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Exercise
— switch — The Cycle Shells with Color Rootless Voicings Bud Powell Left Hand The Turnaround Tritone Substitution Reharm the V Diatonic Sevenths Secondary Turnaround Minor ii–V–i Minor ii-V-i with ♭9 Minor Turnaround Diatonic 7ths in Minor Backdoor Progression Twelve-Bar Blues Minor Blues Bird Blues Blues Stride LH Blues Walking Bass Rhythm Changes Boogie Blues Shuffle Rhythm Changes Bridge Blues Rootless (Evans) Coltrane Changes Blues Pedal Point Standard Intro Blues Block Chords Two-Handed Comping Blues Freddie Green Charleston Comping Bebop Blues Comp Freddie Green Comping Blues Guide Tones Walking Bass Charleston Blues Tritone-Sub Walking Bass Bud Powell Blues Drop Two Two-Handed Modern Blues Stride Bass Stride with Melody Quartal Voicings Upper Structure Triads Hybrid Voicings Kenny Barron Voicing Sus Chord Vamp The Mu Chord Maiden Voyage Chord 4-Way Close Pedal Point Lydian Vamp Phrygian Vamp Bossa Nova Guide Tones Bebop Scale Dominant Bebop Dorian Bebop Bebop Minor The Enclosure ii-V-I Lick Pentatonic Patterns Plain Locrian Melodic Minor Dorian ♭2 Lydian Augmented Lydian Dominant Mixolydian ♭6 Locrian ♮2 Altered Scale Harmonic Minor Phrygian Dominant Half-Whole Diminished Whole-Tone Scale Minor Blues Major Blues Aeolian (Natural Minor) Dorian Mode Ionian (Major) Lydian Mode Minor Pentatonic Mixolydian Mode Phrygian Mode Whole-Half Diminished
(MED. SWING ♩=80 )
33
Jazz Piano · Blues Comp Styles
Blues Guide Tones
Half-note 3+♭7 dyads, skeletal voice-leading, twelve keys
Play exercise
Guide tones — the 3 and ♭7 of each chord — are the
minimum notes needed to identify a chord's quality. Two
notes per chord, voice-led to the next chord with the smallest
possible motion. The 3 of one chord falls a half step to the ♭7 of the
next (and the ♭7 to the 3) in a blues, producing pure half-step
voice-leading through the whole form.
This is the most stripped-down possible comp. Use it to
internalise the harmony before adding density. Once you can hear
the form through just the guide tones, every fuller voicing is
built on top of this skeleton.
RH 3 + ♭7 dyad held as half notes
Form I⁷ IV⁷ I⁷ I⁷ | IV⁷ IV⁷ I⁷ I⁷ | V⁷ IV⁷ I⁷ V⁷
Jump to
F B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ B E A D G C
C
7
3
2
4
1
O
O
F
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
C
7
3
2
4
1
O
O
1
3
1
2
1
1
B
7
1
2
1
3
1
X
F
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
F
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
F
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
F
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
B
7
1
2
1
3
1
X
B
7
1
2
1
3
1
X
F
7
B
7
1
2
1
3
1
X
F
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
B
7
1
2
1
3
1
X
F
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
1
2
1
3
1
X
E
7
1
3
2
4
X
X
B
7
1
2
1
3
1
X
B
7
1
2
1
3
1
X
B
7
1
2
1
3
1
X
B
7
B
7
1
2
1
3
1
X
E
7
1
3
2
4
X
X
E
7
1
3
2
4
X
X
E
7
1
3
2
4
X
X
B
7
1
2
1
3
1
X
1
3
2
4
X
X
E
7
B
7
1
2
1
3
1
X
A
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
4fr
E
7
1
3
2
4
X
X
E
7
1
3
2
4
X
X
E
7
1
3
2
4
X
X
E
7
1
3
2
4
X
X
A
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
4fr
A
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
4fr
E
7
1
3
2
4
X
X
1
3
1
2
1
1
4fr
A
7
E
7
1
3
2
4
X
X
1
3
1
2
1
1
4fr
A
7
E
7
1
3
2
4
X
X
D
7
2
3
1
4
X
X
A
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
4fr
A
