Chords for Blues Phrasing with Matt Schofield
Tempo:
134.7 bpm
Chords used:
Am
A
C
Ab
D
Tuning:Standard Tuning (EADGBE)Capo:+0fret
Start Jamming...
[Ab] [Bb]
[Ab] [N] So as you've seen the blues for me is far more about how you play the notes
and the feel you impart with them and not necessarily the specific notes that
you choose.
That is really where the sound of the blues is found and in that
respect you can play much more melodically advanced lines and perhaps
still sound bluesy.
And much of that I think is to do with tension and release
that's what gives the blues its distinctive sound and feel and it's
really where the soul of it is.
And there's a couple of keynote relationships
that I'd like to mention that allow you to really exploit these tonalities.
These
are the relationships in blues between the major and minor third and how you
use the flat five.
Your treatment of these notes and how you shape and
utilize them is vital and it's a fine line between creating tension and
release and you know possibly just sounding a bit sour.
So over a dominant
seventh blues I almost never hit the major third dead on.
[Am] It's only ever
hinted at.
In the key of A I'm always gonna sharpen the minor third a little
bit like this.
[C]
[A]
So the minor third is only ever really hinted at.
In fact it sounds
pretty bad to me if you hit it dead straight on against a dominant seventh
chord you have that note [Db] clashing with that one.
So I'm always pushing and
pulling that minor third in one direction or another very slightly.
Bend
it up or [E] down or slide through it or past it so [A] you [B] can [A]
bend it [Am] a [D] bit sharper
closer to the major third [A] or [C] slide
[B] [C]
[A] around it go through it with little
hammer-ons and pull-offs and you know [Ab] just doing something with it it makes it
fit again to the music as opposed to just hitting it dead on.
The same concept
applies to the flat five as well the blue note.
I always give it some kind of
treatment and you do have to be aware of how sensitive these these [Am] notes are.
[Eb]
[F] [Am]
We
can bend up to it [D] or [Am]
[Eb] [A]
[Cm] we might want to slide on and off it.
[D] [Eb] [Am]
[F] [Am]
[F] [C] [A]
[G] You know it's these
things working together subtly that
[Ab] [N] So as you've seen the blues for me is far more about how you play the notes
and the feel you impart with them and not necessarily the specific notes that
you choose.
That is really where the sound of the blues is found and in that
respect you can play much more melodically advanced lines and perhaps
still sound bluesy.
And much of that I think is to do with tension and release
that's what gives the blues its distinctive sound and feel and it's
really where the soul of it is.
And there's a couple of keynote relationships
that I'd like to mention that allow you to really exploit these tonalities.
These
are the relationships in blues between the major and minor third and how you
use the flat five.
Your treatment of these notes and how you shape and
utilize them is vital and it's a fine line between creating tension and
release and you know possibly just sounding a bit sour.
So over a dominant
seventh blues I almost never hit the major third dead on.
[Am] It's only ever
hinted at.
In the key of A I'm always gonna sharpen the minor third a little
bit like this.
[C]
[A]
So the minor third is only ever really hinted at.
In fact it sounds
pretty bad to me if you hit it dead straight on against a dominant seventh
chord you have that note [Db] clashing with that one.
So I'm always pushing and
pulling that minor third in one direction or another very slightly.
Bend
it up or [E] down or slide through it or past it so [A] you [B] can [A]
bend it [Am] a [D] bit sharper
closer to the major third [A] or [C] slide
[B] [C]
[A] around it go through it with little
hammer-ons and pull-offs and you know [Ab] just doing something with it it makes it
fit again to the music as opposed to just hitting it dead on.
The same concept
applies to the flat five as well the blue note.
I always give it some kind of
treatment and you do have to be aware of how sensitive these these [Am] notes are.
[Eb]
[F] [Am]
We
can bend up to it [D] or [Am]
[Eb] [A]
[Cm] we might want to slide on and off it.
[D] [Eb] [Am]
[F] [Am]
[F] [C] [A]
[G] You know it's these
things working together subtly that
Key:
Am
A
C
Ab
D
Am
A
C
[Ab] _ _ [Bb] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [Ab] [N] So as you've seen the blues for me is far more about how you play the notes
and the feel you impart with them and not necessarily the specific notes that
you choose.
That is really where the sound of the blues is found and in that
respect you can play much more melodically advanced lines and perhaps
still sound bluesy.
