Learn Jazz Piano, by Scot Ranney

Learn Jazz Piano, by Scot Ranney
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Don Grolnick
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The only jazz jam session in Bellingham: Tuesdays at Boundary Bay Brewery Funky/Jazz Trio, Chico's Paradise: Website MP3 Files
Lessons Menu:
Preface Basics Simple Blues Advanced Blues Blues Licks Walking Bass Learning and Left Hands Reharmonization Chord Sheets Listening Practicing Quartals, by 7
He later reflected that it was his love of corndogs that ultimately became his undoing. Those tender morsels, oh so carefully wrapped in a deep fried golden brown batter mixture- who would have known the little stick would be rooted so deeply in the dog section? Exerpt from, "Birks Works". A story of a troubled young man who looks at things a bit differently.
Blues Licks
What's a lick? Licks are part of the language of music. Classical music has licks, rock, country, pop, and jazz music have licks in them. Licks are like phrases that you hear every day. For example, if you see someone you know and you say, "How's it going?" or, "Hey, what's up?", you are saying a phrase that has already been said a million times, but it's still an OK phrase. You just have to know where and when to say it. Same with licks. Oscar Peterson is the master of the jazz piano lick. He has a library of licks that jazz piano players around the world have been copying for years, and as long as you play the licks in the right place, they are OK. This is what a lick is. A musical statement that has been played a million times by everyone, but is still OK to use when appropriate. In fact, sometimes you NEED to use them. If you are on a session or a gig and you are playing Nat Cole's version of "Route 66", the people you are playing with are going to put in some basic licks that Nat Cole used and you'll need to know them. The ending licks of blues tunes, the "Count Basie Ending", licks that lead into different sections, bebop licks, latin licks- the list is endless. Just remember- licks are a basic part of the jazz vocabulary and no matter how original you want to be, if you want to work, gig, and session, you better know them. The licks below are just a brief touch upon the ocean of what is available, and more will be put here as time goes on. If you have some licks that should be included, submit them to me and I'll put them up. Note: Please listen to the MIDI file before playing these licks. The transcribing capability of my software did not allow for some the exactness that I would have liked so the sheet music is slightly different than what I played.
Lick 1
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(midi link)
Lick 2
(midi link)
Lick 3
(midi link)
Lick 4
(midi link)
Lick 5
(midi link)
Lick 6
(midi link)
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Copyright 1998-2003 by Scot Ranney - All Rights Reserved No portion of this site may be reproduced without the express written permission of Scot Ranney. Scot Ranney takes no responsibility for third-party material appearing in any bulletin board, chat sections, or user page of this site.
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<< Go to the Forums >> Newest Threads: My own philosophy on reading music (11) - 1/4 Why jazz is losing the race (45) 1/4 90s jazz (7) - 1/4 Fake Book (2) - 1/4 National Book Tokens Grrrrrrrrrrr , - 1/4
The Basics
Are you one of those people who have put down a book on how to learn jazz in disgust because of how difficult it was to deal with the countless chord inversions, voicings, symbols, and pages of stuff that you were expected to understand before you went to the bathroom again? It doesn't have to be that difficult, and it shouldn't be that difficult. In this lesson we'll explore: 1. 2. 3. 4. Chord Symbols The Almighty 2-5-1 2-5-1 Exercise Learning a Tune
Newest Files: Alice's Wonderland, 02/21 Bluesology, 02/21 Fascinated, 02/21 On Green Flipper Street, 02/21 Improvisation, Jan 2001, 02/21
Now, some of you might say, "But, the BLUES is the root of jazz! Shouldn't that come first?" You would be correct. However, before we get to the blues you need to know a few basic fundamentals that will be used throughout the journey to jazz.
Chord Symbols
It's important that we are eye to eye on chord symbols. Everyone has their favorite chord symbol style, and I'm no different. Here is a little graphic that will show you the main symbols we'll be using for now. When you play them, play the chord letter in your left hand as a bass note.
