Take, for example, the emergence of Napster, then OiNK.cd and now What.cd?. By allowing music to flow freely, it has changed the face of modern music making. For example, right now, I have access to millions of tracks instantly (or nearly instantly) if I simply know where to look. When in history has that happened? In the past, you had to hope your local record store had a copy or you drove out of your way to find one. And often it wouldn’t be there either. The free transmission of music online has revolutionized music.

How does this affect musicians?

First of all, you can listen! Listen listen listen! My sweet lord, there are hundreds of tracks and each one is a new possibility of new sounds, new rhythms, new chords, new solos, new melodies, new mixes, new genres… I could go on and on…. The possibilities are endless. Inspiration has always been the key ingredient in music and now infinite inspiration is at your fingertips.

But be careful to download safely, some sites do break international and national copyright law. Be sure to know yours before you download. That being said, a careful torrenter on private sites will rarely (if ever) see repercussions.

What else can help musicians?

Well, we talked a bit about infinite inspiration through music downloads, but what about the possibility of infinite instruction? There are millions of online videos available for free and tons of sites that offer free guitar lessons. Just do a Google for what you are looking for and browse through the sites you find. There are hundreds of musical resources, check out this page on jazz resources. Check out the DMOZ listing for guitar education.

Remember, the inspiration is infinite online and so is the instruction. So get out there and do it!

Stacking 3rds: Common Chords

Before we start, the idea is to stack 3rd intervals, either major or minor, to create chords. Here is an example:

• I to III: is this a major or minor chord?
• III to IV: returns to a fifth
• IV to VII: is this a dominant seventh or a major 7th chord?

A unique aspect of blues, and later jazz, is how the 3rds stack. Lets look at a standard C7 chord: C E G B♭. If we take each two subsequent intervals and examine them, we get this.

• C to E: a difference of a major 3rd (resulting in a major chord)
• E to G: a difference of a minor 3rd
• G to B♭: a difference of a minor 3rd (resulting in a dominant seventh chord)

So, by stacking a major, minor and minor we get a dominant 7th chord (or just plain 7th chord, whichever terminology you prefer). The first stacked interval (C to E) dictates whether the chord is called major or minor.  The second interval (E to G) brings it back to the fifth and is the opposite of the first. And the third interval (G to B♭) dictates whether it is a dominant 7th or a major 7th.

I suggest we look at a Cm7 chord now: C Eb G B♭. Again, we will take each two subsequent intervals and examine them, resulting in:

• C to E♭: a difference of a minor 3rd (resulting in a minor chord)
• E♭ to G: a difference of a major 3rd
• G to B♭: a difference of a minor 3rd (resulting in a dominant 7th)

I hope you can see the connections between the intervals chosen and the quality of the chord. Let’s try a Cmaj7 chord: C E G B.

• C to E: a difference of a major 3rd (making this a major chord)
• E to G: a difference of a minor 3rd
• G to B: a difference of a major 3rd (making this a major 7th chord)

Stacking 3rds: Jazz Harmony

When you get involved with jazz, you get involved with some more interesting harmony. It is not, however, that difficult at all to understand. Lets try stacking some different 3rds and maybe an extra one on top.

Let’s look at a common Cdim7 chord: C E♭ G♭ B♭♭. Don’t let the B♭♭ confuse you, its just the proper way to flat a B♭. It’s really an A.

• C to E♭: a difference of a minor 3rd (making this a minor chord)
• E♭ to G♭: a difference of a minor 3rd (making this a diminished chord)
• G♭ to B♭♭: a difference of a minor 3rd (making this a fully diminished chord)

So a fully diminished chord is simply a bunch of stacked minor 3rds. Pretty easy huh? Let’s try a close cousin, the Cm7(♭5) chord: C E♭ Gb B♭. This is also called a half-diminished chord.

• C to E♭: a difference of a minor 3rd (making this a minor chord)
• E♭ to G♭: a difference of a minor 3rd (making this a diminished chord)
• G♭ to B♭: a difference of a major 3rd (making this a half diminished chord)

Let’s take a short step back and then take two steps forward to add a 9th to our chords. For a regular 9th chord, you use the dominant 7th as a base and add yet another third. Alas, a C9 chord: C E G B♭ D.

