Learning to play the blues is empowering for pianists. It's the gateway into jazz, improvisation, playing with others, playing alone without music, and will take you all over the world.
Recently I was at the Northwest Big Band Camp, a week long intensive workshop playing 5-6 hours a day in a Big Band with new (to me) musicians that ended with a Friday night concert. It was a lot of fun and has inspired me to get others playing jazz. A good way to get started is the blues.
The only way I was able to keep up and play well was continuous counting. My right foot was worn out by the end of it after all of the tapping. My bias is showing, but the most important part of a jazz group is the rhythm section. If it can't keep a rock solid beat, then the rest of the musicians don't have a solid foundation to work with.
There are lots of ways to get started in learning the blues, but I want to make it easy for my adult learners to get great by not getting overwhelmed.
This video is where you get started: Left hand and a rock steady pulse:
This is the first of the Blues series. It'll get harder, later, in tiny increments, like turning up the heat on a pan full of frogs. 🐸
You can download the musical example below
And, you can get the 12 Bar Blues Cards below
This is my absolute favorite card set. The possibilities for playing are literally endless. I use them in lessons every week, and the 7th chord voicings are what I am using when I play in big bands and combos.
Want to be informed when the next in the blues series comes out?
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