Expressing the Blues A large majority of Blue song progressions only contain 3 chords, arranged in an 8, 12, or 16 bar structure. Played in common 4/4 time, this rigid structure is the foundation that creates an enormous space for personal freedom and expression. Each bar is beating out 4 downbeats, how are you going to fill the time? Building a song from the ground up, percussion to bass to treble, simple to complex will clarify the beauty of the Blues. The trick is to understand music is all about physical movement in time that equates to sound. Single notes move up and down in pitch across the fingerboard in specific steps called intervals (string and fret movement). Single notes can be harmonized using a second note (double stops) and by adding a third or more notes, turned into chords. A song is a relationship of various notes. Think of each bar as targeting a specific set of notes. How you walk into (passing tones preceding the intended target note) or attack each note (hammer on, pull off, slide, bend, vibrato, bottleneck, strumming chords, arpeggio) adds interest and tone to the overall sound. I believe the reason I enjoy the blues so much is that it appeals to my logical mind (organized comprehendible structure) and also to my heart (emotionally moving and satisfying). youtu.be/X9uHBAVmTv4
Posted on: Tue, 19 Aug 2014 11:24:57 +0000