Uke ʻnʼ The Blues by Paul Hemmings Since its inception in the early 20th Century, the Blues has influenced every style of American music that has followed since. Jazz, rock, country, Broadway show tunes -each of these peculiarly American styles of music can trace part of their origins back to the Blues.
This workshop will provide you with a basic understanding of the Blues,
which is essential for playing jazz, swing, rock, and just about any other genre of American music. Weʼll cover swing rhythm, the Dominant 7th chord, the 12-bar blues chord progression, and the Blues scale.
Then weʼll finish up by putting all of this
knowledge to work in our own ukulele Blues band. Swing Rhythm Instead of spacing notes (or strums) evenly, as is most often the case in Western classical music, “swing” is a rhythmic feeling where the notes that fall in between the beats are slightly delayed. This creates a push and pull between notes that fall on the beat and those that fall on the offbeats, providing a lilt that is instantly recognizable and makes people want to move! Weʼll use the six strumming patterns below to illustrate the difference between “straight” and “swing” eighth notes:
4 ≥ ≤ ≥ ≤ ≥ ≤ ≥ ≤ &4 V V V V V V V V
12 ≥ ≤ ≥ ≥ ≤ ≥ ≥ ≤ ≥ ≥ ≤ ≥ &8 V V V V V V V V V V V V
1
1
&
2
&
3
&
4
2
&
1
≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ & 12 8 V V V V V V V V V V V V
3
1
–
12 ≥ &8 V
5
1
–
3
4
–
≤ ≥ VJ V
3
4
–
6
7
≤ ≥ VJ V
6
7
–
–
9
10
≤ ≥ VJ V
9
–
10 –
12
≤ VJ
12
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2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ & 12 8 V VJ V VJ V VJ V VJ 4
1 – 3
4 – 6
7 – 9
10 – 12
"Swing 8ths"
4 ≥ ≤ ≥ ≤ ≥ ≤ ≥ ≤ &4 V V V V V V V V 6
1
&
2
&
3
&
4
&
Uke ‘n’ The Blues (P. 2)
The Dominant 7th Chord One of the idiomatic devices heard in a lot of Blues music is the use of the Dominant 7th chord. Unlike more basic chords such as triads and their variations, a Dominant 7th chord has four different notes, providing a rich and somewhat more complex sound. Here are all of the possible ways to play the three Dominant 7th chords that weʼll use in the Blues on the following page:
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Uke ‘n’ The Blues (P. 3)
The 12-Bar Form There are many different forms and variations of Blues. The most common is the iconic 12-Bar Blues chord progression, and while there are even many different forms of 12Bar Blues, the song below illustrates its most simple form:
Uke 'n' The Blues ° & 44 ¢™™ V V V V C7
F7
V
G7
V
fi
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
F7
V
V
C7
V V V V
V
C7
V
V
V
C7
V
V
V V V V
V
V
V
V
V V V V
To Coda (on cue)
V
V
G7
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
Coda
G7
V V V V
G7
V
F7
V V V V
F7
G7
V V V V
V V V V
F7
V V V V
F7
V V V V
0
0
0
0
1
1
2
2
3
2 1 2 0
1 0 0 0
(Note that the coda written in is not a part of the actual 12-Bar Blues form. Itʼs just a traditional way to end a Blues.)
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fi ™™ ü †
Uke ‘n’ The Blues (P. 4)
The Blues Scale A scale is a sequence of notes played in a specific order. The Blues scale is based on a Pentatonic, or five-note, scale, but adds an additional note -- the “blue note”. Although there are different fingerings for how to play the Blues Scale at different parts of the fretboard, weʼll focus on the following pattern for a C Blues Scale:
3rd fret -
= Root note = Blue note
Although it has many applications, the Blues Scale sounds great when used to solo over the 12-bar chord progression.
(Just be sure to use the Blues Scale that
corresponds to the key of the song youʼre playing!) Itʼs great for beginning improvisers to get their feet wet because there arenʼt really any “avoid” notes and just about every note in it sounds good throughout the entire progression.
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Uke ‘n’ The Blues (P. 5)
Smokestack Uke'n (Based on Howlin' Wolf's Smoketstack Lightnin')
bœ ™ j bœ 4 ° & 4 ¢™™ Œ œ œ œ œ œ bœ œ °™ 3 6 6 5 7 7 5 3 0 ™ ¢ ⁄ C7
° ¢
°
œ bœ ™
F7
Œ
3
5
Œ œ bœ ™
¢
3
¢
7
5
3
7
œ bœ ™
7
5
3
7
5
3
0
j œ œ bœ œ œ bœ œ
6 5
Œ œ bœ ™
C7
3
6
7
To Coda (on cue) fi
0
j œ œ bœ œ œ bœ œ 6
6 5
Œ
F7
6
3
3
6
7
5
fi
°
6
C7
C7
j œ œ bœ œ œ bœ œ
G7
Œ œ bœ ™ œj œ bœ œ œ bœ œ
F7
6
7
7
5
3
0
™™ ü †
G7
j œ œ bœ œ œ bœ œ
6
0
5
7
6
7
5
3
™ü ™†
0
Coda
°
Œ œ bœ ™ œj œ bœ œ œ bœ œ
G7
¢
3
6 5
7
6
5
F7
6 5
7
6
7
5
G7
F7
3 7
Œ œ bœ ™ œj œ bœ œ œ bœ œ
G7
3
Œ œ bœ ™ œj œ bœ œ œ bœ œ
F7
3
0
3
6
0
5
6
7
7
5
G7 C7
œ nœœœ bœœ ˙˙ œ œ nœ œ œ œ #œ œ œ œœ ˙˙ 0
0
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0
0
1
1
2
2
3
2 1 2 0
1 0 0 0
3
0
Uke ‘n’ The Blues (P. 6)
This workshop has only uncovered the very tip of the ice berg, so to speak. Thereʼs so much more that ukulele players, and musicians in general, can learn from listening to and studying the great Blues players. Just ask those who know... From Duke Ellington to Charlie Parker; from Aaron Copland to Leonard Bernstein; from Woody Guthrie to Bob Dylan; from Johnny Cash to Willie Nelson; from Aerosmith to ZZ Top... American musicians have been inspired by the Blues since its inception over a century ago. Now that youʼve gotten the basics of the Blues together on the ukulele, see how it inspires your playing!
With aloha,
Paul.
★ This packet, along with other ukulele educational resources, is available online at: www.uketet.com/resources.htm
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