Common Riffs
If you're interested in learning the language of blues, you will need to understand the clichés used by virtually all blues players. Not surprisingly, the blues scale is used constantly in this music. If you've forgotten how these scales are played, look back to Chapter 5 to see both the basic blues and the full blues scale. Your job is to use these scales to create melodic lines or riffs. At first, you may find that you play rather mechanically. This is okay. Eventually, you will start to hear some lines forming in your head that actually sound like music. The goal is to develop improvisational spontaneity, which is the very essence of the blues.
The best way to develop your melodic sense is to listen to the blues. In other words, you'll need to steep yourself in the culture of the blues to develop an ear for what is idiomatic and what isn't. This means listening to players from different eras. Don't just listen to New Orleans pianists, Chicago blues men, or British ex-pats. Listen to a smattering of blues artists from all walks of life.
Who should I be listening to?
Check out Appendix A for a comprehensive list of artists and recordings. There you will find pianists such as Jay McShann, Dr. John, Marcia Ball, Charles Brown, Pinetop Perkins, Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington, James P. Johnson, Brother Jack McDuff, and many more.
Start off by playing blues scales. FIGURE 10-1 gives you eight basic riffs to get you going. In these figures, some attempt has been made to create little turns or twists in the direction of the melodic line. These twists make the music more interesting. If you can develop riffs with unexpected intervallic twists, you will be well on your way toward creating what musicians call “snaky” lines. Wherever the line travels, make sure you play only notes within the blues scale(s) in combination with chromatic passing tones. The important thing is to end your lines properly.
If you're playing over a C7 chord, you should end your line on C, G, B-flat, or, possibly and only on occasion, G-flat. There are other possibilities, but these are the most obvious note choices for beginners. Be sure to listen to the CD to better understand the triplet pattern used in pattern number seven. Switching from eighth to sixteenth note triplets can be a little confusing. Remember that sixteenth note triplets are exactly twice the speed as their eighth note counterparts.
FIGURE 10-1: Basic Blues Riffs
