Typical Minor Jazz Blues Chord Progressions

[kris]

AlsoRan -

If I were you I'd forget Footprints. It's not even in 4/4 and those changes aren't standard for learning over. My mistake for going with that idea. It'll only do your head in.

A7 to Cm? Who writes stuff like that? Don't go there!

no coments...

[ragman1]

"D7 to Db7, that's the normal..." Even they don't know.

Look, the guy's learning. Suggest some soloing ideas for simple minor jazz blues. That's what he asked for. Footprints is in 3/4 or 6/8 and it's tricky. I forgot that.

I can suggest quite a lot but you're advanced, so you can do it :-)

[ragman1]

Cm - Cm blues, Eb maj, Bb maj (dorian), C mel (Cm6), Cm/Dm pent

C7 (#9) - C alt

Fm - Eb maj (dorian), Fm blues, Fm/Gm pent,

Ab7 - Db maj, Eb mel

G7 - Cm blues, Gm blues, G aug, G alt

[kris]

[kris]

[AlsoRan]

"D7 to Db7, that's the normal..." Even they don't know.

Look, the guy's learning. Suggest some soloing ideas for simple minor jazz blues. That's what he asked for. Footprints is in 3/4 or 6/8 and it's tricky. I forgot that.

I can suggest quite a lot but you're advanced, so you can do it :-)

Ha! Ha!

All is well. It's great getting these suggestions. I take them all and keep what I can use at this point in my development.

You have got me looking in my Real Books. I am kind of surprised how sparse some of the Minor Jazz Blues changes are for some of the songs.

But I am thinking that in actually playing, good Jazz players throw in their 2-5s and other chords to spice things up - so I will not be fooled...

[David B]

This two-part video class on the minor blues is great: Roni Ben-Hur (Inside the Minor Blues) - Videos 1, 2 & PDF Bundle - My Music Masterclass

[AlsoRan]

This two-part video class on the minor blues is great: Roni Ben-Hur (Inside the Minor Blues) - Videos 1, 2 & PDF Bundle - My Music Masterclass

Interesting. A Jazz Course targeted at Minor Jazz Blues.

You might have cost me $30.00 bucks! When I get home, I will research this instructor and his material - get some feedback.

Thanks!

[AlsoRan]

I looked through my two volumes of Real Books. Man, even with the simple Blues songs, those last four bars are all over the place when it comes to chord selection. So much so, that I just don't know what to expect - typical of Jazz, there is no standardization so I would have to hear the progression or few times or have a lead sheet before I could try to solo.

Sometimes they stick in some form of minor 2-5-1, other times they use consecutive 2-5s, and other times they get close to a basic Blues 5-4-1 and then the turnaround.

I guess that's just Jazz, and I am going to set up my Band in the Box with one 2-5-1 movement in one measure. After a few hundred times through, I will add more based on actual tunes. Out to the woodshed!

[christianm77]

A good way to learn harmony is to compare all these diverse progressions and see what chords can be swapped for each other.

Also harmony follows the melody. The chords used in the real book are (when they are correct!) designed to fit that particular melody.

They all relate to the basic three chord template.

[AlsoRan]

A good way to learn harmony is to compare all these diverse progressions and see what chords can be swapped for each other.

Also harmony follows the melody. The chords used in the real book are (when they are correct!) designed to fit that particular melody.

They all relate to the basic three chord template.

That is a great rule of thumb that I often don't consider. Thanks

[christianm77]

BTW remember, the jazz blues template is slightly different to the Chicago blues template.... The main difference is in the last 4 bars

Chicago (i.e. post 50's)
V | IV | I | (V)

Jazz (from 20s on)
V7 | % | I | (V)
with common subs:
II7 | V7 | I | V7
IIm7 | V7 | I | V7

Any further variants on the blues are devlopments of this basic form

I | (IV) | I | I |
IV | % | I | % |
V7 | % | I | (V7)

The Hard Bop guys sometimes used the Chicago blues version to be a bit more 'down home.' It also became more common for all the chords in a blues to be explicitly dominant, while older jazz versions used major or 6 chords quite often for I and IV in the accompaniment - although soloists would use both b7s and 7s.

(Not always though! The original recording of Now's the Time is the opposite way round lol, those guys would fail jazz theory)

Notice that Johnny B Goode is the jazz version of the blues changes :-)

[christianm77]

My favourite not-obvious reharmonisation of a 12-bar is the A section of Wave... Can learn a mess of harmony looking at that, Blues for Alice, and Dance of the Infidels.

[Barka_Lott]

I didn't see it mentioned so I'll toss this in:
Go to the harmonic minor scale and play ii-V-i type things in the scale. You'll get the Mahna de carnival (sorry about the spellin) changes like this:

emi7b5 A713b9 Dmi (you could continue to the Gm iv chord . . ).

