- Year 9
The blues scale
I can play the notes of the C blues scale and a blues scale melody over the 12-bar blues chords.
- Year 9
The blues scale
I can play the notes of the C blues scale and a blues scale melody over the 12-bar blues chords.
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Lesson details
Key learning points
- The blues scale is a set of notes commonly used in blues music.
- It includes blue notes (flattened notes) which help to give blues music its distinctive sound.
- The C blues scale includes the flats Eb, Gb and Bb.
- We have performed the C blues scale on the keyboard and played a blues scale melody over the 12-bar blues chords.
Keywords
Blues scale - a scale typically used in blues music; it uses blue notes which gives blues its distinctive sound
Blue notes - the lowered or flattened notes in the blues scale, typically the 3rd, 5th and 7th
Flat - this lowers a note by a semitone
Common misconception
The C blues scale can use any of the black notes (flattened notes) on the keyboard.
The blues scale uses specific flattened notes - 3rd, 5th and 7th. It's important for pupils to practise finding these notes and getting used to how the scale sounds.
To help you plan your year 9 music lesson on: The blues scale, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 9 music lesson on: The blues scale, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
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The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 music lessons from the The 12-bar blues unit, dive into the full secondary music curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
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