Blues Exercises - Series 1 - Part B Piano Method - Digital Sheet Music

SKU: A0.924366

What’s in the exercises?

Each part of the 3 part series covers 8 key signatures making up 736 bars of exercises in each part. All keys are covered from the perspective of the minor scale. Melody parts are made up purely of blues scales in one key at a time over 12 Bar Blues chord structure. At 120 beats per minute each part should be theoretically less than half an hour of practice time. It is intermediate level and covers several different basic rhythms eg. Straight quavers, dotted quavers (swung quavers), triplets and quintuplets. At the end of each key section there are all 3 main blues chords of the scale in all its inversions (any chords in the exercises can and should be regularly changed with inversions of that chord), as well as the blues scale itself written in contrary motion.

Why is it beneficial for the student?

Blue exercises Series 1 is intended to be a logical order of learning blues scales and 12 Bar Blues chord structures. Because all of the exercises are written over a 12 Bar Blues structure and only use the scale of the key in that exercise, I have immediately followed each key with its sub-dominant scale also over a 12 Bar Blues of said sub-dominant key. I have done this because while playing a twelve bar blues you can use an F blues scale over an Fm7 chord when the blues is in the key of C minor, a D blues scale over a Dm7 chord when in the key of A minor etc. Because each key/scale has its sub-dominant following it, each key is repeated twice throughout the series and B minor 3 times.

How should exercises be practiced?

For a well rounded technique the exercises should be practiced at 7 different volumes from very quiet to very loud. They should also be practiced with different tone control, staccato etc. Fingering has been purposely excluded except for the single repeated note bars and should be carefully considered and consistent for efficient most enjoyable playing. Phrasing should also be varied regularly mathematically at first and by feel when the exercise is more familiar. A good knowledge of major and minor scales is essential to be able to connect the dots into something that’s usable in improvisation for blues, jazz and across many genres of music.

Where too next?

Series 2, 3 and 4 progressing in complexity are coming as soon as I can write and format them. I have also written ‘Little Blues’ pieces which are complimentary to these exercises, I have written and uploaded 4 so far, keep an eye out for new pieces and exercises coming very soon!!

Gareth E Davies A. Dip (Jazz Piano Teaching) SCSM