Is this sequence of dominant notes a blues?

[devnulljp]

That's a I, vi, ii, V. Common progression, esp in jazz.

 

[oren]

The fifth note of A-major is E, with C# being the (major) 3rd.

Sorry to be confusing - I just meant that the C# was the missing note of the pentatonic scale in addition to the list of four notes cited in the original post.

 

[mrcbass]

I kind of concur with @Whousedtoplay: that progression would not invoke blues feeling on it's own. As has been pointed out, it is a pretty common "jazz cliché" progression. Your "blues cliché" will hang more around the I IV V patterns.

But anything can be blues with the right rhythm section and feel. Expect a rhythm and blues mood if you apply blues feel to that progression.

 

[brianrost]

As others have written, the I vi ii V is a super common progression. It's grown pretty rare in modern pop music, though.

Closely related is I vi IV V (because the ii and IV triads share two notes) which was the doo-wop progression. If you ever get a chance to play tunes from the "Swing Era" of the 30s and 40s, I vi ii V is everywhere. When learning jazz, it's the second mountain to climb after learning the blues.

 

[Whousedtoplay]

I vi ii V is everywhere. When learning jazz, it's the second mountain to climb after learning the blues.

I see we have a lot of "speed-readers".

Has ANYONE checked that it's an A MAJOR - F# MAJOR chord progression???
Where does ANYBODY see that "smooth" and "silky" I vi ii V progression?

 

[brianrost]

I see we have a lot of "speed-readers".
Has ANYONE checked that it's an A MAJOR - F# MAJOR chord progression???
Where does ANYBODY see that "smooth" and "silky" I vi ii V progression?

OK, so it's a series of secondary dominants...I VI7 II7 V7. The reason it works is the same reason I vi ii V works...moving by fifths.

 

[Whousedtoplay]

OK, so it's a series of secondary dominants...I VI7 II7 V7. The reason it works is the same reason I vi ii V works...moving by fifths.

Now, we are moving into something closer to the OP's "strange" question.
The OP has not mentioned any 7ths chords!
(That's why I have offered the OP to substitute those simple major chords into the 7ths chords.)

The OP (for some unknown to me reason) just wrote, ALL MAJOR CHORDS.
I have not seen any chord extensions or alterations; therefore,
I have expressed my personal opinion that the OP's provided chord sequence reminds me of some GRUNGE - the Seattle sound - music with POWER CHORDS.

 

[Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati]

I agree. You're basically asking theoretical questions, so the answers are theoretical. And the fact you're asking these questions suggests that you have the motivation to learn a little theory so you can answer them -- or at least understand everybody else's answers.

Yes, agreed although some of the answers are constructed in a very formal way which may be the subject of study for those who want to embrace a career as a professional musician, which, alas, is not my case for obvious registry reasons

 

[Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati]

Now, we are moving into something closer to the OP's "strange" question.
The OP has not mentioned any 7ths chords!
(That's why I have offered the OP to substitute those simple major chords into the 7ths chords.)

The OP (for some unknown to me reason) just wrote, ALL MAJOR CHORDS.
I have not seen any chord extensions or alterations; therefore,
I have expressed my personal opinion that the OP's provided chord sequence reminds me of some GRUNGE - the Seattle sound - music with POWER CHORDS.

No, in reality it’s a jazz tune so I presume some of the chords may be in the 7th register which means not much to me, due to my limited music theory knowledge (also because I’m just the bass player), aside from the fact that they are frequently found in blues/jazz music .. let’s say that if the piano player starts playing along this progression (major chords in the 7th register and also not) I may be able to provide a solid support

 

[Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati]

Sorry to be confusing - I just meant that the C# was the missing note of the pentatonic scale in addition to the list of four notes cited in the original post.

In fact it can be added!

 

[Whousedtoplay]

Let's look at a

No, in reality it’s a jazz tune so I presume some of the chords may be in the 7th register which means not much to me, due to my limited music theory knowledge (also because I’m just the bass player), aside from the fact that they are frequently found in blues/jazz music .. let’s say that if the piano player starts playing along this progression (major chords in the 7th register and also not) I may be able to provide a solid support

I think it would be a good idea to start learning about the basics of chords - major/minor (just) triads.
Next thing (not now) would be learning the 7th chords.

And the last point.
Let's take Nirvana's - GRUNGE - "In Bloom".
Here is INTRO:

Bb (MAJOR) and G (MAJOR) as in your
A major and F# major.

