The exercises in this book use the major scale, pentatonic scale, blues scale, and chromatic scale. Its a great way for beginners to sound very cool, without having to be as good as oscar peterson. Scale, chord, arpeggio and cadence studies in all major and minor keys presented in a convenient twopage format. This is also a great way to jazz up a students scale warmups. If you are just starting out with jazz piano scale study, the first step is to learn the 12 major scales. What is the best piano scale book from beginner to advanced. Practice classical etudes, develop scale patterns and create your own exercises for each scale. This scale is a real rebel, practically throwing the rules of scale building out the window. Read the blues scale for pianokeyboards by andrew d. Youve probably heard us say this many times before. Move up the scale finger by finger until you hit the e sharp with your fourth finger. In addition, you should of course practice scales with your left hand, but in that case, you use some other fingerings.
Any time youre faced with playing straight chords or even playing melodies from a fake book which pretty much just gives the chord names, youre left to your own resources to supply an. The only book ever published showing the beginning jazz soloist how to improvise a real solo using only scales, the major and minor blues scales. This book is designed for students who know how to read music and want to improve. Printable piano music scales in all major and harmonic minor keys. The 7th note in the major scale gives a very strong sense of leading to the final pitch, a desire to resolve the sound back at the root tonic pitch, since there is only a halfstep between them. Includes an indepth 12 page explanation that leads to complete understanding of the fundamentals of major and minor scales, chords, arpeggios and cadences plus a clear explanation of scale degrees and a twopage guide to fingering the scales and arpeggios. Switch out the regular twooctave majorminor scales for a minor pentatonic blues scale. If youre just browsing, scroll to the bottom of this page and listen to the audio example to get an idea of what this lesson is about. Many musicians especially keyboard and guitar players say that they have spent more time practicing. The solution below shows the d blues scale, on the piano, treble clef and bass clef since the key of d appears on the circle of fifths diagram as both a major and minor key, the lesson steps explain both ways of constructing this blues scale for this key the 1st construction, using the major scale, starts at lesson 3 the 2nd construction, using the minor pentatonic scale. Pentatonic and blues scales is a minibook a fundessential that gives you a short, inspiring injection of creativity. The solution below shows the d blues scale, on the piano, treble clef and bass clef. The most effective way to learn the 12 major scales is through using the circle of fifths.
How to play and practice scales and arpeggios for pianists. Once you get that down, try playing the harmonized scale in chord order. Since the key of d appears on the circle of fifths diagram as both a major and minor key, the lesson steps explain both ways of constructing this blues scale for this key. Now play your scales in two octaves ascending and descending and start your scale on. Ive met plenty of people whove told me that they cant improvise or play jazz, and while i know that some people have natural gifts, i also know that the. The major blues scale is some less common than the minor blues scale, and therefore we start with minor and you will find the major by scrolling down. The evenly tempered scale guitars, pianos, and most other western instruments are designed around the evenly tempered scale. Blues scale in general it can be used on every chord but above all on min7 th and dominant 7th chord. The more that you practice these essential scales for jazz and blues piano players, the more comfortable that youll feel playing them and the more sounds that youll create. Now play your scales in two octaves ascending and descending and start your scale on every possible location of the c note.
Great for elementary to lateelementary students who are learning scales for. Blue scales alfreds basic piano library lesson book level 2. No matter what type of music you favor when you play the piano, youre likely to play the blues scale at some point. All the scales here are in one octave, but you can of course practice each piano scale in as many octaves and in any tempo you like. You must learn and be able to play the blues scale if youre going to be a blues piano player. The solution below shows the e blues scale, on the piano, treble clef and bass clef since the key of e appears on the circle of fifths diagram as both a major and minor key, the lesson steps explain both ways of constructing this blues scale for this key the 1st construction, using the major scale, starts at lesson 3 the 2nd construction, using the minor pentatonic scale. If you have tried transcribing blues in the past you may have found it difficult because you were only aware of the minor blues scale. The major blues scale for jazz piano georgia on my mind. There for well raise the sixth note of the scale and create a melodic minor scale. These scales are for obvious reasons perfect when playing blues on the piano. The major scale picture workbook offers a visual approach to learning major scale patterns. Hanon piano exercises have been meticulously constructed to provide the optimum level of practice for pianists of all levels and abilities. By holly day, jerry kovarksy, blake neely, david pearl, michael pilhofer.