Some quick links: basic blues advanced blues Walking bass Quartals Jazz Piano Exercises Solo Jazz Piano Midi File Critiquing Reharmonization Salsa and Latin Piano Jazz Books and Jazz Piano Books Lots more inside!
(midi link)
http://www.learnjazzpiano.com/index.mv?menu=lessons&page=basics.txt (1 of 4)05.01.2005 04:06:30
Now, those of you with some previous study in jazz or classical harmony will say, "But, those chords have extra notes in them!" And you know what? You would be right. But here's the thing:
IT DOESN'T MATTER
Chico's Paradise
What matters is how the chord sounds. Professional jazz pianists see chords as if they are shimmering mirages, always changing, always dynamic. Sometimes a C7 might literally be a C7, and sometimes it might be a C7 with a 13, and sometimes it might be something altogether different. The choice of what to play at any given time depends on how experienced the player is, what is going on in the music, how the player feels that night, and any number of other reasons. It all boils down to, "Does this sound good, or does this sound BAD?" When trying out the chords above, keep in mind that you shouldn't play the root (the letter of the chord symbol) in your right hand because you are either playing it in your left hand already, or if you are in a group the bass player is taking care of that duty.
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NO ROOTS IN THE RIGHT HAND

Most of what we work on here should be done in all 12 keys. That will mean practice on your part as you figure out how to play everything in 12 keys. Yes, that's right, you won't become a real player without heavy practice. Does an hour a day sound like too much? If you want to learn, be prepared to put in twice that.
The Almighty 2-5-1

One of the most basic of all chord progressions is the 2-5-1. Take a look at the following graphic.
(midi link)
Play the roots in your left hand, and the chords in your right until the sound you are hearing seems natural. This progression is used in 99% of all tunes that jazz musicians play, in some way or the other. Here are a few more examples in different keys. You should play them, learn them, and then learn them in all the keys.
(midi link)
The first one is in the key of C, the second in F, the third in D, and the last example in Bb. I can not stress how important these basic 2-5-1 progressions are. Please learn them in all keys before continuing on to any other lessons.
2-5-1 Exercise
Here is an exercise to help you learn to play the 2-5-1 chords. It is written with the scale in the right hand and the chords in the left, but it is a very good idea to try it both ways. Once you learn is as written below, try playing the scale in your left hand and playing the chords up higher in the right hand. Once again, do it in all 12 keys.
(midi link)
Learning a Tune
So you are on your way to mastering these wonderful new ideas and wonder what practical application it all has, right? Well, right now you should think about learning how to play a tune while we are going through these lessons. You can apply the things you pick up from these lessons in a song that you choose to learn.
q q q q q
Autumn Leaves All The Things You Are Lullaby of Birdland On Green Dolphin Street Speak Low
I don't think I am allowed to have lead sheets available for download due to copyright laws, but I will have chord sheets available so you can work on these songs with hip chords instead of horrible common fake book chords. Let me know if you need a chord sheet before they are available on this site. As far as learning a new tune goes, there are a couple of important steps involved, and none of them involve sheet music: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Learn the melody Learn the bass Learn to play the melody and bass together Memorize Expand your arrangement as you learn the tune until it so good that you are hired to play in the Starlight Lobby Lounge at your local Holiday Inn
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No portion of this site may be reproduced without the express written permission of Scot Ranney. LearnJazzPiano.com and Scot Ranney take no responsibility for third-party material appearing in any bulletin board, chat sections, or user page of this site. Copyright 1998-2004 by Scot Ranney - All Rights Reserved Supercharge your website at ScotsScripts.com
Are you a piano teacher or looking for one? Click Here for our free international piano teacher database.
Forums: Create a New Account or login -- username:
password:
Go!
Forgot Your Login?
