Hi
It's time to discover, learn and play jazz piano! Last lesson we explored the five sounds of music (Major, Dominant, Minor, Half Diminished, and Diminished) using ascending and descending scale motion to the 7th. Today, we're going to focus on playing these five sounds using an arpeggio format to the 7th.
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Just as we did when using scale motion, we'll begin with playing each of the five sounds to the 7th ascending and descending using quarter notes. Play a simple voicing in your left hand (I'm using a simple 4-note block voicing in root position) while you play the arpeggio in your right hand. Watch my video to see me demonstrate this technique approach. The following music illustrates how it looks if written out using music notation: | |
After you have a command of the five sounds using a quarter note arepggio format to the 7th ascending and descending, you can convert the scales to an 8th note feel. Again, watch my video to see me demonstrate this technique approach. The following music illustrates how it looks if written out using standard music notation: | |
Finally, convert each arpeggio of each sound to a 16th note feel. Again, watch my video to see me demonstrate this technique approach. The following music illustrates how it looks if written out using standard music notation: | |
Once you are comfortable with playing the five sounds of music using an arpeggio format to the 7th with a quarter, 8th, and 16th note feel you can begin to discover, learn, and play them using the same approach for the other 11 families (F, Bb, Eb, etc.). Tons to do so let's get busy! | |
P.S. I highly recommend using an application like iReal Pro or software like Band In A Box when practicing. Hearing and Feeling a skill within a musical context makes all the difference in the world - it expedites your musical development. | |
