8/8/2019 Compose the Blues

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Group _______ Name_____________________________________

JazzCompose the Blues

Assignment

1. Write 2 verse (words to your song)2. Learn the chord progressions (2 people on this part will work)3. Compose a melody that uses the blues scale and fits your lyrics4. Add a bass line (ostinato/riff)(keep it simple)5. Be prepared to improvise between verses during the

performance

Writing Blues Lyrics

1. 1. Choose a topic that reflects the mood of the blues.2. 2. Follow the formula below for the four lines of each verse of a

blues song:1st Line: State the problem.2nd Line: Repeat 1st line.3rd Line: State half of the solution (or consequence).4th Line: State the second half of the solution (or

consequence).Example:

The Homework Blues (one verse)

Ive got the homework blues because my teacher always gives

us a ton.Ive got the homework blues because my teacher always gives

us a ton.And if I dont do my homework,

My parents wont let me have fun.

Notice that the 1st line has 16 syllables. The 3rd and 4th lineshould add up to 16 as well. As a rule of thumb, however manysyllables there are in the 1st line should be the same (or very nearlythe same) as the 3rd and 4th line combined. Also, note that the lastword of the 1st line rhymes with the last word of the 4th line.

While not all blues songs follow this exact formula, it is a way toget started. Listen to as many blues songs as you can and see if theyfollow the same formula. If they dont, what do they do differently?

Write a total of 2 verses.

8/8/2019 Compose the Blues

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Learn the chord progressions

In your group, work through the following exercises to get yourselves

familiar with notes on the Orff instruments and the Blues chord

progression.

There are three basic chords you will need to be able to play for the

Blues. The first is C major:

C has the following notes in:

F has the following notes in:

G has the following notes in:

Try playing these chords and moving between them in time. Move

your fingers as little as possible when changing chords. For example,

to change from C to F, move the top two notes up and keep the note C

where it was:

To make the chords sound more authentic, we need to add one more

note to each chord, dont worry if this is too hard, it just spices the

chords up a bit. The extra note goes on the top of the chord and is

called a 7th.

The chords now look like this: C7, F7, G7.

GEC

CAF

DBG

GE

A

C

Bb

GE

Eb

CA

FD

B

8/8/2019 Compose the Blues

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Here is the 12 bar Blues progression. There are 4 beats in each bar.

Compose a melody

The origin of blue notes can be traced back to traditionalAfrican singing, where certain pitches are sung a little flat.

In the blues, notes are sometimes flattened by a semitone to addexpressive effect to the words or melody, or sound more blue. Thenotes are usually the third and the seventh degrees of the scale.

In jazz music a flattened 3rd and 7th degree became standard whenplaying blues, an a blues scale developed. Sometimes the 5th

degree is also flattened..

C Eb F Gb G Bb the minor pentatonic scale(with flat 5)

Add a bass lineNow we need a bass line and a melody. Both of these can be made upby playing the notes from the chords when that is being played. Or, ascale which will work really well is:

A simple bass line may be: (C E G Bb) x4(F A C E b) x2 (C E G Bb) x2(G B D F) (F A C E b) (C E G Bb) x2

Improvising is a strong feature of the Blues. Improvising is using notesfrom the chords and scale provided to make up a new tune on thespot that will be different every time.

C7 / / / C7 / / / C7 / / / C7 / / /

F7 / / / F7 / / / C7 / / / C7 / / /G7 / / / F7 / / / C7 / / / C7 / / /

8/8/2019 Compose the Blues

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Everyone will need to take a turn improvising during the performancein between the verses of your song. This will be part of your grade.