Free educational resource. Supported by sales of custom sheet music.
Hello friends!
Try this: Go to your instrument and play a C-major scale from top to bottom (C B A G F E D C). Play these as evenly spaced eighth notes in 4/4 time.
You will notice that the final note, the lower C, does not land on a solid beat (in this case, that would be beat one). Instead, it lands on the last eighth note of the previous measure.
Each note in this sheet music is labeled with its associated letter-name, such as E, D#, Ab.
Some markings (dynamics, etc.) have been omitted, so as to leave extra room for the added letters.
You can read more about the pros and cons of annotating sheet music with letter-names here.
Continue reading “Complete Moonlight Sonata–Easy-to-Read Sheet Music with Letters”
SLIDE 1.
Continue reading “Here’s a little bit about “So What” chords”
Good day!
This is a slide show, which is a common format that I use on my Instagram channel.
I have discovered that these types of posts are very popular on my Instagram page, so I’m going to start featuring these here, too!
Continue reading “Jazz/Rock/Blues Soloing Tip: Using the ‘Rock-Bottom Four’ of the Blues Scale”
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.
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.
Continue reading “A Study in Blues Piano – Focusing on Twelve Licks”
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.”
Here’s a downloadable PDF file of sheet music covering Blues Piano Lick #10, for optional use with my course “A Study in Blues Piano” (all on this site).
This sheet is part of a supplemental collection I’m putting together, in response to recent requests.
Cheers!
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.
Hi Everyone!
I recently received a question today (on my YouTube channel), an excellent one, the topic of which is subject to debate. The question is in response to one of my videos about using add9 chords on piano. (A link to the video is included below.)
I thought I would share the thread here:
“Rootless voicings” on piano (especially for left-hand support) are great for handling big jazz chords that normally can’t be covered by one hand alone. This video tutorial shows you how to play a rich sounding II-V-I in the left hand, while allowing the bass player (or you, on another beat) to cover the root. Continue reading “Chord Voicings for Jazz Piano (Rootless, Left-Hand, Type B)”
Continue reading “Chord Symbols: add2 or add9? (includes my video on using added ninth to chords)”