|
Welcome to the Piano World Piano Forums Over 3 million posts about pianos, digital pianos, and all types of keyboard instruments. Over 100,000 members from around the world.
Join the World's Largest Community of Piano Lovers
(it's free)
It's Fun to Play the Piano ... Please Pass It On!
|
|
75 members (AaronSF, apianostudent, beeboss, brdwyguy, benkeys, Abdulrohmanoman, 17 invisible),
2,261
guests, and
445
robots. |
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 2,313
2000 Post Club Member
|
OP
2000 Post Club Member
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 2,313 |
There are many variations, but the classic, for Bb blues, would be: Bb7 | Eb7 | Bb7 | F-7 Bb7 | Eb7 | Eb7 | Bb7 | G7 | C-7 | F7 | Bb7 G7 | C-7 F7 |
The G7 and F7 chords are usually altered in some way.
If you know this basic sequence, you'll have a very good start. If you want to see the most complex variation (don't get intimidated; I'm sure you don't have to know it) look up Charlie Parker's Blues for Alice.
Hope this helps. Hey jjo Thanks so much for I | IV | I | v, I | IV | IV| I | VI | ii | V | I, VI | ii, V | Here is my plan, I hope you're OK with it ? 1. Sing Red Garland's version of C Jam Blues for 10 minutes a day for a few weeks 2. Do composition over the above changes. Would you mind if I post it for you to tell me whether it vaguely sounds like jazz-style blues ? 3. Improvise over the above changes. To start off with, I think I will stick with LH chords rather than a LH motif. I just listened to Bird's Blues for Alice, extremely complex but extremely fun too.
Last edited by custard apple; 10/09/12 02:02 AM.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 2,313
2000 Post Club Member
|
OP
2000 Post Club Member
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 2,313 |
Yes, G blues is common. I would recommend you learn all the guitar keys first (sharp keys). Eventually you'll want to learn to play equally well in all 12 keys though. Every key is called on gigs. This is especially true in horn based bands as one poster mentioned. Also, Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughn tuned their guitars down a 1/2 step. There are many guitar players who follow their example in this. Hi Steve For some reason G Blues is the one that trips me up. I know it introduces a nice blues sound when I solo in E maj for my jazz standards e.g. the bridge of All The Things You are. Yes I have a life-time goal of mastering 12 keys.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 1,239
1000 Post Club Member
|
1000 Post Club Member
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 1,239 |
Custard: 1. Think of bar 4 as a II-V to the IV chord. 2. Listen to Charlie Parker play blues, and you can also get the Omni Book, which has his solos transcribed. He is the foundation of most jazz blues playing. 3. Your plan sounds great. Do that and you'll be way better than me. I'd be happy to listen to anything, however.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 2,313
2000 Post Club Member
|
OP
2000 Post Club Member
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 2,313 |
Custard: 1. Think of bar 4 as a II-V to the IV chord. 2. Listen to Charlie Parker play blues, and you can also get the Omni Book, which has his solos transcribed. He is the foundation of most jazz blues playing. 3. Your plan sounds great. Do that and you'll be way better than me. I'd be happy to listen to anything, however. Hi jjo 1. This is very useful. So should I be thinking 3 bars of Bb 7) I, IV, I 3 bars of Eb 7) ii V, I, I 6 bars of Bb7) I, VI, ii, V, I VI, ii V 2. Good idea. I actually own the book. I will study Now's The Time as it's easy and fun. 3. You're too humble. Bet you blew real well at your jazz camp.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 4,353
4000 Post Club Member
|
4000 Post Club Member
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 4,353 |
Hey rocket Yeah that's a great creation indeed by Avery Parrish. Cool arrangement too. The pianist in the clip was certainly missing nothing in his blues skills set. I noticed his technique is different to most jazz pianists, his wrists seemed stiffer than most jazz pianists, is this technique common for this type of blues, or is it just him ?
David Maxwell is a well-know and excellent Blues pianist. That was the first time I saw his technique, and it does look stiff. But it works for him...another example of a great player with "unconventional" technique, like Classical monster player Horowitz who played with flat fingers. I don't think that any genre of music has a specific technique style. Each player has their own...although there are certain technique challenges that one style of music may have more of than another, i.e. more chords in Jazz and Blues than in some Classical.
Blues and Boogie-Woogie piano teacher.
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 3,206
3000 Post Club Member
|
3000 Post Club Member
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 3,206 |
custard,
For jazz blues it's almost always played in the keys of F, Bb, or C. There are many play-along recordings for practicing jazz blues with (Aebersold).
