3 Blues Piano Techniques EVERY Beginner Should Know

Here are three blues techniques anyone starting out learning blues piano should know.

When people first start out learning the blues, they usually start off with a blues scale, and a basic 12 bar blues pattern in the left hand.

They may even dive straight into starting to improvise. The first technique you can add to get that classic blues sound are crushed notes, or sometimes known as slide notes.

You can’t bend a note like you can with other instruments like guitars, so this is the equivalent on the piano. And all you need to do is quickly slide up or down a half-step, preferably landing on one of the notes in the scale.

 

Another great technique for beginners to introduce early on in their improvising which sound really cool, are circles.

And what do I mean by circles?

I simply mean taking 3 notes and playing them around in a loop a few times.

 

And finally the last technique which can really transform your blues playing is octave harmony.

Adding an octave harmony to your blues scale is a really effective technique, and one that you’ll hear advanced blues pianists using all the time. But its possible for beginners to introduce this into their playing, and it sound great.

To do this technique, play the root note of the key you are playing in up an octave as you play other notes from the scale. 

 

This may take some separate practice in your right hand first, as you’ll have to get used to using your little finger above, which means changing the fingering you may have learnt for the scale, but it really is worth it when you can include this in your playing.

 

You can download the PDF for these blues piano techniques here: 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sasXlAgPIUmQHXcgT4i46i0qW8UPxqr6/view?usp=share_link

 

If you found this useful, you may be interested in my in-depth blues piano courses below:

Blues Piano & Improvisation for Beginners

Step-by-step blues piano lessons for beginners. Have fun learning blues piano and improvisation with this properly planned course. Learn more about this course HERE.

 

OR

 

Blues Piano & Improvisation - The Next Level - Slow Blues

Improvise Blues Piano in the "Slow Blues" Style | An early to advanced Blues Piano Course. Learn more about this course HERE.

 

You can also get instant access to all courses on Birds Piano Academy with the monthly subscription. Find out more HERE.