Slow Blues Piano For Beginners

If you’re new to the blues, start here! You will learn the 12 bar blues form, basic voicings, how to count the slow blues, filling in space, and improvisation.

Triads, 7th Chords, & Inversions

We first voice the chords first using basic triads and then we extend the triads up to the 7th degree to create seventh chords. When playing blues, jazz, and other types of improvised music, 7th chords are required to create smooth voice leading in the harmony.

How To Count Slow Blues

We learn how to count the slow blues. The blues can be counted in 4/4, but when playing slow blues piano the underlying pulse is typically felt in 12/8.

When playing in 4/4, each bar is split into 4 beats. The counting in 4/4 would be as follows:

• 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4, etc…

When playing in 12/8 the four beats of the bar still exist but they are further subdivided into triplets which gives us 12 x 8th note triplets in each bar. This can be counted in the following ways:

• 1-&-a 2-&-a 3-&-a 4-&-a, 1-&-a 2-&-a 3-&-a 4-&-a, etc…

• 1-2-3 2-2-3 3-2-3 4-2-3, 1-2-3 2-2-3 3-2-3 4-2-3, etc…

• 1-2-3 4-5-6 7-8-9 10-11-12, 1-2-3 4-5-6 7-8-9 10-11-12, etc…

The pattern can also be vocalised by saying the word "trip-e-let" for each beat of the bar and emphasising the 3 syllables in the word. All of these approaches can be used and so pick the counting approach that feels the most comfortable for you.

Suspended Triad Fills

We combine the 12/8 left hand pattern with simple melodic ideas and fills. Completing the drills outlined in this lesson will help you to develop a sense of hand independence and it will set the stage for the next module where we introduce more complex melodic ideas.

Blues Turnarounds For Beginners

We introduce the concept of the turnaround which is typically the final two bars in the blues form. The turnaround is used to lead smoothly and convincingly back to the top of the form.

The blues is a cyclical chord progression in the sense that it is repeated many times during a single performance and so smoothly transitioning back to the top of the form is an important skill. We explore the following types of blues turnaround:

• Basic Blues Turnaround
• Turnarounds with Blues Scale Licks
• I-VI-II-V Progression Turnarounds
• New Orleans Style Turnarounds
• Gospel Voicings For Turnarounds

Leading Tones In The Blues

We explore the concept of ‘leading tones’ in particular using the #5 alteration which creates strong voice leading into the third of the subsequent chord.

We apply the #5 leading tone to the transition between the I and the IV chords, and we also apply this alteration to the V7 passing chord in the 3rd bar which creates a strong pull back to the I7 chord in bar 4.

12 Bar Blues Walk Ups

We explore a walk-up sequence from the I chord to the IV chord. Walk ups are usually a mixture of step-wise and chromatic movement in the bass line which is enhanced with voicings in our right hand.

Descending 4ths Fill

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.

Descending 6th Chord Fill

We explore a variation on the descending fourth interval fill that we covered in the previous lesson. This time we will use a root position sixth chord in our right hand and all three notes in the voicing will descend chromatically.

3rd Interval Patterns

We use third intervals to create patterns and improvised fills over the 12 bar blues. We will start by harmonizing the mixolydian mode using third intervals, and we will do this for the I, IV, and V chords.

Bluesy Ornamentation

We infuse these 3rd interval patterns with bluesy embellishments, incorporating elements such as grace notes and trills. These additions will result in a distinctive expressive quality of your musical phrases, enriching the overall texture and character of your blues performance.