The piano is an important instrument in many different styles of music. The piano also has a place in the history of the blues because of the variety of notes that can be played on it and the availability of the piano in most places during the evolution of the blues. The piano began as an important tool and still is today for playing the blues.

The Reasons For Blues Piano

Blues piano became incorporation into the blues style of music because of many reasons. The first reason is that the piano contains all the notes on a modern twelve-tone scale. The piano has a wider octave range than any other blues instrument including trumpets and saxophones. Blues piano can be used for any part in a band including bass, baritone, tenor, alto and soprano. This is how the blues piano became a staple of the blue bands. The piano was able to fill in any gaps that the bands had missing when they went to play.

Another reason that the blues piano is so popular and predominant in the history of the blues is that pianos were more widely available to people when the blues came about. In America, the piano was one of the most prized sources of entertainment in the home. Before television, radio and even electricity, a piano was where everyone in the house gathered to listen to music and perform for family and friends. This is how blues piano became a part of most blues bands.

Since there were so many blues pianos in the country, there were also a lot of blues piano players. Everyone knew someone that could play, and this has become a tradition that the nation has seemed to lose over the years. Pianos were also common in the church. This is how most people back in the day were able to hear music and be able to accompany singing groups. A lot of musicians started out learning to play the piano above any other instruments available.

Blues piano was integrated into the blues scene also because of the ease of improvising. A piano gave any blues musician the freedom to improvise on stage with notes, octave and chords that were combined to form new progressions and a wide variety of blues music. Blues not only turned improvising musicians in musicians that could read music, but it also allowed those who studied classical piano to be able to learn how to play blues music for themselves.