UNIT 5: THE BLUES

UNIT 5: The Blues

The blues have an incredible history and are one of the only American made genres of music. This page will include the history of the blues as well as how to play some songs within that genre.

History

Ed Kopp wrote a great article about the blues. You can find that article on the following webpage.

You can also watch portions of a program put together by the BBC about Blues in America.

A Brief History of the Blues article @ All About JazzA Brief History of the Blues article by Ed Kopp, published on August 16, 2005 at All About Jazz. Find more From Far and Wide articles

Listen

Listening to the Blues is one of the best ways to gain exposure to the genre and get a better understanding of how to play it. The following playlists provide great examples of some of the best artists in the genre.

Style

Here is a video for getting started in the blues style. He reviews how to play some beginner style techniques to help you out. Listening to blues artists is one of the most important ways to understand the style of blues music.

Form

The blues form is an essential part of the genre. Typically made up of 12 repeating measures, the blues follows the following format.

The roman numerals refer to the chords within the key you are playing in. For example, if you are playing in the key of C major, the chords would be the following:

I = C
IV = F
V = G

The roman numerals refer to the 1st, 4th, and 5th note of that major scale. This can be applied to any key signature of your choosing as long as you understand the notes that are within the key.

A Blues backing track in the key of A is provided. See if you can figure out what fret you need to be pressing down in order to play the correct notes.

Chords

This section will provide you with a variety of ways to play along with the blues backing track provided in the previous section. Practice all the different ways to see if you can improve your playing

Roots only

Using the roots of each chord. Play the along with the recording.

I = A
IV = D
V = E

Root and Fifth (Power Chord)

Use the root and fifth to play along with the recording on the bottom 2 strings

Rood and Fifth Shuffle (Power Chords)

Use the power chords and play it as a shuffle. You can palm mute it to give it better effect.

Soloing

Soloing in the blues is an essential part of the genre. There are a number of ways to solo such as scales, using the chords provided, or just feeling the notes. The best way to get an understanding for soloing is to use the blues scale. Below you will find a diagram about the blues scale. Depending on the key you are in, you can move this to other frets and other strings.

Use the backing track provided above and the blues scale listed below to practice soloing! See what notes sound good where and practice playing different little melodies that you come up with.

Write your own

The time has come to write your own blues song! This can be done in a variety of ways, but for our purposes you can use a prerecorded blues backing track to play and sing along with. Find the backing track in the key of A in a section above and see about writing your own lyrics. Get some ideas from T-Bone Walker's song Stormy Monday. Blues is meant to be about telling your woes and worries and expressing emotions.

Go listen to other famous artists before you create your own song.

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