Blues School: Grace Notes

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Grace notes are a fun and easy way to add some bluesy edge to your sound…

Each grace note is typically a blue note that slides into its related chord tone (b3 into 3 or b5 into 5).

First, listen to a typical Blues lick played without Grace Notes…

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Now listen to the same idea played with Grace Notes…

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Technique & Interpretation Tips

  1. Don’t play the grace note too short. Allow enough time for the bluesiness of each grace note to make an impression.
  2. Play the grace note and the target note as a single musical and physical impulse.
  3. When the grace note is a black key and the main note a white key, slide the very same finger off of the black note onto the white note.
  4. When going from white to white or white to black, you need to use different fingers, but the same notion applies: Play the grace note and the target note as a single musical and physical impulse, not two separate ideas.

Watch on YouTube

learn more… Repeated Notes