The following is a jazz piano lesson teaching you how to play Blue In Green by Bill Evans. A performance of the tune is performed by Dr. Alton Merrell prior to the video lesson.
In the lesson, Dr. Alton Merrell of Minstrel School of Music shows you how to play the song chord by chord, giving you good chord voicings that support you playing the melody simultaneously. Be sure to download the midi file of Dr. Merrell’s performance as well. It is an invaluable resource from which to extract musical language to use in your own playing. Happy practicing!
Here is the performance followed by a preview of the lesson. To get the full lesson, become a member at: http://www.minstrelschool.com
LINK TO MIDI FILE OF DR MERRELL’S PERFORMANCE:
LESSONS: Take one-on-one piano lessons with Dr. Alton.
ONLINE: https://minstrelschool.com/product/1-…
PRIVATE: https://minstrelschool.com/product/1-…
The following is a jazz piano lesson teaching you how to play Three Easy Licks to take your solos to another level. This is episode #5 of Dr. Alton Merrell “Licks and Tricks” jazz series.
In this lesson, Dr. Alton Merrell of Minstrel School of Music teaches you three of the best riff licks you’ll find anywhere, which if practiced, will significantly improve your improvisation skill and ability. There are many musical beginner licks, famous jazz piano licks, advanced jazz piano licks, one can incorporate into their playing. We recommend starting with these three! Be sure to download the sheet music in of this lesson, as well as the practice backing tracks using the links below. Happy practicing!
Here is the lesson……..
LINK TO FREE SHEET MUSIC OF THE LICKS: https://minstrelschool.com/product/ja…
LINK TO DOWNLOAD AN MP3 OF THE URBAN GROOVE BACKING TRACK ACCOMPANIMENT CONSISTING OF ELECTRIC BASS, DRUMS, B3 ORGAN, RHODES, AND HORN SECTION, AND THE TRADITIONAL BACKING TRACK ACCOMPANIMENT CONSISTING OF UPRIGHT BASS AND DRUMS: https://minstrelschool.com/product/2-…
LESSONS: Take one-on-one piano lessons with Dr. Alton.
ONLINE: https://minstrelschool.com/product/1-…
PRIVATE: https://minstrelschool.com/product/1-…
This is a gospel piano tutorial teaching you how to play “Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus” arranged by Dr. Alton Merrell. For access to the full-length tutorial, and many more tutorials, visit http://www.minstrelschool.com.
The link to Dr. Merrell’s original performance can be found on YouTube by clicking the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eztXk…
A link to a midi file of Dr. Merrell’s piano accompaniment can be found by clicking the following link: https://minstrelschool.com/product/ti…
The concepts Dr. Merrell teaches in the full piano tutorial include:
1. Two Hand Minor Chord Voicing with Right Hand Arpeggios
2. Rootless Minor 9 Chord Voicing
3. Major Triads add 2
4. Melodic Harmonization
5. Upper Structure Triads
6. Diminished Whole Tone Run / Scale
7. Diminished Chordal Movement
#gospelchords #gospelpianotutorials #gospelpianotutorial
An advanced gospel piano lesson teaching you how to play “To God Be The Glory” like Jason White and Mike Bereal. The lesson is taught by Dr. Alton Merrell. For access to more gospel piano lessons and tutorials like this, visit http://www.minstrelschool.com and become a member.
#gospelchords #gospelpianotutorials #gospelpianotutorial
Are you a musician struggling to achieve your artistry goals? Do you feel stuck musically, not knowing what to do next? This blog post on the value of PRACTICE HABITS is what you need to get unstuck. Habits are the vehicle to success. Incorporating positive habits in your life can result in significant growth. On the other hand, repeating negative habits can significantly stunt your growth.
In my career of over 20 years, I’ve observed many musicians stunting their growth because they don’t incorporate good habits in their lives. Some have never defined the habits they want to incorporate into their practice routine. Others have defined the good habits they need, but have never followed through to execute them. Instead, they give sporadic infrequent efforts towards fulfilling their musical goals without consistently committing to the growth process.
Musicians, I encourage you to incorporate positive habits into your practice routine. Those that do, see significant growth; those that don’t, fall short of fulfilling their musical potential. It all comes down to this principle, which is a personal mantra of mine: “Quality music habits produce desired musical growth.”
I’m happy to report that I passed the exam! It took a lot of time, focus, and hard work, but it was worth it! In addition to the Lord helping me pass the exam, incorporating the habit of practicing one scale and arpeggio a day, for two years straight, contributed to my success. When it came time to take the performance exam, I was ready!
I, Alton Merrell, remember taking an important performance exam while studying for my Bachelor of Music degree. If I did not pass, I could not continue to my third year of study. The exam evaluated my performance of the twelve major scales, twelve natural, harmonic, and melodic minor scales, all at a tempo of 130 beats per minute. That’s 48 scales in all! I also had to play all those scales in octaves, 3rds, 6ths, and 10ths. I also had to play a host of arpeggios, including all twelve major triads, minor triads, dominant seventh, and diminished seventh arpeggios and their inversions four octaves up and down the piano. That’s 48 arpeggios in all!
