Tag Archives: major blues scale

building on pentatonics: the major and minor blues scales

The blues as a musical genre is characterized by an ambiguous tonality, constantly oscillating between major and minor¹. In order to render such an ambivalent quality when playing the blues, two distinct (though related) scales are commonly used: the major and the minor blues scales, which quite simply derive from the major and minor pentatonic scales respectively. In each case, a “blue” note is added to the five tones that form the basic major/minor pentatonic sounds. The major and minor blues scales can therefore be considered hexatonic scales, each being comprised of six distinct notes.

From major pentatonic to major blues scale

As presented in this short article, the major pentatonic scale is comprised of scale degrees 1 2 3 5 6. In the key of C for example, that’s C D E G A.

Reflecting the feeling of major-minor ambiguity discussed above, the blue note of choice here is indeed #2 (or, enharmonically, b3): with this addition to the basic tones of the major pentatonic scale, both the augmented second (or, enharmonically, the minor third) and the major third are included in the major blues scale. Note that the blue note creates chromaticism in the scale, dividing the whole-tone interval originally present in the pentatonic between scale degrees 2 and 3 into two semitones. Adhering to widely accepted principles of music notation, we’ll refer to this blue note as #2 in the context of an ascending melody, and as b3 in the context of a descending melody. Hence the formula:

1 2 #2 3 5 6 1 (ascending) / 1 6 5 3 b3 2 1 (descending).

In the key of C, that is:

C major blues scaleC D D# E G A C ascendingC A G E Eb D C descending

From minor pentatonic to minor blues scale

The minor pentatonic scale is comprised of scale degrees 1 b3 4 5 b7. In the key of A, that’s A C D E G. As explained in the article already mentioned above, A minor pentatonic and C major pentatonic are relatives. As such, they both feature all the same notes (the only difference being their “starting point” or root: A in the former case, C in the latter).

Quite simply, each minor blues scale also happens to be the relative minor of its major counterpart, hence featuring all the same notes as the latter, but played starting a minor third below its root:

C major blues scaleC D D# E G A C ascendingC A G E Eb D C descending
A minor blues scale (A is a minor third below C)A C D D# E G A ascendingA G E Eb D C A descending

Notice that the blue note is the same tone in both scales: #2/b3 in the context of the major blues scale becomes #4/b5 in the context of the minor blues scale². So the general formula for the minor blues scale is:

1 b3 4 #4 5 b7 1 (ascending) / 1 b7 5 b5 4 b3 1 (descending).

C minor blues scaleC Eb F F# G Bb C ascendingC Bb G Gb F Eb C descending

Which scale fits what chord?

As I always tell my students: “in music, there are no hard and fast rules” (Mark Levine actually expressed the idea of musical freedom in jazz using this very wording a few decades ago in his Jazz Piano Book). Pretty much anything goes, as long as you’re honest with what you’re hearing in your mind’s ear. But the notion of infinite possibilities can be daunting… Not to worry though: that’s where the pentatonics and the blues scales step in! They’re a natural, fun, versatile way to begin your journey with improvisation, and will surely prove to be instrumental in developing your inner ear and exploring musical ideas. If you’re wondering over what chords these scales can be played, here’s a very general way of thinking about it to get you started:

  • the major pentatonic/blues scale works on dominant (C7, C7(#9)…) and major chords (C6, Cma7) built on the same root as the scale;
  • the minor pentatonic/blues scale works on dominant (C7, C7(#9)…) and minor chords (Cmi, Cmi6, Cmi7…) built on the same root as the scale;
  • the minor pentatonic/blues scale also works on dominant and minor chords built on a root located a fourth above the tonic of the scale (F7, Fmi7) or a fifth above the tonic of the scale (G7, Gmi7).

This means you can play over a whole blues using just one scale! C minor pentatonic/blues indeed sounds great over C7, F7, and G7 (degrees I, IV, and V of a C blues respectively). Play the scale against each of these chords and listen carefully: you’ll notice the different shades it takes…

Conclusion

That’s all there really is to it! A common misconception is to think that there is only one blues scale. Thinking in terms of having two distinct blues scales (which are, in fact, each other’s relatives) at one’s disposal is indeed a simpler and more fruitful approach.

As I mentioned briefly in this post’s opening paragraph, the added notes (#2/b3 in the case of the major blues scale, and #4/b5 in the case of the minor blues scale) are often called “blue notes.” There is quite some controversy in musicological circles around those so called blue notes… But I tend to agree that the ones mentioned here do indeed largely contribute to giving a bluesy feel to your basic pentatonics, and are indeed the most common. So play around with them, and you’ll see… They sound great!

Notes

¹ In “Blue Note and Blue Tonality,” William Tallmadge writes about “neutral” pitches (quarter-tones), and particularly “neutral” thirds in the context of the blues: singers and instrumentalists traditionally inflect the third in the blues scale, which as a result sounds somewhere in between the tempered minor and major thirds (hence the term “neutral”). On many instruments however (such as the piano), it is impossible to play neutral thirds (you’d have to go in between the keys!). Jazz and blues pianists have no choice but to use either minor or major thirds, or to play around with both.

