| LearnJazzPiano.com archives: Does anyone here play Dixieland? | |
| Sweep88 -- 01/09/2005, 22:16:13 -- #10240 | |
| I'm not sure how to communicate this.... I guess jazz could in part be catagorized. Contemporary, new age, ect. Does anyone here play dixieland swing? | |
| ziggysane -- 01/09/2005, 22:42:52 -- #10243 | |
| I've always wanted to but never hsve really gotten down to work on it. The dixeland pianists I've talked to have mostly been really old and mourn the fact that the music will probably die with them because there's not enough interest shown by the younger players in learning it. There was one who was a bona fide musical genius and couldn't communicate a word of it because was over eighty and had never learned to read music or had a lesson in his life. Just played whatever he heard in head. The rest of the band would just give him a key and he would do the rest. During ensemble sections, in the left hand he used lots of stride-esque patterns and octaves with keyboard florishes up and down for good measure. This would be in a seperate counterpoint to the trumpet/cornet, trombone, and clarinet. His left hand mostly played a seperate counter melody in octaves. He would usually keep this pattern for his solos or the band would drop out and he would accompany himself with stride. That's a pretty good template. To get the sound of dixieland, listen to some of Jelly Roll Morton's solo piano pieces. They're the sound of an entire dixieland band crammed into 10 fingers. The early ones anyway. (He later got into latin and other sounds). Next, listen to Jelly Roll's Red Hot Peppers. Pay attention to his solo breaks if you want more soloing ideas. Also, check out Louie Armstrong's wife, Lil Harden, as his pianist on his early recordings. Also, pay close attention to ragtime as it is where many of the great dixieland pianists came from. Most of them also came from Brothels. To hear the sound of a brothel, just listen to Jelly Roll on the piano. Danny | |
| ziggysane -- 01/09/2005, 22:44:30 -- #10244 | |
| The first hand should be *right*. Not left. Sorry : ) | |
| Scot -- 01/09/2005, 23:17:13 -- #10248 | |
| Sure, when I'm hired to do it. What would you like to know about it? Dixieland is pretty easy. Usage of 6ths and dominant 7ths (of some kind), playing on the 2 and 4, or on all the beats. Lots of boom-chick boom-chick kind of playing if you're comping, and if you're soloing, very inside old-time swing feel (dotted 8th and a sixteenth note patterns). If you want to hear some good stuff, listen to the early recordings of Louis Armstrong where that woman I think he eventually married is on the piano (I forget her name, sorry) | |
| 7 -- 01/10/2005, 00:04:03 -- #10257 | |
| If you're grounded in Ragtime and Stride, you will fit in with any Dixieland band. Jelly is, of course, the man. But what most people think of as Dixieland is actually tin pan alley standards of the 20s arranged for a Dixieland band. Also note that there is a Chicago school of Dixieland and a New Orleans school of Dixikeland. The Chicago school let soloists have more of their own space during solos (it's similar to contemporary Jazz in this way). The New Orleans school often has everybody soloing simultaneaously (with extreme exuberance). | |
| Dr. Whack -- 01/10/2005, 00:41:23 -- #10259 | |
| I used to play tons of it on the riverboats here in St Louis...I learned a lot from the older guys. It was a real challenge to resist contemporary harmonies and melodic ideas. (although I'd sneak some in here and there) In addition to Dixie standards, of course we would play pop standards of yesteryear in a "dixie" style as mentioned above...it was great fun! | |
| paddyallen -- 01/11/2005, 17:03:40 -- #10301 | |
| My love of piano-jazz has stemmed from the ragtime and Dixieland Rhythm with a solid bass. I'm not a professional pianist so have never had to read music, nor can I. I copied the Fats Waller and Teddy Wilson styles as a broad based inspiration. I have watched as much live playing as possible. This is over some 6o years or more. Still play average 1 hour per day. Just bought my first new piano a Pleyel 131 upright.Some bass! very exciting and a big boost to my playing. I have seen the following live, Oscar Peterson twice, Teddy Wilson twice Erroll Garner three times; my, my! he was some thing else and the finest self taught I've ever seen or heard. This was all in the late 60s through the 70's until Erroll's untimely death in 1977 from angina. I live in England, but at least when these artists were over here you cannot travel too far as we are a small island. So my view is rather different from the proper pianist in the sense of we do not know theory or fingering, purely sound and memory of what chords and harmonics make up the improvisation. As you get more experienced you find it gets easier. Erroll was the worlds finest 'by ear' pianist ever I would say. If you want a lesson from him there is a video or DVD available from a recording he made in England 1964. Called Erroll Garner in Performance. ISBN 0-7697-7524-1 ; I have no connection with any firm selling these. Part one and two, don't miss the 2nd half. If you want to see another fantasic pianist try and catch some footage of Art Tatum at his peak, unbelievable in his down runs. Of course, Oscar P based his style on Art and made a very good job too with his own special classic trained background. Live tapes available of him too. I used to think all jazz pianists played by ear as the never used a score and just ad libbed it seemed to me. I have only just found this website by going on Google ...... what a surprise. Oh yes I think there is a connection between being able to sing and playing music by ear. My theory is that if one cannot sing they play piano instead. At least provided you have an ear for the correct sound you get the brain to remember where to put your fingers to produce a certain chord or phrase and so on. Singing is down to brain instruction to the vocal chords I suppose. paddyallen | |
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