In a nutshell. The following ideas create a gradually 'increasing in chord complexity' succession of choruses of the 12 bar blues in 'C' minor. We're just building a jazzy solo really, correlating 'advancing harmonic complexity' with larger melodic options while 'building up excitement' through tension and its release. The first few are common enough, but as the harmony becomes more involved through chord substitution, creating blues lines 'through' the changes becomes the challenge. So, more of a jazzers approach than the more 'muddy' orientated cats. Luckily, anything can be anywhere yes? So find what you dig and put it where you want it :) Four / Four, 4/4 time throughout, think 'big 4' all along in 'C' minor.

Play the bass line. In all of these choruses that follow, consider playing just the roots of the suggested chords to get a sense of the bass story line that evolves in each successive chorus. This bass story line lives in all of our musics, and is a historical connector, a central thread of our Americana story line weaves.

Arpeggios win the day, everyday :) In the following choruses of 12 bar blues, there's some rather involved harmony and chord progressions. The interval motions between the roots of the chords are mostly a perfect 4th leap, or chromatically, so by half step. In figuring out a way to create melody lines, simply spell out the pitches of the chord on your instrument as a place to start.

These 'spelled out' chords are their arpeggios. Arpeggios will always tell us what chord is in play, win the day, at any given moment, everyday. Cool with spelling out the letter name pitches that create our chords? Total game changer once this ability is solid. Total game changer. These spelled out pitches in themselves are and can be creative melody lines, just add some fancy rhythm, swing, 'even 1/8'ths', sequences and permutations. All good :)

The modern pentatonic option :) As all part of our Americana evolutions, we get to cycle on back to the start and paint the pentatonic colors over the changes. This gives us the two basic options. We can 'parent' scale any blues with the blue notes. And a blues scale octave to octave is often a pentatonic minor with an octave 'splitter' tritone. Second we can apply a pentatonic group to every chord. And while this might sound crazy, especially when there's like 23 different chords in one 12 bar chorus, it is a 'modern' way to improvise over changes in the Americana way and has been for near 60 years now, and now with a couple of generations of variations of course. Thinking 'C' minor blues ... ahh shucks ... here we go :)

First chorus. Starting out right at the core of it all, your basic 1, 4, 5 / 12 bar minor blues In 'C' minor blues. Wow, look familiar? Cool. No? Just review the 12 bar blues form or learn it right now for it's right here.

Second chorus. Extending the tonic color to include the ninth. Substituting the Four chord, so a fast Four, for One in bar 2. Using the altered dominant to close the chorus and set up the next.

Third chorus. Subbing in the diatonic Two minor seventh flat five / chord to begin the third, four bar phrase.

3 x 4 = 12 bars

Fourth chorus. Creating a Two / Five in bar 38. Using the constant structure / half step lead in for the motion to Four in bar 40. Subbing out for the tonic in bar 44 with a dominant chord built on the Six, setting up the motion to the Two chord by perfect 4th in bar 45. Using the augmented fifth color in the turnaround, flat Six then flat Seven before the dominant seventh flat nine color built on Five setting up the next chorus.

Fifth chorus. Note new abbreviated chord symbol to designate minor chord, 'min' becomes 'm.' Using the suspended fourth color and ...

... 'moving stepwise, up ascending then down descending through the pitches of 'C' minor.'

~ C D Eb F Eb D C ~

Although this realization looks pretty thick, although the root of the chord changes, the voicing is the same to protect the, i.e., one voicing is moved as a constant structure to achieve this magical effect. Also referred to as plane-ing. A more modern sound really, and with the 'sus', lending some '80's' 'fusion' to the mix.

Sixth chorus. Evolving stepwise to chromatic, we sub out for the sus 4 color to the minor ninth. Five of Five in bar 9, which moves by half step downward towards the tonic in bar 10. The flat Two major nine in bar 12 is not common and cool color to set up the next chorus in minor. Many love this flat Two motion, it adds a glimmer of brighter light in the minor shading, and makes for a solid vamp in all sorts of grooves.