Martin taylor: the Major 3rd
Adding a little jazz flavour to your blues licks can open up a wealth of new possibilities in your playing – this exclusive six-part series shows you how!
Not Only is this the third instalment of my column, the major 3rd is also the interval we’re going to add into the framework of the minor pentatonic. I hope you’re managing to keep track of the notes we’ve inserted into the scale. The trick is to keep a mental image of the minor pentatonic shape in your mind – it’s your master document here – and look at the ‘extras’ we’re putting in as mere visitors to an old, familiar framework. As you make use of them more and more, it won’t matter what they’re called, you’ll call on them automatically, by thinking what colour or nuance you want to add to a melodic line. It’s worth coming up with your own definition for each of the added intervals: if you think a 6th sounds ‘majestic’ or if it reminds you of the colour red, that’s fine. How you internalise and process this information is up to your own preference. After all, it’s your own voice we want to hear playing over the changes and not someone else’s. The basis of style is your character and your uniqueness as an individual making itself known.
Sweet ’n’ Sour
Let’s look at the role of the 3rd in music generally. To begin with, it’s the principal determining factor that denotes whether a chord or scale is a major or minor and so it has an important job to perform. But what happens when the music being played uses a form of both major and minor 3rd? This is what happens in blues and it doesn’t matter if it’s music from the Mississippi Delta or New Orleans, the same rule applies. It’s just that we use it slightly differently. In straight electric blues, it’s common practice to bend the minor 3rd slightly sharp so that the pitch produced sits on the fence between major and minor. We don’t do that quite as much in jazz blues. Here, we tend to take a lesson from piano players and play the minor, immediately hammering on the major 3rd afterwards. That’s not to say that the 3rd is never bent in jazz guitar playing, it’s just that it’s not quite as common. One thing’s for sure, though; the 3rd in blues adds that important ‘sweet ’n’ sour’ element to your melodic lines and so integrating it is an important step.
The chances are you’re already familiar with this particular interval and have been using it in solos for ages. In which case, it still might be worth checking the music examples to ensure you know all the places in which you can find it in this pentatonic shape and not just on the 3rd string. When you’re sure, move on to studying this month’s solo example. I’ve played two choruses of the 12-bar format and then left enough space for you to play along with the video and experiment by using what you’ve learned. Next month, we’ll take another step towards true jazz blues, but until then, good luck!