Major Blues
MajorBlues-Scale
Wenn du die MajorBlues Skala spielst, tönt es wie bei Meister B.B. King.
On the ScaleTwister the major pentatonic is listed with two Blue Notes. The traditional Blues form is 12 measures long and has a chord progression of I degree (Tonic), the IV degree (Subdominant) and the V degree (Dominant). Playing the 12 measures is called chorus and over the whole progression the same blues scale can be played.
Major-Blues-Scale
General Blues Scale
You can always use the general blues scale it does not matter if it is a major or minor blues. It is a minor pentatonic scale expanded with a diminished fifth. Here is the construction:
Chords
B.B.King Blues-Scale
B. B. King uses a variation of the general blues scale, instead of the diminished VII degree the VI degree is used and thus it sounds happier.
For a major blues you can also embed the Blue Notes into the pentatonic major scale or the mixolydian major scale.
Major- Blues 1: xpanded Pentatonic Major Scale
Die mit BlueNotes erweiterte Mixolydische Durtonleiter findest du auf dem Dom7 Farbkreis
Major Blues 2, Expanded Mixolydian Scale
You can find the Mixolydian mode on the V degree of the Major scale. This scale contains already a diminished VII degree and has also a major character.
Chords
Application
The real Blue Notes are between Eb and E, Bb and B or Gb and G. With string instruments this effect is realized by playing for example Eb and then bending the string slightly.
With wind instruments Blue Notes are played with the so called „lipping down“ technique, by e. g. playing an E and then changing the note downwards. On the ScaleTwister you can find various Blues Scales. This link gets you to an overview of blues scales.
Example of a major blues progression with suitable scales
If you constantly play the same blues scale over the entire chorus you might run out of ideas. Fortunately you have access to other scales to keep your improvisation interesting.
Blues-Scales
Major Blues Scales
Minor – Blues – Scales
Dom7- Blues – Scales
