Improvising Over A 12 Bar Blues

Dean Cutinelli here from the Colorado School of Music. Remember we are just a call away to start your private music lessons. We offer guitar lessons, piano lessons, drum lessons, Violin lessons, vocal lessons as well orchestral instruments.

This month I’ll be talking about all the different sounds that can be used to improvise in a traditional 12 bar blues. We will be using the key of E for this example. The traditional 12 bar blues uses all dominant 7th chords. The dominant 7th chord is comprised of the root a major 3rd a perfect 5th and a flatted 7th.(R-3rd-5th-b7th) Our chords for the 12 bar blues are E as your one chord the A is the four chord and the B is the five chord. All the chords in a traditional 12 bar blues are dominant 7th chords. There for our blues does not follow the traditional classic key. If we stayed true to the key of E our one chord would be major or major 7th as well as the four chord. Since we have dominant chord through out, our options to improvise over this progression are greatly increased. Your most classic sound you hear used over this progression are pentatonic scales.  The first option or sound is your major pentatonic scale. For our key of E your notes for the pentatonic scale are E,F#,G#,B,C#. You should try playing this scale through out the 12 bar progression. You should take note of which chords you like this scale over best. For me I really like how this scale fits over the one chord. Again it will work over the whole 12 bar blues but with ring a little different over each chord. The second sound or color to try is the minor pentatonic scale. The note in the E minor scale  are E,G,A,B,D. Again trying playing this over the whole 12 bar blues taking note of which chords you like this sound over best. In addition to your pentatonic scale you can add the flat 5 to the minor pentatonic scale. How you arrive at the flat 5 is to count up 5 from the E note in the minor pentatonic scale you will arrive at the note of B. Now flat that B note and now you have the flat 5 added to your minor pentatonic scale. The flat 5 has a very strong sound to it. Usually you pass through this note or tease the note. Try avoid starting out on the flat 5. When Jimi Hendrix started using this note some people would refer to it as the note of the devil. It does have a darker sound to it but by no means is it evil. The best of the best really use both the major and minor pentatonic scale with the flat 5. It’s up to you to decide which sound you want to use at which point in the progression. There is a common miss conception that you can also play the major scale from the key the 12 bar blues is in. This is not the case as the dominant 7th chord appears as the 5 chord in a major key. So you have to determine which key your dominant 7th chord comes from. For our example here the E7th chord is the five chord from the key A major. There for your A major scale is the correct chord to play over the E7th chord. You can try playing the A major scale over the whole 12 bar blues but you will find it does not sound that great over the 4 and 5 chord. Reason being is that each of these chords is a five chord from some key. If you start doing the math to figure out the key that the 4 and 5 chord come from. Then you could also try play that particular major scale over the proper chord as they pass by in the progression. This will have a bit of a confused sound to it. I recommend just trying the A major scale over the one chord and then switching back to a pentatonic scale. Again your most common and classic sound you here the greats use are both the major and minor pentatonic scales with the flat 5. Check out the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Stevie Ray Vaughn and John Mayer to hear these sounds in action.

Feel free to come in to the Colorado School of Music and take a lesson from me. If some of these improv concerts seem over your head, I would be happy to start from the being to get you and your playing to a point that you understand and feel comfortable using these different concepts. We offer guitar lessons, piano lessons, drum lessons, violin lessons and vocal lessons as wells as orchestral instruments. 

Thank you for reading!

Dean Cutinelli

By Anya Willis

Children Need Self-Care as Much as We Do

As adults, we often think of self-care as the indulgences we give ourselves. Manicures, massages, and expensive vacations are usually on the top of the list. But, the truth is that self-care is so much more than the things we want. It largely consists of what we do for ourselves to ensure our safety, health, and emotional well-being each day.

And kids need it, too. By Anya Willis

Today at the Colorado School of Music, we will take a look at a few ways you can encourage self-care and share tips on things your kids can do for themselves each day.

You Are A Role Model

Firstly, it’s crucial to remember that you are your children’s role model. If they see you take care of yourself, they are more likely to follow suit. A few things that you can do to show that it’s important to put your own needs on a pedestal are:

• Set boundaries. This is especially crucial when you work from home and you have children. By creating a schedule and setting a workspace away from your family zone, you can reduce stress, which will make you a happier and healthier parent and employee.

• Get enough sleep. No kid likes bedtime, but they also don’t like how they feel when they are tired and cranky. Model healthy sleep hygiene by maintaining a consistent bedtime routine. This could include a warm bath and a good book before bed. Casper also suggests listening to light music and turning the thermometer down to 65°.

