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Introduction

Learning to play blues piano is a fun and exciting journey. However, sometimes it can be difficult for students to find the right point-of-entry for studying the blues. In today’s Quick Tip, Blues Piano Masterclass: 5 Levels from Beginner to Pro, Jonny May helps piano students identify exactly which blues piano skills to practice for their level.

Quick Navigation Links:

• Blues Piano Master Class: 5 Levels
  • Blues Piano Level 1 – Beginner Skills
  • Blues Piano Level 2 – Late Beginner Skills
  • Blues Piano Level 3 – Early Intermediate Skills
  • Blues Piano Level 4 – Late Intermediate Skills
  • Blues Piano Level 5 – Advanced Skills

Blues Piano Masterclass: 5 Levels

In today’s featured Quick Tip tutorial, Jonny demonstrates five improvised blues piano solos that span across five different playing proficiency levels: (1) beginner, (2) late beginner, (3) early intermediate, (4) late intermediate, and (5) advanced. These solos demonstrate that piano students of all levels can learn to play convincing and authentic blues piano solos. The key to success is identifying which blues piano skills are suitable for each level.

In the following lesson, we’ve excerpted Jonny’s five blues solos from the featured Quick Tip tutorial for further study. We’ve also included a breakdown of the specific blues piano skills for each level. In addition, PWJ members can download the six-page lesson sheet PDF for this lesson. The lesson sheet appears at the bottom of this page after logging in with your membership.

Alright, let’s jump right in to Level 1!

Blues Piano Level 1 – Beginner Skills

Jonny’s Level 1 demo in today’s Blues Piano Masterclass uses techniques that are perfect for beginner piano students. Let’s start by reviewing Jonny’s Level 1 solo below. If necessary, you can slow down the video using the gear icon (⛭) in the lower right-hand corner of the video frame.

Beginner Blues Piano Solo

Sample blues piano solo using Level 1 beginner techniques including the minor blues scale in the right hand and a 4-on-the-floor pattern in the left hand.

As you can hear, this blues piano solo is completely respectable and effective. Moreover, the techniques that Jonny has used in this demonstration are well within the reach of the average beginner student. In the following paragraphs, we’ll examine each of the Level 1 skills involved in playing a blues solo of this caliber.

Chords: Major Triads

The traditional 12-bar blues form is based on just three chords. Even though professional blues pianists typically play chords with 4 or more notes, beginners can learn to internalize the 12-bar form by playing major triads for each of the three chords. For example, for a blues in the key of C, the beginner chords that you need to know are C major, F major and G major.

Keep in mind, you won’t necessarily play these triads in the left hand during an actual blues performance. However, it’s important for students to understand that these chords undergird the harmony of the blues form in a structural manner. Once you’ve internalized the form, then you can learn how to stylize your left hand with various blues piano patterns such as the 4-on-the-floor technique.

Left Hand: 4-On-The-Floor

For beginner pianists, the 4-on-the-floor pattern is the perfect left-hand technique. Not only does this pattern sound authentic—the simplicity of playing quarter notes in the left hand will allow you to direct more of your focus toward improvising with your right hand.

Right Hand: Minor Blues Scale

Learning to improvise can be scary and uncomfortable for many students. On the other hand, some students have very few inhibitions when it comes to trying to improvise. Ironically, whether you are bold or bashful when it comes to improvising probably has less to do with your “natural talent” and more to do with your overall predisposition toward risk-taking. For example, which notes should you play?

For beginner improvisors, the minor blues scale is a great tool for getting started. That’s because it only has six notes and they all sound good over the entire of blues form. For example, for a blues in the key of C, we can use the C minor blues scale (C–E♭–F–F♯–G–B♭) to solo over all twelve bars. In other words, even when the chords change to F major or G major, we can keep soloing with the same six notes.

Now that we’ve covered essential Level 1 blues piano skills for each hand, why not take a moment now to test-drive these techniques yourself? In fact, reserving a small portion of your daily practice time for improvisation is a great habit to form. Over time, you’ll become more and more comfortable and effective at creating musical phrases that sound convincing.

Another helpful habit for developing your improv skills is to spend time listening to competent improvisors. However, it can be difficult for beginner students to find players whose playing is simple enough to understand and imitate. Therefore, some of the most effective listening you can do as a beginner is to check out beginner blues educational materials like those in the PWJ library that are designed especially for students.

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Blues Piano Level 2 – Late Beginner Skills

Jonny’s Level 2 playing example in today’s Blues Piano Masterclass uses techniques that are perfect for late beginner piano students. Let’s take a minute to review Jonny’s Level 2 solo below.

Late Beginner Blues Piano Solo

As you may have noticed, this Level 2 sample solo includes some similar techniques to the previous Level 1 example. However, there are some subtle distinctions for late beginner students to consider. We’ve outlined some of those differences in the following paragraphs.

Chords: 7th Chords

For late beginner students, you can get a more representative blues piano sound by swapping out the major triads from Level 1 for dominant 7th chords instead. These four-note chords are formed by starting with a major triad and then adding a minor 7th interval on top. (Note: a quick way to find the minor 7th is to start on the root of the chord and go down a whole step. Then, add that note above the root.)

