Jazz Piano Left Hand Techniques Complete eBook

8/18/2019 Jazz Piano Left Hand Techniques Complete eBook

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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 myleft hand?" Once you get a sense of what's possible for the left hand, you can then decidewhich 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 wellas 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 andanalyze how the particular technique relates to the underlying chords. Then choose theone 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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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 ifyou'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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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 nextlesson, often used these more basic voicings when playing solo piano. Don't worry if your hands aren't large enough to stretch the 10th that some of these require. You cansimply 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 theLH 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 thoughthese 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 atKeyboardImprov.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!

Jazz Piano Left Hand Techniques Complete eBook

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