March-8-09
Song requests
Posted by pianopod under Left Hand, Notes & Tranpose, Right Hand, Techniques, Tutorials, Uncategorized
Let’s now try making some country sounds with the right hand playing, imitating the western ‘slurred’ styling of Floyd Cramer (Eg. Last Date, Unchained Melody). You could also effectively apply this playing technique to tunes like Rhythm of the Falling Rain, My Way, and A White Shade of Pale.
Watch my above video, and you’ll see that it all starts by playing around with a certain set of notes, that are pretty similar to the ‘Oriental’ ones covered in my other blog.
As usual, after you’re well familiar with them, try them in different keys you know, and apply them to some of songs you know. Also, listen closely to Floyd’s right hand melody in his YouTube videos, and try following along with him.
You will notice that he doesn’t of course play the country effect throughout the entire song, but instead applies the touch selectively to parts where effectively bring out the expression.
The next time you hear some pianists play, try and hear if and where they apply these touches to get ideas.
Thank you.
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In this blog, let’s check out how to add an oriental touch or effect to your notes (Watch above video).
Rather than actually hearing these played by Asian musicians themselves in their music, I’ve heard them mainly applied in western interpretations of Asian music. I may be Chinese, but don’t ask me why – maybe it’s like having chop suey in America, when nobody in the East ever cooks Chinese food that way!
So, I’ve heard these oriental sounds applied in songs like (a few are my renditions):
- Green Island Serenade (The ending part)
- Sayonora (as played briefly in the above video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgvCQsX0Jn0
- Sukiyaki (watch this YoutTube version by A Taste Of Honey – very nice! )
…. amongst others.
You may have occasion to apply these oriental sounds, or otherwise use them for the fun of it.
Watch the video to try these notes out.
Thank you.
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Here are some nice notes to add to your major and minor chords, rather than playing them ‘straight’.
As the above video illustrates, you are basically adding the major 9th and major 7th notes in the case of the major chords, and the minor 9 th and 7th in the case of the minor chords.
They then lend some sounds which are typically heard not only in ‘New Age music, but a lot of the contemporary songs, and even Jim Brickman’s piano stylings.
When you playing left hand chord, or even right hand meldy with more than one notes, try adding touches of these extra notes. Doing this, coupled by your hearing of how other pianists apply them as well, you’ll start getting a feel of which parts of the song to best apply these notes.
Thank you.
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When you play a chord, say C (holding down the notes of C, E and G). you would typically hold the major position, so the bass that sounds is your left-most and smallest finger of your left hand. That’s playing the root bass of C on the C chord.
In a song arrangement that requires you to hold the chord longer, you don’t have to just keep pressing the C bass for your C chord; as doing so would sound boring and monotonous.
Instead, you should try alternating C bass with a second bass of G. This sounds right, and is allowed because G is one of the notes making up the cord of C.
So, just keep in mind that every chord has at least a second bass you can play on (if the time allows), and that 2nd bass is always 5 semitones to the left (lower) , or 7 semitones to the right (higher), of the root bass.
You can figure out the 2nd bass of any chord by counting either of the above ways. Hence, the 2nd bass of F chord is C; for Ab it’s Eb; for G, it’s D etc.
To illustrate further in the diagram below - after your left hand holds the the notes in the first…
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