For a blues in the key of C, the three dominant 7th chords you need to know are C7 (C–E–G–B♭), F7 (F–A–C–E♭) and G7 (G–B–D–F).

Remember, these chords supply the harmonic architecture for the blues form. However, you won’t necessarily play them as whole notes like they appear in the example above. Nonetheless, it’s still a good idea to practice playing through the blues from with these chords in both hands. This will help you “hear the changes.” In addition, you can use dominant 7th arpeggios to create some effective improv phrases when soloing.

Left Hand: Blues Shuffle

For late beginner students, the blues shuffle pattern is a great left-hand accompaniment. This groove uses the same intervals as the 4-on-the-floor pattern from Level 1. However, the rhythmic pattern for the blues shuffle is more active. In particular, you’ll play constant 8th notes in the left hand with a swing feel.

Right Hand: Mixo-Blues Scale

For late beginner students, the mixo-blues scale (C–D–D♯–E–F–F♯–G–A–B♭) is a great improv scale to explore when soloing. This nine-note scale gets its name from combining the mixolydian scale (C–D–E–F–G–A–B♭) with the minor blues scale (C–E♭–F–F♯–G–B♭). However, another way to think of this scale is that it combines the major blues scale (C–D–E♭–E♮–G–A) and the minor blues scale. Either way you think of it, you wind up with the same nine notes.

It’s important to recognize that soloing with the mixo-blues scale is a bit more nuanced than the minor blues scale. That’s because not all nine notes of the mixo-blues scale work equally well over each chord. Generally speaking, any note that is a half-step above a chord tone is considered a weak note or an avoid note. For example, the E♮ in the mixo-blues scale works well over C7 and G7, but it tends to clash with the F7 chord unless you use it briefly in passing. In fact, if you rewatch Jonny’s Level 2 sample solo, you’ll notice that he doesn’t play E♮ over F7.

Alright, it’s time to take a moment to try putting all these Level 2 skills together into your own late beginner blues piano solo.

🔎 Looking for more beginner blues piano skills? Check out our Blues Piano Learning Track 1.

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Blues Piano Level 3 – Early Intermediate Skills

Jonny’s Level 3 sample solo in today’s Blues Piano Masterclass uses techniques that are well-suited for early intermediate students. You may notice that this level sounds a bit more “jazzy.” That’s because many blues pianists are also professional jazz musicians. Even though these styles are related, jazz tends to be more harmonically complex. Therefore, the chord voicings in this level sound more advanced and colorful. First, let’s begin by reviewing Jonny’s Level 3 solo below.

Early Intermediate Blues Piano Solo

Wow, what a great sounding solo! Notice, Jonny still isn’t playing anything virtuosic or flashy. Instead, he is simply getting a more sophisticated sound by drawing on different piano techniques. We’ve outline those techniques in the following paragraphs.

Chords: Rootless Voicings (3 Notes)

Jazz pianists typically play voicings with chord extension instead of ordinary dominant 7th chords. Therefore, for his Level 3 blues piano solo, Jonny is using 3-note rootless voicings in his left hand. These voicings include the guide tones (a jazz term for the 3rd and 7th) plus an additional chord extension, such as the 9th or the 13th. Note, the lead sheet or sheet music doesn’t need to specifically indicate C9 for you to use this voicing. You can play C9 anytime you see C7 if you want a jazzier sound. The same is true for F13 and G13.

Left Hand: Charleston Stride

In his Level 3 solo, Jonny creates a left-hand accompaniment pattern by combining the rootless voicings above with the root of the chord. The particular rhythm that Jonny is playing is often called the Charleston rhythm because it was featured prominently in James P. Johnson’s 1923 mega hit “The Charleston.” Moreover, since this left-hand technique leaps from the lower register to the middle register, it is described as a “stride” technique.

Right Hand: Dominant Bebop Scale

Jonny’s Level 3 solo continues to include some ideas that come from the mixo-blues scale. However, at the intermediate level, Jonny also introduces another improv technique—the dominant bebop scale. This common eight-note jazz scale is similar to a regular mixolydian scale, except that includes both the ♭7 and the ♮7.

Jazz players most often use the dominant bebop scale to create descending 8th-note lines. In addition, the ♮7 typically falls on the upbeat. To explore this technique in greater detail, be sure to check out our Quick Tip on The Ultimate Guide to Bebop Scales (Beg–Adv).

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Blues Piano Level 4 – Late Intermediate Skills

Jonny’s Level 4 demo in today’s Blues Piano Masterclass uses techniques that are perfect for late intermediate piano students. At this level, Jonny is not only incorporating jazz piano voicings. He’s also adding jazz passing chords into the blues form as shown in the example below. Let’s take a moment now to listen to Jonny’s Level 4 solo.

Late Intermediate Blues Piano Solo

What a cool, jazzy blues solo! Let’s explore these techniques one at a time.

Chords: Rootless Voicings (4 Notes) & Chord Shells

In his Level 4 example, Jonny uses 4-note rootless voicings whenever a chord symbol lasts for an entire measure. The example below includes all the 4-note voicings you need to know for Level 4.

