The Jazz Blues Progression Tutorial
Now that you have a good understanding of basic blues form, it’s time to enhance it to create the more interesting and sophisticated jazz blues progression.
Whilst the basic 12 bar blues just contains 3 chords, the I, the IV and the V, the jazz blues also incorporates the most common progression in jazz music… the 251 progression.
In this lesson, we will cover what is commonly accepted as the jazz blues form. If you are at a jazz jam night and someone calls the “blues in F”, this is the chord sequence or chord progression that will be played for the 12 bars.
The jazz blues progression has been used as a template for some of the greatest tunes in jazz history so by understanding and memorizing this progression, you will also have learnt the blueprint for a good number of very common jazz standards.
In the next lessons we are going to delve straight into blues improvisation and so our left hand needs to have its act together. We will start by exploring the importance of chord tones, and how they are an essential element of your improvised lines.
Lesson Downloads
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“Straight No Chaser” – Jazz Blues Form File Type: pdf -
12 Bar Blues Lesson Supplement File Type: pdf
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Jazz Blues Voicings File Type: pdf
Related Lessons
Most often played as a ballad, this is a great tune to incorporate bluesy licks and riffs. It’s written in the key of Eb Major and has an AABA form.
In this tutorial we create a solo arrangement for “Georgia On My Mind” applying the major blues scale with some soulful licks and riffs.
Using the tune “Georgia” – we will also explore the concept of the major blues scale and how to apply this to major 251 progressions.
Practice Tips
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Memorise this progression down so that you can play through the voicings with your eyes closed.
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Spend the necessary time to practice it so that you don’t need to think of the notes your left hand should be playing.
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Pay attention to smooth voice leading between the chords.
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Alternate the alterations and extensions you choose to play to add variety to your left hand.
Where can i find the sheet music for this tutorial?
Hi Ronny 👋
I have uploaded the lesson notation to each lesson page in this course… hope this helps.
If you need anything else let me know 🙂
Cheers,
Hayden
Hi Hayden. Towards the end there is a D7 b9 but I saw you playing F natural and saying “sharp 9”. Wouldn’t the flat 9 be E flat? Thanks.
Hi Josh,
Yes when you see and altered dominant chord, you have the creative freedom to choose different alterations.
The b9 & #9 are both present in the altered mode and so both of them will work.
The b9 has a ‘softer’, more subtle sound, and then #9 has a much more tense and dissonant sound. You can choose between these alterations depending on the sound you want to create.
It’s also a nice technique to play both of them. Try playing the #9 and then fall to the b9. This creates internal movement and interest in your dominant chord voicings.
Try experimenting with this Josh and let me know if you have further questions 🙂
Happy New Year!
Hayden
Hello Hayden! Good video! However it would be a MUST in my opinion that the sheet music comes with the full notation for this lesson (aswell as others). Not just the chords name above the measure but also the notes aswell as fingerings!
Otherwise, we have to re-launch the video multiple time !
Hi Neil,
Thanks for the feedback – I will add an additional downloadable PDF supplement.
You should keep in mind… if you have spent the time to learn your rootless voicings properly, you should be familiar with all chords in this progression.
The course here on rootless voicings will help you: https://www.pianogroove.com/jazz-piano-lessons/left-hand-voicings/
This download may also be of use: https://www.pianogroove.com/resources/rootless-major-251/
Also you can slow down the video with the speed controls ( press the ‘+’ and ‘-‘ icons), you can pause the video by clicking anywhere inside the video container, you can A/B Loop both the chapters (see the little “AB” on each chapter) and also by using the AB Loop button on the left of the video container.
With these 3 controls, you should be able to slow down, loop and pause the video to catch any of the voicings.
Hope this helps and if I can be of further assistance just let me know 🙂
Cheers,
Hayden
Hi Hayden, thanks for the quick reply and the suggestions regarding other lessons and the video manipulation.
1) For the video, here’s how I think most people would use it (especially the ones where the Piano is not near computer). A) Watch the video and understand the concepts B) move over and work on said concepts either section by section or the complete lesson on one go.
Having the “complete sheetmusic” with proper fingerings/notes then comes really handy to avoid switching back and forth to computer and piano, press pause on each chords, etc.
