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12-Bar Blues II: Chord Substitution and Minor Blues Harmony

A standard 12-bar blues progression includes chords built on the first, fourth and fifth degrees of a major scale and all three chords are usually dominant seventh in quality (I7, IV7 and V7).

For example, a basic 12-bar blues chord progression in the key of A includes the I7, IV7 and V7 chords in that key — A7, D7 and E7, respectively (fig.1).

But it’s not uncommon to substitute more colorful chords for the basic seventh chords in a 12-bar blues chord progression.

This post will look at some chords commonly used as substitutes in a 12-bar blues and provide a few examples of how to work them into a progression.

It will also cover minor blues harmony, the chords used in a 12-bar blues chord progression played in a minor key.

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The Chromatic Scale

To this point in the series, we have mostly used major and minor scales to solo over chords diatonic to the key center of the scale, while emphasizing the arpeggio notes to make them stand out.

And while it’s important to use notes that fit, or blend well, with the chord you are soloing over — the arpeggio notes and notes from the chord’s key center — using only chord tones and scale tones can become monotonous and unnecessarily limiting.

It’s also important to incorporate notes that are outside of a chord’s key center — called chromatic notes — into your solos, notes drawn from the chromatic scale.

This post will cover how to construct a chromatic scale. It will also provide some common fingerings for the scale, along with instruction on how to play them on a guitar starting on any note.

Lastly, it will provide some common strategies for incorporating chromatic notes into your solos.

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The Harmonic Minor Scale

The harmonic minor scale is a seven-note scale, identical to the natural minor scale but with a raised seventh scale degree.

The scale is commonly used in jazz, minor blues, classical and heavy metal music.

This post will cover how to construct a harmonic minor scale. It will also provide a common fingering for the scale, along with instruction on how to play it on a guitar in any key.

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Harmonizing the Harmonic Minor Scale I: Triads

The process of harmonizing a scale involves building chords on each degree (note) of the scale, using only notes from that scale.

This post will:

  • Take us through the process of harmonizing the harmonic minor scale with triads.
  • Analyze the chords that result, along with the Roman numerals assigned to each chord.
  • Show the relationship between the chords in a harmonized harmonic minor scale and the scale itself.
  • Provide instruction on how that relationship relates to soloing on a guitar.
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Harmonizing the Harmonic Minor Scale II: Seventh Chords

The process of harmonizing a scale involves building chords on each degree (note) of the scale, using only notes from that scale.

This post will:

  • Take us through the process of harmonizing the harmonic minor scale with seventh chords.
  • Analyze the chords that result, along with the Roman numerals assigned to each chord.
  • Show the relationship between the chords in a harmonized harmonic minor scale and the scale itself.
  • Provide instruction on how that relationship relates to soloing on a guitar.
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The Leading Tone

Raising the seventh degree of a natural minor scale and, thus, creating a harmonic minor scale has two primary purposes:

  • It creates a leading tone that pulls strongly to the tonic note a half step above it.
  • It changes the minor v chord in the natural minor scale into a dominant seventh V7 chord in the harmonic minor scale, strengthening the authentic cadence.

This post will analyze the leading tone with regard to the harmonic minor scale and the authentic cadence. It will also provide instruction on how the leading tone relates to guitar soloing over minor key chord progressions.

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