IMPROVISATION: PLAYING THE BLUES

The Blues is a musical form that jazz musicians have always embraced because it allows them the opportunity to express
emotion and everyday feeling and intellectual concepts which are often learned by studying another player’s style and con-
ception. Most beginning improvisers use the Blues as a springboard to other jazz forms. Many band directors and private
teachers feel there is not too much to playing a decent blues solo. They feel that you learn the blues scales of the key the
blues is in and just sorta’ improvise what you feel over that scale sound. They probably think this is what they are hearing
when they listen to jazz players on radio or records. I admit, they do hear some of that, but, if you check out the major jazz
influences, you will begin to hear much more than just the blues scale.
In this article I would like to point out things to watch for in the blues that will make your playing more rewarding, convinc-
ing and musical. We should begin by asking you to sing (with your voice) several choruses of blues along with a record. A
play-a-long recorded version of blues would be excellent because you don’t have to listen to a soloist - you are the soloist.
I suggest taping yourself so you can listen to yourself back and then, with your instrument in hand, try playing the phrases
that you just sang! I contend that what we sing is often closer to the REAL YOU than what comes out of our instruments. On
our instruments, we are inhibited and limited by our lack of knowledge of the instrument. If this is so, and I truly believe it to
be so, the musician who knows his instrument well will have a much better chance of conveying the music that is contained
within his brain to you the listener. When you are trying to play on your instrument what you just sung, be sure to play with
the same inflections, articulation, dynamics, etc. If you are used to listening to jazz music, your vocal solo will probably be
fairly recognizable to one who listens to this kind of music even though your voice may crack and sputter at times. Practice
singing when you are driving by yourself or walking to school or to the office. Practice singing within your mind while lying in
bed or waiting for a bus. Put your mind to use and it will instantly start paying you dividends in that you will be able to recog-
nize phrases others play and this will enable you to put those ideas in motion on your chosen instrument. I have heard many
fine jazz musicians say they have done much practicing away from their instrument. They mentally practice, and when they
finally put their instrument in their hands it is as though they have already played the musical idea. In closing this paragraph
on singing, I would like to point out that many musicians refer to a particularly beautiful musical phrase or solo as singing,
even though the musician is playing an instrument. For example, “Coltrane was really singing.”
The blues can have many different chord progressions. For instance, rock, gospel, soul, country and other simpler forms of
blues music don’t use the same chords as say, a Wayne Shorter blues, although they can if they want to. Usually, when you
start beefing up the chords (harmony) one feels the song becoming more and more jazz influenced. When you start chang-
ing the chords to a gospel tune it just won’t sound the same and the people who listen to that type of music will probably
not be satisfied because the music is no longer what it used to be. Since jazz is an evolutionary art form the various chord
modifications and alterations are welcomed and have become a part of the energy that has kept it alive.
The basic 12 bar blues originally used what we call three chords. They are: a dominant 7th built on the root, a dominant 7th
built on the fourth, and a dominant 7th built on the fifth of the key you are in. Example: a blues in the key of F uses these
three chords - F7, Bb7 and C7. The order of occurrence is in a twelve bar sequence and can look like this:
||F7 |F7 |F7 |F7 |Bb7 |Bb7 |F7 |F7 |C7 |Bb7 |F7 |C7 ||
There are variations ad infinitum to the chord progressions which can be used over a blues. A few of the more popular are
as follows (key of F). NOTE: When two chord symbols appear in the same measure, each chord gets two beats.
A.) ||F7 |Bb7 |F7 |Cmi F7 |Bb7 |Bb7 |F7 |D7 |Gm9 |C7 |F7 |Gmi C7 ||
B.) ||F7 |Bb7 |F7 |Cmi F7 |Bb7 |BO7 |F7 |Ami7 D7 |Gm |C7 |Ami7 D7 |Gmi C7 ||
C.) ||F7 |Bb7 |F7 |Cmi F7 |Bb7 |BO7 |F7 |Ami7 D7 |Gm C7 |Dbmi Gb7 |F7 D7 |G7 C7 ||
One that Charlie Parker used on “Blues for Alice” uses descending root movement coupled with a cycle of fourths (upward).
This is sometimes called Bird Blues:
||F |Emi A7 |Dmi G7 |Cmi F7 |Bb7 |Bbmi |Ami |Abmi |Gmi |C7 |Ami D7 |Gmi C7 ||
Enough for the various chord progressions that can be used. If you need more info, checkout Dan Haerle’s book Jazz- Rock
Voicings for the Contemporary Keyboard Player (available from Aebersold Jazz). He lists 17 different progressions ranging
from very simple to very complex.
When beginning to practice the blues, I feel it necessary to get the feel of the roots, then the first five notes of each scale,
then the triad (root, 3rd & 5th), and finally the entire scale. Here is what that would sound like:

When two chords appear in one measure you have to alter the rhythm of the pattern or condense the number of notes in
your pattern. No matter what song you are working on, use the above method for getting acquainted with the harmonic

