Blues Scale
Sun, 12/06/2020 - 17:05
Dave, if this question is too complicated to answer easily, please let me know. I don't mean to make extra work. I am never going to progress beyond following along with the notes on your sheet music if I don't learn and memorize the blues scales. If I can't get my hand around scales I can't master position playing. So here is the question: can you recommend lessons on the site that I should review to learn the concept of the blues scale. I'll take a month just learning this if it pushes me to the next level. (Incidentally, I just passed LOA3). Maybe, if I learn all ths cool stuff, and we're out of lockdown by next October (10 months), I can bring my harmonicas with me on the Legendary Blues Cruise. Thanks, David.
Hello David.
We don't move to other positions until LOA-L8, so I wouldn't lose sleep over that subject. The reason why I start the subject early in your training is because it is a difficult subject to wrap your brain around, so it's smart to give you little drops on the head about the ideas over time. When you start to learn songs in different positions you'll start to feel/hear what each position has to offer, and it will start to make more sense.
Same thing with scales. Your focus right now is more to listen and copy... the scales are used more as a movement exercise. As you advance in your studies, these scales can help give you options of sound in your improvising.
With that said, yes, there are lessons...
- Music Theory Study 2... focuses on Positions
- Movement Exercises Study 2... focuses on essential scales
- Understanding Position Playing... is a general lesson on understanding positions
- Improvising Study 8... focuses on the ratio of chord tones and scale tones while soloing
- Improvising Study 9... focuses on why we use scales for soloing (the feels they give us)
- Music Theory Study 4... focuses on the ratio of chord tones and scale tones while soloing
- Music Theory Study 5... focuses on soloing scales