12-bar blues variant

[miharbi]

Bb F Bb Bb/F F F7 Bb Bb7 C7 Bb Gm D7

Came up with it playing around on the keys today.. It's fun, and weird.

[miharbi]

Another fun one:

D Ebmaj7 Eb7 Dm7 Eb Gm Am7 Dm7/F G D/B Am7 Aaug

[miharbi]

One more...

E/C Absus2 Absus4 Eb/Ab
Ebsus2 Ebm Ebm7b5 D--Bm7
E E7 E/C E/B

This is the kind of thing I wish there was more of on this forum - actual nuts and bolts creative sharing. Here's a lick to try, here's a cool polyrhythm I found, here's an unusual song structure, etc, Maybe I'm alone in that... anyway happy thanksgiving to the yankees!

(I just got around to seeing Avatar. Holy s, it's blue giant porn. I had no idea.)

[jazzman1945]

miharbi,for the creation of new blues versions You use hardware random chords generator?

[zcottovision]

My one. Keep top note F and they're all 7th chords. Two chords per bar.

F F | E Eb | D Db | C B | Bb Ab | G Gb | F E | Eb D | Db C | B Bb | A Ab | G Gb :|

Try it, it's really hip to throw in especially without a bassist.

[jazzman1945]

Originally Posted by zcottovision

My one. Keep top note F and they're all 7th chords. Two chords per bar.

F F | E Eb | D Db | C B | Bb Ab | G Gb | F E | Eb D | Db C | B Bb | A Ab | G Gb :|

Try it, it's really hip to throw in especially without a bassist.

Yes, it is quite logical. You can build a line of chords in an upward motion:

F | F# | G | G# A | Bb | B | C C# | D | Eb | E | F Ab | G Gb ||

[miharbi]

Originally Posted by zcottovision

My one. Keep top note F and they're all 7th chords. Two chords per bar.

F F | E Eb | D Db | C B | Bb Ab | G Gb | F E | Eb D | Db C | B Bb | A Ab | G Gb :|

Try it, it's really hip to throw in especially without a bassist.

But is that a blues? Purists might say the progressions I posted above aren't blues either. And, fair enough, if you think 12-bar blues has to be built around I, IV, and a V-based turnaround, or something derived from that. My intuition is that for a 12-bar blues to be recognizable as such it needs an A section, a B section, and a turnaround, and maybe a bit of bluesiness, ie, 7th or altered chords before changes.

[zcottovision]

Originally Posted by miharbi

But is that a blues? Purists might say the progressions I posted above aren't blues either. And, fair enough, if you think 12-bar blues has to be built around I, IV, and a V-based turnaround, or something derived from that. My intuition is that for a 12-bar blues to be recognizable as such it needs an A section, a B section, and a turnaround, and maybe a bit of bluesiness, ie, 7th or altered chords before changes.

Yes, it's a blues. It starts on I, goes to IV in bar 4, back to I in bar 6, tritone substitutes the ii, and tritone substitutes a iii-vi-ii-V turnaround. You could say a Parker blues isn't a blues but it definitely is.

[miharbi]

Originally Posted by zcottovision

Yes, it's a blues. It starts on I, goes to IV in bar 4, back to I in bar 6, tritone substitutes the ii, and tritone substitutes a iii-vi-ii-V turnaround. You could say a Parker blues isn't a blues but it definitely is.

Could you post a quick recording or a link to a song or something where your progression is used?

[timeistight]

Originally Posted by zcottovision

Yes, it's a blues. It starts on I, goes to IV in bar 4, back to I in bar 6...

You mean "goes to IV in bar 5, back to I in bar 7," right?

[engelbach]

Originally Posted by zcottovision

Yes, it's a blues. It starts on I, goes to IV in bar 4, back to I in bar 6, tritone substitutes the ii, and tritone substitutes a iii-vi-ii-V turnaround. You could say a Parker blues isn't a blues but it definitely is.

I think the point can be made that although it's a twelve-bar tune and it hits the right chords in the right measures, it doesn't sound like a blues. It sounds like a descending (mostly) chromatic progression.

[zcottovision]

Originally Posted by timeistight

You mean "goes to IV in bar 5, back to I in bar 7," right?

Yep, sorry!

[zcottovision]

Originally Posted by miharbi

Could you post a quick recording or a link to a song or something where your progression is used?

I worked out the idea in my head then remembered I'd heard it elsewhere, and this is where:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3SrYqkLmdk

Kenny Barron and Brad Mehldau play Billie's Bounce, and it's on the second chorus of Brad's solo. Listen from around 2:30. It's not the exact same as my chords but similar.

[miharbi]

Originally Posted by zcottovision

I worked out the idea in my head then remembered I'd heard it elsewhere, and this is where:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3SrYqkLmdk

Kenny Barron and Brad Mehldau play Billie's Bounce, and it's on the second chorus of Brad's solo. Listen from around 2:30. It's not the exact same as my chords but similar.