33
 S T U D I O
Improvisation / by Jamey Aebersold
V ariations on Blues

My last article dealt with the Blues (12 bar blues), so I would like to follow up with variations on the blues progressions that have been in
common use in the jazz idiom. The term “three chord songs” are usually referring to the simplest of blues progressions. If you are in the
key of F, the three chords which form the basis of the blues in that key are F7, Bb7, and C7. F7 is called a roman numeral I (one) chord.
The Bb7 is called the IV (four) because it is built on the forth scale step of the F7 scale and the C7 is called the V (five) chord (usually called
a V7 chord) because it is found on the fifth scale step of the F7 scale. A three chord tune could also be called a song that uses only I, IV,
and V chords.
As blues evolved in the hands of the jazz musicians across the country by way of the radio and home stereos, more and more musicians
played blues and naturally some would take liberties with the chord structure and alter the chords to match what they were hearing in their
mind’s ear. As the various alterations were passed from musician to musician, they became part of the blues structure.
I have listed 17 different blues progressions found in Dan Haerle’s book “Jazz/Rock Voicings for the Contemporary Keyboard Player”, pub-
lished by Studio P/R, Inc. The progressions read from left to right! The ones at the top are the easier, simpler progressions. As you move
down the page they become more altered and present more of a challenge to the up anc coming jazz player. It is best to practice with one
complete progression until you feel comfortable with it, then move on to the next one. You may also want to substitute a measure in one
blues with the same measure in another blues below or above. Number 14 is one that Charlie Parker used on a blues called Blues For Alice
and another called Laird Bird. Number 16 uses a steady stream of minor chords (ii) moving to dominant 7th chords (V7) usually called ii/
V7’s or a series of ii/V’s. Experiment with the various progressions.
Begin slowly so you can hear the root progression clearly. In time, your mind will remember it and you can move more rapidly. Try to
memorize each progression as you are working on it. Memory is a key process in improvising! Listen to jazz players on records and see
if you can hear when they are substituting chords or scales or licks or patterns over the basic three chord progression. The masters do
it all the time and with such ease that often our ears don’t even realize they have deviated from the basic progression being played by the
rhythm section. You may want to check out Volume 2 “Nothin’ But Blues” in my play-a-long book/cd series. It contains eleven different
blues progressions played by the rhythm section and you can play and practice along with them. Bass players and piano players can even
turn off one channel of their stereo and substitute themselves for the player on the recording. It is a great way to practice with a profes-
sional rhythm section.
In order to play blues, you have to listen to people who play blues. Listen to the finest players, always!

Read from left to right! EXAMPLES OF BLUES PROGRESSIONS by Dan Haerle

1. F7 F7 F7 F7 Bb7 Bb7 F7 F7 C7 C7 F7 F7
2. F7 F7 F7 F7 Bb7 Bb7 F7 F7 C7 Bb7 F7 C7
3. F7 Bb7 F7 F7 Bb7 Bb7 F7 F7 G7 C7 F7 C7
4. F7 Bb7 F7 F7 Bb7 Bb7 F7 D7 G7 C7 F7 C7
5. F7 Bb7 F7 F7 Bb7 Bb7 F7 D7 Gmi7 C7 F7 Gmi7 C7
6. F7 Bb7 F7 F7 Bb7 Eb7 F7 D7 Db7 C7 F7 Db7 C7
7. F7 Bb7 F7 Cmi7 F7 Bb7 Eb7 F7 Ami7 D7 Gmi7 C7 Ami7 D7 Gmi7 C7
_
8. F7 Bb7 F7 Cmi7 F7 Bb7 Eb7 A 7 D7 Gmi7 C7 Ami7 D7 Gmi7 C7
9. F7 Bb7 F7 Cmi7 F7 Bb7 Bmi7 E7 F7 E7 Eb7 D7 Gmi7 C7 Bb7 Ami7 D7 Gmi7 C7
_ _ _
10. FM7 Emi7 A7 Dmi7 G7 Cmi7 F7 Bb7 Bo7 A 7 D7 Ab 7 Db7 Gmi7 C7 Db 7 Gb7 F7 D7 Gmi7 C7
_ _ _ _
11. FM7 Emi7 Eb 7 Dmi7 Db 7 Cmi7 Cb7 BbM7 Bbmi7 Ami7 Ab 7 Gmi7 C7 Ami7 Ao 7 Gmi7 Gb
_ _ _ _ _
12. FM7 BbM7 A 7 G 7 Gb 7 Cb7 BbM7 Bbmi7 Ami7 Ab 7 Gmi7 Gb7 FM7 Ab 7 Gmi7 Gb
_ _ _ _
13. FM7 BbM7 A 7 G 7 Gb 7 Cb7 BbM7 Bbmi7 Eb7 AbM7 Ab 7 Db7 GbM7 Gmi7 C7 Ami7 D7 Dbmi7 Gb
_
14. FM7 Emi7 A7 Dmi7 G7 Cmi7 F7 BbM7 Bbmi7 Eb7 Ami7 Ab 7 Db7 Gmi7 C7 Ami7 D7 Gmi7 C7
_
15. FM7 Emi7 A7 Dmi7 G7 Gbmi7 Cb7 BbM7 Bmi7 E7 Ami7 Ab 7 Db7 Gmi7 C7 Bb7 Ami7 D7 Gmi7 C7
_
16. F#mi7 B7 Emi7 A7 Dmi7 G7 Cmi7 F7 BbM7 Bbmi7 Eb7 AbM7 Ab 7 Db7 GbM7 Gmi7 C7 Ami7 D7 Gmi7 C7
17. FM7 F#mi7 B7 EM7 EbM7 DbM7 BM7 BbM7 Bmi7 E7 AM7 Ami7 D7 GM7 GbM7 FM7 AbM7 GM7 Gb

NOTE: Portions of these progression could be combined with each other to create hundreds of slight variations of the above. Notice that
practically all blues progressions follow a similar basic form, which is as follows: Final 4 measures - V (five) chord (or ii-V substitute)
returning to a I (one) chord.

35