Gospel Blues
Gospel music and the Blues are intimately linked. Gospel tunes are often based on the blues progression and because of this the Blues naturally lends itself to gospel style inflection. Wynton Kelly elegantly demonstrates this two-sides-of-a-coin relationship on his gospel inflected blues solo over the changes to his tune Old Clothes from his 1959 Riverside release Kelly Blue. The secret to achieving this gospel blues sound is revealed through an analysis of his solo in this lesson.

Click on a segment below to watch the lesson.

Introduction 3:37  |  Playing the Gospel Lick 2:04  |  Theory of the Gospel Lick 2:26  |  Gospel Blues 4:34

Lesson Stats
When added: 1/24/09; Duration: 16 minutes.

Prerequisites
Moderate keyboard proficiency. Ability to read notation and play all 12 major scales. This lesson is agood prerequisites: The Five Essential 7th Chords

Quizzes
Quiz 1: Gospel Blues Warmup Quiz
Quiz 2: Gospel Blues Quiz

Practice Sessions & Playalongs
Practice Session 1: Write out the triads used in gospel blues.
Practice Session 2: Play the gospel blues triads.
Practice Session 3: Play the gospel blues triads in inversions.
Practice Session 4: Improvise with the gospel blues triads.
Download the Practice Sessions and Playalongs for this lesson.

Includes play-alongs for practice sessions in MIDI, Band-in-a-Box™ and GarageBand formats.

Further Reading and Listening