord.
Then, with your right hand, try to play the D blues scale (F-G-G#-A-C-D-F). just play around with it in ascending or descending order just to see how it sounds. Then try to make some improvisations from it. By the way, Dm is the relative minor of F major scale. So that's one of the reason y u should play the D blues scale on your right hand. TRy it.

By the way Thanks for the Tritone info 7.

bv225 -- 03/10/2006, 09:42:15 -- #25090
worried
i need some one to teach me more into jazzz music

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weeyet -- 04/13/2006, 10:03:01 -- #26417
is there any basic template that i can follow?

siuloong78 -- 05/03/2006, 04:02:36 -- #26933
I do just want to congratulate you for having created this page.
I 'm very grateful to have found this page, which ,will certainly be of so much help in improving my playing. Sincerely, merlin marquez.

PeterB -- 06/02/2006, 14:57:04 -- #27807
PeterB
Hi,
Just been looking at your`Simple Blues` practice and the chord sequeces marked at F&,C7 etc all appear to have +9ths. Are ypu saying that all Dom 7th chords should add a 9th?.

Scot -- 06/16/2006, 11:36:22 -- #28096
I'm saying play what sounds good, and most of the time it sounds more jazzy to add the 9th.

agam -- 07/14/2006, 12:47:35 -- #28748
I need to
plz start me from beginning, i need to know the root of jazzpiano. wit luv from Agamex4christ, Nigeria

tegulle -- 10/14/2006, 07:07:37 -- #30477
Thanks!!
I have found this blues lesson very simple and helpful and received peer congratulations when I played it somewhere. Just a simple run through but folks liked it. Thank you Scott and keep it going; many more world over will benefit from this.

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Jecka -- 11/01/2006, 10:59:45 -- #30869
PLZ I need Help!!
Where can i find more simple blues notes with midi features, like those we have here on the page?
Hope somebody can help. Please post a message on that page or send me an e-mail to: dailynewsletter@web.de, if you have some links to other Pages.

Thank you in advance!

Jerous -- 12/20/2006, 13:06:32 -- #31817
Hey,

can someone provide me a title of some simple pianoblues, which sounds good but is not to difficult to transcribe?

Thank you!
jerous.

Scot -- 12/22/2006, 09:19:05 -- #31870
piano blues
Miles David, "Kind of Blue" recording has an easy song to trasncribe- Freddie Freeloader

Whacky -- 12/23/2006, 08:38:22 -- #31894
I think Miles David's album is called Kinda Blues, but Miles Davis' album is Kind of Blue - both great albums though :)

anvil -- 01/18/2007, 22:58:31 -- #32510
interesting.

Adult Learner -- 03/21/2007, 17:00:58 -- #34053
Puzzled by chord symbols
I have been playing piano for a couple of years and am just looking into Jazz stuff.  I thought this looked like a nice site to work with.  However, my first experience is not good.  Looking at this Simple Blues stuff, I am being told that the F7 chord symbol means I am to play F as the base and then include Eb, G, A, and D.  Sorry, but that makes no sense to me.  In my mind, the Eb would be ok as the 7th.  The G would be a 9th, the A would be the 3rd, and the D would be a 6th.  Now, I know it is ok to play these notes but why call it F7 ?  and also, it might be nice to mention the why and wherefores involved in the creation of these chords.  Or, maybe I just am not ready to this topic.  Any response would be appreciated.

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sid -- 03/22/2007, 02:40:32 -- #34088
F7 is the stripped-down, minimal or vanilla symbol for the chord.  In practice it's usual to decorate the basic structure with other intervals (like the 6th and 9th in this case), to make the sound richer and more interesting.

Try this and see if it helps:

http://www.sidthomas.net/Spoonbill_Music/Harmony/index.htm

sid

Scot -- 03/25/2007, 01:19:10 -- #34165
Well, you should read the first lesson which explains why an F13 or any other dominant style chord is simply called a 7th.

The reason is basically this: it doesn't matter what they are called, it only matters how they sound.

If you get so stuck on the semantics, you're never going to make music. Just play what sounds good and if you think about it that way, you'll be closer to being the play you want to be.

handsome085 -- 04/10/2007, 13:25:12 -- #34457
Does any one know all the fingering for every blues scale for both hands?

sdm -- 04/11/2007, 11:05:59 -- #34470
I took them from Randy Halberstadt's book Metaphors for the Musician.  He shows nice 2-octave patterns for the right hand.  Not hard to figure the left hand from them.  I believe this is one of the pages you can see here: http://www.shermusic.com/images/met_208.gif

The book is a wealth of good stuff.

lidlamazon -- 11/13/2007, 19:59:06 -- #38365
Why isn't this board like other boards?
That way we could refer to a thread rather than a poster's name, which for most of us doesn't reveal as much info.

Re: sdm w p -- 04/11/2007, 11:05:59 -- #34470
I took them from Randy Halberstadt's book Metaphors for the Musician.  He shows nice 2-octave patterns for the right hand.  Not hard to figure the left hand from them.

Okay, I'm an idiot. How do I figure out the left hand?

sdm -- 11/14/2007, 08:34:21 -- #38373
Well, what I've found is that I can put the thumb down at the same time as the right.  Seems to work.  When I mentioned to my teacher that I was trying both hands he wondered aloud if there was any value to that.  I still do it a bit all the same.

