Using the major third and sixths on a blues progression
Hi David and the rest of the community! Sorry if I don't manage to separate this text into paragraphs! I believe the formatting in this forum is different... Anyways, I watched the wonderful Joe Filisko interview and I really liked it but something Joe said got me curious. He says that in blues playing the major third and major sixth on the I7 chord sounds too happy... Coming from playing guitar I find that statement conflicting. Many guitar players including BB King, Albert King, Eric Clapton, Matt Schofield, Robben Ford uses the major 3rd and sixth (major pentatonic scale). Even some of these players said in interviews and instructional videos that using the 3rd and 6th sounds more "sophisticated" and combining both major and minor pentatonics are crucial for a diverse vocabulary in blues improv. I know every instrument has it's own vocabulary and we should embrace that advantages and limitations of each instruments but we should also draw elements from other instruments to develop as a musician. Jazz players do this as well. What are your thoughts in this subject?
Norlo28: When thinking about major pentatonic and other scales with the major third, think the blues' "happier" cousin, jump & swing, especially the stuff from the 40s (e.g., Louis Jordan, Roy Milton, Pee Wee Crayton, et al.) that Dennis Gruenling is so good at. A time and a place for everything, often in the same song!
I can't think in scales while playing to be honest... When I listen to any chord progression I tend to hear the notes of each chord and I try to outline each chord while keeping thef flow of the progression as a whole. I can do that on guitar but not in the harmonica yet but I can definetely "hear" melodies outlining the chords. I don't like the "one scale fits all" approach. Here's me trying to play these concepts on the guitar:https://www.instagram.com/norlo28/reel/Cu2jPWxtKae/?hl=es
Hello Norlo28.
Joe may have been speaking in terms of how to sound more bluesy, which is harder, but should be worked on to achieve (since the major 3rd and 6th are available on the harmonica without any effort, and thus can be overused). Just guessing without seeing the video.
I agree with your statements above. It's good to learn the Major Pentatonic Scale approach, and the Blues Scale approach, and then the mixture of them, depending on how dark/light the backing is. So, yeah, it's essential to learn all three skill sets (MP, BS, and Mix).