Re: Learning to play improv over I IV V blues.

Dylan wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> As part of my structured training for diatonic harmonica, I need to
> jam over backing tracks. Are there any rules I need to know when
> leading from one chord to the next? For example, playing 12 bar blues
> - how do I lead up to the IV chord in bar 5, when I'm playing in bar
> 4 ?
> 
> Regards
> Dylan
> 

Buy some records with great blues harmonica players and figure out what 
they did.

 From a theoretical standpoint your question is too vague. There's lots 
of things you could do at the point of that chord change. I don't know 
how skilled you are on harmonica or how aware you are of the notes that 
you're playing, but two of the strongest guide-tone lines you can play 
off of as C7 moves to F7 is the former chord's Bb and E falling to the 
latter chord's A and Eb.

C7     F7
E(3)---Eb(b7)
Bb(b7)-A(3)

As a matter of fact, closely following the 3rds and the 7ths movement 
between most chords in most progressions is usually a good thing to do.

With my beginner guitar students one of the first things I get them to 
do on a blues is to learn the blues scale built on the tonic of the key 
and to use it through the entire form.
That's one single scale used over several different chords. Sometimes we 
call that a "horizontal" approach to note choice.
Then I teach them to arpeggiate each individual chord and then to 
improvise melodies that use only chord-tones on the chord-of-the-moment. 
This is called a "vertical" approach.

Then I get them to practice mixing up the two.
2 bars of chord-tones alternating with 2 bars of the blues scale, etc.
2 bars blues, 2 bars CTs.
Etc. Etc. Etc.

That gives them a pretty start, as far as note choice on a blues is 
concerned.

-- 
Joey Goldstein
<http://www.joeygoldstein.com>
<http://homepage.mac.com/josephgoldstein/AudioClips/audio.htm>
joegold AT sympatico DOT ca