I’ve thought using my android tablet but the website or videos are not fully optimised so pressing play/pause often doesnt stop the video 🙁
In my case, my piano is at 1m from desktop but facing another direction so even just having to turn around and strech my arm is a pain in the ***. I know i’m lazy 😉
Yet, i’m also a teacher (guitar) and I’ve realised that : People ARE lazy/busy, don’t have much time to practise. Hey let’s face it : learning a new instruments/style is fun but it takes effort and dedication.
Better make their lives as easy as possible.
For example, think of a students who only have 10min to practise his muscle memory at the instrument (chords/voicing/Blues scale, whatever) but needs to think/calculate/figure out stuff (what notes to play) with NO HELP. Although he manages to figure it out, cuz he’s smart and understands, well, maby he’ll have “lost” 5min thinking and only do 20 repetition instead of only “1min of brain” WITH HELP and 50 repetition for the same 10 min.
Anyway, since i’ve applied this concept in my teaching, content and material, I’ve doubled my amount of students and smile on faces. To increase the retention of information, the same message needs to be heard, seen, visualised a lot of different ways !!!
Just thought I’d share this tips from one teacher to another.
P.s. I had watched the rootless video first and i’m pretty good in theory in general and I still wish I would of have the sheet just to save time 🙂
Thanks again and I’ll let you know in the future of any improvement I might think, unless you don’t want me to ! eheh
Dear Josh,
I am a relatively new student of yours from New Delhi.
I have a very basic question. Why should we learn the “rootless” stuff? Is the assumption here is that the root note will be taken care of by the complementing musicians. If its so, then in case its a solo performance, who and how to make up for the root notes?
Sorry to ask a very rudimentary question.
Regards,
Hi Shantanu,
Firstly, it’s not a rudimentary question… in fact it’s one of the trickiest concepts for beginners to understand.
Check out this forum post which should answer all of your questions: https://www.pianogroove.com/community/t/understanding-rootless-voicings/945
Here is some additional explanation for you:
1) rootless voicings contain more interesting ‘colours’ of the chord, becuse when you leave out the root, you free up a finger for a more interesting note choice.
2) Rootless voicings voice lead very smoothly, for example, if you download the “jazz blues voicings” PDF above, you will see that there is very little movement between the voicings, making them easy to execute in your hand, and also a smooth sound.
3) As a beginner student, practicing rootless voicings will give you an appreciation and understanding of the upper extensions and alterations. If you stick to root based chords, the chances are that you will be sticking to sequentially stacked 1-3-5-7 chords. Learning and understanding rootless voicings will broaden your horizon on the notes and tones available to you.
4) Sometimes when playing solo, it’s nice to leave the root out of the chord. Variety is key, and learning these voicings will allow you to experiment with many different ‘colours’, and ‘densities’ of voicings.
If you have any further questions, I’m happy to help, either here, or in the forum.
Cheers!
Hayden
How can i make a bluesy walking bass line with thos chord like this guy?
Hey Ivan, we are soon launching a course “Intro To Boogie Woogie Piano”
Here is the announcement in the forum: https://www.pianogroove.com/community/t/boogie-woogie-lessons-have-arrived/1555/4
The 7 lesson course will be launched very soon.
Cheers,
Hayden
Here is the course: https://www.pianogroove.com/blues-piano-lessons/boogie-woogie-piano-course/ 🙂
Going to start it soon,;)
Hi!
Why are you playing two different voicing for D7(b9) in the 8th and 11th bar?
Hey Shantanu!
Good question.
The D7 is an altered chord, altered means that it can include any of the alterations: b9, #9, #11, or #5/b13.
You have the creative freedom to choose which alterations you add in, and you can also play both sometimes.
You will see me do this a lot…. I start by playing the #9 (which for D7 would be the note F natural) and then i move my thumb down to the b9, (which for D7 would be the note Eb).
This adds some nice inner movement to the chord in your left hand.
Experiment with this, and let me know if i can help you further.
Cheers!
Hayden
Should i learn this on all the 12 Keys?
Hey Ivan,
I’d recommend learning the following keys:
– F Blues (by far the most common)
– Bb
– Eb
– G
Hope this helps 🙂
Hayden
The same goes for boogie woogie? Thks it helps a lot
In Boogie Woogie, the most common keys are C and G.
