12 bar blues piano

, .

with Jack Long

. .•

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,.

Introduction 4

Structures 7

Basic BluesLeft Hand 11

Right Hand 14

Both Hands Together 16

Boogie PianoLeft Hand 21

Right Hand 24


Walking Bass 29

Stride PianoLeft Hand 35

Right Hand 38


Jazz PianoSome Essential Background 43

Left Hand 45

Right Hand 49


Rock PianoLeft Hand 55

Right Hand 58

Bluesville 60

••

Introduction

Helio, and welcome to ~FastForward

Congratulations on purchasing a productthat wili improve your playing and provide youwith hours of pleasure. Ali the music in this

book has been specially created by professionalmusicians to give you maximum value andenjoyability.

If you already know how to 'drive' yourinstrument but you'd like to doa littlecustomising, you've pulied in at the right place.We'li put you on the fast track to playingthe kinds of riffs and patterns that today'sprofessionals rely on.

12-Bar Blues Piano

The 12-bar blues straddles such a wide varietyof musical styles that it might be interesting tolook briefly at how some of those different stylescarne about.

In 1880s and 1890s America two differentkinds of black popular music developed in twodifferent places at more or less the same time.In St. Louis they called it 'ragtime', and inNew Orleans it was 'jass' music - later corruptedto 'jazz'. Both established themselves first inthe bars and, more especially; the brothels.Brilliant young pianists like Scott Joplin andJeliy Roll Morton would play backgroundand sometimes dance music for the girls andtheir customers. Ragtime music, so calledbecause of the 'ragged' or syncopated style of

4 "'FastForward 12.Bar Blues Plano

We'li provide you with a vocabulary of riffs

that you can apply in a wide variety of musicalsituations, with a special emphasis on giving

you the techniques that will help you in a bandsituation. That's why every music example inthis book comes with a fuli-band audio track so

that you get your chance to join in.

Ali players and ali bands get their soundsand styles by drawing on the same basic buildingblocks.

With ~FastForward you'li quickly learnthese, and then be ready to use them to createyour own style.

playing, was loosely based on the melodic. structure of the theatre songs of the period.

It soon passed into history, although its heavyleft-hand style continued into what laterbecame known as 'stride' piano.

These early musicians brought with thema musical culture quite different from anythingelse at the time: an unlike1y fusion of Africantribal chanting and European church musico

From the former carne complex and insistentrhythmic patterns, and from the latter the simpleharmonies of familiar hymn tunes - specificaliythe tonic, subdominant, and dominant chordsof the major scale (in the key of C, for instance,those chords are C, F and G).

Initially, the only instruments they had to

play those chords were on banjos which, in a

more primitive form, they had brought withthem fram Africa, and guitars, which were of

European origino

By the latter half of the 1800s a new secular stylehad emerged, where instead of singing religious

songs musicians sang about the joys and miseriesof their everyday lives. The chord sequence was

easy enough to be picked ar strummed while

8-Bar Blues

the important part (the words) could be

sung in a way that put the message over.

The style used a simple pattem that raundeditself off nicely, with enough variation to keep

it interesting.

These vocallaments carne to be called'the blues', and two pattems emerged as the

most popular, the 8-bar and the 12-bar blues.In the key of C, and in their most basic form,

they look like this:

c c F Fm7

c G c c

/ / / / 1/ / / / 1/ / / / 1/ / / / 11

12-Bar Blues

C C C C

i / / / / 1/ / / / 1/ / / / 1/ / / /F F C C

/ / / / 1/ / / / 1/ / / / 1/ / / /G G C C

/ / / / 1/ / / / 1/ / / / 1/ / / / 1I

The second one, the 12-bar blues, soon becamethe most common - you can, after alI, say morein 12 bars than you can in eight - and today it isthe one most people know.

5

EA$Y

StructuresINTERMEDIATE ADVANCED

We've a1ready dealt with the most basic

shape, and you'il find that pattern in over halfof the original rock 'n' roil songs of the 1950s:'Rock Around The C/ock', Jai/house Rock', 'Shake,

Rattle And Ro//', etc.

We can now start adding a little colour toour chords. The simplest way is to add a minorseventh to some of them, turning them into

dominant sevenths.

c c c C7

i/ / / / 1/ / / / 1/ / / / 1/ / / /F(7) F(7) c c

G7 G7 c G7

/ / / / 1/ / / / 1/ / / / 1/ / / / 1I

The use of these sevenths helps prope1 themusic towards the next chord change - by addingthe seventh you are effective1y turning the chordinto a temporary dominant seventh, whichwants to resolve onto its tonic. For this reasonyou will find many seventh chords in blues.