• C to E♭: a difference of a minor 3rd (resulting in a minor chord)
• E♭ to G: a difference of a major 3rd
• G to B♭: a difference of a minor 3rd (resulting in a dominant 7th)
• B♭ to D: a difference of a major 3rd (resulting in standard 9th)

Taking that second step forward, lets try out a funnier chord. Here is a C7(♭9) chord: C E G B♭ D♭. Everything else is the same except the final interval:

• C to E♭: a difference of a minor 3rd (resulting in a minor chord)
• E♭ to G: a difference of a major 3rd
• G to B♭: a difference of a minor 3rd (resulting in a dominant 7th)
• B♭ to D♭: a difference of a minor 3rd (resulting in flatted 9th)

The usefulness of these chords is best learned through experience, for example, 7(♭9) chords work great as the V chord before coming back to the root.

The idea is to imagine chords as building blocks. There is no mystery as to how they are constructed. Spend a little time with a piano and get the feel for the correct changes and you’ll pick it up in no time.

Standard Variations

These first two blues progressions are basic in their construction, only changing a few chords, primarily the durations of the V chords and placements of the IV chord. Take a look.

Simple Blues

This first progression is the most basic, but notice how I notate each of the changes. The changes are relative to each other.

For example, if one were to play in the key of E:

• The I chord would be an E
• The IV chord would be an A
• The V chord would be a B

If one were to play in the key of C:

• The I chord would be an C
• The IV chord would be an F
• The V chord would be a G

The keys of E and A are more popular with guitarists than with pianists, who prefer C or G, because of the tuning of the guitar and the number of accidentals on piano. Let’s look at a common modification to blues chord progressions.

Common Blues

• Notice the addition of the IV chord in the second bar, this serves to break up the beginning of the blues progression. Without it, the progression can become stale while sitting on the I chord. This is the most common chordal variation on the blues progression.
• Also notice the addition of the IV chord in the 10th measure, this serves to create more movement, leading to the return of the I or root chord. This is another very common variation.
• And last is the addition of the V in the last measure, this serves as the “turnaround,” a common blues device that states the end of a progression.

Jazz Variations

The use of blues chord progressions is extremely common in jazz, especially in the big band or bebop genres. Below are some examples of typical variations, however, this time I’ve included the changes in the key of F for simplicities’ sake.

Big Band Blues (Basie Blues)

• Notice the similar construction in the first four bars, the only changes are the addition of the diminished chord and the minor 7th chord which serve to create movement and color.
• Again, in the 5th bar, we see the diminished chord following the IV chord. The basic idea behind the placement of the diminished chord is that the harmony remains relatively stable while the bass note raises a half step to create tension.
• In the 8th bar, we see the chord change to a VI chord, a change uncommon in basic blues. This serves to create color and movement leading into the cadence (or last four measures).
• In the 10th bar we see a distinct departure from the standard blues cadence, the IIm7 chord creates some tension and is an inversion of a V9th chord.  Again, we see implied chordal harmonies adjusting with changes to the bass note.

Bebop Blues

• Notice the similarities in the bebop blues and big band blues? While they are very similar, bebop blues are designed to be played extremely fast. At these high speeds, the chordal harmonies often act as the melody. Each chord change leads nicely to the next.
• The first four bars are identical, but the bebop blues is without the diminished chord.
• The second four bars are very similar, but the bebop blues adds a IIIm7 chord before the VI7 chord, again, to create movement leading to the cadence.
• The first two bars of the cadence are identical to the big band changes but the turnaround (final two bars) are not. They lead down in perfect major fourths to the root, A-D-G-C and finally back to F. This creates movement that anticipates the I chord.

Early Blues: Urban Blues, Delta Blues and Country Blues

The entire modern genre of blues sprung forth from the traditions of early African American slaves. In the early 1900′s they began to play and sign what could easily be recognized as the precursor to modern blues. Their blues were derived from and based on “field hollers” or traditional work songs found in African American slave communities in the south. This makes the blues one of the few uniquely American genres of music. Obviously based on African heritage, the genre rose to prominence as an accessible form of self-expression in the African American community.

Some examples of early bluesmen and women are:

• Robert Johnson
• Ma Rainy
• Blind Lemon Jefferson
• Blind Willie McTell
• Bessie Smith
• Leadbelly
• and on and on…

To help you develop an ear for early blues and how it influenced the modern version of blues, I’ve included a few demos of early blues.

