Playing Blues over Ionian (major) mode Songs
Dear All,
QQ - Is there a way an Ionian mode song chords can be modified to fit in blues licks without the need to avoid hitting -5 and -9 draw notes (avoid notes).?
I mostly play pop, country and gospel music. I like to use 2nd and 5th positions.
Avoid Notes - Quick fix
I play major pentatonic in 2nd position to avoid b7 / -5 and -9 draw notes. For Minor I play 5th Postion Minor Pentatonic.
Re-Tuning - Best Fix
Raised 5 draw by a Semi-tone on my Spare C Harp and this gave me an ability to play Major scale, triads etc in 2nd positions and it fits well with the kind of music I play.
However, most of my Harmonicas are Richter tuned. Avoiding -5 Draw and -9 Draw while playing a solo is difficult. Hence, checking if there is a way the pianist can modify certain notes or chords in the sheet music so that I can play 2nd position fluidly with no Avoid Notes.
sundsouza: Not 100% sure I understand the question. Are you asking what your piano player can do to change harmonic structure so that you can play blues melodies over his/her accompaniment? If that's the case and you have a pianist who understands the style, all he/she needs to do is keep in mind that major 7th chords should be avoided, and any I, IV or V major 7th should be adjusted to come out as dominant 7th. A lot of Gospel and country is actually blues based, so might come out all right. But a lot of major scale pop songs are going to sound a lot different if you are going to "bluesify" them. If you're playing for an audience (e.g., church congregation) that's expecting a certain sound, it might be best to adjust your playing to the sound they're expecting, rather than try to fit blues lines into something that isn't blues to start with. But if playing blues lines in non-blues songs is what you're looking for, just be sure that the pianist understands where you're going, and can work flatted 3rds, 5ths and 7ths into the harmonic structure.