Learn how to play funk keyboard on Senorita by Justin Timberlake, with transcription of keyboard riff and bassline. Serorita, a song made popular by the handsome Justin Timberlake, is a good start to learn funk keyboard playing. With a simple repeating keyboard riff, it will be easy and fun to play. But first, a treat for our female readers.. :) Here's the transcription of the keyboard riff, with an extra staff below which shows the bassline. and here's the video of Justin Timberlake doing Senorita. [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ujk_mDYpBo] Set your keyboard to a nice Rhodes sound, and just play ...

Learn to play solo piano version of Beyonce Knowles' song , "Listen" from movie Dreamgirls, with video and sheet music / score . The golden equation in the music industry nowadays is simply this, Sexy + Talent = Money Although, I must reluctantly admit that the variable in the middle is often ommited also. :D Which is why there's no surprise in Beyonce Knowles' blast to stardom these few years. Aside from her killer looks, she is also a very talented singer. But my favourite Beyonce song so far would be from the movie Dreamgirls, ...

This post analyzes solo techniques of Charlie Parker on the tune Yardbird Suite, with the help of a transcription / sheet music. As Charlie Parker once said, 'You've got to learn your instrument. Then, you practice, practice, practice. And then, when you finally get up there on the bandstand, forget all that and just wail.' You can see that, great jazz musicians may seem to be just playing from their heart, and having fun on stage, but few could even imagine the hours they spent practising. Some fun facts, Charlie Parker was known to have ...

I love you porgy is a nice composition, with music by the great George Gershwin, and beautiful lyrics by Ira Gershwin and Dubose Heyward. I stumbled upon another wonderful solo piano version of this song by 7notemode on youtube, which is just begging for a transcription. Comparing between the trancription and a standard lead sheet would be very educational for those trying to master reharmonization techniques. But first, let us enjoy this video of doug mckenzie accompanying a jazz vocalist on this song.   [youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=axfsaxAd3QE] I never really figured out the title of this ...

Round midnight is one of Thelonious Monk's most famous composition. Countless rendition have been made on it, but my favourite is undoubtedly the one posted by 7notemode on youtube. Which is in my opinion, one of the best piano player that has posted his own playing on youtube. So check out this video of Thelonious Monk's Round Midnight by 7notemode. A little advise, you might want to hold your jaws together, just in case they fall off..:) [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OkabuXMGLA&mode=related&search=] Any musician who has played or heard Round Midnight before, would notice how 7notemode's ...

Many jazz students start out improvising by playing the blues. With the standard blues chord progression, where one single blues scale can be applied all the way throughout the whole 12 bar. It is one quick and nice way to make your solos sound hip. However, after doing the same thing for some time, students normally will start to question, "what else can I do over a standard blues progression instead of just a blues scale?". It is the purpose of this post to answer this question. First listen to this solo ...

Pat Metheny, one of the prominent jazz guitarist of the era, highly versatile in many styles of music. He studied only one semester in the University of Miami, but was straightaway offered a teaching position. Working with pianist Lyle Mays in the Pat Metheny Group, they have produced quite a number of memorable tunes over the years.But I would like to focus on here is this song, written by Lyle Mays, that's certainly one of my favourite jazz song. The song is titled "And Then I Knew", I still couldn't ...

After choosing the appropriate song to transcribe, its time to get down to work. Here are some tips and tricks I can share with you guys. Tools are very important in this process. I personally use the Transcribe!7.40 software that I mentioned in an earlier post. So some of the points I will be talking about later might be related to this software. You might also want to check out the Bill Evans solo on Body and Soul transcription I have for you guys, and the audio clip for your reference ...

Transcribing has already been proven as one of the most important process of music learning, not just in jazz but in any other music. It enables you to learn the secrets and all those killer chops the musician you admire is doing in any particular part of a song. It is also a good training for your ears. Everyone's heard of the saying, "practise makes perfect", but many still don't know what is to be practised exactly when it comes to playing jazz, well, here's your answer: transcribe. Choosing what to ...

I couldn't forget the day I first saw this video a few years back, showing michel camilo and his band firing away on  this song "from within", in the ground breaking latin music documentary video Calle 54.  It was a jaw dropping, feet tapping experience for me, and I am sure that goes for many musicians out there also. Here's the video again in case any of you missed it in the previous post.  [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXT07AnkYRE] The energetic El Negro on drums is nothing short of amazing, Anthony Jackson is definitely the best man to sit ...