Black Snake Moan #1 by Blind Lemon Jefferson – Country Blues

Statesboro Blues by Blind Willie McTell – Urban Blues

Where Did You Sleep Last Night? by Leadbelly – Country/Folk Blues

Downhearted Blues by Bessie Smith – Urban Blues

Bid Band Blues

In the 1920′s and 1930′s there was a sudden interest in dance bands and big bands that based many of their musical styles after some of the basic chordal movements of earlier bluesmen and women. A few of the more famous names associated with this era are Count Basie, Bennie Moten, and Duke Ellington.

Although not strictly blues in a the popular sense, big band blues and jazz are heavely based on early blues styles. The early styles of jazz in New Orleans developed alongside early blues. Many concepts and ideas flowed freely between jazz and blues before jazz went its own direction while blues did the same.

A few famous big bands and conductors:

• Duke Ellington
• Count Basie
• Tommy Dorsey
• Benny Goodman
• Glenn Miller

Here is an example of common big band music in the 20′s and 30′s:

Black And Tan Fantasy by Duke Ellington

Electric Blues and Rock

In the 50s and 60s there began a huge shift in blues. The modern sound was being born and al the famous modern blues guitarists appeared on the scene. B.B. King released his first album in this time frame, as did Eric Clapton as part of John Mayall and the Blues Breakers.

Many of the famous rock bands began their careers in the 60s and were extremely influenced by these early electric blues players. Cream, Led Zeppellin and Jimi Hendrix all were known to cover numerous blues standards.

A few of the early electric blues figures:

• Buddy Guy
• Elmore James
• Jimmy Reed
• Muddy Waters
• Howlin’ Wolf
• Bo Diddly

Unfortunately, due to the copyrighted nature of material recorded from the 50s and afterwards, I can’t bring you much in the way of samples. I am sure if you check around the internet you can find some samples. Better yet, go buy a few albums and listen for yourself. You’ll be glad you did.

Breathing

Breathing may sound like a ridiculous thing to regulate on a stringed instrument, but think of it this way: why do musicians aspire to make their instrument “sing”? Is it coincidence that musicians wants to emulate the human voice? I highly doubt it. The human voice is by far the most emotional instrument we possess. Not only can it modulate beautifully, it can produce words that stimulate us intellectually as well.

Breathing is something that gives your instrument a human-like quality. Nonstop notes are cool in a sense, but gorgeous phrasing is beautiful on an entirely different plane. Speaking of phrasing…

Phrasing

Phrasing is a collection of notes that stand alone. The notes, taken collectively, are greater that the sum of their parts. Together they are more than simple musical notes, they are an melody that imparts a reaction on a listener. Phrasing goes hand in hand with breathing, where one phrase ends is where the breath goes. This is a natural way to listen to music. Melodies rarely just hammer one relentlessly except in very intense sections of song.

Bends

While breathing and phrasing are general musical concepts, bending is almost exclusive to guitar. A bend is basically when a guitarist stretches (or bends) the string upward (or downward) to raise the pitch of a sounded note. Bends come in many different sizes.

A quarter step bend’s target is off tonality, it sits between the first and second note chromatically (for example: between a Bb and a B) and doesn’t lift a full semitone.

A half step bend’s target is simply the next note chromatically (for example: from a G to a G#) and lifts exactly one semitone.

A full step bend’s target is two half steps about the bent note (for example: from an A to a B) and lifts two semitones.

Bends that are beyond a full step are not uncommon, but require lighter strings and a skilled musician.

Bend’s are extremely common in blues, rock, country, and pop genres of music. Bends are used often in solos and licks because they can blend between notes without distinctly separating. Often times they are used to move into a tension spot or resolve from a tension spot for effect.

Vibrato

Vibrato is another common musical concept that isn’t nearly as exclusive to guitar. Vibrato is the slight modulation in the pitch of a sounded note. Vibrato often sounds a bit “wavy” as the listener hears the pitch vary slightly as the musician rocks the note back and forth.

On guitar, vibrato can be performed like a mini bend, over and over. A small bend, perhaps less than a quarter step bend, would be sufficient to impact a listener. Another common technique is one pioneered by the famous B.B. King. King would often shake his hand around while keeping his finger locked to the string and fret he was playing. This would “push and pull” the string and make it slightly change pitch very quickly.

