FREE music lessons from Berklee College of Music The Songwriter’s Workshop: Melody Jimmy Kachulis Lesson 36 Major Blues over Progressions
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LESSON 36 Major Blues Over Progressions Major pentatonic blues melodies can be sung over any chord progression in a major key. The “major blues” scale is particularly useful when the chords change quickly— much easier than matching all those chord tones. But it’s also used over any chords that have a blues color in them (see the Appendix for blues scales and chords). Hit songs that use the major blues scale over a progression are very common. These songs use the scale over the following types of chord progressions: ■
One Chord: “Hold On, I’m Comin’,” “Great Balls of Fire,” “Midnight Hour”
■
Chords in a Major Key: “Heart of Gold,” “Man in the Mirror,” “September,” “Desperado,” “Crocodile Rock,” “When a Man Loves a Woman,” “Beast of Burden”
■
Fast Chords: “Hit Me With Your Best Shot,” “And When I Die,” “Soul Man,” “Believe Me Baby (I Lied),” “The Way You Do the Things You Do,” “ In the Midnight Hour,” “Gimme Some Lovin’
■
Blues Chords: “Hold On, I’m Comin’,” “Boogie On Reggae Woman,” “Purple Haze,” “In a NY Minute” (Ronnie McDowell), “Bird Dog”
Listen Listen to the first part of “Major Blues Over Progressions: Five-Foot-Two” (CD 63). As you listen, notice that the same C major blues pentatonic melody works over a onechord groove, various chords in the key of C, blues-colored chords, and a fast chord progression.
63
A. Melody Over One Chord C
j j 4 j Œ ‰ j & 4 b œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ b œ œ œ œ œ œ b œ j ˙ Œ œ Five ive - foot two two
&w
she
in her her
highhigh- heeled heeled shoes shoes
We all all
stop stop and and star stare e
œ œ œ Jœ œ Jœ œ Œ Ó struts
right on
But
∑
by
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Listen again, and sing along with the recording. Did you hear how the melody seems to “float” above the chords? When you compose a melody by using this scale, you’ll use the reverse process. You’ll use the scale over any of these types of chord progressions.
Writing Exercises 64
Sing the following exercises along with “Rhythm Track 26: Five-Foot-Two” (CD 64) or to your original rhythm track using any chords in a major key.
■
Practice
Reset the lyrics to “Five-Foot-Two” in three different way using only the notes of the major pentatonic blues scale. Five-foot-two in her high-heeled shoes We all stop and stare But she struts right on by
■
Set Your Your Own Lyric
Create an original lyric, and set it using notes from the major blues scale.
■
Rewrite the Hits
From the songs you know, find an example of a melody that uses the major blues scale over chords in a major key. Then create your own major blues setting of that song’s lyrics over the same chords.
■
Write a Song
Create a song where the verse uses a chord-tone melody (see units II and III) and the chorus uses a major pentatonic blues melody over a chord progression.
L E S S O N 3 6 Major Blues Over Progressions
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