In bar 12, there's a G7 now where we had Cbefore: this is to bring us around to thebeginning of the next chorus, and it's the

simplest way of doing it.

We cal! this, and any other combinationof chords used to get back to the tune, a'turn-around'.

Think of a blues in C: notice that the thirddegree of the scale is E natural. When we getto the chord of IV, we add a flattened seventh.This note is E~, which is the third degree ofthe minor scale. Early blues musicians pickedup on this major /minor flux, and worked itinto their me1odies.

7

A simple - and very common - variation is

to move to the subdominant (the chord built on

the fourth degree of the scale) for bar 2, and thenback to the tonic (the chord built on the firstdegree of the scale).

Again, this is usualiy done to accommodatea minor 3rd in the tune.

That sequence might look like this:

c C7 F7 c C7

~/ / / / 1/ / / / 1/. / / /.1/ / / /F7 F7 c c

G7 G7 c G7

/ / / / 1/ / / / 1/ / // 1/ / / / IINow, this is ali very well as far as it goes;it aliows us to look at blues chord progressionsin terms of what we can dimly remember fromour c1assroom theory at school.

Unfortunately, those early blues singersdidn't have the advantage of a musical education.They sang the way they'd learned frotn theirparents, and that didn't have a lot to do withscales as we know them.

There are a lot of Arab and Indian influencesin Mrican music and, as you know, that involves

quarter-tones and other strange (to our ears)

embellishments. The nearest they could get tothat in terms of church harmony was to flattena few notes in the scale: principally the 3rd,the 5th and the 7th. They frequently sanga minor 3rd against a major chord, and thosemajor chords near1y always contained aminor 7th.

So blues singers - from the very first right upto today - would fee1 a blues sequence like this:

C7 C7 C7 C7

F7 F7 C7 C7

/ / / / 1/ / / / 1/ / / / 1/ / / / .1G7 G7 C7 C7

/ / / / 1/ / / / 1/ / / / 1/ / / / IIAnd, almost without exception, this pattemis reflected in left-hand accompaniments tothe blues.

8 "FastForward 12-8ar Blues Plano

As musicians from different backgroundsbecame involved with blues, they expanded the

tunes melodically; and this, in tum, led to the

introduction of more chords to accompanythis expansion. Some blues sequences started tolook like this:

c C7 F7 c C7

F7 F7 c A7

/I

D7 G7 C C7fE F G7 C qdim Dm7 G7

/ / / / 1/ / / / 1/ / / / 1/ / / / II

Don't be frightened by the tum-aroundsequence in the last two bars: you'll normallyonly get that many chords in a slow blues. C7/E,by the way, is called a 'slash' chord.

It couldn't be simpler: C7 is the chord (Ieft handar right hand) and E is the bass, ar root note.

We talked about the seemingly endless variationsof chord structure, and it's certainly true.

Look for instance, at the sequence Ray Charlesuses in In The Heat OfThe Night', a slowgospel-like blues from the title-track of the £Im:

C7 F7 c G7 c C7

F7 Fm7 Am7 A7

/ / / / 1/ / / / 1/ / / / 1/ / / /D7 G7 C C7fE F F#dim C/G Gdim G G7

/ /' / / 1/ / / / 1/ / / / 1/ / / / IIBy the end of this book, when you're betteracquainted with the 12-bar blues, you'll probablybe able to create a few variations of your own.

9

E A 5 Y

Basic BluesLeft Hand

INTERMEDIATE ADVANCED

For our basic blues, we'll use a slight (butvery popular) variation on the first sequencewe looked ato

This variation involves substituting an F chordfor the second G chord.

c c c c

F F c c

G F c G

/ / / / 1/ / / / 1/ / / / 1/ / / / II

Let's try a simple pattem to begin with.

~ o~U,••:••.••Cf'

c c c c~. ~- ~. ~-.

•

F F c c•• IIL ~ IL •• IIL ~ IIL ~. ~.

••

G F c GIIL. ~ ~ ~ •• !: IIL ~. ~-

••

11

Okay, so this is a very simple pattem: not alithat interesting on its own.