Now, let's look at another Nirvana's song, Lithium where the chords are "swinging" between G (MAJOR) and Bb (MAJOR) back and forth.
Just like your A (major) and F#(major).

I hope my dear TB "friends" can see WHY I have heard some Grunge in the OP's provided chord progression.

 

[Lobster11]

Yes, agreed although some of the answers are constructed in a very formal way which may be the subject of study for those who want to embrace a career as a professional musician, which, alas, is not my case for obvious registry reasons

Learning some basic music theory is definitely NOT only for professionals. A few hours of reading or watching videos will teach you most of what you need to greatly improve your ability to learn new songs, create basslines, and communicate with other musicians effectively about these things. For example, you would know why the notes A, F#, B, and E all sound good against an A major chord (as well as which other notes also would); you would also know why the chords A, F#min, Bmin, and E sound all sound good within a song (in the key of A major). Really, it's not difficult and would be very much worth a little of your time!

 

[Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati]

Learning some basic music theory is definitely NOT only for professionals. A few hours of reading or watching videos will teach you most of what you need to greatly improve your ability to learn new songs, create basslines, and communicate with other musicians effectively about these things. For example, you would know why the notes A, F#, B, and E all sound good against an A major chord (as well as which other notes also would); you would also know why the chords A, F#min, Bmin, and E sound all sound good within a song (in the key of A major). Really, it's not difficult and would be very much worth a little of your time!

Yeah but major or minor, I’ll always have to play the same root note on a given chord .. composition can be assisted by this kind of knowledge but it’s often not essential; I’m quite creative when it comes to melody although I’ve got some difficulties in generating chords over melodies and that’s what you are referring to, which is true.
However, at 49 years, working as a PM on a multi hundreds million euros underground construction site, sucks almost all my free time, and, in order to properly understand what many of you guys have said here, I believe it won’t be a matter of hours unfortunately.
I just wanted a confirmation about the fact that there was a bluesy/jazzy feeling characterising the progression I had in mind, which I’ve got, although I could get an hint of it going over the bass’ fretboard and recognising that F# is the VI note of the A major scale.
I’ll get lessons after retiring, promised.

 

[Lobster11]

Yeah but major or minor, I’ll always have to play the same root note on a given chord .. composition can be assisted by this kind of knowledge but it’s often not essential; I’m quite creative when it comes to melody although I’ve got some difficulties in generating chords over melodies and that’s what you are referring to, which is true.
However, at 49 years, working as a PM on a multi hundreds million euros underground construction site, sucks almost all my free time, and, in order to properly understand what many of you guys have said here, I believe it won’t be a matter of hours unfortunately.
I just wanted a confirmation about the fact that there was a bluesy/jazzy feeling characterising the progression I had in mind, which I’ve got, although I could get an hint of it going over the bass’ fretboard and recognising that F# is the VI note of the A major scale.
I’ll get lessons after retiring, promised.

Haha! I didn't even pick up a bass (my first instrument) until my early 40s, and have struggled to find adequate time for it due to my own time-consuming career.

Seriously, I think you are greatly overestimating the time and difficulty required to learn some basic music theory. (I keep emphasizing "basic" because yes, there's plenty of advanced stuff that could take a lifetime to learn -- but you won't need that stuff unless you plan to become a professional jazz or classical musician -- which you obviously don't.) There are lots of beginner-level books on music theory -- many with titles like "...for Idiots" or "...for Dummies." (I think the one I used was "Music Theory for Dummies.") Pick up one of those and read a chapter per week, or even a chapter every two weeks. If you wait until retirement you will kick yourself for not having done it 20 years earlier!

 

[brianrost]

No, in reality it’s a jazz tune so I presume some of the chords may be in the 7th register which means not much to me, due to my limited music theory knowledge

Ok, the thing about secondary dominants that I mentioned is based on this fact: In a major key, the chord built off the fifth, when extended to the 7th, is always a dominant 7.

In A, that's an E7: E G# B D The dominant 7 chord naturally resolves to the Imaj7 chord. In A: A C# E G#.

The E7 chord contains G# which is the (major) 7 in the A major scale. G# resolving to A is a cadence, the strongest possible resolution in a major key.

So what's a secondary dominant? The rule is that you can approach any chord by the dominant 7 chord in the key of that chord's root. So in your progression, with all chords 7ths:

Amaj7 F#7 B7 E7

Moving backwards, B7 is the dominant chord in the key of E major. F#7 is the dominant chord in the key of B major. When using a secondary dominant in place of the minor second in ii V7 (i.e. B7 to E7 rather than Bmin7 to E7) it is sometimes referred to as a five of five. This is used in the basic bridge of rhythm changes, III7 VI7 II7 V7. In the key of A major this would be:

C#7 F#7 B7 E7

The E7 resolves back to the Amaj7 to begin the last 8 bars of the 32 bar form.

