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For many piano students, improvising is scary, even though it’s supposed to be fun. Ironically, sometimes you just have to face the music to get past your fears. In fact, today’s Quick Tip on Improvise a Piano Solo Over “The Thrill Is Gone” is designed to help you do just that! In this tutorial, John Proulx covers “The Thrill Is Gone” chords, voicings, bass lines and soloing tips for B.B. King’s iconic 1969 blues anthem.

• Introduction
• “The Thrill Is Gone” Chords (Beginner)
  • Basic Piano Chords
  • Basic Minor Blues Form
• “The Thrill Is Gone” Chords (Intermediate)
  • Rootless Voicings for Piano
  • Minor Blues Form with Rootless Voicings
• “The Thrill Is Gone” Piano Chords with Bass Line
• “The Thrill Is Gone” Piano Solo

Introduction

B.B. King (1925–2015) is often regarded as the “king of the blues.” Surprisingly, when he was interviewed by Terry Gross of NPR in 1996, he revealed that he experienced his fair share of performance anxiety, just like anybody else!⁴ Can you believe that—the king of the blues wrestling with stage fright like you and me? Nevertheless, B.B. King also knew how to deal with his musical fears. His secret was to simply be himself rather than trying to be someone else.

That’s some solid advice to keep in mind as we dive into today’s lesson on how to improvise a piano solo on the “Thrill Is Gone.” Also, be sure to download the lesson sheet PDF and backing tracks for “The Thrill Is Gone.”  These resources appear at the bottom of this page once you’ve logged in with your PWJ membership. In addition, members can transpose the lesson sheet examples to any key using our Smart Sheet Music.

“The Thrill Is Gone” Chords (Beginner)

Let’s begin our exploration of “The Thrill Is Gone” by considering the song form and playing some basic piano chords. This section is geared for beginner level piano students. In the next section, we’ll explore chord voicings for more experienced students and professionals.

B.B. King’s recording of “The Thrill Is Gone” is in B minor and is an example of a minor blues, a traditional song form in a minor key with a repeating chorus that is twelve bars in length. The basic harmonic structure of a minor blues contains four chords—the Ⅰm7, Ⅳm7, ♭Ⅵ7 and Ⅴ7. In the key of B minor, these chords are Bm7, Em7, G7 and F♯7. Furthermore, there are some common passing chords the many musicians include over this form, such as preceding the Em7 in bar 5 with B7—a harmonic embellishment that we call a secondary dominant. In addition, some players alternate between the Bm7 and C♯m7 in spots where the tonic chord is prolonged throughout the form.

Basic Piano Chords

Here are the six chords that we’ll be using in today’s lesson on “The Thrill Is Gone.” In the piano chord diagrams below, we’ve shown altered dominant sounds for a couple of the chords. For instance, the diagram shows B7(♭13) and F♯7(♭13). These chord alterations are particularly common  when you have a dominant 7th chord that resolves to a minor chord. However, you could also opt to play a regular B7 (B–D♯–F♯–A) and F♯7 (F♯–A♯–C♯–E) if you prefer.

Basic Minor Blues Form

Now, let’s take a look at the 12-bar form of a minor blues to see where we’ll play each chord. The following sheet music illustrates the basic harmonic structure for “The Thrill Is Gone” in B minor. There is also an embedded backing track for “The Thrill Is Gone” beneath the sheet music. See if you can listen to the backing track and follow along with the chord changes.

Next, let’s learn how a John Proulx applies profession chord voicings to the progression for “The Thrill Is Gone.”

“The Thrill Is Gone” Chords (Intermediate)

If you’re an intermediate or advanced level pianist, then you’ll probably want to learn how to play some more colorful sounding chords for “The Thrill Is Gone.” One approach that many professional pianists use is to apply stock rootless voicings to the chord changes.

Rootless Voicings for Piano

The term rootless voicings most often refers to a standardized system of jazzy 4-note voicings in which the total note span is less than an octave, allowing all of the notes to be played with a single hand. Rootless voicings usually include one or more chord extensions or chord alterations, which gives them a colorful and complex sound. Depending on whether a pianist is improvising or accompanying, these voicings may be played in either hand. However, it’s important that the voicings are played in the tenor register, which is right around the middle of the piano.

The following diagrams show 4-note rootless voicings for each of the chords in “The Thrill Is Gone.” Each diagram also shows the root in a different color. The root is shown so that you can practice the voicings in their proper harmonic context. However, the root is not part of the voicing itself. Therefore, when you’re playing with a bass player, the root should be omitted on piano.

Minor Blues Form with Rootless Voicings

Now, let’s take a listen to how these voicings sound over the chord progression for “The Thrill Is Gone.” The following demonstration contains two choruses of the minor blues form. On the first chorus, the left hand plays the voicings. Afterward, the right hand demonstrates the same voicings on the second chorus.

That sounds great! Next, we’ll learn a cool bass line for “The Thrill Is Gone.”

“The Thrill Is Gone” Piano Chords with Bass Line

Perhaps you want to lay down a piano accompaniment groove while you or someone else belts out the lyrics for “The Thrill Is Gone.” In that case, you can play rootless voicings in the right hand while your left hand plays a rhythmic bass line. The following example demonstrates one possibility for such an accompaniment. Since we’re playing a bass line on piano, the backing track in this demo contains drums only.

In the next section, we’ll discover some soloing tips for “The Thrill Is Gone.”

“The Thrill Is Gone” Piano Solo

Alright, it’s time for you to take a piano solo on “The Thrill Is Gone.” In this section, you’ll discover an essential improv scale that will help you improvise with a professional sound over the minor blues form. In addition, you’ll also play a sample solo.

B Minor Blues Scale

The most common improv scale for a minor blues is the minor blues scale. To construct this scale, use the following scale formula from the parent key: 1–♭3–4–♯4–5–♭7. For instance, in the key of B minor, these notes are B–D–E–F♮–F♯–A.

Once you’ve learned this scale, you’re ready to start improving on “The Thrill Is Gone.” It’s important to note that you’ll use the B minor blues scale over the entire form. In other words, there is no need to transpose this scale when the chords change. Just keep on soloing with the B minor blues scale.

Sample Solo

Professional musicians often use the minor blues scale to generate short, catchy melodic motifs when soloing. For instance, John Proulx’s sample solo for “The Thrill Is Gone” make exclusive use of the B minor blues scale. However, notice how many rests are in this example. That’s because John is using concise blues motifs throughout his solo.

Wow, that sounds great! Are you ready for more blues piano tips? If so, then check out Jonny May’s course on How to Create a Blues Solo (Int/Adv). This course covers professional blues piano performance techniques including slides, turns, rolls, and smash riffs. Or, if you’re more of a beginner, then you’ll love our Beginner Blues Piano 1-Year Practice Plan.

Did you know that PianoWithJonny also has curated learn tracks for specific piano genres, include blues piano? You can view the blues piano track for your playing level using the links below:

🔎 Blues Piano — Track 1 (Beginner/Intermediate)
🔎 Blues Piano — Track 2 (Intermediate/Advanced)

Conclusion

Congratulations, you’ve completed today’s lesson on Improvise a Piano Solo Over “The Thrill Is Gone.” Now you’re ready to take a solo over one of the most icon blues songs of all time. In addition, you’ve gained blues piano skills that will help you navigate other minor blues songs with the confidence of a king!

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

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¹ “B.B. King Chart History.” Billboard.com, Penske Media Corporation.

⁴Gross, Terry. “‘Summer of Soul’: A Conversation with Blues Legend B.B. King.” NPR.org, 2 Sept. 2021.

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