• Spend time with friends. You obviously need to cultivate healthy relationships with your family. However, don’t forget to socialize. Socialization not only helps establish a community, but it can also help your reach your full potential while maintaining an identity separate from your role as a parent.

Self-Care For Kids

Modeling healthy behaviors is just the beginning. You must also encourage your children to take control of their own self-care needs. This will be different for all children, but a few basic things that all kids should prioritize include:

• Self-expression. Self-expression is one way for people of all ages, backgrounds, and interests to show how they feel without having to articulate their emotions. Music is an excellent way to express these feelings, and the Colorado School of Music has many instructors that can help children hone their talents on the piano, violin, guitar, or percussion instruments.

• Exercising. If you’re really honest with yourself, you probably don’t exercise as much as you should. But, the American Academy of Pediatrics insists that all kids ages six and older should have at least an hour of movement each day. Exercising can boost your children’s self-esteem and social skills while helping them maintain their weight and muscle structure.

• Saying no. Saying no is difficult for children, especially given that we expect them to comply with our demands almost constantly. But, learning how to say no is essential in both keeping your children safe and helping them keep their emotional health intact. Defend Innocence, a nonprofit seeking to eradicate child sexual abuse, explains that you should teach your children how tofollow their intuition. This can keep them from overworking themselves and may also prevent a more serious issue later down the road.

There are many ways that kids can take care of themselves, and those listed above are just a few. As a parent, it is your responsibility to model healthy behavior so that your children grow up understanding that they sometimes have to put themselves first so that they can be whole, healthy, and happy well into adulthood.

The Colorado School of Music would like to thank Anya Willis for this informative artical.

Dean Cutinelli here from the Colorado School of Music. Remember we are just a call away to start your private music lessons. We offer guitar lessons, piano lessons, drum lessons, Violin lessons, Ukulele lessons, vocal lessons as well orchestral instruments.

www.coloradoschoolofmusic.com

January Music Blog

Dean Cutinelli here from the Colorado School of Music. Remember we are just a call away to start your private music lessons. We offer guitar lessons, piano lessons, drum lessons, Violin lessons, Ukulele lessons, vocal lessons as well orchestral instruments.

Improving Concepts

Today I’ll be discussing some different improvising concepts related to the most common chord progression. That being the I IV V progression. (All major chords)

For this example we will us the key of G major. In the key of G major the one chord is G the four chord is C and the five chord is D. The progression of the chords for this example does not make much difference. Lets say our chord progression is V IV and I. V and IV chord can share a measure and the I chord gets its own measure in 4/4 time. I’m going to start with the first option for improving being the G major scale. The key of G has one sharp F#. Our G major scale is G,A,B,C,D,E,F#. Something to try with the G major scale is starting on the D note and then playing from there. This will give you a little bit different feel then starting on the note of G.

Our next sound to try is your G major pentatonic scale. Your G major pentatonic scale is G, A, B,D and E. This will give a really sweet major blues sound. Next up is our G minor pentatonic scale. This scale is comprised of G, Bb, C, D, and F. At first use of the G minor pentatonic scale it may sound and feel a bit uncomfortable. It does require some good phasing and finesse. This sound gives you that classic rock sound. I really like to teeter between the G major and G minor pentatonic scale. If you like how this feels and sounds try adding in the b5 from the G minor pentatonic scale into the mix. (Db = b5) A fun thing to try is doing a call and answer between the G major and minor pentatonic scale.

Ok now we are on to our fourth sound to try over our chord progression. Next is our D major pentatonic scale. (D,E,F#A,B) How you arrive at this sound is counting 5 up from the key that your chord progression is in. I recommend you clear your music palate per say before moving on the the D major pentatonic scale. What I mean by this is just play some random chords not from the same key to reset your ear. You could also put on some music and then return to your practice. We want to do this to reset your ear. If you don’t when you start play the D major pentatonic scale it won’t have the same magic to it and you’ll be pulled back to the G major pentatonic sound. Now for the last sound I’ll be discussing here. We are now going to play a D minor pentatonic scale.(D,F,G,A,C) This again will sound and feel a bit awkward at first. This is one of my favorite sounds to jam on! Again try teetering between the D major and D minor pentatonic scale. Enjoy and happy coloring!

Where to hear these sounds in action 

A lot of the greats use these different colors and sounds. Check out the likes of Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughn and John Mayer. 

The Details

Feel free to come in to the Colorado School of Music and take a lesson from me. If some of these improv concerts seem over your head, I would be happy to start from the being to get you and your playing to a point that you understand and feel comfortable using these different concepts. We offer guitar lessons, Ukulele lessons, piano lessons, drum lessons, violin lessons and vocal lessons as wells as orchestral instruments. 

