Shuffle-Some-Blues

Blues has this casual, laid-back vibe that’s so fun to play. Maybe you’re into it too! In this post, I’m going to share a bit about the magic of blues piano.

Notes Within the Harmony

Lately, I’ve been practicing blues piano in E, and as I started learning the C-based twelve-bar blues, I discovered something cool: the intervals between notes in the blues scale follow a pattern of 3-2-1-1-3-2 (in terms of semitones).

For example, in C blues, the notes are C, Eb, F, Gb, G, Bb, C. In E blues, the notes are E, G, A, Bb, C, D, E. If you look at the intervals between these notes, they follow that 3-2-1-1-3-2 pattern. It’s a simple yet powerful way to understand the blues scale.

The Rhythm

Blues rhythm is often described as a “shuffle”:

• Dividing each beat into triplets.
• Emphasizing the first and third notes of each triplet, creating a ‘long-short’ feel that bounces.

When you play, you can really feel that swing. And for the right hand, you can use cool techniques like glissando, trills, repeated notes, and others to add even more flavor to the music.

Twelve-bar Blues

The twelve-bar blues is a classic and super important part of blues music. It’s a chord progression that follows a specific pattern. Here’s the typical twelve-bar blues progression in C:

C   | C   | C   | C
F   | F   | C   | C
G   | F   | C   | C

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Have fun!