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lidlamazon -- 12/05/2007, 19:46:19 -- #38793
practicing blues scales
Yeah, I read that somewhere else, don't know what to make of it. That's how I was taught classical, so I don't know why it doesn't work with blues/improv. I'm just learning but why can't I use the same fingers on the same notes most of the time? Seems like it would make improvising easier, you'd always have your hand in a good position where ever you wanted to go. Isn't that the way it works in classical most of the time even though you're likely to be reading notes that are already planned out (as you do in transcriptions of blues also)? Plus, it just seems rational that if you want to learn a scale, you want to practice it in its entire form before you start messing about with it. That leads to still another issue, which is you could practice them using just your thumbs but that hardly seems like the most flexible thing to learn (it might be a nice effect at certain times but you could always do that if you practiced getting it smooth while the reverse isn't true).

I don't know what you mean by the thumb thing. Doesn't work for me. I have opposing fingers on each hand, don't know about you ;)

sdm -- 12/06/2007, 08:17:39 -- #38809
Putting the thumb down on the left at the same time as the thumb on the right - just when playing the blues scales with both hands - just seems to make the cross-over easier.  During improv I think the fingering will change depending on the situation: where you're coming from and where you're going.  

Don't know about classical -- no training.

njaka -- 01/11/2008, 01:19:53 -- #39612
Blue scale
Hi,
Lsaw a blue scale in others lessons and it is like below:

Key F: F - Ab - Bb - B - C - Eb - F
It'is wrong?

knotty -- 01/11/2008, 09:12:13 -- #39623
that's the F blues Scale. Same as above.

Emanon -- 01/20/2008, 11:02:10 -- #39835
Explain the voicings
Could someone please explain Scotts voicings, i am staring at them on the keys and whilst some of it makes sense there is not pattern between the I - IV - V chords?

Thanks

p.s also if you have some useful way of splitting the chords between the left and right hand, that would also be handy.

Thanks,
Emanon

Emanon -- 01/20/2008, 11:02:17 -- #39836
Explain the voicings
Could someone please explain Scotts voicings, i am staring at them on the keys and whilst some of it makes sense there is not pattern between the I - IV - V chords?

Thanks

p.s also if you have some useful way of splitting the chords between the left and right hand, that would also be handy.

Thanks,
Emanon

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Scot -- 01/21/2008, 12:23:20 -- #39880
The blues scale and pentatonic scale to me are the same thing.  The B natural in the F blues scale is used as an in-between note, but in  my opinion is not part of the  blues scale, though a lot of people will argue with me about that one.

Learn the scale both ways, it doesn't hurt.

on the voicings question, please look at the basics lesson.  I interchange 7th, 9th, and 13th chords all the time.  To me they are all 7th SOUNDING chords. I don't think it's important to try to remember all the 13th chords, all the 9th chords, all the 7th chords, it's just important to know how to get the sound you're looking for.  Practice the chords in different keys so your hands are familiar with them.  

Really listen, though, because it's the sound that is important, and they all SOUND like some version of a 7th chord.

Emanon -- 01/23/2008, 11:34:03 -- #39925
Thanks Scott,

I think its about breaking away from the theory and training the ears and going on that instinct opposed to needing a writen formal explanation explaining, how, why, when?

Knowledge has to lead intuition...

On the flips side i have another question...On Eric Clapton's unplugged album he plays Eugene McDaniels version of 'Before you accuse me' in the standard 12 bar blues i.e

I(E7) - IV (A7) - I (E7) - I (E7)
IV (A7) - IV (A7) - I (E7) - I (E7)
V (B7) - IV (A7) - I (E7) - V (B7)

But the key signature is A major

That has confused me, from the chords in the actual song you would assume that is in the key of E major. Am i missing something?

Also what do you play over the chord progression, the major scale, the blues scale, the relative minors blues scale, the relative minors major scale??

Thanks

sid -- 01/24/2008, 01:13:12 -- #39936
Clapton's blues is clearly in E.  I guess the key signature is A because playing the E chords as 7 means D natural instead of D#.  Doesn't explain what happens when the B7 chord comes round, though.  Just goes to show that European conventions like key signatures don't easily adapt to afro-american forms like the blues.

sid

joanmca -- 06/01/2008, 20:40:57 -- #41558
beginner's question F7
I am 67 years old and just started to learn to play the piano 4-5 years ago.  Working on playing from fake books, eg. Real Books.  In my ignorance I didn't realize how many different scales exist.  To me F7 would mean f a c flat e.  Obviously, in the blues scale, the notes are not the same.  How would I know if a lead sheet was using the blues scale?

Whacky -- 06/03/2008, 11:39:21 -- #41573
The blues scale is kind of a way to jump start your improvisational skills by giving you some common note choices that some folks use for blues and such.  It may or may not appear in the melody of your lead sheet.

You're right F7 is FACEb.  The examples above are what is known as rootless voicings - the notes of a chord are considered voices - the root is the note on which the chord is built.

The F7 in the example above is a rootless voicing of an F13 chord FACEbGBbD   If we get rid of the root, 5th and 11th (F,C Bb)we end up with the notes from the voicing above (re-arranged = 7 9 3 13)

*we usually leave the 11th out unless we sharp it - 'cause it just doesn't sound good:)

tsnmicheal -- 07/08/2008, 07:44:35 -- #41944
fingering chart
can I get the fingering display of Simple Blues on Piano

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