If you're a saxophonist interested in playing any type of blues based music including rock and roll and even jazz then you need to use the blues scale as your number one tool to make things sound right.
A little history
If you want to investigate back to the beginnings of the blues as it came about in America just start with W.C. Handy, who was a black composer active in the early 1900's when the blues form began to get popularized in large part because of his instrumental compositions "Memphis Blues" (1912) and "St. Louis Blues" (1914). Of coarse the blues oral tradition can be traced back to the mid 1800's.
The blues scale
Because our western music has it's roots in European classical music the music theorists needed to notate the blues scale as it was naturally played and sung into an understandable notation which could be analyzed and played by western trained musicians.
The simplest way to explain it's theory is this:
Simply take the traditional major scale; C D E F G A B C and flatten the 3rd, 5th, and 7th. Now it looks like this: C D Eb E F Gb G A Bb C.
(Please look at the example on my website for the full musical notation). Notice the E, G, and B have been flattened, they are the 3rd, 5th and 7th notes of the C major scale and flattening them makes the scale sound minor thus giving it the "blues" or sad sound as opposed to the "major" or happy sound.
For us sax players these flat notes are perfect to incorporate a "growl" sound to further emphasize that "bluesy" expression or make it a bit more nasty. Two other things to notice; the 3rd and 5th can be played as a flat or not but the 7th generally is only played as a flat and not the major 7th in this type of scale or musical genre. (for some audio examples please refer to the website version of this article).
So now our basic major scale of 8 notes is now a blues scale of 10 notes. There are other variations to this blues scale; the basic version for example is a 7 note scale: C Eb F F# G Bb C (the F# being the same as the Gb). Adding the D, E natural and A give us more musical possibilities and will not change the basic sound of the blues scale. Even adding a flat 9th ( D flat) was a favorite thing Charlie Parker did a lot and is a good way to jazz up your phrases.
The blues progression
Of coarse this is all just words and notes and theory. You have to apply it and in any blues music this is done over a musical progression thats 12 measures in length, thus the term "12 bar blues".
We're in the key of C so the first 4 bars will be the C chord. The 5th and 6th bars change to the 4 chord which is F (4th note in the C scale).
The 7th and 8th bars change back to the 1 chord (C). The 9th and 10th bars change to the 5 chord, which is G. The 11th and 12th bars change back to the 1 chord (C). There are variations in this 12 bar pattern and can be seen on the website version of this article.
When starting out you can get away with just playing the same C blues scale over the entire progression but try to emphasize 1 or 2 of the notes in the F and G chord to make things a little more interesting. For example, over the F chord play an F or an A note to emphasize the harmonic color of the chord a little more.
In conclusion
The blues mean different things to many people ranging from musical styles to a way of life or philosophy. The blues do have musical influences from Europe and Africa but it is truly an American musical form and tradition fully rooted in the black experience of the post-war southern United States.
I want to be clear that when I talk about the blues or the blues scale I'm not only referring to this type of musical tradition and style but include funk, R&B, country, jazz and pop. Like the old saying goes; The blues had a baby and they names it rock & roll and from there came just about every form of pop music in western history since that explosive time in the mid 1900's
And so, I think it's safe to say that the blues scale is easily one of the most used and important scales for all types of western popular music.

Experience the full article on saxophone blues scales complete with music notation and audio sample and learn about important artists who made contributions to great American Blues and Rock & Roll.
Johnny Ferreira is an award winning saxophonist, international touring and recording artist. Advocator of saxophone music that rocks, jumps, and swings! For more articles, information, and music visit http://JohnnyFerreira.com