Friends, you too can accomplish musical goals like this and more. The key is to incorporate quality practice habits into your practice regimen. Remember, you accomplish large goals by completing a series of small goals.
Are you wondering what practice habits you should begin incorporating into your practice routine? Here are three to get you started.
1. Develop your technique.
Developing good technique on your instrument is very important. Just like professional athletes work out and train their muscles to be effective on the football field and basketball court, you should regularly improve your technique to play your instrument with excellence. This is done by practicing exercises that improve your muscular agility. Pianists, with this in mind, you’ll want to check out my Online Piano Technique Course! This course will get your left and right-hand muscles and fingers into shape, physically equipping you to play demanding songs, riffs, runs, and licks heard in many styles of music today.
2. Learn gospel and jazz songs.
Whatever genre of music you desire to perform, regularly listen to it and seek opportunities to play the classic repertoire of that genre. The adage, “you are what you eat” is very true. In music performance, “we are what we listen to.” What a musician regularly listens to is what comes out of them during performances, so it is essential for the aspiring gospel and jazz pianist to regularly listen, learn and play gospel songs and jazz standards.
One benefit of learning and performing gospel songs and jazz standards is that it expands the melodic, harmonic and rhythmic vocabulary of aspiring musicians. Just like having a command of words is essential to effectively communicating a language, having a command of melody, harmony and rhythm is crucial to performing any style of music. Jazz Standards from the Great American Songbook such as “There Will Never Be Another You,” “Alone Together,” “Stella By Starlight,” or “In A Sentimental Mood” are examples of songs with great melodies, harmonies, and rhythms. Gospel legend, singer, pianist and composer Thomas Whitfield, wrote many songs that garnered him the reputation of a “harmonic genius.” Whitfield uniquely added jazz harmonies to his cutting edge gospel compositions from the 1990s. Songs representing his harmonic brilliance that are definitely worth checking out include “Oh In My Spirit,” and “I’m Encouraged.” Those interested in expanding their understanding of harmony and chord construction, and desire to learn how to construct the chords that Whitfield and other legendary gospel and jazz artists incorporated into their music, will want to check out my online course Music Theory For The Contemporary Musician.
3. Transcribe music.
Regularly transcribing (learning note-for-note) the music of your favorite artist significantly improves your musicianship. Gospel and jazz pianists typically find value in transcribing solos, chord progressions, and licks.
One benefit of transcribing your favorite artist is that you develop your own musical vocabulary. It is that accumulated vocabulary you utilize to speak when you spontaneously perform on your instrument. This process of assimilating the “musical vocabulary words” of your favorite musicians into your musical language results from learning music at a very deep level, and transcribing is an invaluable means to do so. Transcribing not only informs you of the musician’s notes, but it also educates you on the tone, dynamics, attack, and rhythm they employ to generate the sound you’ve come to love; things you can employ when you perform.
Another benefit of regularly transcribing music is that you significantly improve your ability to distinguish pitch and rhythm. Being able to do this quickly is a vital skill when playing any style of music, especially gospel and jazz. The more you transcribe, the easier it gets to distinguish pitch and rhythm in music. That is why transcribing should become a personal musical habit, as there is so much to gain from the process!
Happy practicing!
View the video version of this blog by clicking the video below!
Pianist Wynton Kelly’s solo on Miles Davis’ tune, “Freddie Freeloader” is a superb example of his swinging and tasteful piano style. Much can be learned from Kelly in how he plays, such as how to swing, how to construct good musical phrases, how to construct and build a great solo, and much more.
Freddie Freeloader was recorded in 1959 on Miles Davis’ “Kind of Blue” album. Below is a video of Dr. Merrell playing the tune and emulating Kelly’s style. If you want to download an mp3 of the backing track (bass and drums) heard in the video, click DOWNLOAD. It is an excellent practice resource. Also, a FREE transcription of Kelly’s piano solo is also available via download by clicking HERE.
Enjoy!
Pianist Kenny Kirkland was an outstanding jazz pianist. He was really coming into his own as an artist during the mid 1990s. Unfortunately, he passed away prematurely of congestive heart failure at age 43.
Anyone who follows Kirkland’s playing style closely, knows about the HIP diminished scale lick he would occasionally employ over altered dominant cords. It is a signature component of his sound. Below is my video teaching you how to play this lick. Hope you find it helpful.
Dr. Alton Merrell teaching Kenny Kirkland’s Diminished Lick
Download the sheet music of this lick in PDF Format by clicking here:
https://minstrelschool.com/product/jazz-licks-and-tricks-episode-2-pdf-lead-sheet-download/
Several years ago, I transcribed a song entitled “Chance” by jazz pianist Kenny Kirkland. It is from his self titled jazz album released in 1999. Within his composition “Chance,” Kirkland utilizes double-diminished harmony amongst other sophisticated harmonies.