But it's easy to memorise, and ideal when youcome to adding your right-hand figures becauseyou don't have to think about it toa much.

However, this pattem can be thickened upby adding lower thirds to that rising and fallingsequence of notes.

TRACKS 3+4

c c c c••

F

••

c c

G

••

Notice how we broke away rrom the pattemfor our 'tum-around', just to emphasise it.

This pattem is also easy to memorise - as,indeed, all successfulleft- hand pattems must be:you can't concentrate on what your right hand isdoing if you're having to think hard aboutwhat's happening next in the accompaniment.

So practise these two pattems until you're ableto play them automaticaliy.

12 •••.FastForwBrd 12aBar Blues Piano

G

E A 5 Y

Basic BluesRight Hand


What you play with your right hand is, in away, more important than what happens furtherdown the keyboard.

Whilst the left hand teUs your listeners whatstyle you're playing in, and gives a harmonic

TRACKS 5+6

c

backgraund to everything your right handis doing, it's the tune they're listening to, andthe things you're able to do with it.

Try playing an easy figure:

Definitely missing something, isn't it?

That missing item is an essential ingredientin the rhythmic make-up of much so-called'primitive' music fram all araund the world,especially in music fram Mrica (and, equally, inthe music of Central and South America).

This item is syncopation - the stressing of

C

normaUy unstressed accents in a rhythmicpattem: anticipating a beat or coming in behindit, giving the effect of two or more rhythmsgoing on simultaneously.

N ow try playing our figure this way - addinga little lick on the end to point out that there's achord change coming:

14 •••.FastForward' 12-Sar alues Piano

Mueh better, wouldn't you agree?

Now let's repeat it in the minor key, as wewould play it over the IV? ehord:

TRACKS 9+ 10

c

Just a couple of slight ehanges are enoughto round off the tune and start it all over again:

F c G

I

15

E A 5 y

Basic Blues80th Hands Together


Below, you'll find our tune written out forboth hands - but this time with yet another lefthand pattem.

Practise that first, and then add the right hand,four bars at a time.

c c

••

c F F

••

c

••

c G

16 •••.PastForward 12.Bar Blues Piano

F c G

Now try playing this tune with each of theprevious accompaniments in turno Left handor right hand, you'll have to play one of them

from memory.

This is important: reading dots in a bluesclub or jazz cellar is generally frowned on (or,worse still, laughed at). You can't improvise fromwritten music, only from chord symbols. And,since a 12-bar blues is such a restricted form

TRACKS 15+22

c

c

@ -;>: J_--==-' t~.]4====:[E

You'll see that I've only written out the first barin each case. By now, you should be able to workout the rest of the sequence from the way ourprevious patterns were constructed.

Once you've worked them out, try playing thetune with them. When you're comfortable with

(at least as far as its overall shape is concerned),you won't even need a chord chart to work from.

Commit your left-hand patterns and right-hand licks to memory, and just call them up as,you need them.

I've added a few other left- hand patterns foryou to try out:

this, try adding a few bits of your own to theright hand, or even a different blues altogether.

Finally, for those of you who can stretch thatfar, we've put in a left-hand pattern in tenths.Don't worry if you can't reach a tenth yet:most people can eventually, with practice.

17

.U'.'l'"D'e e e

9:i ;=3=~ 3=~ 3=~=3==~=3====~=3=1

e F F

2: ;====~=~====:t4:===;~====:~===q===:*====;~====1

e e G

9: ;====-3====-~====-3====-~====-3====-~====-~::==:::~,====-~~====_~====_I

F e G

~:Wf *===:~~====:-~=-3=-~===~~:::==::::~~~===~~====-~===~~

19

EASY

Boogie PianoLeft Hand


We ali know what we mean by 'Boogie',

don't we? Or do we?

The best we can do to differentiate 'Boogie'from 'Blues' is to say that, in boogie piano,the left hand is a little busier, fussier even, andtends to require 'rolling' the wrist.

eOi''!"!,,"'''"!''

Also, its metre is generaliy eight half-beats tothe bar instead of four beats. And there are twoways of 'feeling' it.

One is as a 'straight' eight:

The other way is to 'swing', 'bounce' or 'roll' it;which is by far the commoner of the two.

We've seen this pattern already, as one ofour basic blues exercises:

21

But a more typical early 'boogie' pattern is

produced by 'bouncing' Exercise 1+2 (page 11).