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
4fr
A
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
4fr
A
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
4fr
D
7
2
3
1
4
X
X
D
7
2
3
1
4
X
X
A
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
4fr
2
3
1
4
X
X
D
7
A
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
4fr
D
7
2
3
1
4
X
X
A
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
4fr
D
7
G
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
D
7
2
3
1
4
X
X
D
7
2
3
1
4
X
X
D
7
2
3
1
4
X
X
D
7
2
3
1
4
X
X
G
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
G
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
2
3
1
4
X
X
G
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
D
7
2
3
1
4
X
X
G
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
D
7
2
3
1
4
X
X
G
7
C
7
X
X
5fr
G
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
G
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
G
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
G
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
C
7
X
X
5fr
C
7
X
X
5fr
1
3
1
2
1
1
C
7
X
X
5fr
1
3
1
2
1
1
F
7
2
1
O
O
O
O
2
1
3
4
X
O
B
7
F
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
E
7
B
7
2
1
3
4
X
O
B
7
2
1
3
4
X
O
B
7
2
1
3
4
X
O
B
7
2
1
3
4
X
O
E
7
2
1
O
O
O
O
E
7
2
1
O
O
O
O
B
7
2
1
3
4
X
O
E
7
2
1
O
O
O
O
B
7
2
1
3
4
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O
E
7
2
1
O
O
O
O
B
7
2
1
3
4
X
O
A
7
1
3
X
O
O
O
E
7
2
1
O
O
O
O
E
7
2
1
O
O
O
O
E
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2
1
O
O
O
O
E
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2
1
O
O
O
O
A
7
1
3
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O
O
O
A
7
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3
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O
O
O
E
7
2
1
O
O
O
O
1
3
X
O
O
O
A
7
E
7
2
1
O
O
O
O
A
7
1
3
X
O
O
O
E
7
2
1
O
O
O
O
D
7
2
1
3
X
X
O
A
7
1
3
X
O
O
O
A
7
1
3
X
O
O
O
A
7
1
3
X
O
O
O
A
7
1
3
X
O
O
O
D
7
2
1
3
X
X
O
D
7
2
1
3
X
X
O
A
7
1
3
X
O
O
O
2
1
3
X
X
O
D
7
1
3
X
O
O
O
A
7
D
7
2
1
3
X
X
O
A
7
1
3
X
O
O
O
G
7
3
2
1
O
O
O
D
7
2
1
3
X
X
O
D
7
2
1
3
X
X
O
D
7
2
1
3
X
X
O
D
7
2
1
3
X
X
O
G
7
3
2
1
O
O
O
G
7
3
2
1
O
O
O
D
7
2
1
3
X
X
O
G
7
3
2
1
O
O
O
3
2
4
1
O
O
2
1
3
X
X
O
D
7
G
7
3
2
1
O
O
O
D
7
2
1
3
X
X
O
C
7
G
7
3
2
1
O
O
O
G
7
3
2
1
O
O
O
G
7
3
2
1
O
O
O
G
7
3
2
1
O
O
O
C
7
3
2
4
1
O
O
C
7
3
2
4
1
O
O
G
7
3
2
1
O
O
O
C
7
3
2
4
1
O
O
G
7
3
2
1
O
O
O
C
7
3
2
4
1
O
O
G
7
3
2
1
O
O
O
3
2
4
1
O
O
F
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
C
7
3
2
4
1
O
O
C
7
3
2
4
1
O
O
C
7
3
2
4
1
O
O
C
7
C
7
3
2
4
1
O
O
F
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
F
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
F
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
The Daily Drill
Learn the feel
5 min Play one key very slowly. Internalise where each hit lands in the bar. Feel the rhythmic shape — that's what defines this style. 15 min Cycle three keys at a time. The shape is the same; only the transposition changes. Pay attention to how black-key starts shift the hand position. 8 min Apply: pick a blues you know (Now's the Time , Billie's Bounce , Tenor Madness ) and play this comping style behind a recorded soloist. 3 min Cycle through all twelve keys without stopping. The blues form is one chorus; twelve choruses lets you experience the style in every key.
Two notes per chord. The bones the rest of the harmony hangs from.