The sound of double diminished harmony intruiges me so I decided to share a thorough explaination of the concept to help others who might be interested in it.
Double diminished harmony isn’t solely used by Kenny Kirkland, but is utilized by a host of modern jazz pianists in the 21st century. Pianists like Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock and Joey Calderazzo also utilize double diminished harmony extensively in their compositions and improvisations. Chick Corea’s composition “Now He Sings, Now He Sobs” for example, exemplifies the double diminished harmony. You can listen to it here.
What is Double Diminished Harmony?
Double diminished harmony is constructed by playing two fully diminished seventh chords in which the root note of each chord are a major ninth apart from each other. An illustration of this can be seen in Example 1 below. (F diminished 7th chord in the left hand and G diminished 7th chord in the right hand.) The sound of this harmony is very thick and dense. Also, an interesting fact about double diminished harmony is that the two fully diminished 7th chords making up the harmony, contain all the notes of a diminished scale- starting whole step. (See Example 1 and Example 2)
One Chord – Eight Different Chord Voicings
The double diminished chord, as explained above, is one chord that can be used to voice eight different chords as follows: Fdim7, A-flat dim7, Bdim7, Ddim7, G7#9, Bb7#9, Db7#9, E7#9. The root of these chords are derived from each note of the double diminished chord.
The fully diminished seventh chords originate from the four notes on the bottom of the double diminished chord. The corresponding scale that can be played with each fully diminished 7th chord is a diminished scale starting whole step as illustrated in Example 3 below. F fully dim7 with F diminished scale starting whole step and A-flat fully dim7 with A-flat diminished scale starting whole step. Following Example 3 below is a list of the four fully diminished seventh chords and corresponding scales that can be extracted from the F diminished scale starting whole step.
Example 3
Fdim7 = F diminished scale (starting whole step)
A-flat dim7 = A-flat diminished scale (starting whole step)
Bdim7 = B diminished scale (starting whole step)
Ddim7 = D diminished scale (starting whole step)
Additionally, added notes derived from the diminished scale may be added to fully diminished 7th chords rendering a more dissonant harmony. Note how the 7th of the F fully diminished seventh chord is replaced by the E in Example 4 below, and the 7th of an Ab fully diminished 7th is replaced by G in Example 5 below, which is also derived from the diminished scale. Melodically, diminished scales starting whole step can be used with these harmonies.
Note, for any of the diminished chords above you may add any combination of notes from Gdim7 chord to add more dissonance to the harmony.
Dominant sharp nine chords are derived from the four notes on top of the double diminished chord. The corresponding scale that works with each dominant 7 #9 chord is a diminished scale starting half step. Example 6 below illustrates this utilizing G7#9 with a G diminished scale starting 1/2 step and Example 7 below illustrates Bb7#9 with B-flat diminished scale starting 1/2 step. Following Example 6 and 7 below is a list of the four dominant 7 #9 chords and corresponding diminished scales that can be extracted from the F diminished scale starting whole step.
G7#9 = G diminished scale (starting half step)
Bb7#9 = Bb diminished scale (starting half step)
Db7#9 = Db diminished scale (starting half step)
E7#9 = E diminished scale (starting half step)
Melodic Shapes Within Diminished Scales
Within diminished harmony in general, melodic shapes such as major and minor triads and many others can be constructed to stimulate melodic interest. Example 8 below illustrates the use of major triads within diminished harmony. Particularly, B-flat, G and E major triads are played in conjunction with a F fully diminished 7 chord.
Example 9 below illustrates the use of minor triads within diminished harmony. Particularly, B-flat, G and E minor triads are played in conjunction with an F fully diminished 7 chord.
Something important about double diminished harmony is that both the fully diminished 7th chords (with added notes if you choose) and dominant sharp nine chords can be used in conjunction with diminished melodic lines. This is very useful when improvising because a pianist for example can vary the comping chords utilized in the left hand. Example 10 below illustrates the use of various chords found within diminished harmony while playing major and minor triads in the right hand.
Because the diminished scale is a symmetrical scale, a host of melodic patterns can be constructed within the diminished scale beyond major and minor triads. Example 11 below illustrates the use of rootless dominant #9 chords being arpeggiated within the F diminished scale (starting whole step). Beginning on beat 2 of measure one G7#9 is arpeggiated, beginning on beat 1 of measure two E7#9 is arpeggiated, and beginning on beat 4 of measure two Db7#9 is arpeggiated. Note, this is just one example of many melodic patterns that can be created within the diminished scale.
With this understanding, create your own!
Music Theory for The Contemporary Musician
Interested in growing in your understanding of music theory, consider enrolling in Dr. Merrell’s course “Music Theory for the Contemporary Musician.” Learn more by clicking the link HERE.