When Jonny needs to play two chords in the same measure, he modifies his left hand to a different voicing system to accommodate this change in the harmonic structure. In these measures, the particular voicings he uses are chord shells. In particular, the format he uses is either  R3 (root + 3rd) or R7 (root + 7th).

Left Hand: Pickup Charleston Stride

You may have noticed that Jonny’s Level 4 blues piano solo sounds a bit denser from a rhythmic perspective. That’s because Jonny has added a pickup note to the Charleston stride pattern in his left hand. This pickup note occurs on the “and of 4” and the note is always the 5th of the upcoming chord.

Right Hand: Dominant Diminished Scale

If you’re a late intermediate student, then you can get some interesting improv lines by drawing on the exotic sound of the dominant diminished scale. In fact, Jonny uses these scales throughout his Level 4 blues piano solo. Another name for this scale is the half-whole diminished scale. This eight-note scale begins with a half step and then continues by alternating between whole steps and half steps. For a blues in C, you’ll use the C dominant diminished scale (C–D♭–E♭–E♮–F♯–G–A–B♭), the F dominant diminished scale (F–G♭–A♭–A♮–B–C–D–E♭) and the G dominant diminished scale (G–A♭–B♭–B♮–C♯–D–E–F).

For great examples of dominant diminished licks, check out our Quick Tip on Improvise Jazz Piano with the Dominant Diminished Scale (Int). To master dominant diminished scales in every key, check out our Quick Tip on The Diminished Scale Demystified (Int).

🔎 Looking for more intermediate/advanced blues piano skills? Check out our Blues Piano Learning Track 2.

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Blues Piano Level 5 – Advanced Skills

Jonny’s Level 5 demonstration in today’s Blues Piano Masterclass uses techniques that are well-suited for advanced students and professionals. Let’s take a minute now to review this swinging Level 5 solo.

Advanced Blues Piano Solo

Wow, there’s a lot going on there! In the following paragraphs, we’ll examine this solo piece by piece.

Left Hand: Walking Bass Line

Sometimes, solo pianists and piano accompanists want to imitate the driving feel of a full rhythm section. For such occasions, advanced pianists will often play a walking bass line in the left hand instead of chord voicings.

While there are many different ways to construct a walking bass line, the method that Jonny outlines in today’s blues piano masterclass is the chromatic approach. This technique precedes each root with three chromatic notes from above or below. In the example below, the target note in measure 2 is the root of F7. If you look at the notes that fall on the main beats before measure 2, you have D, E♭ and E♮—a chromatic ascent to F7. Similarly, the target note in measure 3 is the root of C7, and the preceding notes on the main beats are A, B♭ and B♮—a chromatic ascent to C7. By contrast, the main note on beat 1 of measure 4 is the root of Gm7. In this case, Jonny chromatically descends into Gm7 with the notes B♭, A and A♭.

Even though walking bass lines are structured around a driving quarter note pulse, you also typically find some 8th notes sprinkled in there as well. The 8th notes that occur on the upbeats are known as ghost notes because they are generally played so softly that the pitch is almost indiscernible. The most common chord tones to use for ghost notes are the root or the 5th of the chord. To learn more about this topic, check out our Quick Tip on Jazz Articulation with Ghost Notes (Int).

Right Hand: Neighbor Notes

For his Level 5 blues piano solo demonstration, Jonny uses two different types of approach notes (aka approach tones) in the right hand. The first category of approach notes is that of chromatic neighbor notes, of which there are also two types: (1) lower neighbors and (2) upper neighbors. Lower neighbors approach a chord tone from a half step below while upper neighbors approach a chord tone from a half step above.

As you might expect, every 7th chord has four lower neighbors and four upper neighbors. The example below demonstrates all eight of the potential neighbor notes for a C7 chord. Keep in mind, not every chromatic neighbor note will result in an accidental; some neighbor notes may occur naturally within the key signature.

Right Hand: Enclosures

The second category of approach notes that Jonny uses in his Level 5 solo is that of enclosures. This melodic device uses both upper and lower neighbor notes to precede a target note. For instance, in the first example below, the pickup notes G♯ and F♯ form an enclosure that targets the chord tone G on the downbeat of measure 1. Since this enclosure begins with the upper neighbor, we call it an upper enclosure. The remaining chord tones of C7 are similarly preceded by upper enclosures throughout this example.

In the second example below, the note order of each enclosure is reversed such that the lower neighbor comes first. Therefore, these examples are considered lower enclosures.

For a deep dive on how to use these two approach note techniques to create professional improv lines, check out the following courses:

🔎 2-5-1 Soloing with Upper & Lower Neighbors (Adv)
🔎 2-5-1 Soloing with Enclosures (Adv)

Conclusion

Congratulations, you’ve completed today’s lesson on Blues Piano Masterclass: 5 Levels from Beginner to Pro. With the demonstrations and concepts that you’ve considered in today’s lesson, you’re bound to have identified some actionable ideas that will take your blues piano playing to the next level!

If you enjoyed this lesson, then be sure to check out the following PWJ resources:

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