50 Iet's practise this one:

TRACKS 29+30

c c

(. l_o • . l •. - lEI

l •. •• . . I: .. . . .. . . . . . . . . . . •

••

••

c

c

F

F

c

c

G

cli .la.: 11- 1< I: 11-: t- . h_o • . h •.

-=.

• . .1= . .

• . . .. . --;; . - • 0/

You'll notice that there's no 'turn-around' here.

Left- hand patterns in this particular styIe arevery hard to pIay: you have to 'Iock in' to them,grit your teeth and keep going until your armdrops off.

22 "FaatForward 12-Bar 8'ues Plano

There's no room for subtleties like turn-arounds!

E A S Y

Boogie PianoRight Hand

INTERHEDIATE ADVANCED

The most important thing to learn aboutplaying 'boogie' piano is that the left hand andthe right hand are distinctly separa te.

A1ways work on the left hand first: do it slowly,section by section, until you're tota1ly confidentwith what you're playing and you can do italmost without thinking.

TRACKS 31+32

Only then should you move on to the righthand; so that, if the right hand breaks downbecause you haven't got it together yet, the lefthand wiil continue on its own.

Try this pattcrn:

c C G~..-,--.'=-.. . ~-~===::~~

While you're playing it (slowly at first), beat outthe tempo with ypur right foot. This will enableyou to 'swing' with and across the beat, and to

24 •••.FastForward 12.8ar 8/ues Plano

lodge the figure in that part of yourbrain which controls the right hand.

• •• •• •

• • •• •

• • •• •

..••••

EASY

Boogie Piano80th Hands Together


Now that your left hand and your right handare fluent separately, the next step is to put themtogether.

50 practise putting your two hands togetherin four-bar sections.

As we have already seen, a 12-bar blues breaksup naturally into three sections of four bars each.

Let's see how the piece looks in its completeformo

3c

3.' ~ ~ ~ . .- .' ..' ~ ~~ =-

------.J

I. l•. • I:

-~ .. •I • I: . .

•. - . - • • •

cc.' ~ ~ ~ 3 : .- ~. ..' ~~~ -F-

. .@T

. l.. - . -~ .. •• I: 1 . . .• . .--= --= . . - .

26 •••.FastForward 12.Sar Stues Piano

F F33~r- ---- ~. . .

. .~ '--' --- --- I I '-". lO • •

li •.~I: I-~f ,&: •• ..: t-~I-: l~J: f I: I-o .o

3cc.' ~ ~ ~ 3 . .•. ~. ...' ~ ~=- I-

.@

. ~Ii • . ~.. • .o f. . .o .

• . . • • - -

G F

oo

3c3c

- •( - ]i .

@ ,,- .•~'--- •• •• ~.• ,,' "J..-/

E~.•. •• . EE ~.•. •

o . .o . . - .

- - . - • - -

Now take the right hand part ofExercise 13+14(page 16) and practise that over your left-hand'boogie' pattern.

Then try alternating the two different right-handpatterns, and, while you're at it, add a few bits ofyour own, or, again, a totally different blues tune.

27

E A 5 Y INTERMEDIATE ADVANCED

Boogie PianoWalking Bass

There's another 'boogie' left-hand style thatwill be very familiar to you: it's known as the'walking' bass.

In straight eights, it looks like this:

c c c~. 1••

~-li r I I I •• ~

-li r I

cFch_ 1 I J • !'-' ~~ ~ •

••

I •• • I

c c G

h. T h • fi- r-••

~ •• r I I 11 r 'I

F c cI I • ~ I ~. 1

••

• ~ •• r I I••

Practise that first; it'll help you to get thefinger spacing right, and also get you used toreally 'rolling' your wrist.

29

Now try 'bouncing' it. lt's not as difficult as

it Iooks:

.c ch. , ••

~ .~

•• ,, ,

~'.. ' r . I •• • I • .. '

~' .' r • I -'

FFc1,. -, , J • fi- ~~ lL •

•• ,

I •• .. ' li' I I ••.. ••

c c G

h. , • h. "- ~• ,• , ,

, ,

~'~ .

r . 1 • I -' ~ ' r 'I •

F c c-, j • lL h. , •• ~•

,.' I~'

.. ' r I •• I • .. '.. -

The next step is to pIay and memorise theright-hand Exercise 13+14 above it, followed by

Exercise 31+32.

