Jazz piano left hand comping pdf

Get started playing solo jazz piano with this lesson by learning spread voicings with independent lead. Lefthand voicings your piano your piano jazz comping. Jazz piano i ron di salvio, musician at meadow run music. Jazz piano chords jazz piano scales jazz chord progressions jazz standard lessons. Selfaccompaniment and improvisation in solo jazz piano. The right hand can play the to allow the left hand more freedom to play bass lines.

So for a7b5, you would play a and eb in the left hand and then gbd in the right hand. This exegesis is presented in partial fulfilment of degree of master of arts performing arts western australian academy of performing arts edith cowan university faculty of education and arts. It is also the action of accompanying, and the left hand part of a solo pianist. This pdf will be a big help to many jazz pianists and other instrumentalists who want to get better at voicing chords in their left hand.

In a left hand iiv7 progression, ii is usually voiced as an xm9 chord with either the third or the seventh in the bass rootless voicings. One of the most important tools for your piano playing bag of tricks is a good supply of lefthand accompaniment patterns. Great lefthand accompaniment patterns for the piano or. These left hand chord voicings frequently do not include the root of the chord since playing the root is generally reserved for the bass player unless the pianist is playing in a solo piano context. Its easy to execute and adds lots of motion and interest to our right hand.

Left hand walking bass learn how to play jazz bass lines on the piano. Chords of three notes triads of seventh, ninth, sixth, fourth gradevoicings and chord positions for jazz improvisation. Jazz keyboard voicings and bass line writing elliot gray. And listen to the great jazz pianists comping behind a solo. In this exercise we will play the rootless voicings same. We can simplify and summarize all 12 whole tone scales to just 2 scale types. Therefore these voicings are not suitable for comping without a bass player. Mar 21, 2016 twohand piano voicings are essential for jazz pianists when comping behind melodists and soloists. Volume 2 has 14 jazz piano exercises and tricks of the trade, and quite a bit of it is calypso jazz piano related material, including some monty alexander and michel camilo style grooves. You can play the root in your left hand dont worry too much about the bass player, hell figure it out. Basic left hand voicings useful when playing with a bass player. Walking a bass line with the left hand is a skill every jazz, rock, and pop pianist should know.

Continuing our exploration of cool things to do with a jazz blues chord progression in a rhythm section, id now like to demonstrate an accompaniment, or comping, technique favored by jazz guitarists, pianists and organists alike over a swingstyle walking bass line provided by a bassist, second guitarist or keyboardists left hand. Jim hall chords and comping techniques learn jazz guitar. How to comp on piano like a pro making music magazine. Jim hall chords and comping techniques jazz guitar comping is an art form in its own right. If you are advanced enough you can even play melodies with two hands by making the melody note the same as the top note of your chord. Left hand voicing options peter martin 2 minute jazz youtube. You can use these voicings to comp yourself, while soloing with your right hand. Left hand rootless voicings are closely associated with the piano style of pianist bill evans 19291980.

This isnt possible on guitar the right hand is busy strumming and the left hand has only four fingers to work with, but the jazz guitarist can get very close to this ideal form. Developing the left hand for jazz piano describes the commonly employed limited approach to. Many players could benefit from having this reference sheet, which has most of the chords jazz musicians are likely to encounter. Acclaimed pianist and educator peter martin has created the most comprehensive jazz piano course ever offered online. One of the most important things to remember is that comping is shorthand for accompanying.

Left hand comping rhythm, oh, lady be good dual screens. You can play the root in your left hand dont worry too much about the bass player, hell figure it out law of conservation of energy voice leading. This handout is the second in a twopart series of reference voicings for the jazz pianist. The voicings are typically comprised of 4 notes, usually excluding the root. Its not talked about as much as it should be, but its. Youll mostly hear the bubble played on organ, but it also sounds great on piano as well as a rhodes or wurly patch. Left hand piano voicings for most common jazz chords youtube. Two hand piano voicings are essential for jazz pianists when comping behind melodists and soloists.

Encyclopedia of lefthand jazz piano voicings learn jazz. Left hand voicings over c jazz blues sound of emotions. The lefthand is the foundation of the driving rhythm, over which the. Sep 26, 2010 piano chords with the left hand arpeggios. Encyclopedia of twohand jazz piano voicings learn jazz. This was one of the first jazz piano recordings i heard when i began listening to jazz piano in the mid seventies.

