The Rules of Riffing and The Rules of Blues Scales

[Neil Sharpe]

Two new articles by Pete Thomas, "The Rules of Riffing" and "The Rules of Blues Scales" have been posted.
http://www.saxontheweb.net/Rock_n_Roll/RockSax09.html

http://www.saxontheweb.net/Rock_n_Roll/RockSax10.html

He reviews "Vertical" and "Horizontal Riffs", and demonstrates how blues scales can be useful as a means to learn how to solo melodically. This includes a transcript of Lee Allen's great solo on "Slippin' and Slidin'" with Pete's technical analysis.

[altoist]

Dan Greenblatt's book on the blues scales proposes an extended version
of the "rule of thumb" given by Pete Thomas: use major blues scale based
phrases on the I, iii, or VI chord, and minor blues scale based phrases
elsewhere.

What about on a minor blues? It would seem from the discussion on the web
page that the major blues scale shouldn't be used there. Are there other
strategies for outlining the changes using only blues scale based phrases in
that case?

Also, is there a deeper explanation for this statement:

"b3rd, b5th and b7th (“blue notes”) sound fine against the unflattened 3rd, 5th and 7th, but not vice versa."

I hear what you mean, but if I listen to it enough it stops sounding so bad ;-)

[JL]

What about on a minor blues? It would seem from the discussion on the web page that the major blues scale shouldn't be used there. Are there other strategies for outlining the changes using only blues scale based phrases in that case?

Also, is there a deeper explanation for this statement:

"b3rd, b5th and b7th (“blue notes”) sound fine against the unflattened 3rd, 5th and 7th, but not vice versa.";-)

I'll take a stab at this. On Pete's statement (and he can chime in to correct me if I have misinterpreted) about the use of b3rd, b5th, & b7th tones, he's simply pointing out that you can play those against the maj 3rd & 5th that are inherent in a dominant chord, but you can't reverse the idea and play a maj3rd in the wrong place.

So, for a typical example, take a blues in C. The C7 chord has an E (maj 3rd), a G (5th), and Bb (b7th). You can play an Eb or a Gb (and obviously a Bb) over that chord and those notes will sound "right," even if they introduce some tension or dissonance. And of course you can play an E or G nat, since they are chord tones.

Now, moving to the IV chord, F7, you can still play the Eb, since it is the b7th of the F7 chord, but the E natural will sound wrong (unless you play it as a passing tone). So, if you're playing the major blues scale or pentatonic on C7, you have to make sure to "flat the third" (E), when moving to the F7 chord.

Also, when playing a minor blues, you won't be able to use the major pentatonic/blues scale over the Imin chord because the major 3rd will clash with the minor 3rd of the chord. So, in C minor blues, the I chord will be Cmin7 (C Eb G Bb), and an E natural will not sound good against that Eb. It's strange that the Eb works ok with the E nat in a C7 chord, but the E nat does not work with the Eb in a Cmin chord. But it's true nonetheless. Keep in mind that almost any note can be used as a passing tone (usually on an upbeat) so passing tones are an exception.

Going on to your question about using the blues scale in a minor blues, the simplest strategy is to use the minor blues scale, based on the tonic (so in C minor blues, use C minor blues scale) throughout the progression. The "major" blues scale will not work. If you only stick to the one blues scale, the only way to imply the changes is by phrasing correctly (which you should try to do in any case). Play three separate phrases, corresponding to each 4-bar segment, just as a vocalist does. If you want to outline the actual changes, you can play off the chords. To do that you need to know the changes, and there is more than one type of minor blues progression, so you have to know what the progression is. The simplest one would be Im-IVm-Vm, with all minor chords. It's not unusual for the V chord to be a dominant chord, and sometimes a bVI7 chord is played where the V chord would normally be, followed by the V7 chord. You could use a major blues/pentatonic scale over those specific dominant chords, based on the chord roots, but only on each specific chord. I better stop there. I'm sure others could add something to this.

[altoist]

I'll take a stab at this.

A very belated thanks for this JL, that's helpful info on what to practice.

I wonder if the strategies vary on what kind of blues it is you're playing, as
they sound different to me, even if you factor out the different
instrumentation, like the electric guitar in Chicago blues and rock blues.