Masterclass
Using the Blues to Expand our Harmonic Knowledge
About this masterclass
Mike's Master Classes founder Mike Gellar presents his first class on the site, using the familiar 12-bar blues as a foundation for building harmonic knowledge. Starting from the most basic three-chord blues, he adds alternate changes chorus by chorus, evolving into ii-V-I, I-VI-ii-V, and other progressions you'll meet constantly in jazz.
What's covered
- A series of blues progressions on the accompanying PDF, each adding new chords (the IV chord in bar 2, the V7 turnaround, and more)
- The chord numbering system — thinking in I, IV, V so progressions transpose to any key instead of being memorized note-by-note
- How dominant chords resolve down a fifth, and how that opens up VI-ii-V motion within the blues
- Leaner four-string voicings that drop superfluous doubled notes, with muting fingerings explained
- Pedal tones and approach chords
Targeted at beginning and intermediate players, this class helps you understand progressions so they become part of your playing — making it easier to learn tunes, transcribe chord changes, and play the blues with more variety.
Lessons in this masterclass
Lessons
- 1Using the Blues to Expand our Harmonic Knowledge Full Class + Download35m 41s
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About the instructor
Mike Gellar →
Mike Gellar – Founder / Owner Mike saw The Beatles on Ed Sullivan and he’s wanted to play guitar since then. He started at the age of 9 and played in Rock and Top 40 groups as a teenager. In college, Mike was introduced to jazz and has been loving listening to and playing it since then. He first studied with Frostburg guitarist Bill Bitner, and later with Larry Wooldridge in Baltimore. Most of Mike’s development has occurred while gigging with some of the finest DC area musicians. In parallel with Mike’s interest in music, he worked as a CPA for several years and then for decades was a Functional Financial Consultant assisting clients implementing ERP, or large business systems. Mike has also been an avid sailor and has been racing a Flying Scot at Deep Creek Lake, MD for years. In 2006, Mike started Mike’s Master Classes with a network of world-class guitarists he had known and with many more after that, and the business has grown steadily since then. In 2008, Mike partnered with Jeremy Oms to expand the offerings of Mike’s Master Classes. Jeremy created the new web site and has implemented many new features for Mike’s Master Classes Students as well as expanded the reach of Mike’s Master Classes to many new students.