This is especially important for the blues because, unlike some other musical genres, it also involves singing.When you’re playing jazz or even classical music, you are focused solely on your playing. To successfully play various forms of composition you must master blues piano. For example, try a IV chord in measure 2 and play a V7 chord in measure 12 as a turnaround.
. By broadening your scope of chords, you will make your playing richer, and the sound will be more “interesting” to the ears.One of the most common groups of chords to add to your playing is the sixth chord, or simply – the sixth.It is called like this because of its formation – you form a sixth chord by adding the sixth note of a specific scale to the basic chord.Those basic chords, to which you add the sixth note, are also called the triads – because they need three notes to take shape. Playing blues on the piano is not at all hard – actually, it’s pretty easy once you learn the basics. Should you use the sustain pedal for playing the blues on the piano?Moreover – is it necessary to use the sustain pedal while playing blues piano?Well, if we first think about what the sustain pedal is used for – we’ll see that its main function is to extend the duration of a played note.Yes, you can definitely use it if you want. Check it now!Discussing the importance of developing an ear for music, including the best practices for interval ear-training and additional advice on the topic.An in-depth analysis of how to play piano by ear, with the best methods and proven practices for achieving it in a short period of time. This depends on many things: your personal preference (style of playing), the actual musical piece, etc.So, if you want to connect the notes into a “string” of unbroken sound, be sure to use the pedal. Predominantly, the blues is played on the guitar, both electric and acoustic – that’s how it really became popular.However, in the early years, once the blues moved from the cotton fields into larger towns and cities, things changed. Then you can make any of your songs sing the blues. Read the review now!We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. William Cramer, the founder of Fire Inside Music, started to learn music in 2012 with a piano.

The name 12-bar refers to the twelve measures of music that form the basis of a blues song.In the most basic form, it is only three chords that are used here. The 12-bar pattern is great and all, but it won’t hurt to spice things up a little bit and upgrade your playing.By only repeating the chords, you’ll run around in circles. You won’t have many chord changes, and you can adjust the tempo to your own level of playing.All the early blues songs were very slow, and this might come in handy if you’re just starting out, or you need a bit of practice.If you are, for example, in the key of A-minor, you will:The same 12-bar structure can be played with the same three chords in the exact same order, be it major or minor chords.Obviously, the major chords will give you a lighter tone and the minor ones a more sad, brooding atmosphere to the song you’re playing.As for the exact chord changes in the 12-bar pattern, you should follow this simple rule:Let’s see how this looks like with the actual chords.We will use the key of A-major, and one letter will represent one bar (four beats, to make it easier for you to count).In order not to lose track of the bar you’re in, all you have to do is start counting, slowly but steadily.This means that you should be able to count from one to four for the duration of one bar, and not move into another bar before you’re finished counting.This is very easy, because in the 12-bar pattern you don’t have chords that share one bar – everything is clear and straightforward.When you have two or three chords in one bar, it’s harder to count the beats and change the chords at the same time.The three-chord pattern is the easiest way to start learning to play blues on the piano, so definitely start here.To see how this looks like in practice, we’ll use the A-minor key.For the sake of difference, we’ll mark the minor chords with small letters, as it’s often done.Again, you will count every bar with four steady beats, without a hurry.If you’re having a hard time, slow down as much as you need, and don’t speed up until you’re confident enough.Once you’ve mastered the 12-bar pattern, you can move on and start adding chords and scales to your blues piano playing.Mind you, you don’t have to do this – it’s up to you!