AVOID THIS with The Blues Scale
Open Studio
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZPPOjhXII8

Transkript (automatisch erstellt)

0:04 Peter Martin, what's up? Man, I was just thinking about >> [music] >> improvisation and how a lot of
0:09 beginners, when they learn how to improvise, they use this one scale called the blue scale. Traditionally in the key of C, it's
0:17 C, E flat, [music] F, F sharp, G, and B flat. The problem that I think a lot of beginners get stuck on is treating it
0:29 like this linear scale. So, they sound like this. Mhm. Nothing wrong with this. There's a lot
0:38 of great players that treat it like this sometimes. But there's so many more other options [music] that we can use this scale for.
0:44 Like, show them some examples, babe. >> [music] >> Hey.
0:57 We can use it to tell our story, [music] right? It's the most powerful story telling device that we have. It's actually a scale that teaches you how to
1:04 play music. And then there's a whole bunch of other ways that we can think about this. There's this rub between major and minor. There's the question
1:11 and answer that's within the blue scale itself. And then there's ways to use it that mimic the human voice and other instruments. Things like bluesy double
1:19 stops. Some little crunches. >> [music]
1:24 >> Some scoops. It really does encompass [music] everything great about music in this one
1:32 collection of notes. Absolutely. And I think if you look at it, something about the the [music] construction of it, right? We've got the
1:43 one, minor third, fourth, flatted fifth, fifth, dominant seventh. [music] Those are just the notes, but
1:51 unlike or >> [music] >> or
1:58 or even all those different diminished scale, dominant scale, leading dominant. This has bigger breaks, right?
2:07 Bigger breaks between the notes, bigger intervals, right? Minor third, minor third between [music] the root and the minor third, the fifth
2:15 and dominant seventh. So, although we might not want to go straight down the scale. Actually,
2:24 that's not a okay to That always sounds good. That's the thing with the scale. That's why they give it to beginners because it always sounds good.
2:29 >> but once you start to learn to skip some notes. And [music] you might think, "Oh, well, you're just putting together some
2:37 phrasing you've worked out over the years." No, this is the same like if you're on a dominant scale and you're just like skipping a note,
2:44 skipping a note, go back up. But, on the blues scale, it's like there's a lot [music] of personality built into that just by skipping a note.
2:52 Yeah, skipping's a great way to get around with that blues scale. [music] Another way that I like to show, especially beginner students, is to not
2:59 think about it like this linear scale, but think about it in thumb positions, right? Think about it in positions in relative to your thumb. So, if you
3:09 put your thumb on C, that C, that tonic, is your home, right? [music] And you can use this position
3:21 to ask a question. There's the question and [music] to answer it.
3:28 There's the answer, right? So, just practicing in this [music] first position here,
3:36 >> [music] >> with your thumb on C, is a great way to get started. The next position that I like to to teach [music] is put your
3:41 thumb on the F. It's a >> [music]
3:46 >> it's more unresolved, right? This is the fourth here in the key of C. It It to go somewhere. It doesn't want to stay here.
3:56 A little tension, right? So, we can bring it back down to the C. Right? The question and the answer. >> I like it.
4:04 >> And then finally, you can put your thumb on that G. Hitting all of these notes up. Your five fingers.
4:15 This is a tension builder right here. And then back down to the C. So, just kind of like working between those
4:31 [music] three positions. Your thumb on C, your thumb on F, and your thumb on G can be like game-changing for most people. Instead of thinking about it as
4:39 this linear thing, think about like working an idea around. Like, so I'll take an idea like
4:50 Right? Thumb position on C. Now, I'll do it on F. >> [music] >> Ah, you're going somewhere now.
4:59 Now, I'll do my thumb position on G. >> [music]
5:10 >> Back to F. >> [music] >> Now, I'm going to answer my question.
5:17 >> [music] >> Ah, that's so great. So great. >> how that scale, this scale, when you
5:24 think about it like that, can kind of teach you the storytelling aspect, right? >> it. I love it. Now, I noticed you're
5:31 doing a lot of that minor third, [music] right? Because the blue scale
5:39 famously doesn't have the major third, right? Well, or does it? Right, exactly. [music] But, how come great blues
5:47 players, great improvising storytellers, no matter what style they're playing in >> [music] >> Yeah. always be able to sneak it in. So,
5:56 this is what we call colloquially, the the secret blues scale, right? So, it's the root, minor third, major third, [music] fourth,
6:06 flatted fifth, fifth, dominant seventh, root, and and there's another little secret note, major seventh. That's not officially in
6:15 it, but >> [music] >> but you can throw that in, too. And so, like this is just like
6:23 >> [music] >> it opens up so much once once you're you're pliable with your major and minor.
