Monk and Miles Played The Blues
-The Blues
-Blues Changes
-Special Kinds of Blues
-The Blues Scale
-The Minor Pentatonic Scale
-Pentatonic Minor Pentatonic
-And Blues Scale Equivalents
Traditional Music theory doesn’t “explain” the blues very well. Consider This:
The I chord in the blues is a dominant 7th chord. Also, the blues scale is unlike any other scale found in Western Music. Take a look the image below, which shows the blues scale based on C.
It has two minor 3rds (C to Eb and G to Bb),
A chromatic passing note between F and G (F#), and consecutive half steps (F,F#,G) intervallic arrangement not found in such western scales as the major and melodic minor scales.
The interval structure of the blues is “minor 3rd, whole step, and half step, and minor 3rd, whole step.”
Jazz evolved in nineteenth century from diverse African-American, and Latin-American sources, including African call-and –response chants, field-hollers, gospel music, marches and popular songs of the day, ring shouts, and a largely Cuban influence called “The Spanish Tinge.”
However, no one source of Jazz was more than the Blues.The blues has its own traditions, but also the single biggest part of the jazz tradition.
Blues Changes:
There are zillions of “Blues changes.” Having said that, let’s get back to reality:
There is a single, commonly accepted set of three-chord blues changes, more or less unchanged since the earliest days of jazz, and still plays today.
Modern examples of three-chord blues include:
Miles Davis’ “Blues By Five” and two by Thelonious Monk, “Blue Monk” and “Misterioso.” Check out the tracks.
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