Try applying Mixoldydian scales. Also infuse both the Happy Blues scale and the Minor Blues scale
12 Bar Blues scales in C :
I7 (C7) : C Mixoldydian and or Happy blues scale: C D D# E G A IV (F7): F Mixolydian and or Minor Blues scale: C Eb F F# G Bb V7 (G7): G MIxolydian and or either C Happy or C Minor Blues scale
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 2,313
2000 Post Club Member
|
OP
2000 Post Club Member
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 2,313 |
Hey rocket Yeah that's a great creation indeed by Avery Parrish. Cool arrangement too. The pianist in the clip was certainly missing nothing in his blues skills set. I noticed his technique is different to most jazz pianists, his wrists seemed stiffer than most jazz pianists, is this technique common for this type of blues, or is it just him ?
David Maxwell is a well-know and excellent Blues pianist. That was the first time I saw his technique, and it does look stiff. But it works for him...another example of a great player with "unconventional" technique, like Classical monster player Horowitz who played with flat fingers. I don't think that any genre of music has a specific technique style. Each player has their own...although there are certain technique challenges that one style of music may have more of than another, i.e. more chords in Jazz and Blues than in some Classical. Yeah rocket, as you say, whatever works. Like Thelonious Monk with the stiff flat fingers resulting in a percussive style.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 2,313
2000 Post Club Member
|
OP
2000 Post Club Member
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 2,313 |
custard,
For jazz blues it's almost always played in the keys of F, Bb, or C. There are many play-along recordings for practicing jazz blues with (Aebersold).
Try applying Mixoldydian scales. Also infuse both the Happy Blues scale and the Minor Blues scale
12 Bar Blues scales in C :
I7 (C7) : C Mixoldydian and or Happy blues scale: C D D# E G A IV (F7): F Mixolydian and or Minor Blues scale: C Eb F F# G Bb V7 (G7): G MIxolydian and or either C Happy or C Minor Blues scale Hey ritincop Thanks for these very useful pointers. I'm looking forward a lot to tackling this jazz blues challenge. My first jazz blues composition will be in C. I also know the half-whole dim scale which I guess works over C7, F7 and G7 ? Generally, would you say that in jazz blues, there is less emphasis on the #4 than in traditional blues ?
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 282
Full Member
|
Full Member
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 282 |
It's been a while since I've looked it, but as I recall Mark Harrison's "Jazz Blues Piano" book (w/CD) is an excellent primer to this particular genre. It's published by Hal Leonard and is available tons of places including Amazon (in the U.S., at least).
Kind regards,
Ben
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 2,313
2000 Post Club Member
|
OP
2000 Post Club Member
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 2,313 |
Hi Ben Thanks for your input. Do you remember if the Mark Harrison book is for traditional blues or jazz blues ?
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 1,239
1000 Post Club Member
|
1000 Post Club Member
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 1,239 |
Custard: Bar #4 would be more a Bb dominant sound. Since it's not a II-V-I to a major, don't start the Eb feeling until bar 4. The rest of what you suggested would work, but pretty soon you should start playing all of the chords. In bar 8, for example, you can play various G scales, most of which include a b natural. Again, I know of no better place to see how it's done than Parker's Omni book, or some other online source that has a Parker blues solo written out.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 2,313
2000 Post Club Member
|
OP
2000 Post Club Member
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 2,313 |
Custard: Bar #4 would be more a Bb dominant sound. Since it's not a II-V-I to a major, don't start the Eb feeling until bar 4. The rest of what you suggested would work, but pretty soon you should start playing all of the chords. In bar 8, for example, you can play various G scales, most of which include a b natural. Again, I know of no better place to see how it's done than Parker's Omni book, or some other online source that has a Parker blues solo written out. Thank you jjo. So the ii V I doesn't come in until bar 9. What do you mean by b natural ? I know Bird uses a lot of b9. Besides studying his Now's The Time, I will also study Perhaps.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 2,313
2000 Post Club Member
|
OP
2000 Post Club Member
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 2,313 |
Oh I think I know what you mean jjo. Like use G7 #9 so that the Bb leads to the following C min7 chord ?
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 282
Full Member
|
Full Member
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 282 |
Do you remember if the Mark Harrison book is for traditional blues or jazz blues ? He has numerous instructional books for different styles. The one I mentioned is specifically for jazz blues. You can find out more about him at http://harrisonmusic.com. Check out the "Keyboard Style Series" section of his web site for details. B.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 2,313
2000 Post Club Member
|
OP
2000 Post Club Member
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 2,313 |
Many thanks Ben. I will download the ebook on another computer tomorrow as I am running out of monthly bytes on my home computer.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 282
Full Member
|
Full Member
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 282 |
You're welcome, custard apple. But double-check the web site on this title, though. Harrison has a number of offerings in ebook format, but AFAIK Jazz-Blues Piano isn't among them. I think it's only available as a physical book w/ CD.
Regards,
B.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Piano
by Gino2 - 04/17/24 02:34 PM
|
Piano
by Gino2 - 04/17/24 02:23 PM
|
|
Forums43
Topics223,405
Posts3,349,434
Members111,637
|
Most Online15,252 Mar 21st, 2010
|
|
|
|
|
|