The best way to get used to playing the blues is to have a go at improvising over the top of a 12 bar blues chord progression. Pianoscales wikibooks, open books for an open world. E major scale b major scale f major scale bb major scale eb major scale ab major scale db major scale gb major scale. Read the blues scale for pianokeyboards online by andrew d. Gordon is he feels, one of his most important books because of the nature of the blues scale and how it is used to improvise in many styles of contemporary music. Blues music scales chart for jazz improvisation jazz theory. A blues scale consists of 6 different notes, namely the root, flat 3rd, 4th, flat 5th, 5th and flat 7th of the major scale. First of all i want to point out that i practice scales a lot and even enjoy it. See my channel for other slow piano pieces for exercise.
For instance, in the c blues scale the notes are c eb f gb g bb c. Learn how to play the a blues scale on piano free video. A model scale and its exercises are first presented, then the remaining scales are presented in counterclockwise circle of fifths order, so that you can practice transposing easily for all the exercises. Piano scales exercises practice scales with both hands. Starting with diatonic, pentatonic, symmetrical and exotic scales, more advanced composer and. For instance, in the c blues scale the notes are c. The complete book of scales, chords, arpeggios and cadences alfreds basic piano. The secret piano blues scale the professionals dont tell. One of the most important tools for your piano playing bag of tricks is a good supply of lefthand accompaniment patterns. These are the four most common scales in pop and rock music. Hanon exercises 240 piano finger exercises in all keys. Easy blues piano practice play blues piano with willie myette.
Jazz piano scales and modes book mel bay publications. Aug 14, 2014 the more that you practice these essential scales for jazz and blues piano players, the more comfortable that youll feel playing them and the more sounds that youll create. Oct 19, 2016 blues piano improvisation the blues scale ok, ok one scale, then no more theory. If you play the piano scale ascending youll hear the strangeness of the gap between these two notes. Now that we know why we need to practice scales and arpeggios and what they are, lets talk about how to practice them, starting with the thumb crossing technique, which allows us to navigate the keyboard with only 5 fingers in each hand and to connect notes without hopping from one note to another its a way of shifting position without. Jan 31, 2014 this is also a great way to jazz up a students scale warmups. I have no ambitionsreasons to do piano grades so my teacher is focusing on teaching me technique.
I got up to grade 45 and this is where my problem beings. Online support for piano adventures scale and chord books. Blues piano improvisation advice and tips play blues. The harmonic minor scale includes a raised, or form of the 7th scale degree. Hungarian minor scale dare to learn hungarian minor scales for piano compositions. Download our free pdf versions of each scale with fingering. This scale is much used above all in blues,pop,jazz,soul,funk,rhythm and blues,rock.
Most technical exercises books herz is a good one will have most, if not all, of the basic scales and arpeggios, and will of course contain a few good exercises to get your fingers ready for such things basic independence, control and dexterity of the outer. For more advanced students, have them play a 12 or 16bar blues form underneath. For the last 8 months ive been focusing on playing different classical piano pieces. This is a fun piano music scale arabian scale if you are a composer, then you deserve to learn arabian scales. Blue scales alfreds basic lesson book 2 blues ladders.
Adding a blue note to the regular pentatonic scale result in the pentatonic blues scale. Pattern 1st 2nd flattened 3rd 3rd 4th 5th 6th flattened 7th 7th. Great lefthand accompaniment patterns for the piano or. The flat third, flat fifth and flat seventh notes of the scale are the blue notes of the. What is the importance of practicing scales on piano, and. Try to practice piano music scales that share the same fingering first, and always hands separately. Armed with your knowledge of the major and extended blues scales, listen and transcribe from your favourite players. Piano pentatonic blues scales overview with pictures.
Blues piano improvisation the blues scale ok, ok one scale, then no more theory. How to play a jazz piano solo with c, f, g blues scales. The secret piano blues scale the professionals dont tell you. Discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that delivers new books every 1, 2, or 3 months new customers receive 15% off your.
