When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?

To access the course materials, assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience when you enroll in a course. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid. The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.

What will I get if I purchase the Certificate?

When you purchase a Certificate you get access to all course materials, including graded assignments. Upon completing the course, your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile.

Is financial aid available?

Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.

The Blues: Understanding and Performing an American Art Form

3 days left! Save on skills that make you shine with 40% off 3 months of Coursera Plus. Save now

The Blues: Understanding and Performing an American Art Form

Instructor: Dariusz Terefenko

35,442 already enrolled

Included with

Learn more

7 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

611 reviews

Beginner level

No prior experience required

Flexible schedule

1 week at 10 hours a week

Learn at your own pace

97%

Most learners liked this course

7 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

611 reviews

Beginner level

No prior experience required

Flexible schedule

1 week at 10 hours a week

Learn at your own pace

97%

Most learners liked this course

What you'll learn

Students will be able to describe the blues as an important musical form.
Students will be able to explain differences in jazz and other variations of the blues.

Skills you'll gain

Details to know

Shareable certificate

Add to your LinkedIn profile

Assessments

7 assignments

Taught in English

91%

of learners achieved a positive career outcome

See how employees at top companies are mastering in-demand skills

Learn more about Coursera for Business

logos of Petrobras, TATA, Danone, Capgemini, P&G and L'Oreal

There are 7 modules in this course

The blues is an American art form and the most important musical form in jazz. Although there are other formal paradigms of the blues, such as 8-bar or 16-bar, this course focuses on different incarnations of the 12-bar blues. There are considerable differences between Early Jazz blues, Swing blues, Bebop blues, Modal blues, and Post Bop blues. Each type has its unique harmonic syntax, melodic vocabulary and, associated with them, improvisational techniques. While other aspects of jazz performance practice have been constantly changing from one stylistic convention to another, the blues has never lost its identity and expressive power, and continues to exert a powerful influence on the harmonic and melodic syntax of jazz.

This seven-week course explores important aspects of the blues, blues improvisation, basic keyboard textures, jazz harmonic and melodic syntax. Topics include: (1) Blues Progressions; (2) Blues and Other Scales; (3) Improvisational Tools, and others. This course will also cover valuable theoretical concepts enabling the student to master the art of jazz improvisation. Each topic will be introduced from a practical perspective with the clearly stated goal: to improve one’s improvisational skills. Jazz improvisation is rooted in spontaneity, creativity, self-expression and, at the same time, self-control and order. A unique pedagogical approach based on a one-to-one musical interaction conducted with different instrumentalists will help to reinforce many of the concepts introduced in this course and realize its stated objectives.

Module details

Lesson 1 focuses on foundational aspects of the blues, examining its history, innovation, and evolving harmonic structure. At the end of this lecture, students should have a firm understanding of the harmonic structure of the basic, generic, and minor blues forms, as well as a familiarity with the A A’ B phrase-structure of the blues.

What's included

7 videos1 assignment

Lesson 2 dives into what makes the blues tick, beginning with an examination of the blues scale and the basics of jazz rhythms and blues riffs. Students will then explore call and response techniques and application of the blues scale in improvisation through demonstration with a live musician.

What's included

6 videos1 assignment

Lesson 3 introduces the concept of guide tones and its association with invertible counterpoint. Four-part and five-part chords are discussed in detail by exploring their construction and function, as well as techniques to facilitate good voice-leading between chords using chordal inversions.

What's included

7 videos1 assignment

In lesson 4 students analyze harmonic progressions from 3 jazz standards: “Now’s The Time,” “Billie’s Bounce,” and “Blues For Alice.” Practice techniques are discussed, including ear-training strategies, rhythmic displacement, and voice-leading exercises.

What's included

7 videos1 assignment

7 videosTotal 52 minutes

Lesson 4 Introduction (2:42)3 minutes
“Now’s the Time” Progression - Analysis (5:45)6 minutes
Ear Training Strategies (9:11)9 minutes
“Billie’s Bounce” Progression - Analysis (4:49)5 minutes
Rhythmic Displacement (10:34)11 minutes
“Blues for Alice” Progression - Analysis (6:06)6 minutes
Practical Tips (13:01)13 minutes

1 assignmentTotal 30 minutes

Quiz - Lesson 430 minutes

Lesson 5 introduces 3 more jazz standards for analysis: “Mr. PC,” “Mr. Day,” and “Isotope.” Tritone substitutions are examined, and pentatonic scale as tools in improvisation are introduced through exploration of their construction, typical voicings, and voice-leading principles.

What's included

8 videos1 assignment

8 videosTotal 65 minutes

Lesson 5 Introduction (2:39)3 minutes
“Mr. PC” Progression – Analysis and Tritone Substitutions (10:49)11 minutes
Pentatonics and Pentatonic Voicings (13:44)14 minutes
“Mr. Day” Progression – Analysis (3:36)4 minutes
Pentatonic Voicings – Voice-Leading Principles (7:20)7 minutes
Pentatonic Voicings – Practical Exercises (6:09)6 minutes
“Isotope” Progression – Analysis (8:00)8 minutes
The Drop-Two Voicing Technique (12:48)13 minutes

1 assignmentTotal 30 minutes

Quiz - Lesson 530 minutes

Lesson 6 centers around the demonstration of improvisational techniques discussed thus far, including motivic development, guide-tone lines, and chordal arpeggiation. Observation of live Eastman musicians, as well as play-along tracks provided by the rhythm section, allow the student to imitate, assimilate, and apply the techniques discussed in the course.

What's included

14 videos1 assignment

14 videosTotal 87 minutes

Lesson 6 Introduction and “Half Past Nine” (4:55)5 minutes
Techniques of Motivic Improvisation (13:19)13 minutes
Demonstration of Motivic Improvisation (3:30)4 minutes
Play-Along Session – “Now is the Time” Progression (4:19)4 minutes
“Billie’s Dance” (3:12)3 minutes
Guide-Tone Improvisation (15:38)16 minutes
Demonstration of Guide-Tone Improvisation (3:49)4 minutes
Play-Along Session – “Billie’s Bounce” Progression (4:19)4 minutes
“Birdie Song” (3:46)4 minutes
Chordal Arpeggiation – 4-Part Chords (11:14)11 minutes
Demonstration of Arpeggiation of 4-part Chords (4:16)4 minutes
Chordal Arpeggiation – 5-Part Chords (5:54)6 minutes
Demonstration of Arpeggiation of 5-part Chords (4:30)4 minutes
Play-Along Session – “Blues for Alice” Progression (4:16)4 minutes

1 assignmentTotal 30 minutes

Quiz - Lesson 630 minutes

Lesson 7 explores modal categories and scalar patterns in improvisation, in addition to continued discussion on pentatonics. As in the previous lesson, live musicians demonstrate key concepts and principles presented in the lecture, with additional play-along tracks provided for the student to explore concepts on their own.