 Hi everyone, this is Jason here from the Nathaniel School of Music and in this lesson We are going to explore the blues on the piano We are going to look at this iconic genre which has also influenced a ton of other genres So if you're a piano player starting off or if you're a piano player who's played a bit or Explored a lot of other genres you need to be able to play the blues the blues is a very essential genre It's something which has inspired everything we have in the in the field of contemporary music We are going to do this lesson in a few parts first of all I'm going to share with you the chord progression the general phrase structure. It's a it's a very unique 12 bar form So we need to learn that thoroughly Then we are going to look at how to build the chords on the piano using inversions and using proper voice leading Then I'm going to show you what the left hand is going to do with respect to this genre I'm going to give you a go-to left-hand rhythm Which you'll find applicable to a lot of blues songs then I'm going to show you obviously the right hand We can't leave out the right hand the right hand is going to do an iconic rhythm called the Charleston rhythm Which I'm going to teach you in detail and then we are going to put them together We are going to get things done with our voice with singing Which is very very important if you're playing any music to be a better piano player because if you can accompany yourself You can accompany pretty much anyone right and last but not least You're going to learn a little bit of what I was doing in that intro video where we are going to improvise and create a Piano solo in our right hand while the left hand does its thing and to do that again We are going to learn two iconic blues scales which have really made the genre shine for all the decades of the blues Existence so without any delay. We are going to get started right away It'll be great if you can get a notebook You'll need to write down a few things and you're going to play along with me as I play and teach you stuff I want you also to form it so get your books get your pianos and we're going to get started now So for playing the blues, we have a 12 bar blues progression Okay, which is also used in rock and roll and a few other genres So I'm going to take it in the key of C major. You can do it on any scale So let's build the chords on the C major scale Okay, so you have the one chord, which is C major C E G Okay, then you have the four chord, which is F major F A C Then you have the fifth chord, which is G major G B D So these are the three chords you're going to use for this exercise and pretty much for playing blues the form of blues Which is basically the one the four and the five chords built over this 12 bar progression. Okay, so it's going to be one Four and five you also might want to get used to the shapes of each of these chords So the one C major can either be played this way This way or this way. These are the inversions in other words It's a three-note chord So you can jumble the notes as per your convenience or the sound you want or also as you're playing the chords together Because the chords need to lead well what we call as voice leading and also in simple words be easier to play So for example, if I'm on C major here, I would want to go to this version of F major C F A because it's easier to shift, isn't it as opposed to doing C major and then jump all the way up to F major So C E G C F A come back to C major C E G B D G which is the G major chord or else I could start on the other inversion of C major Which is E G C also called as the first inversion. So you do E G C F A C E G C D G B G major Okay, or you could start with G C E then A C F G C E G B D Right, I'm singing you the note so that you can also form it that way if things go wrong Okay, so write down your inversions Connect your chords very well and you want to use inversions because there's a lot going on with this genre So you need to get all your foundational things under the belt before you get started, right? So that was about the chords now. Let's bring it into the chord progression So the chord progression is a 12 bar chord progression. You have Roman one as we call it Roman one means the first chord of the major scale So we are using the one the four and the five chords one is major four is major five is major So all the major chords are used for blues. Okay, so Roman one and The way I'm going to be playing this or demonstrating it is to actually play it over the pulse One two three four. So if this is the speed of my music One two three four, so I'll be playing if I have to play C major for one bar. It'll be like this one two three four One two second bar Third bar like this. Okay, so one bar of any chord is going to be played as four counts in the right hand And you hold the root note of the chord in the left hand Okay, so let's do this over the entire 12 bar cycle which is one one one one That's the first line you see there So one one one one means you just play C major but in some blue songs they go to the four after the one So you get one four one one. Okay, so that's an alternative option. So let's get cracking with the chords C major first bar C major second bar C major third bar C major fourth bar Okay, that's line one and it's just one chord if you'd like at the second bar You could go to the F major chord, which is C major F major and back to C major Stay on that adds a lot more sonic flavor Okay, let's