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Blues Lick #6: “Locked up”

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Welcome Back to a Study in Blues Piano!

Blues Study Lick #6, “Locked Up”

This is a really exciting technique for what I like to call the “Big Blues” sound.  By “Big Blues,” I mean dramatic, exciting, full, like you might hear from a jazz big band.  This kind of lick also works great for building to a climax in your “blues story” (a good solo usually tells a story).
The name of this lick, “Locked Up,” ain’t necessarily because what you’re saying with your fingers might be a story about going to jail. In this video, “Locked up” actually refers to the core idea of the lesson, something called “locked rhythm.”

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The Complete ‘Clair de Lune’ Sheet Music with Letters

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Claude Debussy’s timeless and extremely popular piano piece, Clair de Lune, is well-known around the world.  Its origins include influences from poetry, the music of Bach’s time (the Baroque period), and the artistic school of Impressionism.

The piece’s name means “moonlight.” It is the third movement of a four-part work called Suite Bergamasque.

 

Debussy’s music was a major departure from the Romantic music of the 19th century.  He, along with composer Maurice Ravel, is regarded as a primary founder of what came to be known as French Impressionism.

 

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Learn all 12 Major & all 12 Maj7 Chords by Pattern (not by rote)

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<- Back to the Chords 108 Main Course Page

Welcome back!

Today we’ll learn the unique 3-letter formula the applies to every standard Dominant Seventh Chord.

Audience: Any musician who’s struggling to memorize the individual notes to all those dang chords on piano or keyboards, and looking for a solution!

Description: Learn how to immediately call up the notes to any of the twelve major chords — without having to rely on rote memory.  This lesson applies to all twelve major seventh chords as well.

Video Lesson:

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November is ‘Moonlight Sonata’ Month — All 3 Movements – Piano Sheet Music with Letter Note Names

Ludwig Van Beethoven | Moonlight Sonata | piano sheet music with letter-note names added
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Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 14 “Moonlight” with Lettered Notes | Complete and Unabridged | 1st, 2nd, & 3rd  Movements

IMPORTANT: You  may also buy any of these movements separately!

PACKAGE PRICE–ALL THREE MOVEMENTS AT A  DISCOUNT

Complete and unabridged. Easy to Read. Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata  piano  sheet music with letter-names added to each note.

Compiled, notated, annotated and cross-checked against highly reputable published sources by Kent D. Smith, professional music instructor and performer (that’s me).

LETTERED NOTES

Each note in this sheet music is labeled with its associated letter-name, such as E, D#, Ab.

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A Study in Blues Piano – Focusing on Twelve Licks

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Welcome to A Study in Blues Piano!

Course Description

This is an in-depth study of twelve blues licks, with extensive left-hand support tips. Each lick/riff is explored in detail, including variations, fingering, playing tips, and supporting music theory.

More than just learning the notes by rote, you will get insight into the patterns, scales, chords and intervals involved, including how to transpose each lick.

As a result, each lick will be mastered as RAW MATERIAL for endless variations, with applications in many musical settings (genres).

Lick #10 of this group is actually more than a lick; rather, it gives you a complete two-handed 12-bar opening groove, including a left-hand pattern to support your licks throughout your soloing.

Sheet Music

Students can download and print optional sheet music for several of the licks. There’s also a sample solo piece with a 12-bar introduction, followed by a 12-bar piano solo that features licks from the class.

THE TWELVE LICK STUDIES

One

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New! Bach’s Famous “Prelude in C” from The Well-Tempered Clavier Book One – With Lettered Notes

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I’ve added a new custom sheet, Prelude in C by Bach, from The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book One.  Prelude in C is an extremely popular piece that will never lose its appeal to piano players and listeners alike.

This sheet music has each note labeled with its musical letter-name, such as E, D#, A… Some markings (dynamics, etc.) have been omitted to make room for the added letters.

You can read about the pros and cons of marking in letters on sheet music, here.

 

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FREE Interactive Piano Chord Catalog of 108+ Piano Chords

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VISUAL PIANO CHORD BOOK from PIANO WITH KENT

UPDATE Nov. 17, 2020: You can now purchase a downloadable PDF version of this complete piano chord book HERE.

Here is an interactive  eBook that I put together as a reference for my Piano Chords 108 series.

IMPORTANT

This book can serve very well as a stand-alone reference for checking your piano chords.

HOWEVER

The primary purpose of my ‘Piano Chords 108‘ series is to teach piano students how to memorize all 108 of these chords, as they appear on the piano keyboard, without the use of any external reference.

In that context, then, this catalog can be used simply to check your understanding of the memorization system taught here.

 

THE INTERACTIVE CHORD BOOK IS AT BOTTOM!

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