Enlarging
the "12 Bar Blues" Chord Progression
Through the Use of "Embedded Chord Subs"
Last time we learned the
12-bar blues progression-- hope you have it down cold
by now, as you will use it your entire musical life in
scads of songs -- many of them not even known as "blues"
songs.
Today we're going to learn how we can make the 12-bar blues
progression much more interesting and complex through the
use of embedded chord subs.
As you should recall from last week's
lesson, the blues scale really contains 11 notes -- the 8
of the normal diatonic scale -- and the 3 "blue notes."
The music below shows the Blues Scale for the key of C.
Last
week we looked at the skeleton of the 12-bar blues.
Today let's look first at some chord substitutions we can
insert into the skeleton, and then take a look at creating
a melody to go with the chords.
First
of all, remember to use 7ths on all the I, IV, and
V chords -- in other words, I7, IV7, and V7. That will give
you are more "bluesy" sound right off the bat. Then to that
add some 9ths for a fuller sound. For example, let's
say you're playing the blues in Bb. To
the I chord you would add a 7th, which of course is Ab.
If you add a 9th for fullness, that would be a C. So the
chord would be made up of Bb , D, F, Ab,
and C. One way to voice this chord would be to play a low
Bb on the first beat, then on subsequent beats
play a chord made up of F, Ab , C, and D. On
the IV chord, that would translate to a low Eb,
then Bb, Db, F, and G. On the V chord
it would be a low F, then C, Eb, G, and A.
Next, use
some half-step slides as chord subs. For example,
as you move from the I chord to the IV chord, you could
"slide in" to the IV chord by playing the 7th or 9th chord
1/2 step above the target chord -- in other words, E7 or
E9th to Eb 7th or 9th. It's like sliding into
a base in baseball: you play the chord 1/2 step higher on
the 4th beat (or even on the "and" after the 4th beat) as
you move to the next chord. As you move from F7 to Bb
7, you could play B7th on the 4th beat of the measure right
before you play Bb7th.
Another
chord substitution would be to use a suspension
on any one of the primary chords before resolving to the
chord itself. For example, let's say you are playing the
Bb7 chord but your next chord is Eb7.
Instead
of playing Eb7th right away, play Eb7sus
for one or two beats before resolving to Eb7.
You can do that on any of the chords, and it adds lots of
interest to the progression because of the variety and also
because of the suspense a suspension creates before it is
resolved.
Another
way to create a chord substitution is to substitute
a minor 7th chord a perfect 4th lower than the 7th chord
being used,then resolve to the 7th chord. For example, before
playing Eb7, play Bb m7th as a chord
sub (it is a perfect 4th lower than Eb7), then
resolve to Eb7. The time frame is always up to
you -- I usually hold a sus a beat or two before moving
on.
Still another chord
sub is to ask yourself this question: "Into what
other 7th chord will this melody note fit?" For example,
let's say your melody is D, and the chord under it is Bb7.
By asking yourself the question listed above, you might
come up with D7 or G7. Use one of them as a chord sub for
Bb 7. The possibilities are endless.
Now
let's consider how to create a melody to go with
the blues progression. Most beginners make the mistake of
playing too many notes too fast, and not taking time to
think. It's better to pick a short motif and develop
it. For example, if the chord is Bb7, pick
3 or 4 notes that more or less go with the chord, and make
a simple motif out of them. (Motif means "theme").
You could take 3 notes such as F, G, and D, and play them
in various orders and various rhythms until some repetitive
theme occurs. When it does, build on that theme by
changing chords and repeating the same motif, but at a different
point on the scale. For example, if your motif was F, F,
D, G, F, D while the chord was Bb7, you could
"rhyme the motif" by playing Bb, B b,
G, C, Bb, G while the chord is Eb7.
(Words make it complicated -- it's really easy -- which
is why we publish most all our courses on video so you can
see and understand quickly!).
For an in-depth treatment of chord substitutions,
check out "
Courses to Help you Play by Ear and By Chords"
at www.playpiano.com
.
For
information on a wonderful video course in improvisation,
please check out " Using
Chords To Improvise." You'll clearly
SEE how to make up melodies to go with the chords in this
course.
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