Blue Notes at the Piano
A piano can't bend a note, so how does it play the blues? Pianists fake the bend: they strike E♭ and slip onto E almost at once, a crushed grace note the ear hears as a tiny bend. Then the chords: the 12-bar blues runs on dominant sevenths, C7, F7 and G7, and the B♭ of C7 is a blue note built into the chord. One blues scale, C E♭ F G♭ G B♭, fits over all three chords: hear where it clashes on purpose and where it belongs, use G♭ as a passing note, and answer a two-bar blues call over a swung left hand.
In this lesson you'll
- Fake the bend at the piano with a crushed note: strike the minor third and slip onto the major third almost at once (E♭ → E over C7, B♭ → B over G7), and tell a clean major third from a crushed one by ear.
- Build the dominant seventh chords of the 12-bar blues in C (C7 = C E G B♭, F7 = F A C E♭, G7 = G B D F), play them with a swung left hand, and recognise I7, IV7 and V7 by ear.
- Play one blues scale (C E♭ F G♭ G B♭) over all three chords, knowing its chord tones and clashes, and answer a two-bar call in the 12-bar play-along.
Remember
A piano key is fixed, E♭ or E with nothing in between, so pianists fake the singer's bend: a quick grace note crushed into the main note, which the ear hears as a tiny bend.
The blues runs on dominant seventh chords, C7, F7 and G7 over the 12 bars; the B♭ of C7 is itself a blue note, built into the chord.
One blues scale fits all three chords: over C7, E♭ rubs against E on purpose; over F7 the same E♭ is the chord's seventh; over G7, B♭ is G's own blue third; G♭ passes between F and G; and the phrases talk in call and response.