Jazz Piano Left Hand Techniques -...
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& ? # # 4 4 4 4 ˙ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ G 6 Moderate swing qq qe 3 = ˙ ˙ œ œ œ œ œ b œ œ œ œ œ C 7 œ œ œ ˙ 3 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ G 6 ˙ ˙ œ œ œ œ œ œ # œ œ œ œ # n G # o 7 & ? # # œ œ œ ˙ 3 œ œ œ œ œ n œ œ œ œ œ A m7 ˙ ˙ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ D 7 w œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ G 6 E m7 ˙ Ó œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ A m7 D 7 Jazz Piano Left Hand Techniques by Ron Drotos Copyright © 2016 Ron Drotos One of the biggest questions that aspiring jazz pianists ask me is, "What do I do with my left hand?" Once you get a sense of what's possible for the left hand, you can then decide which technique to use on each tune you play. A lot of this will depend on your own approach to each song and also on the style of the musicians you're playing with as well as the particular playing situation you're in. To give you a good sense of this, I've arranged the great jazz classic "Oh, Lady Be Good" using the 5 most popular left hand styles in jazz piano. Learn each one thoroughly and analyze how the particular technique relates to the underlying chords. Then choose the one or two techniques you like best and use them on your favorite jazz standards. Lesson 1 shows a "stride piano" technique typical of early jazz and the swing era of the 1930s and early 40s. The right hand is reminiscent of Count Basie's great 1936 recording of the tune. Have fun! Lesson 1: "Oh, Lady Be Good" Music by George Gershwin Lyrics by Ira Gershwin (1924 - Public Domain) 1. Stride piano Arranged by Ron Drotos
Transcript of Jazz Piano Left Hand Techniques -...
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44
44˙ œ œ
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Jazz Piano Left Hand Techniques by Ron Drotos
Copyright © 2016 Ron Drotos
One of the biggest questions that aspiring jazz pianists ask me is, "What do I do with my left hand?" Once you get a sense of what's possible for the left hand, you can then decide which technique to use on each tune you play. A lot of this will depend on your own approach to each song and also on the style of the musicians you're playing with as well as the particular playing situation you're in. To give you a good sense of this, I've arranged the great jazz classic "Oh, Lady Be Good" using the 5 most popular left hand styles in jazz piano. Learn each one thoroughly and analyze how the particular technique relates to the underlying chords. Then choose the one or two techniques you like best and use them on your favorite jazz standards.Lesson 1 shows a "stride piano" technique typical of early jazz and the swing era of the1930s and early 40s. The right hand is reminiscent of Count Basie's great 1936 recordingof the tune. Have fun!
Lesson 1:
"Oh, Lady Be Good"Music by George GershwinLyrics by Ira Gershwin(1924 - Public Domain)
1. Stride piano
Arranged by Ron Drotos
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œœœœ œœœœ Œ œ œ
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G 6 ....œœœœb jœœœœ œœœœ ‰ Jœ#œ œœœœb œ
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C 7 œ œ œ œ ˙œ
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"Basie" ending
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44
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....œœœœb jœœœœ Óœ œb œ œb
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˙ ‰ ....œœœœbœ œn œ œ
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G 6 E7 œœœœ ‰ jœœœœb Óœ œb œ œ
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œœœœ œœœœ Œ œ œ
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G 6 ....œœœœb jœœœœ Œ ‰ Jœ#œ œb œ œb
C 7 œ œ œ œ ˙œ œ œ œ
G 6
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G# o7
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œ œ œ œ ˙œ œ œ œ#
A m7
˙ ....œœœœb jœœœœnœ œn œ œ
D 7 !
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G 6 Œ ‰ jœ œ œ œ œœ œn œ œ
G 7
Now let's learn a walking bass line. This technique can be used in many types of jazz, from swing to post-bop styles. You can walk bass lines when playing solo piano, or if you're accompanying a vocalist or instrumentalist and no bass player is present. I'veadded a few chord substitutions that are commonly played during the middle section, or "bridge."
Lesson 2:
2. Walking bass
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C 6 ‰ ....œœœœ#b œœœœ œœœœœ# œ œ œ
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G 6 !
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My piano teacher Billy Taylor told me that when he was playing in the early 1940s, bassplayers were developing a melodic way of playing walking bass lines (similar to the bassline I wrote in Lesson 2). Dr. Taylor vividly remembered bass players asking him to stopplaying stride and to voice his LH chords higher up on the piano, to stay out of their way.The "shell" voicings I show here were very common during the bebop era. By includingthe root and either 3rd or 7th of each chord, they give enough to indicate the basic tonalitywhile letting the bass player and soloist (or right hand) use any melodic notes they prefer.Notice how I've added some bebop-style embellishments to the RH melody. I've alsochanged many of the 6th chords to Maj7, and added an ending that's typical of the bebopera.
Lesson 3:
3. "Shell" voicings
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LH voicings with the root, 3rd, and 7th of each chord can give a surprisingly full soundsound. Even Bill Evans, who popularized the rich A and B voicings found in our next lesson, often used these more basic voicings when playing solo piano. Don't worry ifyour hands aren't large enough to stretch the 10th that some of these require. You can simply re-arrange those voicings to be root, 3rd and 7th, as in the second measure here.The RH part is exactly the same as in lesson 3, so you can compare the difference in the LH sound between the 2 and 3-note voicings.
Lesson 4:
4. LH voicings containing the Root, 3rd, & 7th
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Here are the famous left hand 'A and B' voicings, popularized by Bill Evans. Even though these voicings are the basis of much contemporary jazz playing, you'll learn a lot more asa player is you work through all 5 of these lessons in order, so you understand where howthese rootless voicings developed historically. (And as a bonus, you'll know 5 great LHtechniques whereas a lot of jazz pianists nowadays only know one way to play!)Notice how I've moved the RH up an octave in spots to keep it out of theleft hand's way. Have fun learning these LH techniques and applying them to your favorite jazz standards!If you want a step-by-step method of learning more about jazz piano, visit me at KeyboardImprov.com. Enjoy!
Lesson 5:
5. A and B rootless voicings
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About Ron Drotos
Ron Drotos has worked as a pianist, arranger, composer, and teacher in New YorkCity since 1989. His career has brought him to Carnegie Hall, both as pianist andarranger for the NY Pops, and to the Broadway stage, where he has bothconducted and played for shows such as Smokey Joe’s Cafe, Swinging On A Star(Tony nomination for Best Musical), and Fosse. Ron has played piano with jazzgreats Chris Brubeck and Giacomo Gates, and composes choral music that isheard in universities across the United States. Ron has orchestrated over 19 showsfor the legendary Princeton Triangle Club, and particularly enjoys his time spentteaching and performing at the Fairbanks (Alaska) Summer Arts Festival. As ateacher of piano improvisation, he loves that magic moment when everything‘clicks’ for the student, and the music begins flow!