31

A popular variation (though slightly more

difficult) is demonstrated in the next exercise.I've added a new right-hand pattern which youcan also use with previous left- hand patterns:

c•

I . =J: . =J: ..4! - li" . -, 11- '

•I •

~' ••• -, 11'" i ~. .. ' " 11'" ~li "

c c•

I. .. . . . .

4! - 11- .

•I •

~'11 • " 11'" ~ ~'

.. ' t'II'" =li' li'

F F• • •r. I., I • -. I • • I •. .

4!J " ,11- ' ,,, ,

•• .- ' ~'.. ~.

32 •••.FastForward 12-8ar Blues Piano

c c~ • . J: .

@! - 11- .

•• .' .. ' - 11.' = ~. .. ' • 11'" ="jI' "jI'

G F

~: • • . I •. I •. . ..@ •• .I •• - 11-',•• .

11' •• ~.

c c.. ..

@ - 11-. - 11.'

••

~. .. ' - 11.' = :t . .. ' - 11.' ="jI. "jI'

This is what most people think 'boogie-woogie'is really about.

3~

EASY INTERMEDIATE ADVANCED

5tride PianoLeft Hand

In the introduction I referred to 'stride' pianoas being a development from 'ragtime'. In fact,as far as the left hand is concerned, there's very

little difference between the two.

Continuing with the same 12-bar chord

sequence that began our exploration of basicblues, let's try a straightforward exercise:

c c

••

Fc F

9:jzt1=_~=_j====:_~::::::=:=rJ~r==ij==Ê J ~.-c c G

••

F C7 F CIE G7/D

••

Even in this example we can see that the styleof playing is rather heavy - lots of octaves and fatchords - which means that there's plenty of scope

for bum notes!

Don't rush at it: start slowly and gradually work

up your speed.

3

If you've already played ragtime, or 'c1assical'marches (waltzes, even), then 'stride' pianoshould not present toa many difficulties for you.

But if you're coming to it fresh, there reallyis no alternative but to do what we did in theprevious exercises - get stuck in, section by

séction, and don't try your right hand till theleft is completely f1uent.

Here's another left-hand pattern, this time witha bit more variation:

c c••

c

••

F F

c

••

F

••

c

c

G

c

Try a few variations yourself.

Working out chords of your own should notbe a problem, but remember to avoid having theroot notes remain static - keep them movingup and down.

36 ••.••FastForward 12-Bar Btues Piano

EASY

Stride PianoRight Hand


We've said that stride piano developed fromragtime, but that the left hand didn't change verymuch. It was the right hand that changed.

great ragtime writers like Scott Joplin andTom Turpin). At this speed, the right-handrhythm tended to break away from its previoustight measure - it started to 'swing'.

In ragtime, everything was played exactlyas written (when it was written down, that is).This was essential in order to produce therather stately, stylised syncopation required forthe type of dance it generally accompanied: the'ragtime' two-step, played at 'march' tempo.

Instead of dividing into four, the beat now~3~

divided into three:n became J jl althoughit continued (and still does) to be written thesame way.

But, from quite early on, there were a fewshow-offs who wanted to play the music a greatdeal faster (much to the consternation of the

Try this exercise, slowly at first then up to thecurrent speed of your left hand:

c c c

F F c c

~= f:::=."=-=cFG G

~==-_.,:~,::=:-~

38 ",-FastForward 12.Bar Blues Piano

When you've got that working steadily, tryplaying it over Exercise 41+42 (page 35).

Next we'll try a boogie-type figure in the

right hand:

,-3~

n=J jlC C C

~i'.~

C F F

tl:~:d~a:~:M~C C G

Now try this one over Exercise 43+44.

Remember to work at it slowly; but, onceyou're feeling confident, try it at speed.

•31

E A S Y

Stride PianoBoth Hands Together


To build something substantial, takeExercise 43+44 (varying it a little if you like)and over it play ali the right-hand exercisesyou've learned so faro

You could finish up with Exercise 47+48, taggingthis ending on to it:

~.;f.i ••:••.ttAi"

ccb..: •• ..: I: t-: ...

-~ I J

•• J J I: I: I: J••

• :: :jj i11

Fb

Fc ..: I •• ..: 1-: ..: I •• .. .~

b~~ b~c:~~•.:jj :jj 1 ••• • :jj • -

~:jj

40 "'FastForward 12.Bar Blues Piano

c c G

I ,.: •• ,.:. ..~ • I .1

~f , :!i ~i••

~ -= :j •• • ~. lii

••

F

~

c

By now you'll have realised that to pIayreaily authentic 12-bar blues you have towork quite hard.