6:31 >> [music] >> Right? So, we come down, maybe, to minor and then play around with that minor like you
6:37 were pivoting. [music] >> [singing]
6:43 >> It's such a It's such a great part of the blues storytelling that we can apply anywhere. Yeah. That's gold right there. That's gold,
6:49 Pete. And then you can combine them. That's a sharp nine chord, but that resolves. >> [music and singing]
6:58 [music] >> Man, that's got so much crunch, so much tension. >> [music]
7:05 >> So, once you start to learn how these sound, you know, you can calibrate how much you're putting it in as you're telling
7:14 your story. You know, sometimes you're just like [music] You want to keep it close to home, right?
7:22 >> [music] >> And you mentioned that secret note, right?
7:28 >> [music] >> Man, that's so good. That's so good. What are these chords we're playing, by the way? You just started playing them.
7:34 >> got a C major to F7, right? Now, there's one more thing that you can do with the blues scale as a beginner or an intermediate player that is going to be
7:42 a game changer for a lot of people. >> Change the game, baby. If you're in the key of C here, right? >> [music]
7:49 >> You can use that C blue scale C E flat >> [music] >> E natural, that secret E, F F sharp G B flat and C. But, you can also use the
7:59 blue scale from a minor third down here in the key of A. This sounds like our friend. It's like a Warren Wolf thing here.
8:11 So, we got A C D E flat [music] E G and A, right? The A minor blue scale.
8:21 You can do it over this progression in the key of C. [music] So, there is like this A minor that you can use over a C major and you can also use the C,
8:29 [music] the original blue scale we taught. But, listen to the difference here. I'm going to do the A minor on this same chord progression.
8:37 >> [music] [music]
8:50 >> Now, the real magic happens, Peter, when you combine those two, the A minor blue scale with the C blue scale. So, there's the A. Ah.
9:03 >> [music] >> Now, the C. Ah.
9:13 >> [music] [music]
9:27 >> It's pretty good, right? >> Yeah, I love it. >> Yeah, yeah.
9:32 >> [music] >> There, I did. I combined them. One more little thing that we that I
9:38 hear you doing all the time, Peter, that maybe you could just speak about briefly here is those bluesy double stops you're using on this scale. Yeah, so we call
9:45 them double stops coming a little bit out [music] of the violin tradition a little bit. You played some great ones earlier. Like
9:51 so this one like if you combine it with some little slides, some little grace notes. I'm always thinking about like a guitar, you
9:59 know. >> [music] >> Yeah. >> Great blues guitar.
10:02 So I've just got like the foundation is the fifth and the dominant [music] seventh. And then I'm sliding up to that five,
10:10 right? From the fourth. And then when you >> [music] >> like don't don't be afraid to kind of
10:17 hold on to that F sharp, that flatted fifth, that crunch, that half step for a little bit of Yeah.
10:25 And then on the piano like different keys they work different, but >> [music] >> going from the F sharp down to the F.
10:34 Woo. And when you go single line going [music] to the double stops Oh, that's [music] that little minor to major resolution.
10:48 What's that? The worn wolf blues scale. >> [music] >> Ooh, and yeah, that that major What do
10:58 you call it? The major blues scale? >> Yeah. >> [music] >> The great thing about that is if you're
11:02 coming down with the regular blues scale >> [music]
11:10 >> it gives you an excuse to go to that six, right? >> Exactly. >> [music and singing]
11:18 [music] >> And you you hear us we're kind of shifting between this one, the C7,
11:26 right? Maybe a little [music] sharp nine to that Yeah, that's sus. That's what I wanted to know that you were playing.
11:32 Because you can shift it just gives you another sound. The blue scale fits over both. There's the sus and there [music]
11:40 >> [singing] >> you can even do minor. Right? >> Yeah, yeah.
11:46 Well, there it is, [music] Peter. So, don't forget everybody oh, minor. We can use this blue scale not just as a linear scale.
11:55 >> [music] >> But, you want to use it as maybe some positions.
12:05 Yeah, places to ground your story. >> your story with your thumb on the C, on the F, on the G. Don't forget to use it to skip around.
12:16 >> [music] >> Skipping notes. Don't forget too, it's not just that minor third, it's the major third.
12:23 Ha. And while you're at [music] the major third, don't forget there's the major
12:31 blue scale, right? The A minor blue scale. >> [music] >> Ooh, which you want to mix with that C
12:38 minor blue scale. And one more thing, bluesy double stops. >> [music]
12:52 [music] [music]
13:09 [music] >> Ah.
13:19 >> [music] [music] >> Happy practicing.