simple blues lesson

Traditional Blues
You should be familiar with these chords because they are the same ones you saw in the Simple Blues lesson.

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Example 2 - Jazz Blues 1
This first set of altered blues changes is still fairly basic, but a great place to start learning about altered progressions. No matter who you are playing with, you can get away with playing these changes in the blues because they are basically considered standard jazz blues changes. A 1-6-2-5 (F7-D7-Gm7-C7) turnaround has been added at the end of the progression (you could substitute A7 for the F7), and some leading chords have been added inside the progression (such as the D7 leading to the Gm7)



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Example 3 - Jazz Blues 2
This example basically the standard jazz blues changes slightly reharmonized. A few more 2-5's (such as the Cm7-F7 at the end of the first line) have been added, there is a tri-tone substitution on the last line where the Gb7 is (it could be a C7), and the 1-6-2-5 turnaround at the end has been altered in the tri-tone manner. If you felt like it, you could add an Ab7 on beat 3 and 4 in the last measure of line two which would lead nicely into the Gm7 chord on the last line.
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Example 4 - Jazz Blues 3
This example is more reharmonizing, and in this case we're experimenting with the circle of 5ths just a bit. The first line is rather altered, but it is altered in such a way that it leads right into the second line where there is a Bb7. See, that Bb7 is a keystone in the blues progressions we've been dealing with, and as long as you get to that Bb7, you can almost do anything you want in front of it. The rest of the chord changes are fairly basic alterations.
(midi link) Example 5 - Parker Blues
Charlie Parker had every tool in the book at his disposal in his playing. He had tools that weren't in books at all, and I'm sure a lot of the stuff he knew went to the grave with him. Bird played the blues in all the styles and with all the different chord progressions you could imagine, but one particular style of chord progression stands out among everything he did in the blues. This progression has come to be known as HIS progression. In a jam session you might hear someone yell out, "Blues in Bb, Parker changes!"