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While some of these techniques are not exclusive to guitar, I hope you can understand just how important they are to master. Let me know if you can this of any other important concepts I might have missed.

Straight Rhythm

A straight rhythm is often notated plainly, with eighth notes appearing one after the other with not modulation. You will usually see no accompanying directions besides that the tune is to be played “straight.”

Shuffle Rhythm

Shuffle rhythms are notated in western music as triplets. The first note in the triplet is twice the length of the second note, leaving the impression of an elongated first note and shortened second note. Below is a literal notation of 4 swung pairs of eighth notes. The repetition of swung notes is what makes a shuffle.

Swing rhythm

Swing rhythm isn’t as pronounced as shuffle rhythm. In a shuffle, the backing instrument will play a continuous stream of swung eight notes. In swing, a bass player may play a walking quarter note bassline while the drummer taps out a simple swing rhythm.

Swing and shuffle in common sheet music

It helps to think of swing of shuffle rhythms as “feels” or “grooves” and not direct notation styles. Often you’ll find that a lead sheet will note notate swing rhythms at all, but will show a small text note at the top of the page that reads “Medium Swing” or “Shuffle.”

The reason composers or transposers don’t literally notate swing rhythms is because they tend to become very messy and difficult to read. Most proficient musicians can simply take an otherwise straight piece of music and impose different “grooves” into the music.

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5. Folsom Prison by Johnny Cash

“Wait, you’re going to start off the top blues jam songs with a country song?” Well, yes and no. Folsom Prison is so heavily steeped in blues that if you removed the root-fifth country bassline, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. The chord progression is identical, its a 12 bar blues progression. Plus, as an added bonus, almost everybody knows the lyrics, so backup vocals galore.

4. The Thrill is Gone by B. B. King

For this cool sounding groove in B minor, make sure sure your bassist knows the bass-line. This blues jam is best served with tons of dynamic contrast, try taking it from a whisper to a lonesome wail. Don’t even think about breaking out the distortion unless the band is just ripping.

3. Texas Flood by Larry Davis and Joseph Wade Scott (or Stevie Ray Vaughan)

With arguably the most recognizable intro to the general public, this remake by Stevie Ray Vaughan was hugely popular. In the key of G, this tune is a ton of fun to play in a blues jam session. Owing itself to some dynamic contrast, the slow groove can be intensified or otherwise chilled out for a wide variety of situations. This should be your standard slow burn blues jam.

2. Green Onions by Booker T. & the M.G.s

Green Onions is a classic organ driven blues tune that may have one of the most famous rifts ever. Not only is it an outrageously solid tune, it is pretty easy to play. If you have a keyboardist, you best make sure he can handle the riff. The blues progression rears it’s head again, for it comprises the backing chords to the riff that simply modulates with the chord changes.

1. Born Under a Bad Sign by Albert King

If you haven’t had a chance to jam to this classic Albert King song, you don’t know what you are missing. Originally in the key of C#, this loping song is a hallmark of guitar jams everywhere. While the bass line follows a pretty basic minor pentatonic scale, the key remains slightly major. This opens up huge possibilities. Chord changes are also kept to a minimal, with only a blues turnaround at the end to vary the groove. Otherwise, its straight sailing.

In this article we’ll be talking about the theory and construction of both the minor pentatonic and the blues scale. By understanding some of the theory, you can start to piece together some good places to employ either of these scales and how to vary them as you play.

The Pentatonic Scale

The pentatonic scale is a five note scale noted not only for its simplicity, but for its ease of deployment in musical situations. Lacking some of the extraneous notes, the pentatonic scale tends to fit nicely over a variety of chord changes with minimal fuss. The pentatonic flavor we shall focus on is the minor pentatonic.

The minor pentatonic is a stack of five notes. Starting with the root, a minor third is stacked upon that. After the minor third, a standard fourth is added. After the fourth, a standard fifth is appended. And finally the minor seventh, or flatted seventh is added. In the end you get these handy intervals:

• Root
• Minor Third
• Fourth
• Fifth
• Minor Seventh

It’s worth noting that these intervals are also the basis of the blues scale. The minor pentatonic is great for using over any chord progression that resides in a minor key. An easy way to tell if a chord progression is minor is to look for the minor chord in a progression, especially if it is the first chord. This will tell you which minor key to use. An A Minor chord means you should probably use the A minor pentatonic scale.

