VI. Jazz
81
Megan Lavengood
Key Takeaways
- In a blues song with a sung text, the lyrics consist of a line that is repeated, then followed by a contrasting line (aab). The melody often follows this structure as well.
- Blues melodies often leave large gaps to allow for call-and-response between the melodic instrument and other instruments.
- The blues scale is like a minor pentatonic scale with an additional chromatic passing tone: do–me–fa–fi–sol–te [latex](\hat1-\downarrow\hat3-\hat4-\uparrow\hat4-\hat5-\downarrow\hat7)[/latex].
- The blues scale can be rotated to begin on its second note, creating a major blues scale: do–re–ri–mi–sol–la [latex](\hat1-\hat2-\uparrow\hat2-\hat3-\hat5-\hat6)[/latex].
This chapter discusses some of the trends in blues melodies that shaped the blues as we know it today. As an example, this text will focus on one of the earliest recorded blues songs, “Gulf Coast Blues” by Clarence Williams, as recorded by the enormously commercially successful blues singer Bessie Smith in 1923.
Example 1. “Gulf Coast Blues” (1923), recording by Bessie Smith and Clarence Williams.
Phrase and Lyric Structure
Much blues music is sung, and so lyrics play an important role in this genre. The four-bar phrases that make up the 12-bar blues are commonly matched with lyrics that have an aab structure: the first line is stated and then repeated (sometimes with some alteration), and the third line contrasts. “Gulf Coast Blues” by Clarence Williams (1923) is one example of this (Example 2). The repeated lyric will often be set to a repeated melody, mimicking the aab structure of the lyrics, though this does not happen in “Gulf Coast Blues.”
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Example 2. Lyrics of “Gulf Coast Blues” by Clarence Williams.
Another essential part of blues phrase structure is the notion of call-and-response, a feature likely inherited from the work songs of enslaved Africans and African Americans. The vocal, lyricized melody takes on the role of the “call” while an instrumental filler takes on the role of the “response.” Notice that in “Gulf Coast Blues,” each lyric labeled with an a is sung entirely and exclusively in the first two measures of the phrase. Example 3 annotates a transcription of “Gulf Coast Blues” to show this call-and-response relationship.
https://musescore.com/user/32728834/scores/5742815/embed
Example 3. Call-and-response in the melody of “Gulf Coast Blues.”
The Blues Scale
Much as the harmonies of the blues tend not to stick to one diatonic key, flouting the norms of tonal music, the melodies are similarly chromatic to match. The blues scale, notated in the upper staff of Example 4, attempts to generalize blues melodic practice into a scale on which beginning improvisers can base their melodies. The blues scale is essentially a minor pentatonic scale with an added chromatic passing tone leading up to sol [latex](\hat5)[/latex].
https://musescore.com/user/32728834/scores/8515004/embed
Example 4. The C blues scale creates stylistic clashes with the I and V chords of C major.
This blues scale is used in both major and minor blues tunes, despite the clashes with the underlying harmony. When this scale is combined with the chords of the major blues—I, V, and IV, or C major, F major, and G major in the key of C—the characteristic clashes between mi/me [latex](\hat3/\downarrow\hat3)[/latex] and ti/te [latex](\hat7/\downarrow\hat7)[/latex] are especially notable.
These clashes often produce blue notes—notes that are not really flat or natural, but somewhere in between. Blue notes seem to split the difference between mi/me [latex](\hat3/\downarrow\hat3)[/latex] or ti/te [latex](\hat7/\downarrow\hat7)[/latex].
The “major” blues scale
Some improvisers find it helpful to think of a major blues scale. The difference between a major and minor pentatonic scale is identical to the difference between the major and minor blues scale: the major blues scale is a rotation of the blues scale of its relative minor. Begin the blues scale on me [latex](\downarrow\hat3)[/latex], and you will get a blues scale for the relative major. These relationships are summarized in Example 5.
https://musescore.com/user/32728834/scores/8515049/embed
Example 5. Rotating the blues scale to begin on its second note yields the major blues scale.
Compared to the minor blues scale, the major blues scale is less dissonant with major chords. When improvising, it can be helpful to think of improvising with the major blues scale over the major chords of the blues progression. But remember that using the blues scale (with flatted thirds and sevenths) over major chords is also a perfectly normal practice.
- Blues scales worksheet (.pdf, .mscz). Asks students to spell scales and transcribe a melody that uses the blues scale. Worksheet playlist
- Improvising with the blues scale (.pdf, .mscz). Video assignment. Asks students to pair off and create videos with call-and-response improvisation. Backing track available here.
- Blues composition (.pdf, .docx). Asks students to synthesize information about blues harmony and blues melody.
A pentatonic scale with the intervals mi3–ma2–ma2–mi3–ma2. For example, starting on A, the minor pentatonic would be A–C–D–E–G. The minor pentatonic is a rotation of the major pentatonic.
Key Takeaways
In Western musical notation, pitches are designated by the first seven letters of the Latin alphabet: A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. After G these letter names repeat in a loop: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C, etc. This loop of letter names exists because musicians and music theorists today accept what is called octave equivalence, or the assumption that pitches separated by an octave should have the same letter name. More information about this concept can be found in the next chapter, The Keyboard and the Grand Staff.