The next step is to expand your technique by exploring all of the variations possible within each scale. For instance, in the c blues scale the notes are c eb f gb g. If it is for technique, you dont need a book, you need a knowledgeable teacher to show you how to move properly. Read blues piano for beginners online by mark harrison books. Guitar pentatonic and blues scales fundamental changes. When we descend in the scale theres no reason to raise the leading note and the sixth note any longer since the seventh note is serving as a leading note only. It may be fun to play both hands together, but its more important to first of all be able to confidently play one hand at a time without effort. Ive had this book for just over 2 months and im still on the first chapter although near the end of it and as i said, i practice everyday. C major scale g major scale d major scale a major scale e major scale b major scale f major scale bb major scale eb major scale ab major scale db major scale gb major scale. The major blues scale is some less common than the minor blues scale, and therefore we start with minor and you will find the major by. Its become my favourite warmup book for every practice section. Practice your scales in every mode, in thirds, fourths, fifths, sixths, etc.
Online support for scale and chord books faber piano. It covers modal scales and exercises from brightest to darkest, melodic minor modal scales,whole tone scale, diminished scales, pentatonic and blues scales. The blues scale for pianokeyboards digital sheet music. The scales are used often for composing melodies and for improvisation. The complete book of scales, chords, arpeggios and cadences. What is the best piano scale book from beginner to. The harmonized scale are the diatonic chords that use each note in the scale as the root. For learning the name of scales, you could train with these flashcards. Students follow a worksheet format designed to help them discover, then remember, scale notes and fingering.
Apr, 20 piano blues scale lesson how to play the blues on piano. Arabian scales differ from the common, too often played, major and minor scales, and can help to surprise your listeners with an exotic arabian sound. For right hand fingering, start on the a with your thumb. Improvising the blues on the piano is a lot easier than you might think. Proper fingering of the scales on the piano is very important to development of your skills and advancement as a pianist. Free minor pentatonic blues scale chart saras music studio. The blues scale is one of the most exciting scales to practice. The circle of fifths is a handy diagram that shows which keys are most closely related to each other on the piano. The scale is made up of the notes a, c, d, e sharp, e, g, and a. The full series of exercises have a proven track record in improving technical skill, speed and precision stretching back well over a century. The 1st construction, using the major scale, starts at lesson 3.
Just the blues scale can be considered a basis for a particular key blues. A big jazz musician wrote a sentence in his book and he was particularly struck by it when i was eighteen and it simply said that blues is the soul of jazz. You can hear it in rock, country, jazz, and of course. The worldwide leader in jazz improvisation educational materials for over 50 years. Now go and do some fingerjogging with these piano scale exercises. Lets learn the blues scales on piano and keyboard in every key.
And most importantly, practice all of these in all four directions. Mel bay following the bestselling jazz piano chords, this informative volume provides a scale reference and practice tool for any pianist wanting to learn to play jazz. An octave simply represents a halving or doubling of frequency. In this article well discuss some easy blues piano practice exercises. Jun 22, 2011 the next step is to expand your technique by exploring all of the variations possible within each scale. And it also gives the student numerous playalong tracks to practice with.
Improvising blues piano the basic principles of blues piano. What is the importance of practicing scales on piano, and the. In our examples, well be thinking of mixolydian chord scales. The place where musical theory meets physics is the octave. If you have tried transcribing blues in the past you may have found it difficult. The secret piano blues scale the professionals dont tell you about. How to play a jazz piano solo with 3 easy blues scales featured article, how to, instruments, keyboards, teachers resources october 30, 20 march 29, 2019 drew roberts its important to learn music theory if you want to get into jazz improvisation, but an easy place to start is the blues scale. With higher grade pieces im noticing the gap in my scale chords knowledge. How to practice jazz scales the right way and master them. Jazz piano scales and modes book mel bay publications, inc. Once you get that down, you can start playing the harmonized scales in circles of fourths and fifths. First published in 1873, the virtuoso pianist by charles louis. Download free printable sheet music for the scale with fingering in pdf format.
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