Keys for blues

[Tennessee Jed]

What are the most common keys in which blues songs are played? When do the blues scales come into play?

[glauber]

The common guitar keys: G, D, C. Blues scales are used all the time.

[mandocrucian]

E and A are the primo guitar keys.

[ira]

i find when i play with others- i wind up in some variation of any of the five listed, though guitar players generally favor E. i tend to go for variations on A or D. but da blues are da blues no matter what key you do em in! as long as your feeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelin it!

[ShaneJ]

The blues scale comes into play when you're playing blues.....generally.

As Niles said, guitar players usually play blues in E or A. Sometimes, they'll tune down 1/2 step or a full step and play in "E" while actually in Eb or D.

Rich Delgrosso plays a lot in G blues scale on mandolin. If your guitar-playing buddy wants to play in E shapes, then have him capo up 3 frets.

[ira]

one thing to consider is...who is singing and what is that person's optimal range. we all have a few keys that will help our voice sound better. that is a good way to choose keys.

[Dennis Schubert]

Play where the singer wants it, unless you can find a way to "capo" the vocalist. Not likely.

If you must play a lot in E, which seems to be bluesman's favorite, tune your mando down three frets (to EBF#C#, Yank Rachell style) so that your G licks come out in the key of E.

And don't forget your capo -- the bluegrass police don't come around blues jams very often, so you won't get caught.

Scales? Stick with 1-b3-4-5-b7-1 for everything and you can't go too wrong.

Open tunings for slide or strumming? Lots of 'em -- GDGD or AEAE with the 5th on top, ADAD or BEBE with the root on top. GDGB is interesting, too. Don't leave home without your capo for these tunings, either.

[mandroid]

What the others are playing .. getting used to Bb after a few weeks of playing along by ear..

on my own Im in C ,#s G D A E, relative minors slip in and out too.

closed movable patterns make transitions to F, Bb, a reasonable task, if thats what Im hearing the others in.

diatonic harmony, maj and minor intervals so as to find suitable partials in any key , harmonizing melody line.

playing with a honkytonk tuned(?) pianist makes accidentals sound purposeful.

[smilnJackB]

Interesting.. My friends and I do blues mostly in G and E. For E, I play use a capo and play in D. When playing guitar, I use 'drop D'. I capo (2) all but the bass E string and play in the key of D to get the sound of E. That allows a 6 string strum for the D chord and I really like the sound. I likes them blues. Jack

[johnsmusic]

Ironweed said "If you must play a lot in E, which seems to be bluesman's favorite, tune your mando down three frets (to EBF#C#, Yank Rachell style) so that your G licks come out in the key of E."
I gave this a try on my National, one of the new ones, that I have strung with the Bush Monels. It actually works out really well. Thought that the strings might play sloppy but the tension is reasonable. John #

[Dennis Schubert]

I found that "minus 3 frets" tuning to be real comfy on my Johnson reso-mando, partially mitigated by the longer-than-standard scale length. And less down-force on the resonator cone -- due to looser strings -- seems to improve the tone, too.

[johnsmusic]

Tone is no problem on the National. The thing is AWESOME!

[Tennessee Jed]

A few weeks ago when I first read about the Yank Rachell tuning from another thread I tuned my Johnson beginner mandolin to E-B-F#-C#. I break it out occasionally now for tunes in E. I'm not patient enough to change the tuning on my regular mandolin for blues tunes in E and then re-tune it back again. I works well and even though the Johnson sounded lousy in G-D-A-E it's not too bad with the alternate tuning.

[Christian McKee]

"...Capo the vocalist."

A capo: a metal, springloaded or otherwise tensioned clamp applied to an instrument's neck.

Heh, I've met a few singers I've wanted to "capo."



C.

[Perry]

F and Bb for jazzers

[pefjr]

What are the most common keys in which blues songs are played? When do the blues scales come into play?

Well lets see now.......

I woke up this mornin
look round for my mando
had that blues feelin
do re me fa so ........
la tay doeeeeee

Any key will do, just find that blue note in the scale, it's usually hiding somewhere.

[250sc]

If you play jazz you'll find Bb and F are common.

(Sorry, I just saw that someone else said the same thing.)

[Big Rig]

I tend to gravitate to C more than often, such a fun key.

[pefjr]

If you play jazz you'll find Bb and F are common.

If you play Jazz, you have already played Blues, right? In most cases that is. Take the original creators of Jazz, talented bunch, too talented for simple 12 bar blues, so they took blues and dressed it up, improved it, added to it, improvised it into an uptown position, right? The modern Jazz players do the same, they don't start with Jazz, in most cases. We start with a cotton field blues tune , a lot of those blues are in E, but E is too low on the scale key for dressed up Jazz right? We move it uptown. Most of us... except Ol Sausage, he takes a Waltz and turns it into the blues, ... and then has the audacity to make it sound so good it "moves' you. Musicians are funny aren't they? So, anyway, I have answered the eternal question of "What came first ?, the chicken or the egg??
Now for the next question,

When do the blues scales come into play?

Anytime you need them, like Chubby Wise when he wrote the Bluegrass National Anthem, 'Orange Blossom Special'. He used the 12 bar blues to do it. Sorry about the ramble, I am just improvising a post, jazzing it up so to speak.

[ralph johansson]

What are the most common keys in which blues songs are played? When do the blues scales come into play?

Mandolin players are expected to play in all keys. If there's a singer he/she dictates the key - DO NOT ARGUE! If the key is unfamilar, familiarize yourself with it, go home and shed.
In purely instrumental music, although there really is no such thing as "difficult" keys, each key offers its own possibilities
(in first position), e.g., F#, B, and E are very good keys for the blues. If you can, minimize those keys that have open string tonics and fifths, i.e., G, D; and A, because these invite finger phrases. By no means reduce to these keys with the aid of a capo, that can be very limiting in the long run (those who conceive of this advice as policing don't understand music). The more keys you master the more you will discover within each key.

Scales? Basically there are two extremes. One is the modal approach, superimposing the blues (or minor penta) scale over just about any chord. The other is the harmonic approach, that treats each chord individually, playing through and around the chord notes, scalewise, arpeggiowise, etc., possibly extending (ninth, thirteenth) or coloring the harmony. How to combine and balance the two approaches and expand on them is for you to explore.

[Samjessin]

Lots of Mississippi Sheiks stuff in Bb and Eb. All first position!

[greg_tsam]

And don't forget your capo -- the bluegrass police don't come around blues jams very often, so you won't get caught.

We're watching you!

[Barry Wilson]

I just can't concieve using a capo on a mandolin, I dunno. for guitar finger picking stuff, ya I can see it.

[Big Joe]

I own a capo, though I am not quite sure where it is. I rarely use it. However, I have played blues in every key and on guitar, bass, mandolin, and banjo. It really does not matter what key you use. If there is a vocalist you need to play where they can sing. If it is an instrumental just use the key needed by the guys. Still, if you can play it in one key, you should be able to play in all keys.

[Phil Goodson]

........, like Chubby Wise when he wrote the Bluegrass National Anthem, 'Orange Blossom Special'. He used the 12 bar blues to do it. ....

Or maybe Ervin Rouse, <according to most>.