This is an short encyclopedia with 12 voicings for most of the chords jazz pianists are likely to encounter. He is also the author of the the jazz masters method dvd. Walking bass with the left hand is very fun to play. The right hand supports the rhythmically independent melody with guide tones and the left hand plays rootbased shell voicings. These are great additional resources to get and study too. Pdf a computermediated interface for jazz piano comping. Listen to what theyre doing and how they are reacting to and. Get a jumpstart on improvisation, bebop, comping, voicings left hand and two hand, and so much more. Piano is a complete instrument that can substitute an entire group or orchestra. Robert christopherson is a professor of piano at berklee college of music where he teaches private instruction, improvisation, advanced composition, reading, ensembles, and a survey of piano styles. For our beginners, this will be the 25 of the chord, but in advanced voicings, can include any number of tones or structures. He is a world touring jazz and blues keyboard player and educator.

Learn essential techniques to enhance your jazz piano skills. Mar 15, 2016 this pdf will be a big help to many jazz pianists and other instrumentalists who want to get better at voicing chords in their left hand. In settings with no bassist it is often necessary for the pianist to cover the bassists role. Jazz piano comping how to comp the jazz piano site. The resolution to v7 is made simply by lowering the seventh by a halftone it becomes the third.

I came up with a comping handout for the students to help them learn about left handed voicings. Right hand can play single notes, octaves, triad shapes, upper extensions, or single line solos over the top. I use to improvise with a walking bass, funky or latin accompaniment. The two inversions of these voicing sets are as follows. In this video, i explain and demonstrate how to play beginner, intermediate, and advanced left hand piano voicings for the most common jazz chords. One of the most important tools for your piano playing bag of tricks is a good supply of left hand accompaniment patterns. In this tutorial, i take a look at three patterns block. Youll have ondemand access to hours of jazz piano ideas and inspiration, with hundreds of categorized lessons. Every note of these 11 burning performances by peter martin has been transcribed so you can see exactly what a modern master plays on some of the mostplayed tunes in jazz. Peter martin shows you how to get into a flow with your left hand voicings. Oscar peterson left hand blues piano pattern youtube.

The left hand voicings on the second line sound more dissonant. Jazz piano education is through the ears, but books like this can help. Jazz pianists favor this approach because it allows the right hand more freedom when improvising lines. The right hand supports the rhythmically independent melody with guide tones and the left hand. Voicings on the piano left hand lh consistently plays the 37th of the chord, along with additional notes as. He is the coauthor of berklee onlines jazz piano course and the book berklee jazz standards for piano solo. How to help your jazz ensemble pianist work with chord symbols and lead sheets. Three left hand patterns you need to know piano questions. Well use jingle bells so you can visualize what im talking about, and ill notate the left hand in the bass clef, even though you would never find this in a lead sheet. The wonderful thing about it is that walking a basic bass line is not all that difficult once you learn a few simple steps. Piano chord voicings for jazz combo the pianist has a few functions in a jazz combo. John mehegan was writing about jazz piano where the left hand plays the rootposition chords and the right hand plays the improvised arpeggios or modal blowing lines. You need to have an understanding of the role of the piano and how to communicate voicings, comping, style, and more.

Sample f blues chorus shown using basic left hand chords, octave right hand melody, typical comping rhythms. Very basic left hand comping handout for piano learn. Joining the jazz band as a pianist or any other rhythm section instrument is much. Use these 100 left hand patterns in this book to arrange the 100 songs from the fun fake book or use the left hand.

These voicings produce a rich, full sound and are used for playing the head of tunes. The spiciness is in the left hand, which plays all upbeats or the ands. All of these are chord tones ct, and therefore, these are not tensions. Therefore, he needs two different types of voicings. Steve is the author of premium jazz elite membership a comprehensive allinone online jazz piano course. Join pianogroove pro to access all downloads and learning resources. For full length piano lessons with peter martin, check out. While left hand only chord voicings are nice and simple, they dont sound as rich or balanced as two handed chord voicings.

You should transpose these two voicings into all 12 keys after you learn them. One very important role is to provide harmonic support to the soloists throughout the performance. Her left hand chord patterns taught me a great deal about substitution and comping that has significantly influenced and extended my own style. Practiceled investigations of assimilation, ostinatos and hand splitting david dower. Jazz piano pdf jazz piano lessons pdf jazz piano chord. When playing with other jazz musicians, you will be required to perform different roles than when playing solo jazz piano. Voicings on the piano left hand lh consistently plays the 37th of the chord, along with additional notes as necessary.

