Piano Lesson: Beginner Blues for Piano Part 2
by David Bruce
Still using the same four notes in the right hand as we used in Part 1
we're now going to add some left hand chords.
Questions & Answers
We're going to use two left hand chords, played close together so they're easy to find - but they still sound great!
The chords are C major and F major:
Remember how in part 1 we tried to group the improvisation into phrases, based on the length of the left hand chord?
We'll do the same here, but this time, try to think of the two chords as being a kind of question and answer
- Play the C chord
- Improvise above it in the right hand
- Change to the F chord
- Try to answer the first phrase
But what does 'answering' a phrase mean?
Think of any everyday argument or discussion. One side says one thing. The other side might :
- agree entirely - repeating the phrase exactly
- agree almost entirely - repeating the phrase, but perhaps with a small alteration at the end
- agree with some parts and not others - copy one part of the phrase, and make the rest totally different
- agree, but amplify a point - extending the phrase by taking a detail and playing with it
- totally disagree - do something exactly the opposite
...and so on - there are lots of other possibilities of course.
Click the play button to hear an example.
The Blues Scale
Now it's time to learn the remaining three notes of the blues scale:
Making a full blues scale as :
Play up and down the scale a few times and then try it with C and G in the left hand, as in part 1.
Finally repeat the question and answer exercise, using the C and F chords and the full blues scale in the right hand.
We're now ready to add some rhythm into the equasion - that's in Part 3