Improvisation 18 "Depression Blues"

As far as I can tell, there have been few movements in music as important and influential as the blues. Its influence can be felt as far as 50s pop and 20th century classical music all the way to the present day. George Gershwin provides a great example of the tremendous influence of the blues. While he obviously borrowed from the tradition for his "Rhapsody in Blue," Gershwin also heavily influenced Maurice Ravel, injecting a bluesy-jazzy flavor into some of the composer's own music.
One of the most important aspects of the blues is the vocal aspect of it and the ideas it expresses. According to Rev. Robert Jones, the songwriter, singer, and instrumentalist Willie Dixon once said, "When a man sings a song to God and heaven, he sings a spiritual. When he sings to earth and man, he sings the blues." The lyrics are often broken into an AAB pattern, where the first set up some kind of premise which B usually answers.
The most distinct aspect of the blues is its use of harmony. The standard 12-bar blues is (I7x4) (IV7x2, I7x2) (V7, IV7, I7x2). All of these chords are major-minor seventh chords. While literally dominant seventh chords, these changes do not function in any way that resembles the standard Western model. Within each of these chords, the third is treated as a blues note. This means that it can oscillate between major, minor, or something halfway between the two.
For this improv, I have used a standard 12-bar blues as a model with an added IV7 in the first section of three. I also occasionally substitute a minor v chord for the V7. Structurally, I modelled the improvisation off of a large scale 32-bar song form (AABA). For each A, I went through a single cycle of the 12-bar blues (with additions and subtractions to the changes). Between each section, I did an "instrumental" response to the "vocal" part. For the B section, I used a circle of fifths progression with dominant seventh chords. While I improvised, I also thought out what lyrics would go to the melody line. As an aid to listening, I would suggest imagining your own lyrics to go with the music.
If you like my work, considering sharing it and also subscribing.
References:
Rev. Robert Jones - "Take My Hand, Precious Lord": • Rev. Robert Jones - "T...
Blues Field Recording: • Belton Sutherland: Blu...
Blues Guitar Tutorials (Rev. Robert Jones): • Blues Guitar Lesson - ...
Images taken from:
art.newcity.com/2019/10/15/sh...
www.historylink.org/File/740
www.businessinsider.com/new-y...
#blues #piano #improvisation #greatdepression