 

[Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati]

Haha! I didn't even pick up a bass (my first instrument) until my early 40s, and have struggled to find adequate time for it due to my own time-consuming career.

Seriously, I think you are greatly overestimating the time and difficulty required to learn some basic music theory. (I keep emphasizing "basic" because yes, there's plenty of advanced stuff that could take a lifetime to learn -- but you won't need that stuff unless you plan to become a professional jazz or classical musician -- which you obviously don't.) There are lots of beginner-level books on music theory -- many with titles like "...for Idiots" or "...for Dummies." (I think the one I used was "Music Theory for Dummies.") Pick up one of those and read a chapter per week, or even a chapter every two weeks. If you wait until retirement you will kick yourself for not having done it 20 years earlier!

I’d like a book focused on blues and a transition towards jazz .. not interested in other subjects; do you have a couple of valid suggestions?

 

[SteveCS]

I’d like a book focused on blues and a transition towards jazz .. not interested in other subjects; do you have a couple of valid suggestions?

If you know nothing - which by your own admission is the case - then I would reconsider this response. For the most part, music theory is not genre-specific. The basics, which is where you need to start, are the same no matter the genre. They create a foundation upon which everything else sits - as a civil engineering project manager you will understand the importance of good foundations.

The 'Dummies' book covers pretty much everything you will need to know. It also has short sections focussed on form, blues and jazz improvisation; something most single-volume theory books do not have. More detailed expositions of the genres will have more detail but will also make assumptions that you already know the basics, which you currently do not. Looking at the table of contents tells me that the 'Dummies' book is a valid suggestion.

 

[Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati]

Who knows? Maybe somebody published a super-useful genre-specific materia which will allow to avoid all the super tedious subjects aimed at demonstrating that, chords-wise (this example is referred to a note but to be transferred to the chords field), a D# is the same as Eb, if it's clear what I mean = a lot of stuff is useful but not as useful as something else written with a certain mindset and a given goal.
It's about 25 years that I play, I'm not a novice at all and, frankly speaking, I'm in line with what I could expect when I started playing, being provided with a well-developed sense of music and rhythm but not having had the opportunity to develop all this in a formal way.
So, sorry, I hear what you say but I'm following my inclinations, possibilities and needs

 

[SteveCS]

Who knows? Maybe somebody published a super-useful genre-specific materia which will allow to avoid all the super tedious subjects aimed at demonstrating that, chords-wise (this example is referred to a note but to be transferred to the chords field), a D# is the same as Eb, if it's clear what I mean = a lot of stuff is useful but not as useful as something else written with a certain mindset and a given goal.
It's about 25 years that I play, I'm not a novice at all and, frankly speaking, I'm in line with what I could expect when I started playing, being provided with a well-developed sense of music and rhythm but not having had the opportunity to develop all this in a formal way.
So, sorry, I hear what you say but I'm following my inclinations, possibilities and needs

OK, but with respect, unless and until you have the basics under your belt, a solid and correct understanding of the more advanced stuff will continue to elude you. This thread is already evidence of that. The 25 years you have spent playing might help you conceptualise things a little more easily when you do start to study. IMHO it coults for little right now because in a music theory sense you are still a novice. Following your inclinations will not change that.

Just to be clear before I duck out, there are no shortcuts. Even just the time spent writing here might have been better spent working through some basics that would help you decode at least some of the answers already provided. On the other hand, per @Lobster11:

...
Seriously, I think you are greatly overestimating the time and difficulty required to learn some basic music theory.
...

 

[Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati]

OK, but with respect, unless and until you have the basics under your belt, a solid and correct understanding of the more advanced stuff will continue to elude you. This thread is already evidence of that. The 25 years you have spent playing might help you conceptualise things a little more easily when you do start to study. IMHO it coults for little right now because in a music theory sense you are still a novice. Following your inclinations will not change that.

Just to be clear before I duck out, there are no shortcuts. Even just the time spent writing here might have been better spent working through some basics that would help you decode at least some of the answers already provided. On the other hand, per @Lobster11:

For sure I need to focus on other subjects than only playing, otherwise I wouldn't be posting here ..
I shall find the time and concentrate.