source file: mills3.txt Date: Sun, 11 Jan 1998 06:53:21 +0100 Subject: blues From: Aline Surman Paul's notes on blues got me inspired to say a few things about it as well...here goes: 1. The traditional blues scale, most agree, is 6 notes (in C): C, Eb, F, F# (Gb), G, Bb, C(1,b3,4,#4 (b5),5,b7,1). This is unlike anything in traditional Western theory, and to make it even weirder, this scale with a b3 and a b5 is often applied to Dominant 7th chords with a MA3 and a MA 5. This creates a tension which is an integral part of the very root of blues. This tension is dealt with by bending notes: the 4th (I'm using the Major scale as a reference) is bent up to the 5th, passing through the b5th on the way; the Dom 7th is bent to the Root; the b 3rd is bent to the Maj 3rd, which means that it can be played very pure if so desired. But, there's more; the Maj 6th is bent to the Dom 7th, which also means a very pure b7th can be played; the Maj 2nd is often bent to the Maj 3rd as well, passing through the b 3rd on it's way. And, most players have their own ways of doing all these bends, with their own variations. In other words, every blues player is a composer/arranger automatically, again unlike the current state of Western classical tradition (but, early European musicians were composers/arrangers too). No one can say just when to play a given bend; that's always improvised. It's more like probabilities of where notes will appear, which links blues deeply to Indian and Middle Eastern music, as well as quantum physics. 2. What further deepens the blues is something my teacher, master jazz man George Keith, once said: "blues is a feeling, and a set of chord changes." This is quite true; this means that we can have a wide range of blues styles, from the 1 chord vamps of John Lee Hooker to the complex bop of Charlie Parker, with many stops in between, and they're ALL valid and real. This also means that the traditional blues scale is greatly expanded to include advanced "jazz" chord substitutions...and it works. Even BB King said that Parker was just as funky to him as Muddy. So, when we say blues, it is actually much deeper and broader than most people realize. 3. I can see why trying to write a book about Indian music is so difficult...I have been playing blues for 30 years, in a variety of styles, and I'm not sure if I could put on paper just what's going on, because it varies so much from region to region, performer to performer. I can SHOW you blues, but I'm not sure I could pin each note exactly down to a certain ratio...it could be slightly different, depending on the feeling of the moment. Again, this intonational flexibility is very similar to Eastern/Asian forms of music, much more than European based music. Even the time and number of measures per cycle is flexible; Lightnin Hopkins was well known for stretching the traditional 12 bar structure, which made it mighty hard for folks to play with him. He said, "Lightnin change when Lightnin WANTS to change." So, how do you put that in a book, on paper? You don't; you must somehow live the lifestyle of the music. The depth and complexity of the blues has greatly influenced much of 20th century music. It fed the rock revolutions of the 1950's and '60's, and is a common thread between rock, bluegrass, jazz, country, rockabilly, folk, funk, and others. It is a great form of expression, and is quite applicable to musics of the future as well. For example, 19 equal expands very creatively and well on the 12 tone system of blues, and moves it forward for the 1st time since Hendrix took Howlin' Wolf into the space age. And yet, after all these years of playing it, I don't think I really know the exact origin of the blues scale. Is it African (very likely)? As I said, it is very Middle Eastern in many ways...does anyone out there know for sure? I would appreciate any info on this subject...thanks...Hstick SMTPOriginator: tuning@eartha.mills.edu From: gbreed@cix.compulink.co.uk (Graham Breed) Subject: septimal keys PostedDate: 11-01-98 08:49:40 SendTo: CN=coul1358/OU=AT/O=EZH ReplyTo: tuning@eartha.mills.edu $MessageStorage: 0 $UpdatedBy: CN=notesrv2/OU=Server/O=EZH,CN=coul1358/OU=AT/O=EZH,CN=Manuel op de Coul/OU=AT/O=EZH RouteServers: CN=notesrv2/OU=Server/O=EZH,CN=notesrv1/OU=Server/O=EZH RouteTimes: 11-01-98 08:49:13-11-01-98 08:49:14,11-01-98 08:49:04-11-01-98 08:49:05 DeliveredDate: 11-01-98 08:49:05 Categories: $Revisions: Received: from ns.ezh.nl ([137.174.112.59]) by notesrv2.ezh.nl (Lotus SMTP MTA SMTP v4.6 (462.2 9-3-1997)) with SMTP id C1256589.002AF1A6; Sun, 11 Jan 1998 08:49:32 +0100 Received: by ns.ezh.nl; (5.65v3.2/1.3/10May95) id AA19615; Sun, 11 Jan 1998 08:49:40 +0100 Date: Sun, 11 Jan 1998 08:49:40 +0100 Received: from ella.mills.edu by ns (smtpxd); id XA19629 Received: (qmail 4269 invoked from network); 10 Jan 1998 23:49:37 -0800 Received: from localhost (HELO ella.mills.edu) (127.0.0.1) by localhost with SMTP; 10 Jan 1998 23:49:37 -0800 Message-Id: Errors-To: madole@mills.edu Reply-To: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Originator: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Sender: tuning@eartha.mills.edu