December Music Blog

Dean Cutinelli here from the Colorado School of Music. Remember we are just a call away to start your private music lessons. We offer guitar lessons, piano lessons, drum lessons, Violin lessons, vocal lessons as well orchestral instruments. Ok now on to the Dorian mode.

The Dorian Mode

The modes are a variation on either the major scale or minor scale. There are seven modes, Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian and Locrian. This month we will be discussing the Dorian mode. The Dorian mode is easiest to understand when comparing it to the natural minor scale. If you played an A natural minor scale your note are A,B,C,D,E,F,G. The Dorian mode takes the natural minor scale an augments one note. The Dorian mode has a raised 6th if compared to the natural minor scale. If we stay with A being the root of our Dorian scale your note would now be A,B,C,D,E,F#,G. By change just one note in the scale you can create whole new sound. IF you

Are familiar with your key signatures you may be saying to your self well that’s just a G major scale starting on A. Yes this is another way to theorize the Dorian scale. 

The History of the Dorian Mode

The early Byzantine church developed a system of eight musical modes (the octoechos), which served as a model for medieval European chant theorists when they developed their own modal classification system starting in the 9th century.^[3] The success of the Western synthesis of this system with elements from the fourth book of De institutione musica of Boethius, created the false impression that the Byzantine octoechos was inherited directly from ancient Greece.^[4]Originally used to designate one of the traditional harmoniai of Greek theory the name was appropriated (along with six others) by the 2nd-century theorist Ptolemy to designate his seven tonoi, or transposition keys.

Who uses the Dorian Mode

You can hear this scale used in rock, jazz, blues, classical and pop as well as other styles of music. 

In the blues rock vain Carlos Santana makes the Dorian mode a big part of his sound. Oye Como Va has a very strong Dorian sound. In a classical setting Beethoven‘s Missa Solemnis incorporates the Dorian scale. Milestones by Miles Davis will give 

An example of this sound in a jazz context. Last give a listen to Eleanor Rigby by the Beatles to hear us very cleverly in a pop song.

I hope after reading this you have a better Idea on what a mode is and in particular the Dorian mode. Please feel free to contact us and come in for a music lesson to learn all about the modes and anything else pertaining to music from one of our great instructor at the Colorado School of Music in Golden CO. We offer guitar lessons, piano lessons, drum lessons, violin lessons and vocal lessons as wells as orchestral instruments. 

Thanks for reading!

Dean Cutinelli

The Fender Stratocaster

Dean Cutinelli here from the Colorado School of Music. Remember we are just a call away to start your private music lessons. We offer guitar lessons, ukulele lessons, piano lessons, drum lessons, violin lessons, vocal lessons as well orchestral instruments. Now on to our discussion about the stratocaster guitar.

The Fender American stratocaster is one of the most classic guitar sound you will hear. Such guitar gods like Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Eric Clapton have made the Strat part of their signature sound. 

The Stratocaster was the first Fender guitar to feature three pickups and a spring tension vibrato system, as well as being the first Fender with a contoured body.^[3] The Stratocaster’s sleek, contoured body shape (officially referred to by Fender as the “Comfort Contour Body”) differed from the flat, squared edge design of the Telecaster. The Stratocaster’s double cutaways allowed players easier access to higher positions on the neck. The classic pickup set up on a strat is 3 single coil pickups and a 5 way pickup selector. Each position on the selector gives you a very different sound. You are given the option to use one pickup at a time or use two pickups at the same time. The strat is also equipped with a volume knob and two tone knobs. The volume is a master volume and controls all three pickups. Each of the tone knobs control the bridge, middle and neck pickup. The classic pickup settings on the strat are the in between spots on the pickup selector. Meaning you are using two pickups at the same time. 

There have been many variations on the strat over the years. You can get different pickup formations. For example you could have two hum bucker picks installed. A humbucking pickup, humbucker, or double coil, is a type of electric guitar pickup that uses two coils to “buck the hum” (or cancel out the interference) picked up by coil pickups caused by electromagnetic interference, particularly mains hum.

Another common variation is to have a different bridge put on the guitar. Some players like a fixed bridge well others might want a Floyd Rose locking bridge installed on there strat. Regardless of the variations this guitar has established it self as one the most classic guitar sound on the planet.

I hope after reading this you have a little better understanding of the stratocaster guitar. Please feel free to contact us and come in for a music lesson from one of our great instructor at the Colorado School of Music in Golden CO. We offer guitar lessons, ukulele lessons, piano lessons, drum lessons, violin lessons and vocal lessons as wells as orchestral instruments. 

Thanks for reading!

Dean Cutinelli