Blue scale

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The blues scale is a scale that from the blues - music comes and the characteristic Blue Notes includes (Blue Tones).

education

It arises from the pentatonic scale in minor by adding the diminished fifth .

Bluesscale.png

Another variant of the blue scale is created by adding the major third to the above scale . This gives the following scale:

BluesscaleWith3.png

The existence of major and minor thirds as well as a pure and diminished fifth in this scale should make it possible to approximate the blue notes , which actually do not exist in the occidental chromatic tone system and lie between major and minor third and a pure and diminished fifth, by placing the two adjacent tones one after the other or be played together.

This is supported by the fact that these tone combinations are often played in the blues, but that the two-tone e-es sounds completely different from a single tone between these two tones, and that the blue notes are not necessarily between the semitone steps of the scale mentioned.

application

The blue scale is an attempt to approximate the intended sound or to represent its sound in the form of a scale. There are different ways of approaching this ideal in musical practice. A singer can naturally adjust the pitch at will. But it is also possible on a large number of instruments to generate sounds outside of the chromatic tuning.

String instruments

When playing the melody on the guitar, it is possible to drag the fingered note and thereby raise its pitch. This bending enables u. a. playing blue notes. (So ​​you don't play both tones to represent the blue note, but grab the lower one and pull it to the required height. This technique is also used unconsciously by experienced guitarists.)

This technique is also possible with non- fretted instruments (e.g. violin), but the desired note can also be fingered directly.

harmonica

Also on the harmonica , a very typical instrument of the blues, the pitch of the blue notes can also be changed by bending with special blowing and pulling techniques.

More blue scales

Analogous to the blue scale based on the minor pentatonic scale, there is a major blue scale that is based on the major pentatonic scale and, based on C, has the tones c, d, es, e, g, a and b.

There is also the blues rock and roll scale (minor pentatonic and major pentatonic added incl. Tritone: c, d, es, e, f, gb, g, a, b) and the so-called B. -B.-King -Blues scale (c, es, f, ges, g, a), which does not seem quite as "plump" as the minor blues scale.

Schematic representation

Blues minor ( explanation )
Blues major ( explanation )
Rock'n'Roll scale ( explanation )

further reading

  • Hal Crook : How to Improvise. An approach to practicing improvisation. Advance Music, Rottenburg 1991, ISBN 3-89221-031-4 .
  • Richard Graf, Barrie Nettles: The Chord Scale Theory & Jazz Harmonics. Advance Music, Rottenburg 1997, ISBN 3-89221-055-1 .
  • Frank Haunschild : The new theory of harmony. A musical workbook for classical, rock, pop and jazz. Volume 1: The Harmonic Basics. Extended and revised new edition. AMA, Brühl 1997, ISBN 3-927190-00-4 .
  • Axel Jungbluth : Jazz harmony theory. Functional harmony and modality (= Edition Schott. 6911). Schott, Mainz et al. 1981, ISBN 3-7957-2412-0 .
  • Frank Sikora : New Jazz Harmony. Understand, listen, play. From theory to improvisation. 3. Edition. Schott Music, Mainz 2003, ISBN 3-7957-5124-1 (with 2 CDs).
  • Gerald Smrzek: The Book Of Scales. Edition Canticum, Vienna 2004.

swell

  1. ↑ Frank Haunschild: The new theory of harmony. Volume 1. 1997, p. 113.