5 Ways To Play Like Donald FagenBYBRIAN CHARETTEMarch 21, 2013

For over 40 years, Donald Fagen has had a monumental impact on modern music.His jazz-tinged songwriting and funky keyboard work helped define the sound of a generation. Largely self-taught, Fagen regularly went to see players like Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, and Miles Davis perform during his formative musical years. Those experiences piqued an interest in jazz harmony that continues to this day. Here are five ways to play like this modern keyboard master.

1. Piano Chording

One hallmark of Fagens musical persona is his deft command of keyboard harmony, demonstrated inEx. 1. He often plays jazz-influenced chord voicings with an abundance of chord extensions in tightly spaced positions. This example is reminiscent of his piano work on his new song Good Stuff, with intriguing inner motion and chordal tension.

2. Wurlitzer and Rhodes Parts

Fagen is a lifelong fan of vintage keyboards like the Rhodes and Wurlitzer electric piano.Ex. 2is similar to his Wurly technique on tracks including the bluesy Weather in My Head, Jack of Speed from the Steely Dan albumTwo Against Nature, and more. Bar 1 begins with a modern harmonic approach that includes slash chords, which use a bass note other than the chord root and are a Fagen favorite. Bars 3 and 4 demonstrate the technique of alternating diatonic triads in the Dorian mode for comping over theBminor chord.

3. Melodica Lines

The reedy tone of the melodica, a breath-powered keyboard (Hammond-Suzuki calls their models melodions) appears often in Fagens work.Ex. 3demonstrates his use of that instrument. In bar 1, we have a simple melodic motif that returns in bar 3. Then bar 2 begins with a Charlie Parker-esque bebop phrase that utilizes the notes of theEMixolydian mode as well as the chromatic embellishing tone ofA#.Later, bar 4 communicates a pentatonic-flavored idea.

4. Complex Harmony

Fagen will often move close-position jazz voicings in fourths and fifths to create interesting harmonic shifts, as seen inEx. 4. Following the initialEbsuspendedchord, Fagen uses four different major seventhvoicings to take us towards our destination: aBminor 11th chord. Try this technique yourself by harmonizing a melody with unusual chords that arenotdiatonically related.

5. Rhythmic Clav Riffs

The venerable Hohner Clavinet is another sonic staple in Fagens music.Ex. 5is inspired by new tracks like Miss Marlene and classics such as Black Cow and Kid Charlemagne and demonstrates his penchant for playing rhythmic riffs on the instrument. Notice how the left hand creates a strong counterpointto the right hands comping parts.

Link: http://www.keyboardmag.com/jazz/1303/5-ways-to-play-like-donald-fagen/29124 [NB: audio file on url]