In those 2 keys it’s much easier to play the slide-offs, licks, and riffs which is why most Boogie Woogie tunes are played in C or G.
Hope this helps 🙂
Hayden
Exellent Just what i was needing thks.I have another question…Here in brazil i know people who work 11 hours a day on a job that has nothing related to music from monday to saturday and are musicians too…they are not professionals but they earn some nice money playing on pubs and events…This guys barely play music with extensions and all the things you teach us here…Sometimes the sound is crappy but they are able to pull a repertorie of 100 songs faking them like a boss..I Love all the professionalism this website has and all the beautifull arrangament of the songs you teach us here ..but at this moment it would be very critical for me to learn how to fake the music..to look at a lead sheet and make it sound like i know how to play it.How can i do that?This guys are getting paid and they are not even trying that hard ( they play popular songs).I feel a bit stuck slowly learning your beautifull professional arrangements..restaurants owners are demanding that i should be able to play for long hours…I m in need to fake their demands.Please reply this massage that is very important for me to know.thks. And as a side note..it would be great to have a special course about “faking” standards..people get really exited when a pianist is able to fake a song he doesent know.. And this ability can save your a@@ a lot of times…I think is an important thing to learn.
Hi Hayden,
A very interesting lesson, thank you!
I have analysed the chords as they are played, and, according to standard notation, they are:
F13 Bb9 F13 [Cm9 F13]
Bb9 B07 F13 [Am9 D7(b9)]
Gm9 C9 [F13 D7(#9))] [Gm9 C7(b9)]
However the notation above the keyboard is somewhat sloppy as F7 Bb7 etc. Why ?
I have noted that the root is only played with the diminished B07 chord. The 5ths are only played with the minor chords. Otherwise, the root and the 5th are omitted, and only the 3rds and 7ths together with the 9th or 13th are played, which gives a cool sound to it.
…
Hi Borg,
Good Question!
As jazz musicians, we often abbreviate chord to just “7” for example “F7” or “Bb7” even if they contain upper extensions and alterations in the chord such as 9s, 11s, and 13s.
Think of this as shorthand.
When reading from lead sheets, it’s very common to just see the “7” next to the chord symbol. However, when playing jazz, we have the creative freedom to choose which extensions and alterations we want to add into the chord.
The most important notes are the 3rd and 7th, and so this is the information that is communicated. It’s then optional whether you want to add in upper extensions 9/11/13, and also tensions b9/#9/#11/#5.
You can also check out this forum post for more information on rootless voicings: https://www.pianogroove.com/community/t/understanding-rootless-voicings/945
Cheers!
Hayden
Hi hayden thank you for those wonderful lessons
I ask a pleasure, if you can post also left hand voicing sheet, Like the jazz blues chord pdf for the other two main blues tonality Bb and Eb. Just to be sure the position of left hand voicing is ok, not too hight or too low.
And related tothis, do you advice to finish those lesson in f, or start as soon as possible to study in different tonality? Thank you ciao Alessandro
Hayden:
I’m wondering why in this lesson you mostly use 3-note voicings, but sometimes use 4-note voicings (like for C7 and G-7).
Thanks,
Laura
Hi Laura 👋
Good question!
When playing rootless left hand voicings, they will typically contain 3 or 4 notes.
The most important thing is that our rootless voicings contain the 3rd and 7th (the essential chord tones) and then we can choose to add in other extensions such as 9ths and 13ths and alterations such as b9s/#9s etc…
You will see that every voicing I play contains the 3rd and 7th, and the other notes I play depends on the chord.
I most often play the F7 with the 3 note voicing Eb-A-D which is b7-3-13 but we could also play Eb-G-A-D which would be b7-9-3-13. If you play the latter you will hear that it sounds a little denser and thicker.
When moving to Bb7 we can again play 4 notes with the voicing D-G-Ab-C which creates a Bb13 instead of Bb9.
Ultimately, this boils down to preference, experiment with both and see which ones you prefer.
There is no exact science to it so we have a lot of creative freedom to choose voicings that we like, and also that are comfortable for us to play.
I hope this helps and any further questions just let me know.
Cheers,
Hayden
Thank you.