Let's move on to something much kinder toyour left hand: so-cailed 'modem' jazz.

41

EASY INTERMEDIATE ADVANCED

Jazz PianoSome Essential Background

Throughout the 1920s, jazz was the popularmusic of the day. Dance crazes like the'Char/eston' and the 'B/ack Bottom' fiourished

everywhere with the help of gramophone recordsand the new 'wireless'. But changes were goingon ali the time and, by the 1930s, 'dixieland' jazz

had given way to 'swing'.

'Swing' - with the occasional but importantexceptions of smalier units fronted by people likeLionel Hampton and Benny Goodman - was

essentialiy big band musico

Unfortunately, by blending with yet moreinfiuences (show baliads, 'torch' and noveltysongs), this music became toa bland for somejazz players - notably Charlie Parker, DizzyGillespie and Thelonious Monk - who wantedsomething a little more chalienging to get theirteeth .into; so, in the early 1940s, they created'bebop', or plain 'bop', as it carne to be known.

But they were still using the 12-bar bluesformat: 'B/ue Monk' and 'Straight No Chaser'

are just two examples.

The big difference now, however, was the newbuzz-word - 'experimentation'.

Instrumentalists, who previously would stickdose to the chord-sequence on even their wildestsolos, began to base their improvisation on'modes' rather than keys. There's no room here,alas, to discuss the theoretÍcal basis of this, butone inevitable result was that the poor old pianoplayer was left to provide a harmonic bridgebetween the increasingly 'avant-garde' soloistand his (sometimes rather puzzled) listeners.

The solution was for the pianist to (a) stopplaying root-notes in rus left-hand chords(what was the bass player for, after ali?) and (b)in changing the shape of those chords ('inverting'them), adding ever more exotic ingredients tocolour them: 6ths, major 7ths, fiat 9ths, llths

and 13ths.

N ow, a pianist has only so many fingers onhis left hand. He can't play ali the notes, and sohe has to leave a few out. The end result is thatsome left-hand jazz chords appear, at first sight,to bear little or no relationship to the chord they

daim to represento

But it's not realiy as complicated as it may seemto you right now. Let's take a doser look.

43

EASY

Jazz PianoLeft Hand

Take a look at this chord:


Bearing in mind that some notes will probably

be missing, and that the chord itself may beinverted into any position (i.e. the bottom notedoesn't have to be the root note), this chord

could be any one of the following:

1. C9, 1st inversion, with the root and

5th missing.

2. Em7(~5), root position, with the 3rd missing.

3. Gm6, 3rd inversion, with the root missing.

4. B~(~5), 2nd inversion, with nothing missing.

Two things will normally dictate what the chordactually is: whatever note the bass is playing, andwhichever direction the tune is taking.

The great benefit of this is that you can, moreoften than not, find your next chord shapeadjacent - up or down - to the one you're

playing, no matter what that chord is.

Let's have a look at an entirely new 12-bar

chord sequence:

C7 F7 c C7

F7 F7 c A7

/ / / / 1/ / / / 1/ / / / 1/ / / /D7 G7 c c

/ / / / 1/ / / / 1/ / / / 1/ / / / II45

To dress it up, and make it sound more jazzy, And, while we're at it, we can add a turn-around,we can fatten those chords and make the whole which jazz choruses usuaUy require.thing much riéher.

C9 F13 d C9

t/ / / / 1/ / / / 1/ / / / 1/ / / /

F13 F9 d A13

/ / / / 1/ / / / 1/ / / / 1/ / / /

d A7(+5) G7(+5)D7(#9) G13 A7aug D9 G7aug

/ / / / 1/ / / / 1/ / / / 1/ / / / II

For this sequence our left hand will probablylook something like this:

~ o~Ui"$"OfjF13 d C9 F13 F9C9

ª:j ~fi fi rm fi ~3

W,S ~S W,S1

o

A 7(+5) G7(+5)d A13 D7(#9) G13 d A7aug D9 G7aug-o-

ct'* ~~

-o- , tin:

fª: o w-g

d is simply a C chord with an added 6thand 9th (A and D); all the other chords areforms of dominant seventh - we've just addedsome extra notes for colour.

You may have heard the word 'substitution' whenother musicians discuss jazz chords.

