Pentatonic Blues

This "Pentatonic Blues" is built on a special pentatonic scale which is completely symmetric with respect to its scale steps, from C1 up to C6

Cool piece, Hansen. I liked how you worked with certain blues conventions like the I, IV, V progression and threw your symmetrical pentatonic scale overtop. What if you took this blues idea further? For example: what if you listened to a blues piano recording and imitated it's style within context of your own tonality?

I also like feel like the piece is dragging a bit right now and could be sped up by just a hair.

Thank you very much for your comment. Indeed, "certain blues conventions like the I, IV, V progression" floated easily out of improvising on the pentatonic scale which I invented for this case (on a regular ||: 2 3 :|| pattern of semitones). Although there are no real I, IV, V blues changes, only similar sounding ones.

Do you know a good blues piano recording to listen to? Would be very nice to get inspired in this way.

Nice piece. Just a little theory for you here in case you ever want to add more "colorful tones" to your impovising... my trumpet teacher taught me this.

For every major chord that you have, you can use I, II, and V chordal tones. For minor chords, you can use bIII, IV and bVII chordal tones.

Here's the formula he gave me:

In any X Maj7, Play triads on I, II, V

In any X-7, Play Major Triads on bIII, IV, bVII

Now don't get me wrong here, I like this piece, but it doesn't necessarily have to have as many "safe" notes as it does :)

Also look up the track entitled "Blues" on Art Blakey's Live at Birdland Album.

Hans:

I liked this piece a lot. It's very cool, and of course pentatonic. HOWEVER, there were many places where you repeated bars for 3 or 4 times, and that can get a tad bit boring. But in general, It's really cool. How long you been composing?

Thanx to Heckelphone and Jimmyjuicin for your comments!

This is my first blues on a decidedly developed pentatonic scale (a ||: 2 3 :|| pattern repeated throughout five octaves). Hopefully, this scale will help me to devise some more interesting chorusses when improvising on this piece.

Thank you both for criticism and advice for furthering my blues composition skill. Another help is the fine "Jazz Theory Book" by Mark Levine.

Your chords: refreshing, clean, sharp, free. I kinda like it. I think you should make another piece with the same kind of chords but this time just go nuts. I mean really take the chords over the top; Don't spare us any degree of zanny bizzareness.

I liked this too. And saw some of the symmetric chords, however you call them.

But as I see it now, your theory is not yet fully demonstrated. Maybe for some chord buidling, but not for overall chord progressions.

I don't know if this piece is appropriate to your song, but it's really awesome bluesy piano.

check out, Black Beauty by Duke Ellington.

These are all really good videos for more blues info.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pk5sE1ZZVP4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RplnUWe2YpI&feature=related

And don't forget:

http://www.pgmusic.com/riffaday_eb.php?riff=1