Laura
Hey guys when I try to download the blue and jazz form pdf i’m getting the straight no chaser score instead
Hi Oliver 👋🏻
Apologies for the confusion here.
If you download the file “12 Bar Blues Lesson Supplement” the first page contains the basic blues form, and the enhanced jazz blues form with numeric analysis.
The form of “Straight No Chaser” is a jazz blues in F, and so the chord changes are identical to the jazz blues in the other download.
I have renamed the download to make it a clearer as to what it contains.
If I can be of further assistance just let me know.
Cheers,
Hayden
Hi Hayden. I’m working on the exercises. And it’s changing my approach to 12 bar blues. Thanks!
You play an Am9 in the progression to Gm. But the 9th is a B natural that isn’t in the scale of either F or G minor. Is there a theoretical reason it can be in there? The sound isn’t unpleasant but to me seems slightly jarring. Tuomo avoids playing this note in his tutorial on Wynton Kelly, which is also a 12 bar blues in F.
Previously I’ve assumed that the 9th can be played in jazz when the minor7th chord is derived from the second or sixth of the major scale but should be avoided when it is from the third.
Hi Hayden.
I looked at and understood your analysis of Chord Progressions with interest. It certainly helps me to remember the chord progressions better because I understood their structure.
Now my question:
Does it also help me here when playing the voicings? In this specific case – in a very technical sense? In the sense that you focus mainly on thirds and seventh?
Or in this case, do I just have to practice and play the voicings by themselves?
But then where would be the sense of practicing 2-5-1?
Is it not, that when a 2-5-1 occurs, I just have to reel off stored ones….
I hope you can understand what I want to say…
Thanks for your advice.
Christina
Hi Hayden, me again.
I just figured out the technical side by myself.
The differerence to the “normal” 2-5-1 (with the 1 in a major chord) to the 2-5-1 with a domiant-7th-chord as the 1 is:
instead of always just lowering the 7 th to get the new 3rd of the next chord, you have to lower the 7th too, to get the domaninant-chord (quite obvious, i guess…).
2 5 1 classic
2nd step = dm = 3=f, 7=c
Then -> 7 down a semitone -> becomes the new 3 of G7
Results in 5th step = G7
then -> 7 down a semitone -> becomes the new 3 of C maj
Results in 1st step = C maj
2 5 1 – 1 as dominant seventh chord
2 = dm -> 3=f, 7=c
5 = G7 -> 7 down a semitone -> becomes the new 3rd of G7
1 = C7 -> 7th down a semitone -> becomes the new 3rd of C7
AND ALSO the 7th down a semitone -> results in small 7 of C7 (instead of C maj.)
The question is:
Do you think that way, when you play?
Or do you just play each chord as figured out before?
And the analysis is only for remembering the progression?
I hope, that makes my question clear… finally… 😉
Thanks.
Christina
Hi Christina,
Good question and yes I understand your question.
Your analysis with the voice leading is perfect. If we are voice leading the 3rds and 7ths in a 251 progression, the b7th always falls by half a step to become the 3rd of the next chord.
An important point to understand is that a 251 is just a string of chords which are a 5th apart.
For example a 251 in F Major is G-7 to C7 to Fmaj7, if you play all of the root notes on the keyboard you will notice that they are all a 5th apart.
Now if we change all of those chords to dominant chords, we just move both notes down by a half step.
For example starting with G7, the 3rd and 7th are F and B, then to move to C7 we simply drop both notes by a half step, so we are playing E and Bb, then to move to F7 we drop both notes by a half step again to Eb and A.
We can do this through all 12 keys, or all the way around the circle of 5ths. Try playing the following chords with just 3rds and 7ths and lead from one to the next…
G7 –> C7 –> F7 –> Bb7 –> Eb7 –> Ab7 and the interesting thing is that when we get to Db7, we are playing the same 3rd and 7th as for G7, but in the opposite order. And then F#7 is the same 3rd and 7th as C7, B7 has the same 3rd and 7th as F7 etc…
These are tritone substitutes, and so the only thing that differentiates them is the note that we play as the root.
To answer your question, yes I do think of this when I play.
