2008 week 17 lesson: Some concepts when "understanding" Blues applications

[gennation]

Intro...

 

This is in response to this thread about how or whether Modes ties into playing the Blues and other concepts for playing over it: http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?t=1982499

 

And, since the question is about different teachings and concepts based around dealing and understanding Blues, or I-IV-V, from Functional and Modal aspects, I thought it would be best to cover somethings from the ground up..."a filling food for thought"

 

Yes, I'm a little crazy but that's what happens when you've been staring at these three chords for over 30 years...but that lunacy also allows me to find new sounds and visions when playing over these same chords for decades. This is the same lunacy that drives me to organize thoughts around the applications...

 

Of course this isn't the complete answer to Blues, but this is where a lot of applications are derived from.

 

Hope you enjoy...

[gennation]

Part 1: the longevity of Blues

 

Blues has a few other concepts than modes. While it's not really considered Modal by most, it can definitely be approached Modally.

 

But, while people can find ONE concept to use with Blues, things can start to stagnate, or start to sound the same, and then they search for other ways to deal with the progression...this is EXACTLY why the Blues is special....there ARE others ways, many ways, to deal with it. This is a HUGE contributing factor to why Blues STILL to this day inspires creativity.

 

And it's special in a way that with other styles of music you either play in that style, or it doesn't sound quite like that style anymore. With Blues you can play many "styles' within the Blues style.

 

Here's a few concepts for Blues, some are using one scale only, some are using scales directly related to the "Key Name", some are related to function characteristics, and some are related to Modal aspects of the progression/chords.

 

We'll stick with I-IV-V chords of C-F-G respectively.

 

You hear the term "I-IV-V". On the surface these are functional terms used to describe a chord step/Interval/function within a Key. It's easy for most to understand that "in C" C=I, F=IV, and G=V. So the "Root Movement" is DEFINITELY I-IV-V without a question.

 

But...

[gennation]

Part 2: where I-IV-V starts and where it ends...

 

If you are going to tie I-IV-V to the functionality of a Key and a Key's harmonies, you fine REAL quick that this REALLY isn't tied directly to a Key when playing over the chords.

 

When looking at or extending out the harmonies within a Key, the I-IV-V would turn out to be Imaj7-IVmaj7-V7, or in our case: Cmaj7-Fmaj7-G7.

 

Try playing the Blues with those chords and...well, you WON'T be playing the Blues.

 

When "playing the Blues" the harmonies from each Root end up being I7-IV7-V7, or conforming to our chords of focus...

 

C7-F7-G7.

 

These are harmonies are not "Diatonically Correct". This is at the heart of WHY there are so many different ways to approach the Blues...the progression's harmonies ARE NOT built from one scale but from many, and these many are disconnected AND connected at the same time!!!

 

Let's look at a few:

[gennation]

Part 3: Using ONE SCALE for the whole progression...

 

Many people first realize they can play a Minor Pentatonic or a Blues scale form the Root of the I7 chord and it'll fit over the WHOLE progression (ala using the C Blues scale for the whole Blues progression "in C"). While this IS true it's not REALLY true.

 

One of the biggest reasons is, both of those scales contain a m3 (the Eb note), but the I7 chord contains a M3 (the E note). So most people develop, without realizing it usually, a slight bend to a full half-step bend placed on that m3 note. What's REALLY happening here is the m3 is being bent, or suggesting it's moving, to the M3 (moving the m3 to the M3, IOW Eb->E)!

 

This slight bend is taking the tension of the Eb and hinting at resolving to the M3. This "hinting" is all that's needed in most cases and it really never NEEDS to get all the way to the M3, but at least needs to "suggest" the resolution.

 

This is at the heart of "playing the Blues". You've heard (and probably played) this bend SO MANY times that you'd probably be in debt a million dollars if you had to pay a penny for every 100 times you've heard or used it. But, because it sounds SO good (especially compared to "sitting on" the m3/Eb) you would continue to go in debt to keep using or hearing it...it sounds that natural.

 

So, in reality the m3 in the scale is not necessarily a note of choice over the I7 chord, but a tension, or a path, used to get us to the M3...AND get us closer to sound like we are actually playing over a Major chord instead of a Minor chord that doesn't exist!!!

