Descending 4ths Fill
In this lesson we explore a useful fill technique using descending 4th intervals. This fill can be used over the I, IV, and V chords in the 12 bar blues to tastefully fill in the space and add tension and dissonance into our right hand.
Tension & Release
The starting position of the right hand fill is a 1st inversion F6 voicing which creates a stable sound over the left hand F7 shell vocing. An important component of this fill is the tension and release that is created from the descending 4th intervals.
When we drop the 2 lower notes of the inverted F6 down a half step we introduce tension and dissonance as we have an F7 shell in our left hand with the altered tones #9 and b13 in our right hand. This tension is then resolved when we drop the 2 bottom notes by another half step to land on the 5th and 9th of F7 which creates a stable sound. The root of the chord remains static at the top of our right hand throughout the fill.
We learn the fill in isolation over F7, and then apply the same process to the Bb7 and C7 chords.
Melodic Embellishments
Once you are comfortable with the basic fill we can add extra embellishments such as grace notes, toggling the notes, and we can also approach this fill with blues scale fragments targeting the 3rd of each chord.
In the later lessons of this course we introduce more creative ways to combine this fill with blues scale fragments and other pieces of melodic blues vocabulary.
Lesson Downloads
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4th Interval Space Fillers File Type: pdf
Related Lessons
We take each bar of the A Section and apply licks, fills, and melodic ornamentation that we can use to create a soulful bluesy vibe.
In this lesson we will explore some useful devices to add soulful melodic decoration including grace notes, space fillers, and accents.
In this lesson we explore gospel walk-ups and walk-downs and how to add chromatic passing chords to our chord progressions.
Practice Tips
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Learn the descending 4th pattern over each chord individually and then practice the transition between the I and IV chord. Finally introduce the V chord and cycle around the blues form.
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Each time that you reach the end of the form, try to play a different turnaround phrase from the previous module and condition yourself into choosing the turnaround spontaneously and 'in the moment'.
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Outline the quarter note pulse in your left hand. The 12/8 left hand pattern that we covered in earlier lessons does not work with this quartal fill as it creates a clash between the natural 6/13 in the left hand, and the b13 in the right hand.
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Experiment with grace notes. Start with a single grace note, then add a grace note to both of the descending voices. Also 'toggle' the descending voices to create more movement.
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Play the descending 4th interval phrase in the different registers so that you can visualise the movement in both the higher and lower range of the piano.
