Blue Music Theory – The Basics

A series for those who want to understand the basics of Blue Music Theory. This series will cover topics such as the major and minor pentatonic scales, the blues scale, and more.

What is blue music theory?

Blue music theory is a approach to music composition that is based on the blues. It is a relatively simple system that can be used by anyone, regardless of their level of musical training.

The basis of blue music theory is the 12-bar blues, which is a repeating chord progression that lasts for 12 measures (bars). This chord progression can be divided into three sections, each four bars long. The first section (bars 1-4) is called the “opening four,” the second section (bars 5-8) is called the “turnaround,” and the last section (bars 9-12) is called the “ending.”

In blue music theory, each chord in the 12-bar blues progression has a specific name and function. The first chord in the progression is called the “tonic” or “root” chord, and it gives the listener a sense of stability. The second chord in the progression is called the “subdominant” chord, and it gives the listener a sense of tension. The third chord in the progression is called the “dominant” chord, and it gives the listener a sense of release.

The most important thing to remember about blue music theory is that it is based on feeling rather than technicality. The goal of this approach is to create music that sounds good, not to adhere to any specific set of rules. As you become more familiar with blue music theory, you will develop your own unique style and voice as a composer.

The basics of blue music theory

Blue music theory is the study of how to create musical compositions in the blues style. It is based on the premise that the blues is a unique musical genre with its own rules and conventions. The goal of blue music theory is to help musicians understand how to create blues music that is true to the genre.

The major scale

The major scale is the foundation of western music. It consists of 7 notes, plus an octave of the same note. The notes in a major scale are arranged in this order:

root, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th

The 8th note is simply the root an octave higher.

In the key of C major, these notes would be C, D, E, F. G, A, B and C (an octave higher).

The intervals between each note are: whole step (W), whole step, half step (H), whole step, whole step, whole step, half step. This pattern repeats itself up and down the scale.

If we were to apply this to the notes in the key of C major, it would look like this:

C-D (W), D-E (W), E-F (H), F-G (W), G-A (W), A-B (W), B-C (H)

The minor scale

The minor scale is, put simply, a way of playing a song which creates a sad or moody feel. These days you hear it a lot in slow songs, or in sad parts of soundtracks. You might even say it has a “blue” feel to it.

The minor scale is made up of the same notes as the major scale, but with a different starting point. The most common way to play a minor scale is to start on the 6th note of the major scale, and then play all the same notes in order up to the 6th note again. So, in the key of C, the minor scale would start on A and go like this: A B C D E F G A.

If you’re not sure how that relates to the major scale, don’t worry – just think about it as starting on a different note. It’s really that simple!

Once you know where to start, playing the minor scale is just like playing any other scale – just work your way up and down from the starting note. As with any other skill, practice makes perfect – so get started today and see how quickly you can learn this essential piece of music theory!

The blues scale

The blues scale is a pentatonic scale with an added ♭5th degree, which gives it a distinctive “bluesy” sound. The notes of the blues scale are the same as the minor pentatonic scale, but with the addition of the ♭5th degree (♭5).

minor pentatonic: 1, ♭3, 4, 5, ♭7
blues scale: 1, ♭3, 4, ♭5, 5, ♭7

The added ♭5th gives the blues scale a “bluesy” sound. The interval between the 1st and 2nd degrees (1 half step) is also larger than in the minor pentatonic scale, which gives the blues scale a slightly “unstable” sound.

The blues scale is commonly used in rock, jazz, and blues music. It can be used for soloing or for creating background melodies.

How to use blue music theory

Music theory can be daunting, but luckily there’s a helpful tool called blue music theory. This theory uses the color blue to help explain music concepts. Keep reading to learn about the basics of blue music theory.

Improvising

While some people might think that improvising is making stuff up on the fly, there is actually a lot of theory involved in being able to come up with something that sounds good on the spot. If you know your scales and chord progressions, you can start to get a feel for how to improvise melodies and solos that complement the song without sounding like you’re just noodling around.

There are a few things to keep in mind when you’re improvising:

· Listen to the other instruments and voices that are playing. What are they doing? You want to make sure that what you’re playing fits in with the overall sound of the song.

· Know your chord progression. This will help you hear which notes will sound good over each chord.

· Use scale patterns. This will help you navigate the fretboard and find notes that work well together.

· Experiment! Don’t be afraid to try something new. If it doesn’t work, you can always go back to what you were doing before.

Writing songs

In order to understand how to use blue music theory, it is important to understand how songs are written. Songs are generally written in a verse-chorus form, which means that there is a main section (the chorus) that is repeated throughout the song, with different sections (verses) in between.

The chorus is usually the most memorable part of the song, and contains the main melody line. The verses usually contain different lyrics, but often use the same melody as the chorus.

Blue music theory can be used to add interest and variety to both the verses and choruses of songs. For example, by using different chord progressions in the verses and choruses, or by adding blue notes to the melody line.

Creating chord progressions

Now that we know the basics of constructing chords, let’s put them together to create some chord progressions. Chord progressions are simply a series of chords played one after the other. They can be as long or as short as you like, and can be created using any combination of chords.

There are no hard and fast rules for creating chord progressions, but there are some guidelines that can help you get started. One common method is to use the I-IV-V progression, which uses the first, fourth and fifth chords in a major scale. For example, in the key of C, the I chord is C major, the IV chord is F major, and the V chord is G major.

Another popular progression is the I-vi-ii-V progression, which uses the first, sixth, second and fifth chords in a major scale. In the key of C, this would be C major-A minor-D minor-G major.

Once you’ve got a few progressions under your belt, you can start to experiment with different combinations of chords and different orderings. Remember, there are no rules – if it sounds good, it is good!