EarMaster Essential 5 Review
EarMaster Essential is one of the ear training products by EarMaster. I received a review copy on my mailbox from eMedia (the distributor), and immediately installed it on my PC. The CD-ROM comes in a nicely packed hard case. As expected from the aesthetically pleasing packaging, the software delivers thoroughly everything as promised on the…
Transcription of Jason Rebello Funk Piano Solo on “Why Not”
Transcription of Jason Rebello’s Piano Solo on Chris Botti’s “Why Not”, with brief theoretical analysis on superimposed chords and scales. Jason Rebello appeared as a special guest on Chris Botti’s concert, playing some mean piano solo improvisation on the tune Why Not. Here’s the video : [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDsmUVh0ViE] