Category: Improvisation

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Explain the stylistic elements required to improvise musical passages over a 12 bar blues chord progression.

Within a 12 bar blues progression features a call and response between the vocalist and guitarist in my case. Another feature would have to be the swung feel on the drums which are played within 12/8. Instead of using regular sticks, brushes are used instead to give it that blues feel, just like the original. We are also in a minor key to give it that gritty feel, all of the chords the guitarist would be minors in our progression. The walking bass line also helps to brings everything together so it flows smoothly. Here are two musicians who I have taken inspiration from whilst playing through the 12 bar blues, they are B.B King and Stevie Ray Vaughan. When it comes to call and response there phrases when responding to the singer are deep and meaningful but also simple whilst sounding complex based off their own styles.

Write the chord progression and/or structure of the section of the piece that you improvised on below.

List the scales/technical exercises that you used in your improvisation.

During this improvisation I tend to use all minor chords through out the progression as we in a minor key (A Minor). I also use the pentatonic minor and the blues scale to come up with new phrases that fit when it comes to responding to the singer. I have taken inspiration from David Gilmour, B.B King and Stevie Ray Vaughan when it comes to the sounds and licks I come up with.

Analysis in detail how you used the scales/technical exercises listed above, to improvise musical passages over a 12 bar blues chord progression.

I mainly rely upon the blues scale and minor pentatonic, I stick within one octave at the moment as going into a higher one doesn’t sound right at the moment trying to work it in to the song doesn’t quite fit. I tend to play around the different chords each time round based upon the singers part. Mimicking the vocalist through call and response portrays my ability whilst playing through a 12 bar blues progression also as it takes skill and patience to figure out where they’re going next.

Today we were working towards finishing the improvisation sheet which was given to us a couple weeks ago, I have already finished it but this gave me time to go over it with my peers and Chris.

Here is what I did below.

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After this we then had a rehearsal which I got a bit frustrated within, we were talking other what we could play and work towards for Solent Sound which is coming up soon!

I will go into this within more detail next week because we are still in the decision process, as a year group we chose we will be taking songs from separate decades in each band. We were left with the sixties so coming up with something challenging along with our band being able to fulfil the arrangement will be hard.

After we went over this, I packed up my equipment and put it within the cupboard and got set off to walk home.