blues chords

Blues chords are created from the coolness of the intune equal temper tuning and support melodies drawn from the essential variably tuned blue notes. Is it from a combination of tunings that a big slice of the American musical sound pie is created, i.e., the blues? So, our chords are in tune while some of our melody notes are not? Pretty much. So, a theory glitch ...? Stylistically, we can often trace all of our current American coolness to some degree, to somewhere in the blues literature and the folks that originated those sounds. So, are the blue sounds one deep well into the American sounds? If so, where is this well located? Can we go there and experience the magic today? And is this a way into the jazz language, by playing the blues?

In earlier days, after voices joined in love, the original blues chords were probably created for accompaniment for the voice on some type of stringed banjo type guitar instrument and tuned with just the 5th's, that is if it had two strings, pulsing out a steady 4 / 4 groove on the beat. By adding colortones, i.e., blue third, blue 7th, major 6th etc., the essential old time / delta blues guitar vamps emerge. Better definition of the quality of the triad as to being major or minor is mixed into the vamps as the guitar becomes the blues "generator" of choice for players and composers. Adding a slide approach to the strings helps the sound to sit astride the two tonalities, helping the pitches to hint one tonality then the other as the story unfolds. Are the "legit" blues sounds we love simply an aural weave of color that sits "on the fence" between the major and minor tonalities simultaneously, wobbling back and forth as decided by the artist to best portray the emotional essence of their storyline? Is this why it's so tricky to really get into the blues groove ... part of the blues magic?

Nowadays, the triad / added seventh harmony is so often the basic "go to" blues chord, which forms the basis to expand into the more complex dominant seventh chord type possibilities as our ears, needs and styles evolve. With these ideas in mind, let's recreate the above evolution of blues chords thinking low E's on a guitar. Example 1.

The lick from bars 3 and 4 above is very common eh? Let's extract this idea and slip it into a One / Four / Five motion, the principle chords of the blues. Example 1a.

Sound familiar? Tis very common among the blues and rock enthusiasts. Does using the major 6th in the vamp imply major tonality? It can and usually does, at least for the chords. Here we add in the major third chord degree to each chord of the last idea creating major triads with 7th's. Brightening up them tempo a bit leans us toward the rockers a bit more. Example 1b.

So, what essential color do we we find contained within the above triad / added 7th sound? The tritone color? Exactly. It's the sound / tension that makes the dominant chord the dominant chord, so to speak. Let's trace this tritone through the One / Four and Five chords, the principle changes of the 12 bar blues in the major tonality. Here is a chart of the pitches for E blues. Example 2.

Here is the sound of the tritone intervals from the above chart. Example 2a.

Sound familiar? Pretty dissonant eh? Let's add the vamp from above to back this tritone line. Example 2b.

Sound better? Very, very common for the American blues specialist. The triplets are so cool in this and we here this 3 over 2 feel many bluesy tunes and styles.

Theory of blues chords. With this sound in mind, perhaps the first theoretical consideration to be given to the chords used to create American blues music is whether our tune is in the major or minor tonality. In the major tonality, blues chords are created from within the dominant family of chords. A blues song in the minor tonality would generally use chords created from the minor 7th family of tonic chords. Of the blues literature from the last 100 years or so, the scales would be tipped in favor of dominant harmony of the major tonality. Variations? Endless. At it's core, dominant colors. Why? Well, in most of the American blues music we hear, the melody is created from the pitches of the minor blues scale while the chords are based on the major triad found within dominant harmony, as created from within equal temper. Don't they sonically clash? Yep, that's perhaps part of the reason why they call it the blues ... Check out the following idea. Example 3.

Sound familiar? The simple blues melody is purely minor while the chords are based on the major triad. This aural phenomena is what I like to call the blues magic. Perhaps we take this combination of colors for granted, but theoretically and even perhaps more so historically speaking, there is some ground breaking magic here. The magic comes from the original American players who first mixed their ancient minor pentatonic color with the newer system of European equal temper, lifting the tritone from equal temper and adding it to their minor pentatonic palette of colors. Is it this unique combination of theoretically disparate elements that helps to aurally portray the stories of the blues artist?