² For further reading on the topics of pentatonic scales and the blues, I suggest referring to chapters 9 and 10 in Mark’s Jazz Theory Book.

References

Levine, Mark. The Jazz Piano Book. Petaluma: Sher Music Co., 1989.

Levine, Mark. “Chapter Nine: Pentatonic Scales.” In The Jazz Theory Book, 193-218. Petaluma: Sher Music Co., 1995.

Levine, Mark. “Chapter Ten: The Blues.” In The Jazz Theory Book, 219-236. Petaluma: Sher Music Co., 1995.

Tallmadge, William. “Blue Note and Blue Tonality.” The Black Perspective in Music, Autumn 1984 (pp. 155-165).

transcription: “Uptown Up” – alto saxophone solo by Maceo Parker

Transcription of Maceo Parker's solo on Uptown Up (page 1)
Transcription of Maceo Parker's solo on Uptown Up (page 2)

Methodical analysis of the melodic content

Passages¹ where Maceo uses the major blues scale:

  • [ bar 0 – bar 3/beat 3 ]: Bb major blues
  • [ bar 5/beat 3 – bar 7/beat 1 ]: Bb major blues
  • [ bar 8/beat 3 ]: Bb major blues
  • [ bar 8/beat 4 – bar 11 ]: C major blues
  • [ bar 13/beat 4 – bar 15/beat 1 ]: C major blues
  • [ bar 17 ]: Bb major blues
  • [ bar 24 ]: Bb major blues

Passages¹ where Maceo uses the minor blues scale:

  • [ bar 3/beat 4 – bar 5/beat 2 ]: Bb minor blues
  • [ bar 7/beat 2 – bar 8/beat 2 ]: Bb minor blues
  • [ bar 15/beat 2 – 16/beat 2 ]: C minor blues
  • [ bar 18 ]: Bb minor blues

Passages¹ where the major and minor blues scales are intertwined:

  • [ bar 12 – bar 13/beat 3 ] with, in particular, an ascending chromatic motif (D# E F F# G) [ bar 12/beat 2 – bar 12/beat 4 ], which includes notes from the C major blues scale (E) as well as the C minor blues scale (F, F#). Both scales are indeed commonly used to improvise over the C7 chord;
  • [ bar 16/beat 3 – bar 16/beat 4 ], a short ascending chromatic motif (D D D# E F) including notes from both the Bb major blues scale (D) and the Bb minor blues scale (D#, E). This sets up the return to the Bb7 chord in bar 17 (anticipation)²;
  • [ bar 19 – bar 20/beat 3 ], a phrase based around two very similar ascending chromatic motives (C C# D D# E F and C# D D# E F), the second of which is played an octave above the first. Again, notes from both the Bb major blues scale (C, D) and the Bb minor blues scale (D#, E) are featured here, being tones of choice to improvise over the Bb7 chord;
  • [ bar 20/beat 4 – bar 21/beat 3 ], the presence of the notes C (from Bb major blues) and Ab (from Bb minor blues) together in this segment evoke the Bb Mixolydian mode, another natural choice to improvise over the Bb7 chord;
  • [ bar 21/beat 4 – bar 22/beat 2 ], here we have the pattern C# D D# E F again, with the note D from Bb major blues, and the notes D# and E from Bb minor blues (C# and F are common to both scales);
  • [ bar 22/beat 3 – bar 23 ], a diatonic descending motif (Ab G F Eb D), which again clearly evokes Bb Mixolydian. While Ab and Eb belong to Bb minor blues, G and D belong to Bb major blues (F being common to both scales).

Key takeaways

Based on this transcription, two distinct patterns, characteristic of Maceo Parker’s style, stand out when he intertwines the major blues scale with its minor counterpart:

  • an ascending chromatic motion from scale degrees 2/#2/3 up to scale degree 5;
  • a descending diatonic (Mixolydian) motion from scale degree b7 down to scale degree 3.

In the first half of his solo, Maceo sets up the tone of his improvisation by shifting between the minor blues scale and the major blues scale, utilized as strictly separate entities. Beginning in bar 12, he gradually throws in more and more segments where both scales seamlessly intertwine. Between bars 19 and 23, he finally crafts a longer melodic sequence featuring both extensive chromaticism as well as diatonic ideas from Mixolydian, before wrapping up with a strong, effective major blues statement (bar 24).


Practice tip

Although Maceo’s rhythm, phrasing, and expression aren’t discussed in this post, they are also really hip and crucial to the powerful effect of his solo. Don’t neglect imitating these elements as accurately as possible on your instrument while practicing this transcription. Becoming familiar with the notes and scales is only half the work (at most)!

Notes

¹ Like in mathematics, the square brackets turned towards the inside (like this ” […] ” as opposed to this ” ]…[ ” ) indicate that the bar/beat numbers signaled within the brackets are included in the passage under consideration.

² The F# played on bar 17/beat 1 does not belong to either of the Bb blues scales. Rather, it is a lower chromatic approach of the following note G (itself scale degree 6 of the Bb major blues scale). This part (bar 17/beat 1) can be seen as an extension of the ascending chromatic motion initiated in bar 16/beat 3.

References

Parker, Maceo. Funk Overload. What Are Records? 60032. 1998.


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