The 100 left hand patterns introduced in this book can help piano students, piano teachers, and music professionals take their piano playing to the next level by learning how to play the same song 100 different ways. Welcome to this lesson on open position rootless voicings. Open chord voicings spread voicings two handed chord voicings. This is characterized by a ryhythm of two beats in the measure emphasizing beats 1. The accompaniment with the arpeggio and the bass line. Jazz piano basics dan davey tensions are non chord tones that are added to a chord to change the colortexture of the chord.

Well move from no comping at all to fairly interesting comping in four easy steps. Jazz piano voicings and comping techniques to your students. Right hand can play single notes, octaves, triad shapes, upper. This pdf will be a big help to many jazz pianists and other. One of the most important things to remember is that comping is shorthand for. Download free pdf with my favorite left hand voicings here. A whole tone scale type b whole tone scale type the other 10 whole tone scales have the same notes of these,but, of. Two beginning jazz piano voicings learn jazz standards. Well use jingle bells so you can visualize what im talking about, and ill notate the left hand in the bass clef, even though you would never find this in. The rootless voicings previously learned for left hand lh can be transferred to the right hand rh while the lh walks a bass line.

The rh can comp with a certain degree of rhythmic freedom. Two handed voicings we now move on to an oftenneglected aspect of jazz piano, and that is comping. Introduce the snare and bass drum as having comping voices, which can help support a rhythmic idea either in the piano. Jazz piano is an expansive topic that is not familiar to most classically trained pianists.

Blues scales for autumn leaves g blues this is a good blanket scale to use when your brain aches from thinking too much. Im having trouble coming up with good left hand fingerings though. Play the voicing with the left hand if you have a bass player and fill, solo or add extra chord tones with the right. In this coursethe second in a series focusing on learning how to play jazz piano learn concepts that can provide you with a solid foundation as a pianist. Jul 30, 2015 in a jazz setting, the pianists left hand is often used for comping i. Rootless voicings demonstrated composer, jazz pianist. The comping rhythms, melodies, and voicings of the greatest jazz guitarists are delightful to listen to, with or without a. This isnt an allencompassing resource, as a resource that. Two handed chords are great for comping behind a soloist. This is an extraordinary treatise that traces, demonstrates, and puts into practice the techniques of the left hand in popular and jazz piano styles from. The pianist can improvise also with the left hand or left and right hand together. The comping rhythms, melodies, and voicings of the greatest jazz guitarists are delightful to.

Adagio slowly the jazz ballad is what is referred to in jazz as a halftime feel. First, he comps for, and interacts with, other players as they solo. I will give a more detailed description of left hand comp at a later date. Jan 26, 2018 left hand patterns are a really popular way of starting to develop your handstogether improvisation skills on the piano or keyboard. Rootless left hand piano voicings composer, jazz pianist. Any time youre faced with playing straight chords or even playing melodies from a fake book which pretty much just gives the chord names, youre left to your own resources to supply an interestingsounding. A study of 9 legendary jazz piano players and the zero to jazz piano hero program. Once i started using the bubble in reggae music, i found it extremely useful in other styles as well, including funk, jazz, and afrocuban music. In this lesson im going to break down the core principles for jazz piano comping. In this video, i explain and demonstrate how to play beginner, intermediate, and advanced left hand piano voicings for the most common jazz. Riccardo scivales, one of the foremost authorithies on traditional jazz piano playing we know has recently completed a new book just now going to press, jazz piano.

The easiest way to play two handed chords is through the use of upper structure triads. Piano comping practice tips cocktail piano lessons. As well as the creation of accompaniment patterns for solo jazz piano. O expand your jazz horizons and literature base o relieve fear associated with the word jazz o not intended, however, to address soloing or improvising techniquessorry. Nov 11, 20 john mehegan was writing about jazz piano where the left hand plays the rootposition chords and the right hand plays the improvised arpeggios or modal blowing lines. Open chord voicings spread voicings the jazz piano site. Voice the chord with the right hand and play bass lines. B flat blues you may wish to try this scale over autumn leaves, see what you think. The latin feel is an essential part of the pianists jazz vocabulary. Piano comping is primarily about grooving, and yes, it. Let me give you a few quick examples to show you how to comp on piano like a pro.