Looking for something to practise? Well, here’s a great challenge for you! Let’s work on a playing one chorus of a 12 bar blues in all 12 keys.
This 12 Bar Blues, 12 Key Challenge is going to be great for working on your fluency, and help you build your core jazz language. By practising this 12 bar blues in all 12 keys, it’s going to really help you ingrain licks by Sonny Rollins, Charlie Parker and Clifford Brown into your playing. Not only that, but there’s also plenty of enclosures and approach notes, plus diminished harmony and altered scale lines! All of this is the core sort of jazz language that we want to be playing when we improvise.
Let’s get to it!
Why work on this 12 Bar Blues, 12 key Challenge?
Firstly, playing this blues in all 12 keys will be fantastic for developing your overall fluency. Because you’re taking the same 12 bars of music and transposing them into every key, it will also do wonders for the consistency of your playing. By working in this way, you’ll gradually experience fewer of those moments where you feel stuck or unsure when playing in a more awkward key.
Not only that, but because you’ll be playing the same musical language and licks repeatedly, you’ll really begin to ingrain these sounds in your ears. The more familiar you become with them, the more naturally they’ll start to come out in your playing.
Ultimately, this approach will not only help to strengthen your improvising, but it should also make transcribing faster and easier. As you become more accustomed to hearing and recognising these types of sounds, you’ll find it much easier to understand and work out what you’re hearing.
Free PDF & Backing Tracks Download Form
Complete the form to download your free PDF of this 12 Bar Blues, 12 Key Challenge for either Eb or Bb saxophones, plus there are 6 different backing track speeds available so you can find the right level for you!
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Let me know how you get on in the comments!
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Happy practising!
Best wishes, Nathan