| The ability to play blues piano is usually not expected | | | | If you have that knowledge, then it's pretty simple. |
| of beginning pianists. There are reasons why most | | | | The blues scale simply takes the major scale and |
| beginning pianists start out playing old songs written | | | | adds three extra notes. That's it. The three extra |
| by classical composers from centuries past. Many | | | | notes are a flatted third, a flatted fifth, and a flatted |
| songs written for the piano by such composers as | | | | seventh. Thus, the C blues scale has all of the same |
| Mozart, Beethoven, and Tchaikovsky were originally | | | | notes as the C Major scale -- that is, C D E F G A B |
| intended as pieces to be used for lessons. Plus, the | | | | -- with the three additional notes being E flat (or D |
| conventions of classical music lead to chord | | | | sharp), G flat (or F sharp) and B flat (or A sharp). |
| structures, harmonies, and melodies that were | | | | That's right, if you look closely at the blues scale, |
| comparatively straight-forward, perfect for students | | | | you'll find that there are only two notes that are not |
| who were not musical experts. | | | | included. In the C blues scale, only C sharp and G |
| Attempting to play blues piano presents new | | | | sharp are not played. |
| challenges for pianists. Many non-musicians don't | | | | If you want to play blues piano, learning the blues |
| realize the technical difficulty of blues and jazz music, | | | | scale is your first step. Even doing nothing more than |
| but in fact, to be an accomplished musician in one of | | | | playing the scale, you'll hear a "bluesy-ness" to the |
| these genres requires years and years of intense | | | | scale, and if you are a fan of blues, it will sound great |
| training and practice. Some would even say that | | | | to your ears. |
| these musical genres are actually more complicated | | | | Once you can do this, you are ready to play blues |
| than pre-20th century musical forms, which would | | | | piano. The next step is to try improvising. Come up |
| mean that blues and jazz musicians are, in general, | | | | with a chord progression. C F G C is a standard blues |
| the most accomplished and versatile musicians out | | | | chord progression, except -- and here is another |
| there. | | | | important point -- it is fairly standard in blues music to |
| So, as you can guess, the decision to take the | | | | turn nearly every chord into a seventh chord. So, this |
| plunge into playing blues piano should not be made | | | | progression, in blues form, would be C7 F7 G7 C7. Of |
| lightly. In order to have a true understanding of blues, | | | | course, with the new notes added in, you must |
| its scales, harmonies, and rhythms, one needs to | | | | remember that, in most cases, these should be |
| have at least a basic understanding of more | | | | played as minor 7th chords. Thus, both the C7 and |
| traditional musical forms. Blues isn't a parallel form of | | | | F7 chords use notes that are not in the traditional C |
| music to Classical and other traditional genres; no, it's | | | | Major scale. |
| an augmentation of traditional music. Just like jazz, | | | | Once you have your chord progression down, |
| blues actually complicates traditional music. Thus, your | | | | improvising is easy. Come up with a simple, bluesy |
| study of blues piano requires at least a solid bedrock | | | | melody, and go from there. Just remember that in |
| of musical knowledge. | | | | order for the music to have that special blues quality, |
| I presume that you already know, at the very least, | | | | you need to utilize those extra three notes that are |
| about the traditional major scale. For example, in | | | | not in the traditional scale. Those are the notes that |
| order to understand and play the C blues scale, you | | | | give blues its edge. In that light, it's really not difficult |
| must know the C Major scale. | | | | at all to play blues piano. |