get that going again. Let's do only C major first C major Second bar C major third bar C major Fourth bar and then the next line comes which I'm going to share with you shortly And also note I am playing the root of the chord in the left hand or the name of the chord Okay, so now moving to the second line the second line contains the F major chord Which is this one And then come back here. Okay, so the second line if you see there has four four one one So I am starting my one like this EGC I'd recommend that you all do this. It's quite easy EG also trains you to get your inversions going because we normally play C major like this. So Start like this. So C major for that entire First line, which is four bars. Then the next line is F major for two bars, which will go F major F major And back to C major Okay, C major twice. Let's do the second line again. F major F major and back to C major Okay, and then moving to line number three. Okay, there we finally have the five chord or the G major chord G major I'm playing it as D G B. You can play it however you want, but I would prefer this D G B only one bar of the G major then F major only one bar of the F major and then back to C major, okay G major F major C major Right, so G major Let's do it again. One two three four One two three four One two three four One two three four and there you have it. That's the 12 bar form So line one line two line three each line has four bars each. Let's play it all together I'm gonna count it and then we'll try and get to some singing and understand the phrase structure of the blues. Okay Starting one One again one One and then the four comes Four again and back to one One again and the last line five Four And one either you do one twice or you can do one with the five you can do one five at the end So that'll be Oh and back to Five Which takes you nicely back to the next 12 bar Cycle which lands on the one so these are the alternate options at line one Second bar you can play the F chord instead of the C chord or the one chord and the last very last bar You can do the G chord or the five chord So this is about the blues progression and the way the blues is structured is it structured in phrases, okay? So we call the phrases traditionally as a a prime and be very poetic in nature if you think about it So a represents a sentence performed by the songwriter, which is something right for example Well, I'm tore down Almost level with the ground Okay, that's one line in the song I'm tore down and then a prime Would essentially be the same melody and the same lyric With a slight difference in the in the harmony obviously the chords are changing and maybe the melody will change a little bit, right? So well, I'm tore down almost level with the ground that could be a and a prime Well, I'm tore down almost level with the ground You just do a little bit of variation but the lyric will pretty much be the same and then finally you have the B at the end which goes something like well I feel like this where my baby can be found So something very different and different lyrics and different melodies. So that's why we say a a prime B So if I do a a prime B with the chord progression, it works really great And I would encourage you to sing as you play It's a great way to enjoy the blues. Don't just play the piano. You need to sing. So let's do this song I'm tore down almost level with the ground. I'm tore down almost level with the ground Well, I feel like this when my baby can't be found now This is a genre which I quite like personally because even I can remember the lyrics and I'm really bad with lyrics, right? So let's get cracking with this with me singing and let's do the same hand ratio one is to four See major. I'm holding like this. Come on one two three. Well, I'm tore down Almost level with the ground still on the one Oh, well, I'm tore down chord for almost level with the ground back to one twice Well, I feel like this five Well, my baby four can be found ending on one Okay, let's do this once more without me doing the talking and the explanation just the singing a one a two a One two three. Oh, well, I'm tore down Almost level with the ground Well, I'm tore down I'm almost level with the ground Well, I feel like this. Oh, well, my baby can be found One more time, please. Oh, well, I'm tore down. Let's take it slow Almost level with the ground Yeah, oh Well, I'm tore down I'm almost level with the ground Yeah Turn around Well, my baby can be found you can even do like a stop there Well, I feel like this stop at the four Oh, well, my baby can be found where you highlight the vocalist of your band or the liquids The soloist is playing in my case I may not want to highlight much because I'm not the greatest singer anyway So that's about playing the blues the chord progression the phrase structure and also you need to sing a blues classic Like I'm tore down or sweet home Chicago or backwater blues These are all blues classics which you have to go through at some point in your career as an artist Might as well do it now with me in this video, right everyone So in the next part, we are going to look at what the left hand can do to make it sound Absolutely bluesy and what the right hand can do to make it sound extremely bluesy With two very very tried and tested go to iconic rhythm patterns or even chord patterns The chords and the rhythm are going to sound like never before So head over to part two and I will see you in the next video. Cheers