Jackson Blues

I just remembered a Jackson Blues variation I like to teach around Halloween that makes it sound a little creepy: RH – for each chord, move finger 3 down a 1/2 step (makes them minor chords – they don’t need to know that if they…

• Last updated 2 years ago
• blues variation, Dog, Halloween, Halloween Dog?, Jackson Blues, Laurie Richards, major vs. minor, minor chords, minor keys, Minuet in G, new variation, Nightmares, sleeping, Spooky Jackson, Spooky Minuet, variation, variations

Question: I have just signed on a Special Needs student. She is 9 years old. Her favorite song is Happy Birthday. Mum said they play that every day! I know we normally teach this at the end of Foundation Level 1 but I would like…

• Last updated 2 years ago
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I have been through the library of ECL posts on the topic of duets and gleaned the following ideas: Honey Dew with Melody on top Jackson Blues (or any other blues song) with blues scale improv on top Amazing Grace with melody on top Chester…

• Last updated 3 years ago
• Amazing Grace, Australian Waterfall, blues, blues scale, Chester, chester chills out, Christmas, Christmas Carols, Christmas songs, Duet Ideas, duets, fluff pie, foundation duets, Honey Dew, honey dew melody, Jackson Blues, Jingle Bell Blues, Jingle Bells, melody for Amazing Grace, melody for Honey Dew, songs for children, Tear for a Friend

As I am getting students ready for the end of year recital I thought I would share this simple level one idea with you for a duet. While one student plays Chester in the normal position, another student can play Jackson Blues with changes on…

• Last updated 3 years ago
• blues, Chester, chester chills out, Duet Ideas, duets, foundation duets, Jackson Blues

This comes up a lot with students in Accompaniment… which way to play the chords, move them up or down? For instance in Amazing Grace students tend to go up for the F and G chords. Also, should C (or any tonic root notes) be…

• Last updated 4 years ago
• acc, Acc 1, acc1, accomp, Accompaniment‏, accompaniment 1, accompaniment introductions, accompaniment program, Amazing Grace, chord, chord placement, chord strategies, chords, difficulty with accompaniment, I-IV-V chords, Jackson Blues, learning chords, melody for accompaniments, playing chords

Why do we teach the 12-bar blues with CFCC as the first 4 instead of the standard CCCC that is everywhere else? Personally I like the F added in as it makes it more interesting. But does SM have a reason? I’m guessing congruency, so…

• Last updated 4 years ago
• 12 Bar blues, blues, blues & improv, blues & improvisation, Blues and improv, blues and improv program, blues chords, blues songs, blues variation, chord, chord charts, chord progression, chord progressions, chords, finding blues chords, I-IV-V chords, identifying patterns, Jackson Blues, patterns, remembering patterns

In teaching Humpty’s Twins (Jackson Blues arrangement 3), I generally teach RH3 for the middle note of all the chords. I had a student today ask why not RH4 for the middle note of the top chord. Thoughts? I teach the same way, and just…

• Last updated 4 years ago
• adapting fingering, alternate fingering for chords, arrange, arrangement, arrangements, big fingers, blues fingering, chord fingering, chords, figuring out fingering, finger 4, finger adaptations, finger positions, fingering, fingering chords, fingers, hand, humpty, Jackson Blues, large hands, learning arrangements, playing-based arrangements, small hands, teacher preparation for arrangements, Teaching Arrangements, teaching arrangements 1 and 2, thick fingers, unfolding arrangements in class

I have a group of home schooled students. Three are siblings. The oldest one catches on much quicker, and the youngest one struggles, especially with blues pieces. There is one other student in that group from a different family. If they were all different families,…

• Last updated 6 years ago
• different pacing in group, homeschoolers, improvisation, Jackson Blues, pentatonic, shared lessons

I welcome ideas and strategies for helping students “know where to look” when playing, especially if they are playing accompaniments. Some are struggling while trying to look at their left hand and right hand while following the page. I’ve suggested practicing each hand with eyes…

• Last updated 6 years ago
• Accompaniment‏, Jackson Blues, knowing where to look, leaving early, playing without looking at hands, tracking the page

I have a class of students who have had 5 lessons. Today we were reviewing Jackson Blues and I was demonstrating something. One student stopped me and asked a question I’ve never been asked before. She said “Do your middle 3 fingers (left hand) give…

• Last updated 7 years ago
• blues, F1, foundation 1, Jackson Blues, learning from students, level 1, students teaching