Thanks for the link. Quite a display, that performance, but I don't know, I'd call that rendition blues-inspired at most. I mean, it's a 12-bar blues like "O Brother Where Art Thou" is an adaptation of "The Odyssey", or like a stealth bomber is an updated glider. You can hear the ghost of the ancestor. Parker's "Billie's Bounce" has something more than a ghost of blues form. Anyway, labels are just labels. They really don't matter. And that is a fine progression, whatever we call it.

[miharbi]

Here's a bunch more I wrote up. If anyone wants to make use of these, feel free...

1.
|Gm - - - |Bb - - - |Edim7 - - - |Eb7 - - - |
|Dm - - - |A - Dm - |G - - - |Gsus2b5 - - - |
|G - - - |C7 - - - |F - - - |Dm7 - D7 - |

2.
|Asus2 - - - |Fmaj7 - - - |Am - - - |Asus2b5 - - - |
|B7 - - - |B7 - - - |Baug - - - |B7 - - - |
|C#m7 - - - |Dmaj7 - - - |F#dim - - - |Dm6 - - - |

3.
|C - - - |C7 - - - |Eb7 - C7 - |C7 - Fm - |
|Db - - - |Db7 - - - |Ebm - - - |Ab - Abm/Eb - |
|E - - - |A - F#m - |B7 - - - |B - D/B - |

4.
|Bb - - - |Gb7 - Ab7 - |Bb - - - |Bb7/D - - - |
|Eb - - - |Db/Eb - - - |Eb - - - |Db/Eb - Eb7 - |
|Bb9 - Ab - |Bb9 - Cm7 - |Cm7 - - - |F - Faug - |

5.
|Eb - - - |Eb - - - |Eb - - - |Fm - - - |
|Eb - - - |Fm6 - - - |Fm6 - Ddim7 - |Bb - Bb7 - |
|Bb - - - |Bb - - - |Gm7 - Fm(maj7) - |C7 - D7 - |

6.
|C - - - |C7 - - - |C(b5) - - - |C(b5) - - - |
|F - - - |Faug - - - |F/Bb - - - |C7 - - - |
|F - - - |Bb7 - - - |C7 - - - |Dm7 - - - |

7.
|Asus4b2 - - - |Asus4b2 - - - |A - - - |Asus4b2 - - - |
|Dmb6 - - - |Dmb6 - - - |Asus4b2 - - - |Asus4b2 - F#dim - |
|Gdim - - - |D#7 - D# - |D#aug - Em - |A - Aaug/E - |

8.
|F - - - |Bb7 - - - |Fm7 - - - |Bb7 - - - |
|Bb7 - - - |E7 - - - |E7b9 - - - |Bb7 - - - |
|Ebsus4 - Ebmaj7 - |Ab - Bb7 - |Eb - C7 - |C7 - Cm7 - |

9.
|Fm - Bb - |Cm - - - |Cm7 - - - |Cm#5 - Cm - |
|Absus2b5 - - - |Absus2b5 - - - |Absus2b5 - - - |Ab - - - |
|Eb - - - |Bb7 - - - |Fm - - - |C - C7 - |

10.
|Dm/G - - - |Fmaj7 - - - |A/E - - - |Asus4/B - - - |
|A - - - |E/A - - - |E/A - - - |Esus2/B - - - |
|B - - - |B - - - |G - - - |G7 - C/G - |

11.
|C7sus2 - - - |C6sus2 - - - |Cm(add9) - - - |Am7b5 - - - |
|Gaug(add#9) - - - |Am7b5 - - - |Gm7 - - - |Bb7 - - - |
|Cm7 - - - |Fm6 - - - |Cm7 - - - |F7 - - - |

12.
|Em - - - |A7 - - - |Em7 - - - |A7 - Bb - |
|D#sus2 - D# - |D#m - D#7 - |F# - - - |B/F# - - - |
|Em - - - |B7 - - - |Em - - - |B7 - - - |

13.
|G - - - |G7 - - - |C7 - - - |C - - - |
|C7sus4 - - - |C7#9 - - - |F - - - |G7 - - - |
|C - F6 - |Dm - - - |Dm - Gaug - |F#sus4 - - - |

14.
|Gsus2 - F6 - |Bb/G - - - |Eb - - - |Ab7/Eb - - - |
|Caug - - - |F7 - - - |F(b9) - - - |Bb7/D - - - |
|Ebm - - - |Eb - Eb7sus4 - |Ab - - - |Adim - D7 - |

15.
|D - D/F - |D/F# - - - |D - - - |A7 - - - |
|D - D/F - |D/F# - - - |Am7 - - - |Em - - - |
|A/E - A/F - |A/E - A/C# - |G/B - - - |F#m/A - - - |

16.
|Fmaj7 - - - |Fmaj7 - - - |Fm(maj7) - Fm6 - |Bb - - - |
|Am - - - |Am - E7 - |A - - - |Amaj7 - - - |
|Amaj7 - - - |Fm7 - - - |Cm7- - - |Dm7 - Em7 - |

17.
|Ab7 - - - |Ab7 - C7#9 - |Ab7 - C7#9 - |Ab7 - Ab - |
|Fm7b5 - - - |Fm7b5 - - - |Db9 - - - |Db9 - - - |
|Gb - - - |Absus4 - - - |Ebm7 - - - |Ebm7 - - - |