 

Also, the F note (the Perfect 4th, or 11) in C Blues scale doesn't sound especially sweet over the C7 chord, so this is why we have the common, and very much over used, bend from F->G when many people start their solo's with or it's found in the common Blues riffs based on bends. That F is tension and it resolves to the G note because...wait for it...G is IN the C7 chord!!!!

 

In conclusion...when using the C Blues scale over the I7 chord, realize you can now add in the M3 note to the scale to make it "fit the chord" better. And we have that common bend from F->G because F isn't in the chord but G is in the chord, so again you are making things "fit the chord" better.

[gennation]

Part 4: One scale continued...

 

We've dealt with the I7 chord, but how is the One Blues scale REALLY working over the IV and the V chords???

 

Again we are using the C Blues scale for the whole progression. So, how does this scale work over the F7 chord?

 

Well, remember that F note that didn't sound to good over the C7 chord, well it's a DEAD RINGER for the F7 chord. And, remember that Eb note in the scale that we would die to have it resolve...well over the F7 chord Eb works great all by itself due to the fact that it's the b7 of the F7 chord!

 

For the G7 chord, that Eb is again a no-no due to the fact that it would give us a m6 Interval against a 7th chord. So, you are best to avoid this note except to MAYBE use it as a path the an E note which will be the M6 Interval for G7. So if you land on the Eb while playing the G7 chord...once you start to cringe, just slide it or bend it to E and the heavens will merge again. The F note is fine with the G7 chord because it's the b7 of G7.

 

Also, the C note in the C Blues scale is not going to sit nicely over the G7 chord, in this case you'd want to target the D note if you land on C.

 

So, if all this is true, can you REALLY tell me that you are using ONE scale over the WHOLE progression?

 

Even though your fingers, and you, are thinking this is one "pattern", it's the notes that count. And, without taking these things into consideration (or just hitting them by way of nature) this is what tends to make novice Blues solo's sound flat and sour in spots...because they have no idea what the notes are DOING against the chords, and basically no idea how to target the chords by using a scale.

[gennation]

Part 5: Playing tighter on the chords...

 

The Blues is based on Dominant harmonies (ie 7th, 9th, and 13th chords). But in reality the three chords are based on multiple Dominant harmonies that aren't directly related to each other, or to each chord. So, there are more approaches to playing over them.

 

Another approach is to treat each 7th chords as it's own "Tonic", giving each its own scale. In this concept, where we have three chords we will have three scales. This is the first example where you COULD use the term Modal when approaching the Blues.

 

When we play over a I7 chord, the proper scale to use is the Mixolydian from the Root of the chord. These harmonies DIRECTLY support the sound of a 7th chord being played by itself...

 

and since the three chords C7-F7-G7 are NOT a Diatonic I-IV-V once you get past the Root notes of the chord, they are basically 7th chord played by themselves or "standing alone".

 

So, the concept of playing three scales that support each individual chord turn out to be:

 

C7 = C Mixolydian

F7 = F Mixolydian

G7 = G Mixolydian

 

Each of those scales will DIRECTLY support the chord you are playing in the progression.

 

So, change scales each time you change chords.

 

Since the Mixolydian Mode is played over I7 chords, Modally you can now look at the I-IV-V progression as...I7-I7-I7...

 

or, from the starting I7 we move up a 4th and treat the IV7 chord as a I7 by using it's Mixolydian scale, and then the V chord would be another I7 chord a 5th higher than the original I7 chord and using it's Mixolydian scale.

 

This may seem a little convoluted but if you are going to consider Modes, you need to think about each chord as standing on it's own and not connected Diatonically. So, each chord is it's own Tonal-Center.

 

So, play a Mixolydian scale that corresponds directly to the chord you are on...three chords, three Mixolydian scales. This will support the chords to the fullest.

[gennation]

Part 6: Another view of Playing tighter on the chords...

 

Ok, so now we have looked at playing ONE scale for the whole progression to playing one scale for EACH chord. Let's combine them...people use this to find new perspectives on old things all the time...

 

Let's look at changing scales for each chord, but let's NAME each scale from the I7 chord of the I7-IV7-V7 progression.

