Ab Blues Scale (Jam Session 109i with Guitar, Bass, and Drums)

Chords for Jam Session 109i:  Ab x 4; Db x 2; Ab x 2; Eb; Db; Ab; Ab-Db7-D7-E7 turnaround = 12-bar blues

The guitar is tuned a half-step down (Eb Ab Db Gb Bb Eb) in the recording, so the guitarist treated the jam session like the blues in A:

     Ab5   Ab6             Ab5   Ab6            Ab5   Ab6

eb |---------------------|--------------------|---------------------|
Bb |---------------------|--------------------|---------------------|
Gb |---------------------|--------------------|---------------------|
Db |-2-2-2-4-2-2-2-4-----|--------------------|---------------------|
Ab |-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-----|--------------------|---------------------|
Eb |---------------------|--------------------|---------------------|

     Ab5   Ab6             Db5   Db6            Db5   Db6  

eb |---------------------|--------------------|---------------------|
Bb |---------------------|--------------------|---------------------|
Gb |---------------------|-2-2-2-4-2-2-2-4----|---------------------|
Db |---------------------|-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0----|---------------------|
Ab |---------------------|--------------------|---------------------|
Eb |---------------------|--------------------|---------------------|

     Ab5   Ab6             Ab5   Ab6            Eb5   Eb6

eb |---------------------|--------------------|---------------------|
Bb |---------------------|--------------------|---------------------|
Gb |---------------------|--------------------|---------------------|
Db |-2-2-2-4-2-2-2-4-----|--------------------|---------------------|
Ab |-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-----|--------------------|-2-2-2-4-2-2-2-4-----|
Eb |---------------------|--------------------|-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-----|

     Db5   Db6             Ab5   Ab6            Ab5   Db7   D7   Eb7

eb |---------------------|--------------------|-------2-----3----4--|
Bb |---------------------|--------------------|-------1-----2----3--|
Gb |---------------------|--------------------|-2-----2-----3----4--|
Db |---------------------|--------------------|-2-------------------|
Ab |---------------------|--------------------|-0-------------------|
Eb |---------------------|--------------------|---------------------|

The bass is tuned in standard tuning (E A D G), so the bass player treated the jam (fingering-wise) like it was in Ab - which it was.

Be sure to play with that swing feel!

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Jam Session 104i, 12-Bar Blues in A (Piano, Guitar)

Here are some show/lesson/jam session notes for Jam Session 104i:

We're playing the 12-bar blues in A, a simplified version of it, so that we're playing -

• Four bars of A
• Two bars of D
• Two bars of A
• One bar of E
• One bar of D
• Two bars of A
• Start over again!

I like to have a blues-swing mentality, 12/8 while playing the 12-bar blues:  "One and a two and a three and a four and a..." but a straight 4/4 count:  "One two three four..." or "One and two and three and four and..." could work just fine.

At one point in the jam session, the piano player does some embellishments on his right hand so that the major chords turn into 7th chords:

 

 

The guitar player solos/improvises in A blues, which is a minor scale, but it works over the major chords in the 12-bar blues in A.  Maybe we're culturally wired to appreciate the bluesy dissonance caused by clashing major and minor thirds (C# and C, respectively) in A.

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Backtrack 103l in D

This week's giveaway is a re-recording of Jam Session 103l, without your Jam Session hosts talking over the music. We've also added drums to the mix.



Like yesterday's Jam Session 103l, the guitar and bass are in Dropped-D tuning, and the chords of this Backtrack are Dm F5 A5:  Strum along, create melodies (and/or solo licks) over the chords, and learn more by playing more!

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Podcast subscribers: If these jam session notes look jumbled, please visit http://www.chorddujour.com and look up Backtrack 103l (that's an 'L') - Thanks!

Jam Session 103l with Dm F5 A5

Here are some show/lesson/jam session notes for Jam Session 103l:

• Like yesterday, we're in Dropped-D tuning for both guitar (D A D G B E) and bass (D A D G).
• We've added effects to the bass, to give it some heavy fuzz-like distortion.
• We actually used a distortion, followed by auto-wah/envelope filter (with the treble up) to approximate the fuzz.
• We played with the 6/8 fast-waltz mentality (one two three FOUR two three), but 12/8 slow-blues swing could also work in this case.
  

Here's the bass groove tabbed out in 6/8:

    Dm 

G |---------------------|--------------------|---------------------|
D |---------------------|--------------------|---------------------|
A |-5--5--5--8--5-------|-5--5--5--8--5------|-5--5--5--8--5-------|
D |----------------0----|----------------0---|----------------0----|

    F5       A5 

G |---------------------|--------------------|---------------------|
D |---------------------|--------------------|---------------------|
A |---------------------|--------------------|---------------------|
D |-3--3--3--7--7--7----|--------------------|---------------------|

12/8 (twelve eighth notes per measure) would also work:

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Lesson #35: Time Signatures in B, for Example (Guitar, Intermediate)

You already know common time (4/4):

1 2 3 4...
or
1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and...