And much of that I think is to do with tension and release
that's what gives the blues its distinctive sound and feel and it's
really where the soul of it is. _
And there's a couple of keynote _ relationships
that I'd like to mention that allow you to really exploit these tonalities.
These
are the relationships in blues between the major and minor third and how you
use the flat five.
Your treatment of these notes and how you shape and
utilize them is vital and it's a fine line between creating tension and
release and you know possibly just sounding a bit sour.
_ So over a dominant
seventh blues I almost never hit the major third dead on.
[Am] It's only ever
hinted at.
In the key of A I'm always gonna sharpen the minor third a little
bit like this. _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [C] _ _ _
_ [A] _ _ _ _ _ _
So the minor third is only ever really _ hinted at.
In fact it sounds
pretty bad to me if you hit it dead straight on against a dominant seventh
chord _ _ you have that note [Db] clashing with that one.
So I'm always pushing and
pulling that minor third in one direction _ or another very slightly.
Bend
it up or [E] down or slide through it or past it so [A] you [B] can _ _ _ _ _ [A] _ _
bend it [Am] _ a _ _ _ [D] bit sharper
closer to the major third [A] or _ [C] slide _
_ _ _ _ [B] _ _ [C] _ _
[A] _ _ _ _ around it go through it with little
hammer-ons and pull-offs and you know [Ab] just doing something with it _ it makes it
fit again to the music as opposed to just hitting it dead on.
The same concept
applies to the flat five as well the blue note.
_ I always give it some kind of
treatment _ _ and you do have to be aware of how sensitive these these [Am] notes are.
_ _ [Eb] _
_ _ [F] _ _ _ _ _ [Am] _
_ _ _ We
can bend up to it [D] or _ _ _ _ _ [Am] _
_ _ _ _ [Eb] _ _ [A] _ _
[Cm] _ _ we might want to slide on and off it.
_ [D] _ _ [Eb] _ _ [Am] _
_ _ [F] _ _ _ _ [Am] _ _
_ [F] _ _ _ [C] _ _ [A] _ _
[G] You know it's these
things working together subtly that
_ _ _ _ [Ab] [N] So as you've seen the blues for me is far more about how you play the notes
and the feel you impart with them and not necessarily the specific notes that
you choose.
That is really where the sound of the blues is found and in that
respect you can play much more melodically advanced lines and perhaps
still sound bluesy.
And much of that I think is to do with tension and release
that's what gives the blues its distinctive sound and feel and it's
really where the soul of it is. _
And there's a couple of keynote _ relationships
that I'd like to mention that allow you to really exploit these tonalities.
These
are the relationships in blues between the major and minor third and how you
use the flat five.
Your treatment of these notes and how you shape and
utilize them is vital and it's a fine line between creating tension and
release and you know possibly just sounding a bit sour.
_ So over a dominant
seventh blues I almost never hit the major third dead on.
[Am] It's only ever
hinted at.
In the key of A I'm always gonna sharpen the minor third a little
bit like this. _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [C] _ _ _
_ [A] _ _ _ _ _ _
So the minor third is only ever really _ hinted at.
In fact it sounds
pretty bad to me if you hit it dead straight on against a dominant seventh
chord _ _ you have that note [Db] clashing with that one.
So I'm always pushing and
pulling that minor third in one direction _ or another very slightly.
Bend
it up or [E] down or slide through it or past it so [A] you [B] can _ _ _ _ _ [A] _ _
bend it [Am] _ a _ _ _ [D] bit sharper
closer to the major third [A] or _ [C] slide _
_ _ _ _ [B] _ _ [C] _ _
[A] _ _ _ _ around it go through it with little
hammer-ons and pull-offs and you know [Ab] just doing something with it _ it makes it
fit again to the music as opposed to just hitting it dead on.
The same concept
applies to the flat five as well the blue note.
_ I always give it some kind of
treatment _ _ and you do have to be aware of how sensitive these these [Am] notes are.
_ _ [Eb] _
_ _ [F] _ _ _ _ _ [Am] _
_ _ _ We
can bend up to it [D] or _ _ _ _ _ [Am] _
_ _ _ _ [Eb] _ _ [A] _ _
[Cm] _ _ we might want to slide on and off it.
_ [D] _ _ [Eb] _ _ [Am] _
_ _ [F] _ _ _ _ [Am] _ _
_ [F] _ _ _ [C] _ _ [A] _ _
[G] You know it's these
things working together subtly that