In talking about more Modern Blues Soloing, and getting away from the standard Pentatonic and Blues scales for a bit, one of the things we have to discuss is the way chords influence the sound we play…
And notice that I say “sound” and not “scale…” because, to me, scale implies a single correct choice, whereas saying that we are playing a certain “sound” implies that it’s a choice we are making.
Which is, of course, what Modern Blues Soloing is all about – having the know-how and the freedom to make a variety of sound choices in a variety of settings.
Well, in a slow blues (or any blues, really) there’s a tendency to use the “blues half step” going into the IV chord (or the V, or the IV) and if you use that “half step away” chord as part of your soloing, you get a pretty cool sound.
This is just one of the topics in my new “Modern Blues Soloing” course, which is here:
https://gobgu.com/getmbsbl
So dig the video… maybe it’s your vibe and maybe not, but it’s a cool thing to be aware of:
7 replies to "The Blues Half Step Scale – The Altered Dominant Sound"
I like it when you count things out while playing. Then I can count along with you and get the hang of it faster. I am working on my counting.
Thanks Griff. I’ve been trying to achieve this goal for some time. This will help.
Hi Griff, I find myself using that 1/2 step especially in a slow blues shuffle now I can work on this lesson and use it . This was a great lesson thanks.
Very Jazzy! I like it!
1/25/20
Now I know where I’ve heard that before…it’s that T-Bone Walker sound I’ve been chasing for, like, my whole adult life! So cool, and you can’t find that sound in the blues boxes.
Very cool Griff. I have heard these sounds on many jazz/blues songs. Thanks for this great lesson.
Brings to mind East West… Mike Bloomfield with The Butterfield Blues Band.