voicings and rhythms, especially in a traditional jazz band
if there is no banjo or guitar in a band, then maybe the pianist is free to play some of the beat in the middle of the piano, and in some cases this is essential. i even see pianists doing this when there is a banjo/guitar. personally, i prefer that the pianist avoids marking the beat if there is a banjo doing that. but a piano isn't a banjo, so even in the absence of a banjo (but with bass/tuba playing mainly beats 1 and 3) how should a pianist play the beat? if you use both hands to play the beat (five or more notes per chord) then the beat gets muddy and even jangly.
a jazz banjo usually plays all the beats using chords which employ three or four notes/strings at a time. sometimes two of these strings even play the same note in octaves, and, when we hear a banjo, we mainly hear his/her top string. if follows that a pianist doesn't neeed to do much to mark the beat like a banjo - though the banjo will always do it more incisively. just adding notes to compensate for lack of incisiveness does not seem to be the answer. indeed, the reverse seem to be true. i'm saying that sometimes less is more. i think that if a pianist is left to mark the beat in a trad band he should make the chords very thin - at least some of the time, if not all the time. you can even mark the beat with one note.
sometimes i like to play all four beats on two notes with my left hand. in "avalon" i might just start with the major second of bb,c notes (c7 chord. i change chords, playing mainly two notes at a time on my lh and marking the beat very firmly without lifting my fingers much - thus reducing stress and getting a less corny sound. meanwhile, my right hand plays some pretty things (longer notes or cascading effects) above the trumpet melody. but i must be simple and discrete, or the clarinet might get upset. if there is no trombone, i might spend a while playing a cello line just below middle c on lh, with my right hand playing the beat slightly higher. but i still find it hard to vary things enough so that it doesn't all get too corny. sometimes i use lh stride, but this can get in the way of the bass player. sometimes i use a sort of pseudo-stride where my bass notes are almost non existent, or are played with inversions in the cello range.
but knowing exactly what to do (and when) is not easy. please share you thoughts with me on this.
There is one comment, leave a comment.
Jazz Piano Notebook Series
Volume 1 of this educational jazz piano book contains 15 jazz piano exercises, tricks, and other interesting jazz piano techniques, voicings, grooves, and ideas Scot Ranney enjoys playing.
"Latinesque"
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. Jazz piano education is through the ears, but books like this can help.
Volume 3 contains 12 jazz piano exercises and explorations by the acclaimed jazz piano educator, pianist, author, and recording artist Tim Richards.
Tim wrote the well known "Exploring Jazz Piano" and "Improvising Blues Piano" books and has several others to his name.
Volume 4 is by Jeff Brent, a jazz pianist, composer, teacher, and author of "Modalogy" and other acclaimed jazz theory and education books. In this book Jeff shares detailed analysis of transcriptions of live performances. He covers everything from the shape of the songs to the tricks and licks he uses in improvised lines to the ideas behind his lush chord voicings.
Most Recent Discussions
Articles
Piano for Adoption Scam
Aprender Jazz en Piano
BEWARE: FREE BABY GRAND PIANO SCAM
Oh Tannenbaum for Jazz Piano
Volume 5 of the "Jazz Piano Notebook Series" is Available!
LearnJazzPiano.com File Downloads News
more...
Top Sheetmusic Picks
Jazzy Christmas Arrangements
Cocktail Piano
Best Songs Ever, 6th Edition
Christmas Medley
Moana Songbook
Late Night Jazz Piano
Jazz piano education is cool.
Rock on. Follow your passion.
Sign In
LearnJazzPiano.com Copyright © 1995-2024 by Scot Ranney • website software and design by scot's scripts
LearnJazzPiano.com is For Sale - Serious Inquiries Only