To be able to play blues licks is a great skill to have as a piano player. Or even better, to be able to come up with original licks on the spot. The blues scale is quite [...]
Play with others
– This article is an exerpt from the Piano Shortcuts book. –
One reason why the piano is such a popular instrument is the fact that it can be played as a solo instrument without any accompaniment and [...]
Chord Essentials 2: From Intervals to Chords
– This article is an exerpt from the Playing Piano with Chords book. –
Chords are basically a number of tones in certain intervals stacked upon each other. The different intervals between the chord [...]
Chord Essentials 1: Intervals
Blues Basics
Playing blues on the piano is a great way to learn soloing for other styles such as rock, jazz, funk, soul and neo soul. Because all these styles sprung from the blues, it also gives you a great foundation to understand their basic patterns. It’s fun, too! Here are some basics about the blues, that you should definitely know!
The 12 Bar Blues Progression
A basic blues progression consists of only three chords: the I, IV and V chord of any major key.
A simple twelve bar blues with one chord per bar looks like this:
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