Derivation of the pitches. Let's explore this basic harmonic component in a bit of theoretical detail using the major blues scale as our melodic resource, and try to spell out the tonic major triad while adding the blue seventh, thinking blues in C. Example 3a.

From the pitches of our scales we create the chords to support our melodies right? That's the traditional European, equal tempered way of taking care of business and is often referred to as being "diatonic." With blues chords, we use the pitches of various major scales to create the dominant chordal colors while our melodies come from the one blues scale. Here is the tonic seventh chord arpeggio, followed by stacking these pitches and playing them together, creating the dominant seventh chord. Example 3b.

We can create the same charting out of the resources for the minor blues chords in the same manner as done in example 2 with the major chord. Here is the minor blues scale charted out. Example 3c.

Minor chords have a minor third interval between the root and third. So we simply stack the 1st, 3rd and 5th degree of our melodic resource to create our tonic minor triad and then add the 7th degree for a bit of color. Here is the tonic minor seventh chord arpeggio, followed by stacking these pitches and playing them together, creating the blue minor seventh chord. This minor seventh color can become an important resource on your artistic palette. Example 3a.

Dig that dominant pedal to help set the mood eh? Lets compare the major dominant seventh chord with the minor seventh chord. Again, the key pitch to watch in the chord is the third chord degree, which determines whether the triad is major or minor. We use an arpeggiated figure in the bass to help keep things moving along. Example 4.

Clear on the distinction between the major and the minor colors? Once you lock in the sounds, you'll have them forever. Recognizing the distinction between these two colors is a solid first step for the emerging theorist. The arpeggiated figure from above is a classic rockin lick from the 1950's, even on a square machine like this. Check it out. Example 4a. 

Doubling up the rhythmic value from quarter to eighth notes helps to get the line to cook a bit hotter. Example 4b.

Sound familiar? We can easily create a rock and roll 12 bar blues from the above motif. The following 12 bars spawned about a gillion tunes, give or take a few. Like the tune in the Batman episode where Batman, the Boy Wonder and Catwoman go surfing with the locals at Wiamea Bay, remember that one? Remember who shows up? Right, the Penguin, but of course! Here's the sort of tune they rode the big ones in on. Twice through. Example 4c.

Kidding aside, if your just starting your musical journey in life, get some version of this 12 bar rock blues under your fingers. Maybe run it through a few of the other 12 major keys for an additional challenge and to expand your resources. Perhaps use the cycle of fifths to organize your keys. The sooner a player starts to take a blues challenge, the sooner things may fall into place. Hip to the blues challenge?

Review. So, this blues chord / blues scale relationship is basically nondiatonic? Pretty much, especially when we start to sub out the harmony with other chords and cycles within the 12 bar blues form. Let's examine the 3 principle chords used above, here is a chart of the pitches. Example 5.

Can we create all these chords diatonically from the pitches of the major or minor blues scale? Nope, here are the scale pitches. Example 5a.

Well, looks like we'll have to borrow some pitches from the major scale. Any problems with this? None what's so ever. Blues players have been doing this for ever. Blues lines come from the blues scales, blues chords come from equal temper, two cultures met, one new form evolved. Cool? Other blues chords? Lot's of choices. Here are a few. Example 5.

Dig the C 6 chord in the last bar, no blue 7th in the chord right? Tonic type? Exactly. Bright, crisp and to the point, no major / minor mixing here. An essential color for the rockabilly sounds, click for a cool "tonic 6" guitar shape.

Well, since we are no longer concerning ourselves with theoretical restraints between creating chords only from the pitches of a scale, i.e., diatonic harmony, does that mean that the sky's the limit in regards to possible combinations? Exactly. With the knowledge above now on your harddrive, click below to expand in a new direction with the blues chords.

The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend. Robertson Davies