 

IOW, we can name the three Mixolydian scales from the Root, or Tonic, name of C.

 

To do this we would end up with these scales for each chord...

 

C7 = C Mixolydian

F7 = C Dorian

G7 = C Ionian (or simply the C Major scale)

 

How can this be so different and be the SAME as three Mixolydian scales???

 

1. we know the "proper" scale for C7 is C Mixolydian, that's a given

2. Diatonically C Dorian has the same notes as F Mixolydian

3. Diatonically C Ionian has the same notes as G Mixolydian

 

But in this concept we are deriving ALL of the scale names from the Tonic of C, or based from C.

 

Got it???

[gennation]

Part 7: Pentatonics, Pentatonics, Pentatonics...

 

If you look at our three Mixolydian scales you'll see that EACH contain a Major Pentatonic scale. With this you can now view each chord as having it's own Major Pentatonic scale...

 

C7 = C Major Pentatonic

F7 = F Major Pentatonic

G7 = G Major Pentatonic

 

SO, now you can use a specific Major Pent scale for EACH chord.

 

Plus, if you remember the very first concept where we found you "thought" you were using a Blues/Minor Pentatonic type scale over a Major or 7th type chord...well if you remember how to handle the m3 and the 4/11 in the Blues scale when playing over a 7th chord...WHY can't you use a separate Blues or Minor Pentatonic scale for EACH chord????

 

You can...but remember to deal with the m3 and 4 properly...

 

C7 = C Blues/Minor Pentatonic

F7 = F Blues/Minor Pentatonic

G7 = G Blues/Minor Pentatonic

 

Now here's the icing on the cake...if you can play BOTH MAJOR AND MINOR PENTATONIC scales over each chord...why can't you combine them into one HUGE scale??? You can...http://lessons.mikedodge.com/lessons/AdvPent/AvdPentTOC.htm there are 50+ example lesson explaining how this works

[gennation]

Part 8: So where does all this mumbo jumbo land us up to now????

 

C7 = C Blues (tweeked), C Mixolydian, C Major Pent, C Minor Pent/Blues, and mixing the C Major and C Minor/Blues Pents together as one.

 

F7 = C Blues (tweeked), F Mixolydian, C Dorian, F Major Pent, F Minor Pent/Blues, and mixing the F Major and F Minor/Blues Pents together as one.

 

G7 = C Blues (tweeked), G Mixolydian, C Major/Ionian, G Major Pent, G Minor Pent/Blues, and mixing the G Major and Minor/Blues Pents together as one.

[gennation]

Part 9: Just have to check...

 

Had enough????

 

Well there is much more....

[gennation]

Part 10: Using functional motion in a not totally functional progression...

 

Remember when I tried to explain how each chord could be thought as a I7 chord a certain distance from the other I7 chords???? IOW, looking at a I-IV-V progresion as a I7-I7-I7 progression????

 

Sure, it sounded crazy didn't it, it sound over the top, sound thick and fluffy at the same time right???? Well, loo at this concept...

 

Many times when a Major/Minor/Dominant chord is changed to another chord we can proceed the new chord with whats called a IIm-V-I progression, landing on the new chord and treating it as a "I chord".

 

One spot in the Blues progression is during the I7->IV7 change. You find this ALL OVER the place in Swing Blues, Jazz Blues, Jump Blues, Dixieland Blues, and just about every Blues genre out there.

 

Here's how it works...

 

In our Blues pregression if we look at C7->F7 we think of it as a I7-IV7 movement or motion, right??? But look at it this way...couldn't C7 be though of as the V7 of F????? Yes it can...

 

C7->F7 and be treated as a V7->I7 move!!!!!!!

 

Here's where it happens, and PLAY THIS because you HAVE TO HERE IT!!!!

 

Original first five bars of our Blues progression:

 

|| C7 | C7 | C7 | C7 | F7 |......very common place...

 

now let's proceed the F7 with a IIm-V-I and land on the IV7 as if it was a I7...

 

|| C7 | C7 | C7 | Gm7 C7 | F7 |.....

 

Ok, did you HEAR IT???? If not keep playing it, it will became as natural a sound as the I7-

 

 

It sounds so much like a I7 that you could play no more the the first beat of bar five and the progression would sound complete, completely resolved...that ONLY happens on the I7 in Dominant harmony.

