Blues Piano Lessons
Could you use a crash-course in the
blues? These blues piano lessons will get you headed in the right
direction. We’ll begin with
blues chords, string together a
common blues progression, and combine it with a complementing
bass line. Excited? Can’t wait to jam? Let’s get started with your
blues piano lessons!
Let’s begin with the chords we’ll use for
this exercise. To make things easy, we’ll play in the piano-friendly key
of C. A C chord consists of the notes C, E and G. To add a blues
“flavor” to the chord, make it a
seventh by adding a fourth
note – B flat – to the top of the chord. Do the same with an F chord and
a G chord. These three chords represent the 1-4-5 pattern that is most
common in modern music. The pattern is so-named because, C being your
root chord or starting point, the F chord is 4 steps up and the G chord
is 5 steps up.
Patterns are also known as progressions.
Some “chord progressions” are
quite familiar. The most popular blues chord progression is the 12-bar
blues progression. A bar is also known as a measure. A measure contains
a certain number of beats, often four, that determine the pace and
rhythm of the music. A phrase consists of the 12 measures, a sort
of beginning-to-end section within a song.
Here is how you will
play your 12-bar blues tune. Each chord represents a full bar, with four
beats per bar:C | C | C | C7 | F7 | F7 | C | C | G7 | F7 | C | C
Here’s another blues progression you can try. In the last two bars, the
chords shown are played for two beats instead of four:C | F7 | C |
C7 | F | F7 | C | C7 | G7 | F7 | C, F | C, GTo add bass to the
music, you can simply play the corresponding note; a C chord gets C for
the bass, etc. Put it all together and you’re playing the blues! You can
play your songs very slowly for one type of mood, or you can pick up the
pace for another.
Once you’ve mastered the key of C, work on
playing the same progressions in other keys. If you ever join in on a
blues jam, for instance, you may need to match the key that the other
musicians are playing in. If you are uncertain what the other chords
would be, you can find a chord progression chart online that will
come in handy.
If you’d like to find more blues piano lessons,
click over to some of the great sites I’ve listed on my
piano lessons review page.
Enjoy!
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