Trace Adkins Songs About Me Country Music CD Review
The exceptionally talented Country artist Trace Adkins has released him CD entitled Songs About Me. I am very confident and happy to announce that I believe Trace Adkins fans, and Country fans alike will be pleased with this one. With the release of Songs About Me Trace Adkins’s artistic excellence is on full display as Adkins has once again delivered a brilliant collection of tracks that could very well be him best work to date.
Refreshingly, this was one of those CDs I was able to just pop in and comfortably listen to from beginning to end. Every track is enjoyable and was pretty easy for me to listen to from start to finish.
Trace Adkins has been a heavy hitter in the Country genre for quite a while now and Songs About Me is an excellent illustration as to why.
One of the refreshingly nice things about this CD is the way all of the participating artists seem to be really enjoying themselves. Combine that with the overall presentation and you’ve got one of Trace Adkins’s most impressive releases ever.
Overall Songs About Me is a solid release. Quite possibly Trace Adkins's best to date. Really sensational from beginning to end. Delivering a little something for everyone. I give it my highest recommendation. It’s quite simply great listening. A must buy for the Country fan.
While this entire CD is outstanding some of my favorites are track 2 - Find Me A Preacher, track 4 - I Wish I Was You, and track 8 - I Learned How To Love From You
My SmoothLee Bonus Pick, and the one that got Sore [...as in "Stuck On REpeat"] is track 11 - Honky Tonk Badonkadonk. Great track!
Songs About Me Release Notes:
Trace Adkins originally released Songs About Me on Mar 22, 2005 on the Capitol Nashville label.
CD Track List Follows:
1. Songs About Me 2. Find Me A Preacher 3. My Way Back 4. I Wish It Was You 5. Arlington 6. Baby I'm Home 7. Metropolis 8. I Learned How To Love From You 9. My Heaven 10. Bring It On 11. Honky Tonk Badonkadonk
Personnel include: Trace Adkins (vocals); Bryan Sutton (acoustic guitar); Pat Buchanan, Tom Bukovac (electric guitar); Paul Franklin (pedal steel guitar); Aubrey Haynie (fiddle); Gordon Mote (Hammond b-3 organ); Mike Brignardello (bass instrument); Greg Morrow (drums, percussion); Mickey Raphael. Recording information: Cartee Day Studios, Nashville, Tennessee.

Clyde Lee Dennis a life long music enthusiast, writes CD reviews and is also the Business Editor at Denver.eNewsBriefs.com covering topics like Denver Jobs and more. Visit Denver eNewsBriefs for the latest Denver News


Wayman Tisdale Hang Time Smooth Jazz Music CD Review
Wayman Tisdale has released him most recent CD entitled Hang Time.
I wish it weren’t the case but, it’s not everyday that I get a CD from an artist that I can just pop in and comfortably listen to from beginning to end. There is usually a song or two that I just can’t force myself to get through. Not at all the case with Hang Time. Every track is enjoyable and was pretty easy for me to listen to from start to finish.
Hang Time is a nicely varied, mix of 12 tracks that are very well written songs by this clearly superb artist. Most of the songs display a lot of the kind emotion that makes for a really great listen. Seemingly drawing from what I can only imagine are him own personal experiences. At different points touching on the most real emotions like love, heartbreak, pain, failed relationships and unattainable romance. They’re all here.
Smooth Jazz music fans will recognize some of the well known guests that have been assembled to play along with Tisdale on several of the tracks. Artists like Jeff Lorber and Dave Forman just to name a couple.
If you’re a Wayman Tisdale fan, or just a fan of Smooth Jazz music this is a CD your collection simply should not be without.
Listen to Hang Time and I believe you’ll find there's not much to dis-like about it. The songs are inspired, the production is simply outstanding, and Wayman Tisdale is clearly in top form. So much so that if you're even mildly into Smooth Jazz music you'll enjoy this CD.
While this entire CD is really very good the truly standout tunes are track 1 - Ready To Hang, track 4 - Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now, and track 10 - The Time Is Here.
My SmoothLee Bonus Pick, and the one that got Sore [...as in "Stuck On REpeat"] is track 11 - Off Into It. Wow!
Hang Time Release Notes:
Wayman Tisdale originally released Hang Time on Jul 13, 2004 on the Rendezvous Records label.
CD Track List Follows:
1. Ready To Hang 2. Creative Juices 3. Cruisin' 4. Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now 5. My World 6. Hang Time 7. Better Days 8. Everything In You 9. Even When 10. The Time Is Here 11. Off Into It 12. Glory Glory
Personnel include: Wayman Tisdale (vocals, acoustic guitar, keyboards, bass instrument, programming); Jeff Lorber (guitar, keyboards, percussion, programming); Dave Forman (guitar); Jason Rahn (trumpet, flugelhorn); Jimmy Varner Soul (keyboards, programming); Alex Evans (bass instrument); Michael White (drums); Jeff Byrd (percussion). Recording information: Soulstar, Sherman Oaks, CA; Basement Studios, Tulsa, OK; Chase's Place, Phoenix, AZ; From Above Music, Youngstown, Ohio.

Clyde Lee Dennis a life long music enthusiast, writes CD reviews and is also the Food and Dining Editor at Denver.eNewsBriefs.com covering topics like Denver Restaurants and more. Visit Denver eNewsBriefs for the latest Denver News