46 II+FastForward 12-8ar alues Plano

The idea itself is very simple.

The two notes which teU you that a chord is adominant seventh (the two essential ingredients,if you like) are the major 3rd and the minor 7th.

In C7, these are E and B~.

With this new knowledge, let's take anotherlook at our turn-around on the previous page.

A7(+S)A 7aug D9

G7(+S)G7aug

i/ / / / 1/ / / / 1I

The second chord consists of G, C#s and F;if we cal! the C#s by its other name (D~), wecould also have a chord of E~9. By reversing theprocess, the third chord could also be A~7+.

And, in the same way we looked at the secondchord, that fourth chord also doubles as D~9.

C:A:D:G

C:A:A~ :G

C:A:D :D~

C :A:A~: D~

By a process of permutation, the bass playercould choose any one of a whole series offour-note patterns, al! of which would lead him

back to C:

It's a fascinating area and, given time, itshould be possible for you to work out tritonesubstitutions in al! 12 keys, for al! shapes

of chord.

C: E~: D: G

C: E~:A~: G

C: E~:D: D~

C: E~:A~: D~

47

E AS Y

Jazz PianoRight Hand


Because of the flexibility and freedom of theleft hand in jazz, it becomes possible for the righthand to explore totally new techniques andterritory, to create completely different

harmonic structures.

But there's no freedom without pain.

If you never did work hard at those scales andarpeggios, you're certainly going to have to now-

for your right hand at least. Just take adeep breath, and think of Oscar Peterson!

For the moment, though, we'll stay with

something a lot simpler.

Try this little 12-bar tune:

Fl3 C9

Fl3 F9 d Al3~ I ~

---6 A7(+S) G7(+S)

D7(#9) Gl3 G9 A7aug D9 G7aug

Break it down into the usual séctions, until thewhole thing flows freely.

49

E A S Y

Jazz Piano80th Hands Together


Having ploughed through the book thus far,you should be able to put both parts togetherwithout looking at the music for your left hand.

But, just in case you really do have thetemperament of a true jazzer, and can't bebothered, here are both hands:

F13

e .... •• #~# • I - ,I . .~ ••••• I

l-R.

fi fi•

I •

C9 F13 F9

~ • e #. I - . #~#- I

I . . .

~

b# -l-R fi

I ••

A13 D7(#9)

~ Jl . - .... - lL' # g I. .~ I

~#~-e-b~~:lI

•, •

50 ••••FastForward' 12-Sar SIues Piano

G13 G~A7(+5)A 7aug D9

G7(+ 5)G7aug

••

The Ieft hand is a bit static though, as I'm sure

you'll agree.

However, with your growing repertoire ofchords to call on, you can now pIay a coupIe ofchords in each bar - most of them differentvariations of the same chord.

Let's try the tune again with a slight1ybusier-Iooking sequence.

Left hand first:

eus""•.,»,,..dd C9 F13 Fm6 Cmaj7 C9 C7(#9)

ª:j f 'r ~F ~I~F 1 ~ ~

dA7(+5)

F13 F9 F7(#9) Fm6 Cmaj7 Em9 A7aug

ri ~, ~1~ ~ f ~ ~

G7( +5) dA7(+5) G7(+5)

D7(#9) D9 G13 G7aug A7aug D9 G7aug

~:\~ , f ~ ~F , ~ df51

Now with the tune:

TRACKS 59+60

••

C9 FI3 Fm6 Cmaj7

C9 C7(#9) F13 F9 Fm6

••

Cmaj7 Em9A7(+5)A 7aug~

D7(#9) D9

••

G13G7(+5)G7aug

A 7(+5)A 7aug D9

G7(+5)G7aug

••• - ~ jj .--:.. 11 •.•.. • •• ~ .I

~

~ h ~ ~t h••

Eventually, you'll be able to change chord-shape on every beat, but don't try to do itovernight. Like every other style we've dealtwith, do it slowly.

Speed comes with confidence, andconfidence comes as your ability gradually(but surely) improves.

53

E A 5 Y

RockPianoLeft Hand


'Rock' music appears - and is - less'sophisticated' than jazz. Most chords tend to bevery basic in form, frequently with 'root' notes instraight or broken octaves.

Take, for instance, a tune like 'I Wish I KnewHow It Would Feel To Be Free' - or, as you know

it better, the theme tune ofBarry Normans filmreview programme on television.

