tips & tricks for the rhythmically & harmonically-challenged 

Facebook Twitter Gplus YouTube E-mail RSS
nicole @ My Piano Riffs.com
formats

Handling Rhythmic Anticipations Part 2

Published on November 20, 2009 by in I Got Rhythm!

Applying Anticipations to a Song: Anticipating Beats 1 & 3 Let’s take a look at a very simple melody — “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.” The rhythmic time-values consist of quarter and half notes (or crotchets and minims). Now, in order to make the passage sound more exciting, we need to push the beat here and there, i.e. apply anticipations to some of the downbeats. Let’s start with applying anticipations on beats 1 and 3 followed by ties. Listen to how the downbeats on 1 and 3 are being pushed forward, adding motion to the otherwise staid rhythms of the original melody.  (I’ve included a drum track so that you can hear where the beats are being pushed.) The next example shows the same anticipated rhythms.  However, this time these are followed by rests. There is still a sense of forward motion accompanied by a more intense punctuation due to the shorter

(Continue reading)…

 
Tags: , , , ,
 Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Reddit Share on LinkedIn
No Comments  comments 
formats

Top 5 Pieces For a Beginner Jazz Pianist

Published on November 12, 2009 by in Jazz For You

By Nicole H. E. Lee Learning how to play jazz piano for the first time is exciting yet very intimidating if one starts with the wrong songs. Selecting pieces that are melodically pleasing, rhythmically simple, harmonically easy (as in the chord changes) and all structured within a straightforward form is very important if a beginner jazz pianist is to gain any significant performance result. Hence, the following pieces all comprise the elements just mentioned above and, in my opinion, are very suitable for any novice jazz player. Interestingly, these pieces will eventually have to be among the standard tunes in any true jazzer’s repertoire. The five songs are: (listed in alphabetical order) 1. Autumn Leaves: Beautiful melody in simple rhythms; II-V-I chord changes in the key of G major and its relative E minor; 32-bar AABC form. This is a “must know” jazz standard, often played in ballad and/or medium

(Continue reading)…

 
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
 Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Reddit Share on LinkedIn
No Comments  comments 
formats

7 Important Chords Every Musician Should Know

Published on November 5, 2009 by in Harmonic Concepts

And these are the Seven Diatonic Chords of a Key! What are diatonic chords? I am always struck by how many musicians are still completely confused or clueless about the importance of diatonic chords and how chords are related to each other within a key. Simply put, diatonic chords are chords that belong and come from the same scale. Most classically-trained pianists know how to play their major and minor scales very well. But some may not understand the significance of the chords that are associated with the scale. Let’s take a look at a C Major Scale: If we stack another two notes a third apart (skip a key each on the keyboard) above each scale note, we immediately form the seven (7) diatonic triads of the C Major scale or key. If we give a number to each chord of the scale (we usually use Roman numerals to

(Continue reading)…

 
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
 Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Reddit Share on LinkedIn
5 Comments  comments 
formats

Thelonious Monk: In His Own Style

Published on October 29, 2009 by in Jazz For You

Thelonious Monk Quartet’s 1963 album on Columbia Records. Playing and Performance Style Thelonious Monk is always mentioned with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie as a founder of modern jazz, but Monk’s style is not at all like the other musicians of his time. Unusual approaches to harmony, melody, and rhythm give Monk a particular asymmetry that continues to be a heavy influence on the music scene. Many of Monk’s harmonic ideas were influenced by Art Tatum, whose chords were strengthened by the use of varied voicings, added notes, passing chords and substitutions. While Parker and Gillespie liked to hear these types of chord sequences as background for their solos, Monk seems to have taken Tatum’s approach to another level. By using uncommon substitutions and displacing the harmonic rhythm, Monk’s chords have a sense of deliberate conflict. Some people speculate that a reason for his sour harmonies are a result of

(Continue reading)…

 
Tags: , , , , , , ,
 Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Reddit Share on LinkedIn
No Comments  comments 
formats

Handling Rhythmic Anticipations

Published on October 1, 2009 by in I Got Rhythm!

Anticipation: What is it? One of the most common stumbling blocks of rhythmic playing is the anticipation. An anticipation is a note (of any time-value) that is brought forward or played earlier, followed by either a tie or a rest. When an anticipation occurs it creates a feeling of forward motion, urgency and excitement. However, when played wrongly, an anticipated note sounds rushed. How it works An easy way to understand anticipation is as follows. Think of a row of quarter notes or crotchets in a bar of 4/4 time. All four notes here are played on the downbeats or the main beats; there are no anticipated rhythms. Note the accents (extra emphasis) on beats 2 and 4. Now, let’s anticipate Beat 3 of the bar, or the third F note. This example shows the note on Beat 3 being brought forward by half a beat, and tied over the

(Continue reading)…

 
Tags: , , , , , , , ,
 Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Reddit Share on LinkedIn
3 Comments  comments 
© MyPianoRiffs.com 2012
credit