Thanks for the explanations :) i was getting confused with the roman numerals and numbers but i get that now then numbers are only used when describing a note or chord but the roman numerals re for describing the distance of notes and chords from the root note so if i were to play a blues chord progression in E minor where im playing I (Emin), IV (Amin) and V(Bmin or 7?) if i then wanted to place a bVI chord in that progression would that be a C? and if so why does it sound horrible when i play it minor and nice when played major? Also a question for douglas' when u wrote the notes of the d minor scale was that the notes or the chords which should be used when playing blues as i thought the notes were

D
E
F
G
A
A# / Bb
C

i can see that the root note for the chord is the same as the notes in the scale but how do you know which voicing for each chord? Im understanding the scale degrees a little better now which i thankyou for both of your replies though daunting at first (im not much of a theory guy!) really helped i just dont get how u know if its for example a minor, 7 or min(b5) (wich im assuming is an E minor chord where you take the 5 mote and make it flat?)

And one last thing! could you reccomend any books or dvd's if poss dvd's would be better i find i take it in easier when watching a dvd as opposed to reading which are good for my standard of music understanding im not great with theory i admit but i really am eager to learn this stuff as it will help in the future you guys are a great source but i dont want to be bugging you everytime i get stuck which im sure will be often!