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You are here: Home / Jazz Lessons / Blues Scales / 12 Great A7 Dominant Blues Licks Lesson
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12 Great A7 Dominant Blues Licks Lesson

12 Great A7 Dominant Blues Licks Lesson

Rated 5.00 out of 5 based on 2 customer ratings
(2 customer reviews)

$9.99

SKU: 048 Category: Blues Scales Tags: blues licks, blues scale, jazz improvisation, patterns
  • Description
  • Reviews (2)
  • Lesson Sample

Description

The dominant chord is one of the most important and frequently encountered chords in all styles of music.  From Jazz to Rock, from Funk to Pop, learning to play over the Dominant Seventh chord is an essential requirement for any player.

In this lesson,  I show you 12 great blues licks using the Blues Scales you’re already familiar with, to create great sounding lines over a Dominant Seventh chord.  Listen and then play along with the blues licks on the PDF sheet included with the lesson.  I demonstrate each blues lick a number of times on the tenor saxophone, so that you can hear the phrasing, inflections and style of each lick.  I also demonstrate and discuss adding different notes to the basic Blues Scale to create more modern hip sounding lines.  I demonstrate how to handle the different notes of the Blues Scale over a Dominant sound.  I talk about the inherent tension of the Dominant Chord and how you can learn to create and resolve tension in your solo.  I demonstrate this concept on my tenor sax, so that you can actually hear how each note wants to resolve. I also explain what is happening in each blues lick and why different notes of the scale want to resolve in different ways.  Once you hear and understand this idea, rather than just memorizing these blues licks, you’ll learn how to create your own great sounding blues licks based upon this concept.
I also discuss my approach to practicing and internalizing these blues licks and give you ideas for making your practice enjoyable as well as productive by using play-along tracks and blues, pop and funk tunes you might have in your collection.

This lesson makes a great follow up to my earlier Blues Lessons and will really get you using the Blues Scale in a whole new way.  (30 Minute Audio Lesson)

2 reviews for 12 Great A7 Dominant Blues Licks Lesson

  1. Avatar
    Rated 5 out of 5

    C.N. – July 4, 2009

    Wow!!!!!!!!!! Do you need some ideas to add to your blues repertoire? If you do, start right here! You won’t need anything else for quite a while. I really enjoy this lesson! (actually, I enjoy all of them) But, this one, Wow!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you Steve! C.N.

  2. Avatar
    Rated 5 out of 5

    Greg – September 26, 2018

    Hi Steve
    Today I’ve been playing through a lesson that you created on A7 blues licks and it provided the missing link for me between major and minor blues. How you’ve emphasized the 4th and flat 7th brings an authentic dominant blues sound alive. I just wanted to say thank you for a terrific lesson and I’m glad you are still teaching and sharing what works so clearly.

    I’m going to buy your dominant blues book and pick up a few more brilliant ideas.

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Lesson Sample

https://public.neffmusic.com/12%20Blues%20Licks%20clip.mp4

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I’ve been having ‘ online’  lessons with Steve for a few months now. Being a teacher myself I had had some reservations with the idea at first and the practicalities of it .  Let me just say that my playing has taken a huge leaps forward while studying with Steve and continues to do so.Steve studied with some renowned player/teachers such as Bergonzi and Garzone– this in itself is invaluable but Steve teaches from his own books, which cover a a vast amount of  jazz language. Steve h… Read more
David
Your major diatonic patterns book is great. I”m studying the first twenty patterns (first twenty pages) each day with different articulation each day and slowly increasing the tempo each week or so.  There is a noticeable improvement in finger coordination across all keys and its amazing how much more secure I feel on the difficult keys when attempting to play pieces with 5+ flats/sharps. I’m able to sort out the fingerings for these pieces now much more quickly than before, often in one or two … Read more
Geoff
I can’t say enough about my membership at Neff Music. Steve has taken the mystery out of playing the saxophone well and improvising both jazz and rock music. Like most struggling players I have a load of all sorts of books on my shelf just gathering dust. Books that I didn’t understand or know how to put to use…or just have the time to go threw them. Steve’s lessons really simplify things and he puts it in a way that I can understand. They inspire me to keep pushing and having him as my guide or… Read more
Ken
First, I’m really excited about your materials! This site is a vast resource for any aspiring (and maybe already inspired) jazz musicians. I’m not a sax player, I play mandolin and fiddle, but have been learning jazz and playing weekly with a quintet for the past 6 months and have been struggling with all of the issues you get into in your lessons. I bought several books and lessons and plan to continue with some others as soon as I organize my practice routine. Thanks again for a great site … Read more
Tony Galfano
Thank you for the wealth of helpful lessons you’ve provided over the years.  I truly feel as though it has improved my playing more than the 4 years I spent at Berklee… and that’s not a slight on the school as I loved my experience there.
John
John

Steve, just a note to say thanks.

I’ve been playing a long time, but your material, laid out in such a thoughtful way, helps me to understand concepts in a new and deeper way.

You are a true gift to the jazz community.

60 lessons and going strong,

Kevin Ledbetter

Kevin Ledbetter
I just wanted to write a thank you note to you for this website. I play and teach saxophone, but I have always been intimidated by the gear aspect. Your website has helped me become a lot more knowledgable. Your knowledge is staggering! I’m telling all my students about your website. Pierre
Pierre

Hello Steve,

I have not received my alto yet but have already gone through 14 lessons. I love your approach, style, knowledge and competence. I now regret so much to have stayed away from playing the sax for the past 45-50 years…(I am 65).  But It is never too late to get back to your first love. After 23 years in compuer sciences and 22 years in finances…I am now back to music for the rest of my life.

Doing some research on the net, I found this:

http://forum.saxontheweb.net/showthread.php?1… Read more

Claude

Never really had lessons before just kinda worked things out on my own. Was in a rut but your lessons are really helpful in opening melodic possibilities. Ur an awesome resource to the saxophone community. Thanks for sharing. 

Anthony
Hi Steve, I live in a gorgeous but rural area of Oregon-no music store within 80 miles. Your lessons are my lifeline!  Truly the best there are anywhere online. Love your playing. Love your teaching.  Thanks again. Ed
Ed Woodmansee

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