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Music Theory [DB] Chords, bass lines, melody, intervals, scales, modes, etc.


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  #1  
Old 04-25-2007, 12:48 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Piano

Hey all-

I'm sure a lot of you out there work on your piano chops. I've been trying to get my playing together (slowly) for a long time.

My questions are: What do you practice? Are there method books that you've used and liked? How do you relate it to your bass studies?

Thanks!
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  #2  
Old 04-25-2007, 11:37 PM
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Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: toronto canada
I practice piano the same way I practice bass, work through classical studies, learn jazz/improve music ideas by ear, I work learning tunes the same way I do on bass, learn the melody, learn the changes, be able to arrpegiate through the changes/inversions, voice lead work out interesting voicings, learn the tune in a few keys. I'm lucky that my wife is a former concert pianist and keeps kicking my butt with my piano chops, I still suck and am not anywhere close to where I would like to be but I really enjoy it and continue to keep working on it. hopefully I will never play like the smooth jazz piano player that shares the same name as me.

Last edited by neal davis : 04-26-2007 at 01:11 AM.
  #3  
Old 04-26-2007, 12:45 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Austin, TX
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A couple things you might want to try out:

ii-V13-I, moving keys down in whole steps. Play the root in your left hand and a four note voicing in the right. The patterns can be done with the 3rd or the 7th as the bottom note played in the right hand. Add 9 and 5 extensions to major and minor keys, add 9 and 13 to dominant keys.

Example:
Dm7-G13-CM7, Cm7-F13-BbM7, Bbm7-Eb13-AbM7, etc

This will only hit half the keys, so also start on DbM7 (i.e. Ebm7-Ab13-DbM7, etc). You can start on any key of your choice and move down until you hit the same key.

You can also do this pattern with altered V chords. Try the following:
V13(b9), V13(#9), V13(#11), V13(#9, #11)

Try the same patterns, but move down in keys by half steps.

Example:
Dm7-G13-CM7, C#m7-F#13-BM7, Cm7-F13-BbM7, etc

These can all be adapted and used with minor chord changes as well.

Another neat thing to do is to harmonize the melody to jazz standards. Pick a piece out of the real book and:

Play the melody note as the highest note of the chord. Play the root as the lowest. The notes in between can be voicings of the chord you like the sound of.

Hope this helps.
  #4  
Old 04-27-2007, 09:17 AM
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Join Date: Jan 2006
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"The Jazz Piano Book" by Mark Levine has everything you'd ever need in it. I could spend the rest of my life learning the information in there.
  #5  
Old 05-29-2007, 05:25 PM
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Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Westchester, NY
The Hertz exercises are pretty nasty. They build up your fingers fast.
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