The tune itself is pure 'gospel', the chords area mixture of 'blues' and 'jazz', and the 'feel' isunmistakably 'rock'.

There's nothing wrong with that, of course,except to the most ardent purist. A cross-fusionof two styles, say, almost always works to theadvantage of both. It adds 'colour', tension andexcitement.

The apparent simplicity of much rock music,though, could lead you into the trap of supposingthat it is technically less demanding, andtherefore a bit of a 'doddle'. Nothing could befurther from the truth.

Whilst the left hand will often stay doser tothe bass 'roots' than the bass guitar itself (whichwill frequently be employed in busy 'passingnotes' or even 'counter melodies' in the lower andmiddle registers), the right hand can be calledon to perform tasks every bit as difficult as anyto be found in our previous categoáes.

Let's look at a typical12-bar rock sequence,which might look like this:

c F7/C c C7

F7 F7 c c

G F7 c F c G

/ / / / 1/ / / / 1/ / / / 1/ / / / II

And here's how its left-hand interpretation> could very well be played (remember that we're

no longer 'swinging' the note values: play themexactly as they read):

~.;H ••:••.•m>fJ

C F7/C c C7

F7 F7 c c

G F7 c F c G

:1'-

56 "'FastForward 12..8ar Btues Piano

EASY

RockPianoRight Hand

INTERMEDIATE AOVANCEO

You'li have noticed from the chord make-upof our 12-bar rock sequence that the chordsthemselves are much more straightforward thanin any preceding sequence.

The texture of rock music is created by whatyou add in the way of runs, passing notes, riffs,figures, note-bending and effects generally-including distortion and feedback - to thosebasic chords.

Whilst the first four are weli within the scopeof the average pianist, note-bending and effectsare not a normal piano remit. But nothingcuts through a rock ensemble more clearly orpowerfully than a deep bass octave punchedout on an honest 'steam' piano.

Now let's try out a right-hand sequence to gowith our left:

c F7/C c

C7 F7 F7

c c G

F7 C F C G

-~~58 "'FastForward 12-8ar 81ues Piano

Once you've managed this, trY putting bothhands together.

Because of the power and volume availableto e1ectronic instruments, the principal role ofa piano player in rock music is an accompanyingone. Deep bass notes and high 'tink1ing' phraseswiil always cut through, no matter now muchsurrounding 'noise' there is.

And remember, piano is the one thing alwayscailed on to carry a rock bailado

I hope this book has given you some idea ofthe wide range encompassed by the term '12-bar

blues', and of the wonderful versatility possiblein tack1ing that range on a piano.

It's a whole world and, inevitably, we haveonly scratched the surface but you should bynow have a good grounding in what makes a12-bar blues and, I hope, a new curiosity about

ways of exploring the formo

50 much of any successful interpretation,.however, rests on 'fee1' for the style in which

you're playing.

There may be some disappointment early on,while you're struggling to get the 'feei' right.But keep persevering.

It reaily is worth it in the end.

59

EASY

Bluesville

c

INTERHEDIATE ADVANCED

Mike Morendo

F

,-3--,

c

,-3--,

G

,-3--,

F c Dm7 G9

A

60 .•••FastForward 12-Bar Blues Plano

,-3 ---,

F

..-3--,

c G

F c Dmll G9

r-3 ---, A

c1\ .: -. •.: lo: •.: -. •.: - -fi

. .- •• •••••••• - -

. . . . . ...V

3-->Ff - r::: ••• -. .. .~ •••• .-~. ••• 1 -<!l_

..v '! ~ ". '! '! ".

61

Gc1\

I __

~. . ..

-u-:g -v lnt. "*__~.- ~

. . ...IJ' . .

F

-::: 3 --, r-- 3 --, r--3 --, r- 3 --,c

c1\ >.a.: .a. _. -. •• &: - ..: - ~.a.: .a. _. -. ••tlI . .tJ

. . . ...I:T IJ' IJ' V

F

c G1\ -

I'lj . . . I. . . . ~. . .tJ • •• ~

. ..~

..

62 •••.FastForward 12.8ar atues Piano

F c Dm7 G7

" -~

.. . .. ."""iJ ---,r ~.*- ~

--,. --. 'f". . .

~a..

'! '! '! .,- .,. CF

C9 F13 C9

F13 F9 C9 A13

07(lI9) G13 G6/9 A7aug --

D9 G7aug C9 m6/9 C9

-

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