Jazz/Blues/Rock N Roll Piano

JackKelly

Ok,so im starting to get fairly fed up with playing classical piano and i want to get into something a bit more exciting (imo).
Im doing grade 7 at the mo so iv been playing for a bit.
Now thing is,i don't know which genre to persue. I don't know any jazz/blues musicians so i don't really know what to look for or what the big diffence is between them.One thing i know i like is "lounge music", the typical music you hear when your at a bar etc.
So can anyone recommend some good jazz/blues/rock n roll piano pieces/artists
(i'm not sure if this belongs in Jazz and Blues or Instruments so feel free to move it)
thanks!
(sorry for the ignorance!)

Zaphod B

I think it's more organ than piano but.. Booker T & the MGs?
Ray Charles is the most obvious artist who springs to my mind, I'd take a look at his work immediately if I were you . For jazz look for Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington, Dave Brubeck, Herbie Hancock, there's too many to list really.

Countless bands and artists have done rock & roll with piano at one point or another, listen to the radio for a while and you're pretty much guaranteed to hear some sooner or later.

Hope this helps, I'll add more when it comes into me head

Btw...

Originally posted by TimAy
One thing i know i like is "lounge music", the typical music you hear when your at a bar etc.

Hehe that's what you hear at the bars you frequent? I wish I were as cultured as you

JackKelly

Yeah, first thing i came across after looking around a bit was Thelonious Monk which i really liked. I'll check Ray Charles

The next problem is finding the sheet music. I had a few extra minutes in town today and looked in Mucullagh Piggots just off grafton street,but there was nothing except "Easy to learn jazz" and stuff like that, which wasn't much good. Is there anywhere in dublin specializing in Jazz sheet music or that even has a decent selection cuz i think jazz piano is what im looking for.

Hehe that's what you hear at the bars you frequent? I wish I were as cultured as you

Haha, i meant that in a "so to speak", kind of way,the stereotypical music you would hear in a bar/lounge!

Thanks for the help!

robbie1876

Hi TimAy,

Yeah I'm kind of in the same boat as yourself, and have all but given up on finding quality sheet music in Dublin. The internet is your friend!

I recently got hold of a great book by the Dave Weckl band. Not your typical jazz stuff, more fusion and funky, but damn difficuly nonetheless! The book had a play along CD with the keyboards removed, and the whole thing was scored out in the book. For me it's great, cos I've been getting ideas of licks and riffs that I never would have thought of before.

I found the book fairly quickly on the internet, and I'm sure there are hundreds of similar titles out there waiting to be discovered.

Keep us posted as to how you get on!

JackKelly

yeah,actually getting the cd with the music isn't a bad idea.
I find it impossilbe to play anything on the piano without hearing the song im trying to play before. Im a rubbish sightreader.
Good idea having a look on the internet. I agree with the sheet music problem, i can't find anything

ogy

you should try to learn by ear for blues and jazz there more aural traditions then classical music. im originally a classical player too but hardly play anything but blues improv now. your better off buying cds and trying to learn off them and buying books or reading websites on jazz theory than actual sheet music. If you learn a few solos by an artist youll get an idea of his style and see the same motifs pop up over and over and realise which scales he uses. For Blues playing mess around with the scale C Eb F G Bb C with your right hand while playing a basic blues bassline with your left (something like C Eb F G). After a while add the chromatic notes inbetween and youll start stumbling over loadsa bluesy jazzy riffs. Then start doing it in different keys try and get a 12 bar pattern going (Like play the bassline on C for 4 bars, F for 2 bars, C for 2 bars, G for 2 bars, C for 1, and G for 1) b more you sit at a piano just messing around with that stuff the more youll accidentally stumble over and youll make your basslines and solos more and more interesting.
Jazz theory is more complicated but some basic starter points would be basically almost every chord will be either a Major or Minor Dominant 7th, Major or Minor Maj7th, Dim 7th, Half Dim 7th, or Augmented. You rarely play 3 note chords. Also when soloing in jazz you generally change the scale your soloing on with the chord (whereas in blues if your in C then you solo on the blues scale of C regardless of the chord the accompaniment is playing usually). Jazz uses loads of different scales includingt he blues scale above, but loadsof other e.g the wholetone, octatonic, hexatonic, different modes etc. Theres loads of fairly decent websites with all this theory explained much than this so have a look around. For a typical jazz sequence to practise soloing over try a circle of fifths (the chords in G would be, Gmaj7, Cmaj7, F#dim7, Bm7, Em7, Am7, D7, Gmaj7 then back to the start). Try writing a bass line that uses these chords then try soloing over it with different scales.
So basically experiment loads and listen to as much stuff as you can
A major drawback of sheet music i always find whatever the style of music your trying to learn is that you rarely get the proper piano part, usually a half assed mix of the melody line, the piano chords, and the bass line, which never really sounds authentic.
Hope this makes since and sorry if any of it was patronising ogy

robbie1876

Thats some really sound advice, ogy, fair play to you! You can't go far wrong following ogy's guidelines.

ogy

thanks v much rob glad i could help

JackKelly

yeah,cool that sounds good. As i said, i usually find it easier to play by ear so it may work out better.
I'll av to start listening to some blues.
thanks again

JackKelly

while i still have this topic and seen as though im on the subject of blues,
if i were to want to play the blues on a harmonica, what key would i be looking for? i have a C harmonica and tht just doesnt work. Is in the A minor one i should be looking for?

ogy

if u have a c harmonica u play the blues in G on it. I think most harmonicas are major keys so whatever key u have u can play blues in a fifth above it. Try sucking on the 3rd hole as your tonic then blow in 4 and 5 and stuff andmess around with that ull hear the bluesy sound. Theres a good website somewhere thatidunno the address off that has all this stuff