The only Jazz Jam Session in Bellingham, Washington: Tuesdays at Boundary Bay Brewery- hosted by Scot Ranney
Main Page
<< Go to the Forums >> Newest Threads: My own philosophy on reading music (11) - 1/4 Why jazz is losing the race (45) 1/4 90s jazz (7) - 1/4 Fake Book (2) - 1/4 National Book Tokens Grrrrrrrrrrr , - 1/4
Simple Blues
The roots of jazz and most other popular music grow deep within the blues tradition. When Africans were kidnapped and brought here to be sold as slaves, they were accompanied by a deep heritige where music and rhythm were fundamental to life in their society. A small, simplistic five note scale that didn't even fit into western tonality found itself as the seed of almost everything we hear. 1. 2. 3. 4. The Blues Scale Blues Chords The Basic 12 Bar Blues Form Simple Blues Song
Newest Files: Alice's Wonderland, 02/21 Bluesology, 02/21 Fascinated, 02/21 On Green Flipper Street, 02/21 Improvisation, Jan 2001, 02/21
The blues is something you should know in all twelve keys because the blues IS the cornerstone of jazz. Knowing the blues in 12 keys is such a universal jazz law that people don't even have to mention it.
The Blues Scale
The blues scale, shown here in the key of F, is a rather simple scale, encompassing all of five notes. Some quick links: basic blues advanced blues Walking bass Quartals Jazz Piano Exercises Solo Jazz Piano Midi File Critiquing Reharmonization (midi link) Salsa and Latin Piano Jazz Books and Jazz Piano Books Some people might add what is often called the "blues" note, and it would be the B natural in the following example. Lots more inside!
http://www.learnjazzpiano.com/index.mv?menu=lessons&page=lesson2.txt (1 of 4)05.01.2005 04:08:29
Chico's Paradise
(midi link)
This "blues" note is our attempt at playing a note that doesn't exactly fit into western tonality. It lies somewhere between the 4th and the flat 5th. Africans didn't know about western tonality back in the 1700's, so they didn't consider that anything might have been wrong with their music (thank goodness!)
Blues Chords
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Before we go on to a simple blues form, you need to know what to do when you see a chord symbol. When you play these examples, try to learn these chords in all the keys. It may take a while, but learning in all the keys is important. Keep in mind that the chord voicings are not set in stone- if you come up with something on your own that you like better, learn it in all the keys and then use it! For this lesson we will be keeping out examples in the key of F blues.
(midi link)
Play the root in your left hand as you play the chords. Now, as we look at the basic 12 bar blues form, you can play the chords above wherever they are called for in the following form.
(midi link)
Blues Song
Now let's play a simple blues song. The tune below shows the usage of the blues scale as well as another very important aspect of the blues - call and response. You will notice that for the first four bars, a melody is played. In the second four bars, the melody is repeated. In the last four bars, there is something else, a response. For more information on this style, you need to listen to some of the old blues guitar masters from the early part of the century. I will try to get some links in here soon for you to check them out. One other thing that you will notice when you listen to the midi file is that the notes are "swung". That means that eighth notes are not played as literally as they are written. If you want to think about swing as being notated, the closest you can come is by writing triplets and then tying the first two (which is how I notated the music to get the illusion of "swing" for the midi file). But, it's better just to "feel" swing rather than trying to think logically about it. We'll get into swing more later on.
(midi link)
Try to learn this blues song, and then maybe learn it in C and Bb. Ultimately you'd want to know how to play it in all the keys. In the next lesson we'll explore more blues including a more jazzy sounding blues form with some different chord changes.
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No portion of this site may be reproduced without the express written permission of Scot Ranney. LearnJazzPiano.com and Scot Ranney take no responsibility for third-party material appearing in any bulletin board, chat sections, or user page of this site. Copyright 1998-2004 by Scot Ranney - All Rights Reserved Supercharge your website at ScotsScripts.com

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file:///D|/SONJA%20&%20GUIDO/Learn%20Jazz%20Piano,%20by%20Scot%20Ranney.htm (1 of 4)10/04/2004 23.50.18