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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 am enjoying your style of teaching, and you’ve done a great job with the videos….good sound quality and well constructed lessons.  Balances the more guitaristic material found on the majority of guitar based programs.  Jazz vocab is what I’m all about at this point in the journey.   I especially dig the fact that you’ve studied with Bergonzi…helps me see his voluminous output in a more  bite sized way.
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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

Your material is great! I got your New Altissimo Lesson 6 months ago and I have learned more from that than in all my 44 years of playing! I appreciate your down to earth teaching method and I really appreciate the heart that you teach with. I have been a subscriber to your lessons for the past 6 months and I have learned a great deal. Over that period of time I have had some questions and you have never failed to respond. Thanks! I have already recommended your lessons to a number of players in… Read more

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Ed Woodmansee

I am enjoying your style of teaching, and you’ve done a great job with the videos….good sound quality and well constructed lessons.  Balances the more guitaristic material found on the majority of guitar based programs.  Jazz vocab is what I’m all about at this point in the journey.  I especially dig the fact that you’ve studied with Bergonzi…helps me see his voluminous output in a more bite sized way.

Milton
Just a brief note to compliment you on your teaching skills and in particular for the honesty of your lessons.  I am a returning alto sax player in my 50’s and I was looking for a no nonsense, straight to the point kind of guidance. I had intended to email you with a few questions regarding the use of the bis key but then I noticed that there was a lesson on that specific topic and after viewing it,  all my questions were answered. I once took a group lesson with a well known professional sax … Read more
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Steve- I joined your site this month and have downloaded 4 lessons and also purchased your new book and video on diatonic patterns. I just want to say I am very pleased with your approach and teaching techniques. I am getting back into playing after laying off for some time. The information you offer on your site is of great value and I am enjoying being a member. Thank you for what you are doing for the saxophone community.
Tony

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