This would be in the 'key' of D mi sort of. The A7 could be b9, 11b9 or 13b9 if you're taking liberties. Doesn't have to be played bossa nova style . . .
Bob

[christianm77]

I didn't see it mentioned so I'll toss this in:
Go to the harmonic minor scale and play ii-V-i type things in the scale. You'll get the Mahna de carnival (sorry about the spellin) changes like this:

emi7b5 A713b9 Dmi (you could continue to the Gm iv chord . . ).

This would be in the 'key' of D mi sort of. The A7 could be b9, 11b9 or 13b9 if you're taking liberties. Doesn't have to be played bossa nova style . . .
Bob

[PMB]

BTW remember, the jazz blues template is slightly different to the Chicago blues template.... The main difference is in the last 4 bars

Chicago (i.e. post 50's)
V | IV | I | (V)

Jazz (from 20s on)
V7 | % | I | (V)
with common subs:
II7 | V7 | I | V7
IIm7 | V7 | I | V7

Any further variants on the blues are devlopments of this basic form

I | (IV) | I | I |
IV | % | I | % |
V7 | % | I | (V7)

The Hard Bop guys sometimes used the Chicago blues version to be a bit more 'down home.' It also became more common for all the chords in a blues to be explicitly dominant, while older jazz versions used major or 6 chords quite often for I and IV in the accompaniment - although soloists would use both b7s and 7s.

(Not always though! The original recording of Now's the Time is the opposite way round lol, those guys would fail jazz theory)

Notice that Johnny B Goode is the jazz version of the blues changes :-)

Spot on, Christian. I often use Johnny B Goode when teaching as a rock and roll example of omitting the IV chord descending change in a blues. Chuck Berry's vocabulary comes primarily from the respective fathers of electric jazz and blues guitar - Charlie Christian and T-Bone Walker (who, incidentally shared the same guitar teacher, Ralph "Big Foot Chuck" Hamilton) and T-Bone also regularly hung on the V in his tunes such as "(They Call It) Stormy Monday".

[PMB]

I looked through my two volumes of Real Books. Man, even with the simple Blues songs, those last four bars are all over the place when it comes to chord selection. So much so, that I just don't know what to expect - typical of Jazz, there is no standardization so I would have to hear the progression or few times or have a lead sheet before I could try to solo.

Sometimes they stick in some form of minor 2-5-1, other times they use consecutive 2-5s, and other times they get close to a basic Blues 5-4-1 and then the turnaround.

I guess that's just Jazz, and I am going to set up my Band in the Box with one 2-5-1 movement in one measure. After a few hundred times through, I will add more based on actual tunes. Out to the woodshed!

One of the reasons that minor blues tunes are harmonically more ambiguous is that there are so many minor scale variants. Natural, melodic and harmonic minor scales are the source for many progressions as is the dorian mode (minor 7th scale). In fact, the choice of dorian for the I chord often carries over into the IV suggesting a IV dominant rather than minor. Lots of Chicago blues tunes follow this pattern (especially those by Magic Sam). Chitlins Con Carne is another example, although the I chord was originally played as a C7#9, in itself an ambiguous chord containing both both major and minor 3rd/#9.

[Vladan]

My favourite not-obvious reharmonisation of a 12-bar is the A section of Wave... Can learn a mess of harmony looking at that, Blues for Alice, and Dance of the Infidels.

About a year ago there was a thread about Wave: "Wave" analysis using Mark Levine's method

where I came with using only first 12 bars of the form, for more less obvious reasons ...

[Vladan]

... I often use Johnny B Goode when teaching as a rock and roll example of omitting the IV chord descending change in a blues.

Also omitted is fast change.

[ragman1]

Vladan

Great music. But we never got to see Verona! Nice place!

I see you took the A34. Normally it looks like this and goes to Manchester

[Vladan]

Vladan

Great music. But we never got to see Verona! Nice place!

Actually, there are at least 2 clips, probably 3, maybe more, of my driving through Verona, that you can find by following links from my signature. I'd give you direct links, but that would not be nice to OP and this thread, some could even see it as spamming, god forbid ...

BTW, sorry but since we are already OT, could anybody, please, tell me why Destinytot got banned?

[AlsoRan]

Actually, there are at least 2 clips, probably 3, maybe more, of my driving through Verona, that you can find by following links from my signature. I'd give you direct links, but that would not be nice to OP and this thread, some could even see it as spamming, god forbid ...

BTW, sorry but since we are already OT, could anybody, please, tell me why Destinytot got banned?

Vladan,
Brother Destiny got into with Brother Fasstrack and the rest is history. They both ended up getting banned. Emotions got the better of them.

[ragman1]

following links from my signature.

It's okay, I know where your site is. Free sightseeing + music :-)

[AlsoRan]

Guess what?

Once again the answer was here on this website all along! Here are multiple Minor Blues progressions that each add another wrinkle until you get to progression 11, which is full of turnarounds and substitutions! It suggests a few songs, and there is a follow-on link for soloing strategies!

Thanks Matt and Dirk!

Minor Blues | Jazz Guitar Chord Progressions

[Toddep]

Here’s a good minor blues by the late great Larry Coryell.. I took the advice of title of this tune quite a few times

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