This has given me a nice idea for a 5-min masterclassā¦ I will record it tomorrow. Hereās the exercise I will outline:
Take any 251, and place the alteration at the top of the V7 chord, start with b9, then #9, then #11, then #5. Play the top note repeatedly, and really listen to the colour/texture/tension that is created, and where it wants to resolveā¦ That is a nice exercise to develop aural recognition of altered tensions.
When thereās multiple alterations in the chord - ie. Upper Structure Triads - it can be harder to discern each tension/colour individually. That comes with time. But on their on their own, they are much easier to distinguish.
My friend, it takes me a loooong time to learn a tuneā¦ I will try and share one I actually can play. . I promise I will figure out how to record something. You have been an inspiration.
Hey Lori ā¦ Trust me sharing our playing here ā¦ is a great booster for improving ā¦ we just need to put our ego aside , i admit ā¦ but thats an incredible starter for playing more .
You should know that four years ago I could not have done anything like this! 85% of my piano abilities flourished by learning TUNES on PianoGrooveā¦ I completely ignored the theory lessons, because I feared they would be boring and all I wanted to do was learn a song. But with each tune I slowly (inadvertently) absorbed some root,1,3,7 knowledge and my hands began naturally grabbing those voicings from the lesson. I STILL lack a lot of understanding, but I get to enjoy playing tunes that I have learned and memorized.
Hayden has put forth an amazing volume of instruction. We are blessed.
Likewise. Iāve spent my time learning the tunes based on the video without looking deeply into the theory. Like you I tend to play the tunes each day that Iāve learnt so that I donāt forget (haha) and still in several tunes still refer to the transcription.
While there are some learnings on my part, maybe I need to revisit the theory thatās referred to in each tune rather than mirroring what has been transcribed by Hayen.
I agree, Haydenās style and teachings have helped me to get back to playing after so many years where my career took over (over 10+ years) and now learning again which is tough (especially Jazz chords, 251.s etc and applying them).
Agreeā¦time to grasp the basics . Lately I have been trying to actually LEARN a concept with each project. ( I tend to jump straight to the ballad,). but now I try to start and stay with the rootless voicings and study each one, in four bar phrases. And try to NOT play the melody till I feel that progression We will seeā¦
I need to accept that this is a lifelong endeavorā¦ certainly more a journey than a destination. Itās Good for my brain.
You bring out the colours of the tune wonderfully. I love the melody of āLauraā ā¦ itās so elegant and you pay homage to it, which for me is always key when playing ballads. The melody must be recognise-able in my opinion, at least the first time we play the head.
ps. I downloaded your video and embedded it in your post so it can be watched easily here in the thread.
Thanks everybody for the nice comments. I had to record it about five times before my nervousness settled down (silly, I know! Iām alone and can delete it ). Anyone else want to present one little simple song that you have learned? Go for it! We are in this learning curve together.
I just listened again Loriā¦ your introduction is sublime.
I also love the ācall and responseā thing you have going tooā¦ at 0:55 ā¦ you state the melody, and then fill the space with a response. Itās really nice
I read with interest your comments about jumping to the tunes and sort of skipping over the the theory lessons. My experience with PianoGroove has been the opposite. I fear Iām sometimes spending more time with the theory than the tunes. But that has to do with my own personal history.
I had lessons as a kid that like most I sort of stumbled through. Between 15 and 25, I played pretty regularly and seriously, but never studied muchāexcept for a year in my twenties with a guy that played marimba with Xavier Cugat (use your Wiki ). I played by ear and did most of the charts off the records for the bands I played with (mostly rock/pop/country). No idea about extensions or anything of the sort. Just basic chords and sorting stuff out between ourselves listening to the records.
I never knew what I was doing. So now at my age I have one last go-round, and I want to try to figure it out formally. I tell you, Hayden, your approach is brilliant. With just a month or so of fiddling around with your system, I now know the vocabulary/grammar, the things/questions I need to ask to navigate some of the theory books that I have, like those by Mark Levine, Jerry Coker, Dan Haerle, and Bert Ligon. Sort of daunting, but they are starting to make sense now (well, parts are ) ; it would take another lifetime to work through all thatās out there).
And also Iām so enjoying some of the lovely sounds of the chords in your transcriptions. Sometimes I just play certain chords over and over and listen to the sound. Itās like reading/listening to poetry. I know how to scan poetry; now Iām starting to understand how to scan chords. (Years ago, I had a recording of Dylan Thomas reading his works and would put it on when I was working around the house. Didnāt matter the senseājust the sounds and rhythm were enough to enjoy.)
we all have our own tendencies, just make sure it is always fun and fascinating!!
I NOW try to take a little more time as I am learning the tunes to say aloud the intervals in my fingers; some of it sticks in my head and sometimes not, but I tend to just let go and keep tinkering around with songs and re-visiting PianoGroove lessons, I frequently surprise myself with some sense of ear/hand coordination even when I donāt fully understand what I am doing from the sense of theory. you are right Scott - its a lifetime endeavor ā¦ So nice to have this PianoGroove community to support each and challenge each other.
. I promise I will figure out how to record something. You have been an inspiration.
ā¦ but thats an incredible starter for playing more .
and hope other will have this courage .
). I played by ear and did most of the charts off the records for the bands I played with (mostly rock/pop/country). No idea about extensions or anything of the sort. Just basic chords and sorting stuff out between ourselves listening to the records.
) ; it would take another lifetime to work through all thatās out there).