This assumption varies with milieu. For example, some ancient Greek music theorists did not accept octave equivalence. These theorists used more than seven letters of the Greek alphabet to name pitches.
Clefs and Ranges
The Notation of Notes, Clefs, and Ledger Lines chapter introduced four clefs: treble, bass, alto, and tenor. A clef indicates which pitches are assigned to the lines and spaces on a staff. In the next chapter, The Keyboard and the Grand Staff, we will see that having multiple clefs makes reading different ranges easier. The treble clef is typically used for higher voices and instruments, such as a flute, violin, trumpet, or soprano voice. The bass clef is usually utilized for lower voices and instruments, such as a bassoon, cello, trombone, or bass voice. The alto clef is primarily used for the viola, a mid-ranged instrument, while the tenor clef is sometimes employed in cello, bassoon, and trombone music (although the principal clef used for these instruments is the bass clef).
Each clef indicates how the lines and spaces of the staff correspond to pitch. Memorizing the patterns for each clef will help you read music written for different voices and instruments.
Reading Treble Clef
The treble clef is one of the most commonly used clefs today. Example 1 shows the letter names used for the lines of a staff when a treble clef is employed. One mnemonic device that may help you remember this order of letter names is "Every Good Bird Does Fly" (E, G, B, D, F). As seen in Example 1, the treble clef wraps around the G line (the second line from the bottom). For this reason, it is sometimes called the "G clef."
Example 2 shows the letter names used for the spaces of a staff with a treble clef. Remembering that these letter names spell the word "face" may make identifying these spaces easier.
Reading Bass Clef
The other most commonly used clef today is the bass clef. Example 3 shows the letter names used for the lines of a staff when a bass clef is employed. A mnemonic device for this order of letter names is “Good Bikes Don’t Fall Apart” (G, B, D, F, A). The bass clef is sometimes called the “F clef”; as seen in Example 3, the dot of the bass clef begins on the F line (the second line from the top).
Example 4 shows the letter names used for the spaces of a staff with a bass clef. The mnemonic device "All Cows Eat Grass" (A, C, E, G) may make identifying these spaces easier.
Reading Alto Clef
Example 5 shows the letter names used for the lines of the staff with the alto clef, which is less commonly used today. The mnemonic device “Fat Alley Cats Eat Garbage” (F, A, C, E, G) may help you remember this order of letter names. As seen in Example 5, the center of the alto clef is indented around the C line (the middle line). For this reason it is sometimes called a "C clef."
Example 6 shows the letter names used for the spaces of a staff with an alto clef, which can be remembered with the mnemonic device “Grand Boats Drift Flamboyantly” (G, B, D, F).
Reading Tenor Clef
The tenor clef, another less commonly used clef, is also sometimes called a “C clef,” but the center of the clef is indented around the second line from the top. Example 7 shows the letter names used for the lines of a staff when a tenor clef is employed, which can be remembered with the mnemonic device “Dodges, Fords, and Chevrolets Everywhere” (D, F, A, C, E):
Example 8 shows the letter names used for the spaces of a staff with a tenor clef. The mnemonic device "Elvis's Guitar Broke Down" (E, G, B, D) may make identifying these spaces easier.
Ledger Lines
When notes are too high or low to be written on a staff, small lines are drawn to extend the staff. You may recall from the previous chapter that these extra lines are called ledger lines. Ledger lines can be used to extend a staff with any clef. Example 9 shows ledger lines above a staff with a treble clef:
Notice that each space and line above the staff gets a letter name with ledger lines, as if the staff were simply continuing upwards. The same is true for ledger lines below a staff, as shown in Example 10:
Notice that each space and line below the staff gets a letter name with ledger lines, as if the staff were simply continuing downwards.
- The Staff, Clefs, and Ledger Lines (musictheory.net)
- Flashcards for Treble, Bass, Alto, and Tenor Clefs (Richman Music School)
- Printable Treble Clef Flash Cards (Samuel Stokes Music) (pages 3 to 5)
- Printable Bass Clef Flash Cards (Samuel Stokes Music) (pages 1 to 3)
- Printable Alto Clef Flash Cards (Samuel Stokes Music)
- Printable Tenor Clef Flash Cards (Samuel Stokes Music)
- Paced Game: Treble Clef (Tone Savvy)
- Paced Game: Bass Clef (Tone Savvy)
- Paced Game: Alto Clef (Tone Savvy)
- Paced Game: Tenor Clef (Tone Savvy)
Easy
Medium
- Worksheets in Treble Clef (.pdf)
- Treble Clef with Ledger Lines (.pdf)
- Worksheets in Bass Clef (.pdf, .pdf)
- Bass Clef with Ledger Lines (.pdf)
- Worksheets in Alto Clef (.pdf, .pdf)
- Worksheets in Tenor Clef (.pdf)
Advanced
- All Clefs (.pdf)
A feature of musical phrasing that features a simulated dialogue between two instruments or groups of instruments.
Notes whose exact pitch sounds somewhere between the flat and regular versions of a scale degree, particularly 3̂ and 7̂.
A scale that proceeds ma2–ma2–mi3–ma2–mi3. For example, starting on C, the C major pentatonic scale is C–D–E–G–A.
