The Blues Scales
The blues scale is often the first scale, after the major scale, taught to beginning
improvisers, and is in some cases the only other scale they ever learn. This scale
supposedly has its roots in African American music dating back to the days of slavery,
but the exact origins of its modern incarnation are unknown. The C blues scale consists
of "C, Eb, F, F#, G, Bb". The second degree of this scale, which is the flatted
third of the minor scale, is called a blue note. In vocal music, it is often sung
somewhere between an Eb and an E. In instrumental music, various techniques are
employed to achieve the same effect, such as stretching the string while playing
an Eb on a stringed instrument, lipping down an E on a wind instrument, or striking
both the Eb and E simultaneously on a keyboard instrument. The flatted seventh and
fifth are also sometimes called blue notes, and are not always sung or played exactly
on the notated pitch. Variations on the blues scale that include the natural third,
fifth, or seventh can be used as well. Also, note that if the flatted fifth is omitted,
the resultant scale is the minor pentatonic scale. The minor pentatonic scale can
thus be used as a substitute for the blues scale, and vice versa.
The beauty of the blues scale is that it can be played over an entire blues progression
with no real avoid notes. If you try playing lines based on this usage, for instance,
a C blues scale over a C7 chord, you get instant positive feedback, since almost
everything you can do sounds good. This unfortunately leads many players to overuse
the scale, and to run out of interesting ideas quickly. There are only so many phrases
(licks) that can be played over a six note scale, and most of them have already
been played thousands of times by now. This is not to say you should never use the
blues scale; on the contrary, it is vitally important to jazz. But do not become
so enamored of the easy gratification it can yield that you practice blues licks
over and over rather than expand your harmonic vocabulary.
The language metaphor is a good one. It is hard to say interesting things with a
limited vocabulary. Often players like Count Basie are offered as examples of musicians
who manage to make a lot out of a little, but there is a difference between saying
few words because you are choosing them carefully, and saying few words because
you have nothing to say or because your vocabulary is too limited to express your
thoughts. This advice transcends the blues scale, of course.
It is not always necessary to vary the harmonic content of your playing if you are
sufficiently creative with other aspects. One way to introduce added interest when
using the blues scale is to use any special effects at your disposal to vary your
sound. This can include honking and screaming for saxophonists, growling for brass
players, or using clusters on the piano.