 

But there's more now that we are in Functional territory...

[gennation]

Part 11: Using Chromatic Forward Motion dring the I7->IV7 change...

 

Ok follow along...

 

Since we now can see, or hear, that C7 can be thought of as the V7 of F7, making the F7 a I7 when we land on it...we can to a number of cool things to the V7/C7 chord just before landing on F7...or I7 in this case...

 

A couple of things that are really just one thing is to Alter the V7 chord, or using a b5/Tritone sub for the C7 JUST before moving the F7.

 

The simple way to show this is to substitute the C7 with an Gb7 or an Gb9 chord.

 

Without getting to deep into this concept theory-wise let's HEAR it instead...

 

Remember the original:

 

|| C7 | C7 | C7 | C7 | F7 |.........

 

and the IIm-V-I cadance:

 

|| C7 | C7 | C7 | Gm7 C7 | F7 |......

 

now try this using the b5 sub:

 

|| C7 | C7 | C7 | Gm7 Gb9 | F7 |....

 

What we did here is create some chromatic movement leading/targeting the F7 chord, strengthening the fact the F7 is now I7 and strengthening the reason we would use F Mixolydian over the chord.

[gennation]

Part 12: If you want to try something cool to play over this Chromatic Movement to F7...

 

just try playing a Gm or Gm7 arp for Gm7 and a Gb triad or Gb7/Gb9 arps for Gb9. This is ALL you'll need for a while.

 

Like this for bar #4:

 

 

This is a very simple idea but very affective.

 

Now sort out those arps as many different ways as you can and I'm sure you'll stumble on some REALLY nice movements.

[gennation]

Part 13: In closing...

 

Yes, I'm crazy...but that's besides the point...

 

If you look at ALL those different scales you can use, you have practically EVERY NOTE at your disposal...so, HOW THE HELL DO YOU KNOW WHAT TO PLAY????

 

Well, you can decipher over 10 to 15 scales if you want, or you can learn to understand just three chords and what they are doing and saying.

 

So, while there is so much importance and time spent on scales, it's REALLY the chords you are catering to. And regardless of how many scales you learn to play over it...the ONLY reason they fit is because of the chords.

 

But, I've also showed how you can thinking of the progression as one big thing or three separate things, and how you specify their individualism...and each time we mess with the chords, we find new "scale" ideas, but only because of the chord understanding.

 

So, understanding the chords, their relationship from a Diatonic stand point, from a Non-Diatonic stand point, Modal, or from a scale stand point, you have almost EVERY note at your disposal when you play the Blues...

 

strengthening the chords is the base of the inspiration that has keep Blues alive and kicking for so long...so start practicing how to do that and you'll have a chance of being a much better player quicker in most cases than learning tons of scales and trying to make heads or tails out of them.

[mosiddiqi]

..round of applause Mike, 'nuff said.

[Virgman]

Holy crap!

 

Mikey da king of da blues.

 

[Ericjake]

Bravo, bravissimo!!

 

That added llm,V7,I7 movement sounds kind a jazzy, doesn't it?

[DaveH]

Thank Mike! You're a great source.

[darkwaters]

Thanks Mike. When are you going to publish ?

[gennation]

Thanks guys.

 

I know Blues is such a wide subject, can have other underlying theories, and many people cringe with the mention of "Modes" over it. But when approach as a Modal progression you can get a sense of where the harmonies in the chords come from...but it's only one way of looking at it since you can see there are many that I discussed, but there are also MANY MANY more approaches too playing over it.

[hjcooper]

wow, that was great! THANKS! Most helpful

[R. Chapman]

ughhh....what????..

 

hehe,, just joking...Great stuff Mike...thanks for all the info. you post here.

 

Randy

[Rudolf von Hagenwil]

I woke up this morning taaaa ta dha

With a dog in my face Rita was gone

I'm feeling so lonely I'm left all alone, yes, I'm left all alone

 

I sat in the kitchen taaaa da dha

And the cupboard felled on my head

I'm feeling so lonely I wish I could cry

 

I went to the market taaaa ta dha

To buy a Nespresso machine