What Is This Thing Called Love Tutorial
In this lesson we’re going to create a solo piano arrangement of the jazz standard "What Is This Thing Called Love", written by Cole Porter for the musical Wake Up And Dream. It was first performed by Elsie Carlisle in 1929 and has been recorded numerous times since then.
Notable Recordings
Good versions to check out are Anita O’Day with Billy May Orchestra, Ella Fitzgerald, Canonball Adderley, Bill Evans Trio, Dexter Gordon and Wynton Marsalis. Also worth checking out are different contrafacts over the song.
Well known versions are Hot House by Todd Dameron, Subconscious Lee by Lee Konitz and Fifth House by John Coltrane. When learning a new song, I highly recommend that you listen to as many vocal versions as you can. It’s nice way to sing and learn the melody and you will also become familiar with the lyrics.
Walking Bassline Accompaniment
At the end of this video there is one chorus of a walking bass line accompaniment that you can use to practice improvising or to practice playing the melody.
Related Lessons
In this lesson, we explore the minor 25, and how to use our chosen melody over any minor 25 progressions and also the tune we are studying.
We discuss some important principles for creating a simple walking bass line and then apply the principles in the context of 251 progressions.
Tritone Substitution is a useful reharmonisation technique that can be used to add harmonic interest and variety to a chord progression.
Practice Tips
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This arrangement has a faster tempo than many of our other solo piano arrangements. Practise it with a metronome on 2 and 4 and slowly build up speed. Remember that playing with a good groove and solid time is more important than playing fast!
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This tune is a great opportunity to practice your minor 251 improvisation. Check out the related video above for tips and ideas.
- You can also work on improvising your own walking bass line. Check out the walking bass lines tutorial video and you can also use the bass line for What Is This Thing Called Love as a guide.
