Hi Helen,

This page (http://learnjazzpiano.com/index.mv?sub_page=lesson_menu.txt&page=lesson2.txt) gives some info on the blues scale and the 12 bar blues form. There are probably better sites, and certainly better books. You can search the Internet using google.com and the words blues-chords-scales-etc. I once taught a 14-year-old boy piano. (I'm now teaching a 14-year-old boy come to think about it!) This fellow didn't want to learn to read music, so most of my methods were out the window. He didn't respond to writing his own songs (ditties) with the I, IV, V7 chords. Nor would he write a "sad" song using minor keys. Nor would he write an "oriental sounding song" using the black keys. But when another person showed him the blues scale and the 12 bar form, he really took off writing his own music. He also loved to play along with a tape or CD. (Ray Charles, George Winston) His favorite was "Hit the Road, Jack" to play along with a tape and improvise a melody by just hitting notes of the chords that were played. He had quite a nice voice, and was uninhibited as a 10 year old, so the first song he learned was "Great Balls of Fire" where all he had to do was hit a few chords, then sing!

By change another tune first...what I meant was like in a "hootenany" or jam, where you sing along with the song being performed, but make up your own tune/harmony/descant to the underlying chord structure. Actually, I was concerned with the young man's age and motivation and thought breaking up the task into smaller chunks would make it easier.

When kids are exposed to this approach early on, they seem to be very comfortable with making up their own tunes.

Let us know it goes.

Mary