We have the creative freedom to choose the quality of the chords in a 251. Particularly in the blues, we can change all of the chords into dominant chords. For a very detailed explanation of this, check out Robert’s lesson here on Blues Turnarounds: https://www.pianogroove.com/blues-piano-lessons/turnarounds-jazz-organ/
He is playing on the organ, but all of his concepts are equally applicable to the piano.
You might also like his lesson on improvisation here: https://www.pianogroove.com/blues-piano-lessons/hammond-improvisation-soloing/ – Robert uses the exact same F Jazz Blues form and so everything he plays can be applied to the material in this course too.
I hope that helps Christina, definitely check out the lessons referenced above as i think you will find them very useful.
Cheers,
Hayden
Thank you so much for your detailed answer.
I already was aware, that the 2-5-1 is a string of chords always going/falling down a 5th – which is indeed very important and helpful to understand as music is full of falling 5ths.
What I didn’t know: How helpful it is to practice the Turnarounds.
And also thank you for your very understandable explanations on the tritone subsitution. I really got it now!
And finally what I realize and got out from your answer – maybe most useful to me:
That it is very important to play songs – even if I already can play them fluently and therefore tend to play with muscle memory!! – to play them thoughtful and with beeing aware of what is going on (especially concerning 2-5-1s with the 7ths falling into 3rds).
I already notice, that theory gets deeper in my brain and shows up more and more when I am playing. (I used to learn theory, than to play it, than played it with muscle memory and never remembered the theory or get something out of it.)
I guess, thats like walking a path. The more you walk it consciously, the more you are deeply familiar with it and it becomes a highway for your brain connections.
I would say, that this is a key element in learning piano. If I had to guess, I’d say that most beginners haven’t realized this and that this is the essential key to really make progress.
I already notice a great progress in my understanding and playing – you did a very good job with Pianogroove!
And I tried serveral online piano plattforms! None of them helped me that much as Pianogroove did.
Thank you, Hayden.
Hi Hayden,
This course looks great – if I prefer the non-jazz blues sound, would you recommend different courses for learning improv or should I dig in and learn the chord extensions and jazz blues progressions included here? It seems like the course is going to have a lot of useful information.
If you still recommend this course, the biggest hurdle is the overwhelming number of chord variations. With the variety of extensions and inversions available for each chord and the quick II-V-I changes, it seems like I need to learn a lot and learn a lot again in every new key to know what options I have. Or should I just stick to say 7 and 9 chords and work on the right hand improv aspect with those?
I do want to play like Dr John at some point, but in the short term, I’d be happy to play like Fess who mostly sticks to I-IV-V blues…
Thanks!
Hi Sam,
Exactly as you say, the harmony in the jazz blues is more complex than regular blues, and this course also focuses on rootless voicings which are suited to playing with a bass player. That’s why we use a backing in many of the lessons.
With your focus on New Orleans Blues, the other courses in our blues section are definitely more relevant to the style that you wish to play.
You can check out the improvisation module in this course which covers useful improvisation elements such as chord tones, approach patterns, enclosures, passing tones, chromaticism etc..
Also, my cocktail piano improvisation course covers the same improvisation concepts but the production quality is much better, you can find that course here: – https://www.pianogroove.com/jazz-piano-lessons/cocktail-improvisation-for-beginners/
The cocktail improv course is also solo piano focused and has lessons on blues scales and blues material that you would find in the New Orleans style. I feel that the improvisation module in the cocktail improv course will be more relevant and beneficial towards your goal of playing New Orleans blues.
Let me know if I can help further.
Talk soon, cheers,
Hayden
Thanks Hayden, I’m moving to the cocktail piano improv course for now while working on the jazz foundations – might come back to this later.
Is there a lesson on minor blues form? Just wondering how it would translate the way you showed the different harmony progression for major blues form in this lesson. Thank you!
Hi Terri,
The minor blues is covered in the minor blues course which I believe you have already viewed: https://www.pianogroove.com/blues-piano-lessons/the-minor-blues-progression/
I haven’t covered the minor blues progression myself, but it’s certainly something I can cover in the future.
I’m currently working on the solo piano slow blues lessons which you can find here: https://www.pianogroove.com/blues-piano-lessons/slow-blues-piano-for-beginners/ – the next module on turnarounds is being edited and will be added shortly.
Let me know if I can help further.
Talk soon,
Hayden