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Thread: Blues Scales

  1. #1
    Stuck on the Border MikeA's Avatar
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    Default Blues Scales

    Ahhh, finally finished them! All TWELVE of them. I don't know enough about languages used with PCs (my expertise is in Main Frame Computers with Business application and it doesn't help me much on the PCs). If I did, I would have put together something with JAVA or Flash or something to generate the scales.

    Be that is it may be....I manually drew up all twelve scales for the Minor Pentatonic Blues and have created a separate topic on my forum as mentioned in the Gearheads thread.

    But since doing that, I put all of that information into an HTML presentation and have it available. It might be easier for you to get to without having to sign up for my forum. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have you come on over and join, but if all you want is the scales, then you can get to them from

    BLUES SCALES

    When you get to that main menu, click on the musical Eighth Note toward the bottom. I've set the menu structure up so that I can add more scales and more presentations on Music Theory to that string of menus.
    Last edited by MikeA; 12-30-2008 at 01:16 PM.

    MikeA

  2. #2
    Stuck on the Border MikeA's Avatar
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    Default Question????

    I have a question...a very elemental question about music nomenclature.

    Keep in mind that I am "self taught" and am almost embarrassed to even ask this. But here goes anyway.

    Most anyone who has sang out of a church hymnal or any other form of sheet music, knows that some notes can have two names. Like "G#" and "Ab". Those are both the same note. On a piano, they are the black key between the white "G" and "A" keys. The halftone between those two notes is what I'm asking about.

    Now, what is the "rule" for which name you give those when talking about them?

    For instance, to convert a major scale to a minor scale, you "flat" the 3rd, 6th and 7th tones in the 7 note scale.

    That is fine for the key of "B" for instance.

    The 7 notes in "B" Major are

    B C# D# E F# G# A#

    You convert that to Minor by "flatting" the 3rd 6th and 7th tones.

    So you would have

    B C# D E F# G A

    I guess that's okay to specify the sharped notes as #'s but it would mean the same thing if it was stated as

    B Db D E Gb G A

    No difference! But which is "correct"

    Is there a standard? Do you have to go to the "Key Signatures" to decide?

    MikeA

  3. #3
    Moderator Glennsallnighter's Avatar
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    Default Re: Blues Scales

    Your answer is in the last 3 words of your post Mike. Its generally the Key Signature that decides. So in the key of B major say we have the note G#, but in the key of Eb major we have Ab. Its the same note, but just follows a different 'plan' at the start of the song. So it depends on what key the song is written in. Just a convention really.
    'I must be leaving soon... its your world now'
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  4. #4
    Stuck on the Border MikeA's Avatar
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    Thumbs up Re: Blues Scales

    Quote Originally Posted by Glennsallnighter View Post
    Your answer is in the last 3 words of your post Mike. Its generally the Key Signature that decides. So in the key of B major say we have the note G#, but in the key of Eb major we have Ab. Its the same note, but just follows a different 'plan' at the start of the song. So it depends on what key the song is written in. Just a convention really.

    I suspected that GAL. But thanks for confirming it. I'm working on studying (or should it be studying about working on?) the "Circle of Fifths". Some of those diagrams include the key signatures so eventually, I'll go back to the scales and change the nomenclature to the appropriate "convention."

    I'm sort of like a kid in a candy shop. While I've always loved music and have been hacking at a guitar for more years than I care to think about, I've never really stopped and "studied" music theory. It is facinating to me!
    Last edited by MikeA; 01-02-2009 at 11:43 AM.

    MikeA

  5. #5
    Stuck on the Border MikeA's Avatar
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    Default Re: Blues Scales

    Well,

    I've added most of the Major Pentatonic "Blues" scale and am working on the last four Keys. What I do have is loaded to my site.

    I am having to go back and straighten out some of the designations for flats and sharps in the Pentatonic Blues scale charts. The charts are fine, but some of the names of the Keys needed to be changed and some of the notes should be flipped (like "Bb" instead of "A#"). I want this presentation to be technically correct.

    MikeA

  6. #6
    Stuck on the Border MikeA's Avatar
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    Default Re: Blues Scales

    I have finished the Major Pentatonic Scales with the added "blues note" and have them posted.

    I did go back and "standardize" the Key Names and changed references to the notes within the scales so that they agree with the sharps and flats in the Key Signatures.

    That really got confusing to me when working with the Minor Scales because they do not carry the same signatures as do their Major Counterparts. But I think I have them straight now.

    So, if you go to http://www.mvabercrombie.net/index.html and follow the links from the RED EIGHTH NOTE at the bottom, you will see quite a few entries:

    Under Scales, I have both Minor Pent Blues and I have Major Pent Blues. On either of those scales, you can ignore the "blues note" (which is clearly identified in all of the guitar patterns) and you will be playing the straight Pentatonic Scale.

    Under "Music Theory" I currently have two entries. There is one for Scale Structure which shows you how to derive any scale you might be in the mood for!

    Then also under "Music Theory" I have presented the "Circle of Fifths" which is a visual aide to identifying Keys from the number of sharps and flats in the Key Signature of the composition. It also is a quick way to pull the Major Scale Notes and chords. In addition, you can easily pull in the Major Pentatonic Scales. And, I have discovered that you can also get the Minor Scales but haven't documented that yet.

    MikeA

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