![harmony assistant sample blues harmony assistant sample blues](https://8020bass.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Example-2-2048x1516.jpg)
Luckily, we can add a lot to that simple chord progression. This is a classic progression, but it isn’t very complex. Here is the most basic version of blues harmony: The third phrase shifts to the dominant before returning home to the tonic. The second shifts to the subdominant, then returns to the tonic. The first phrase remains entirely in the tonic key. The 12-bar blues is built in three phrases, harmonically marked by shifts in the first two bars of each phrase.
#Harmony assistant sample blues free#
In this article, I’ll guide you through a number of ways musicians have altered or added to the basic harmonic structure of the 12-bar blues and suggest some ways you can spice up your next solo or composition instead of depending on the trusty blues scale.īrush up on the basics of the blues form with this excerpt from our free course, “A Conversation with the Blues.” The Basics Thankfully, not all of these transformations are as complex as they sound.
![harmony assistant sample blues harmony assistant sample blues](https://www.melbay.com/Content/Site161/FilesSamples/178439Sample1gi_00000083654.gif)
The inherent simplicity in the blues form offers artists freedom to modify and add to the blues, and these transformations are what make each version of the blues sound different. Too often, however, musicians revert to the minor pentatonic scale and shred patterns during solos when they could be illustrating more difficult harmonic concepts that expose the hidden complexity of the blues. Musicians from Louis Armstrong to The White Stripes have used the form as a canvas for improvisation, with each artist offering a unique approach to a simple, 48 beat pattern. The 12-bar blues is the most important structural element in the history of American popular music. Subscribe now to start learning on the ’Fly. + Welcome to Soundfly! We help curious musicians meet their goals with creative online courses. Whatever you want to learn, whenever you need to learn it.