The Blues Scale

Now that you’ve seen how simple the minor pentatonic scale is, we’re going to effectively add another note and turn that minor pentatonic scale into a blues scale. We’ll do that by adding a flat fifth in addition to the other five notes. The intervals in a blues scale are shown below:

• Root
• Flatted Third (blue note)
• Fourth
• Flatted Fifth (blue note)
• Fifth
• Flatted Seventh (blue note)

You’ll notice that I also tagged some of the notes as blue notes. That is because they are often contrasting against the major tonality of the chords in a standard twelve bar blues progression. The great thing about this is that the ‘blueness’ of the scale is built into the relationship of the blues progression and the scale.

As you move to the IV and V chords in the blues progression, the flatted seventh of the blues scale becomes the fourth and the minor third of the chords, respectively. These relationships mean that you can keep wailing on a single blues scale for the entirety of a blues progression. In my opinion, this help keep you in ‘the zone’. You don’t have to worry about chord changes, you just have to play your heart out.

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Now that you’ve got a little taste of some of the theory behind it, go out and play this stuff!

As a part of the tradition brought to America from Africa, African American’s in the 17th and 18th century would sing work songs heavily based on a call and response. In the early 19th century, this evolved into rural and urban blues before settling into the wide genre of blues. It is worth noting that many modern types of music, including country-western and hip-hop, have the early blues to thank for this concept.

Typically, in the blues, there are three lines of lyrics per verse. The first two lines are often repeated while the third line will often time resolve the lyric. For example, let’s look at “Cross-Cut Saw” as recorded by Albert King.

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I’m a crosscut saw, baby just drag me across your log.
You know I’m a crosscut saw, just drag me across your log.
I’ll cut your wood so easy for you, you can’t help but say, “Hot Dog!”

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After each call in this song, it’s typical to hear a response. The call and response would be the lyrics and guitar riff, respectively. It is also worth noting that this lyric and guitar riff isn’t the only call and response you can find. Often times the response can be a lyrics as well. In the case of a guitar duet, both call and response can be a guitar riff.

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Probably the most common way to hear the call and response is two measures of lyrics of call followed by two measures of instrumental or full band response. Often times the response can be minimal, perhaps a bump note or a short burst of notes, but it is worth noting that it is a very common concept in the blues and many other types of music.

I bet you can find call and response in some unlikely places.

While a blue note can sound somber and lonesome, it can sound enticing and exciting in another context. Let’s learn a little more about some blue notes.

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1. The Flatted Third (b3rd)

Often referred to as the minor interval, this blue note is popular for contrasting color over a major chord. As we should all know, a major chord contains the root, the major third and the fifth. The flatted third blue note plays in contrast to the major third. The flatted third is often a part of a melody or solo that sounds higher musically than the major third.

A common example of a minor third blue note is in a blues scale. A blues scale contains a root, flatted third, fourth, flatted fifth, fifth, and flatted seventh. This flatted third creates tension with the first chord’s major third in the blues progression of the same key.

2. The Flatted Fifth (b5th)

Often used as a leading tone before going to the IV and V chords of the 12 bar blues progression, the flatted fifth is another common blue note. While its popularity can rest soundly in how nicely it resolves to the next chord in a blues progression, this blue note is also useful for other things. A popular use is found in the ability for guitars to bend into the flatted fifth from the forth by way of using a half-step bend. Commonly they will bend past the blue note and hit the fifth too.

Another popular use for this blue note is as a passing tone. A passing tone is a note that is used to get to another note. While it can be a leading note for chord changes, it excels at being in a peculiar place that resides neatly by other tones commonly found in other chords in a progression.

3. The Flatted Seventh (b7th)

This blue note is renowned for giving the color to dominant seventh chords. A full step below the root (two frets), it is easy to find, easy to play, and, best of all, sounds absolutely great.

A common use of the flatted seventh is when a dominant seventh chord arrises, often the first chord of a blues progression can be dominant. It is also easy to bend from the flat seventh blue note to the root of the chord with a full step bend. Just make sure to play both of the notes by fretting them so you know when you’ve hit the root.

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Now that you’ve gotten a good overview of the three most common blue notes, its time to play them. Load up your favorite blues song, find the key, and play some of these notes. Right away, you should notice the tension they create. Listen to your favorite songs and see how the greats employ those notes and emulate their playing.

Have fun!