You already know waltz time (3/4)

1 2 3...
or
one TWO THREE...

You already know 6/8:

1 2 3 FOUR 2 3...

You already have the feel to swing that 4/4:

1 and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a...

Now check out 5/4. It's basically five quarter notes per measure:

1 2 3 4 5...
or
1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and 5 and...

And it just might liven up a tired riff or chord progression.

B 2 3 E 5
F 2 3 4 5

B and 2 and F# and G#m and E and

5/4 is quite odd, but in the right hands (pun...haha), it works!

Lesson #29: Swing Time in E Blues (Guitar, Intermediate)

To get a grasp of what it means to shuffle/swing, be sure to do the following:

1. Listen to a lot of blues and jazz records;
2. Read the Wikipedia article on the "Swung Note" for lots of background information;
3. Listen to those same blues and jazz records.

For the sake of simplicity, and due to the limitations of text lessons over audio-visual lessons, I'm going to say that a form of swing time goes: 1 and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a...and so on. It's a syncopated interpretation of the common time.

We'll do it over the twelve bar blues in E:

E and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a
E and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a
E and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a
E and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a
A and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a
A and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a
E and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a
E and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a
B and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a
A and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a
E and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a
E and a 2 and a A Bb B yeah...

Let's slow it down a bit, with the swing still there:

E 2 3 4 E 2 3 4 E 2 3 4 E 2 3 4
A 2 3 4 A 2 3 4 E 2 3 4 E 2 3 4
B 2 3 4 A 2 3 4 E 2 3 4 E 2 A-Bb-B-yeah...

When you have that down (and its myriad variations), try to play some bluesy lead guitar in E blues:

Lesson #20: Swing Time in D Blues (Guitar, Intermediate)

To get a grasp of what it means to shuffle/swing, be sure to do the following:

1. Listen to a lot of blues and jazz records;
2. Read the Wikipedia article on the "Swung Note" for lots of background information;
3. Listen to those same blues and jazz records.

For the sake of simplicity, and due to the limitations of text lessons over audio-visual lessons, I'm going to say that a form of swing time goes: 1 and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a...and so on. It's a syncopated interpretation of the common time.

We'll do it over the twelve bar blues in D:

D and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a
D and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a
D and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a
D and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a
G and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a
G and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a
D and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a
D and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a
A and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a
G and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a
D and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a
D and a 2 and a G G# A yeah...

Let's slow it down a bit, with the swing still there:

D 2 3 4 D 2 3 4 D 2 3 4 D 2 3 4
G 2 3 4 G 2 3 4 D 2 3 4 D 2 3 4
A 2 3 4 G 2 3 4 D 2 3 4 D 2 G-G#-A-yeah...

When you have that down (and its myriad variations), try to play some bluesy lead guitar in D blues:

Lesson #13: Swing Time in G Blues (Guitar, Intermediate)

To get a grasp of what it means to shuffle/swing, be sure to do the following:

1. Listen to a lot of blues and jazz records;
2. Read the Wikipedia article on the "Swung Note" for lots of background information;
3. Listen to those same blues and jazz records.

For the sake of simplicity, and due to the limitations of text lessons over audio-visual lessons, I'm going to say that a form of swing time goes: 1 and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a...and so on. It's a syncopated interpretation of the common time.

We'll do it over the twelve bar blues in G:

G and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a
G and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a
G and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a
G and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a
C and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a
C and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a
G and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a
G and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a
D and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a
C and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a
G and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a
G and a 2 and a C C# D yeah...

When you have that down (and its myriad variations), try to play some bluesy lead guitar in G blues:

Lesson #6: Swing Time in C Blues (Guitar, Intermediate)

To get a grasp of what it means to shuffle/swing, be sure to do the following:

1. Listen to a lot of blues and jazz records;
2. Read the Wikipedia article on the "Swung Note" for lots of background information;
3. Listen to those same blues and jazz records.

For the sake of simplicity, and due to the limitations of text lessons over audio-visual lessons, I'm going to say that a form of swing time goes: 1 and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a...and so on. It's a syncopated interpretation of the common time.

We'll do it over the twelve bar blues in C:

C and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a
C and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a
C and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a
C and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a
F and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a
F and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a
C and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a
C and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a
G and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a
F and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a
C and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a
C and a 2 and a F F# G yeah...

When you have that down (and its myriad variations), try to play some bluesy lead guitar in C blues: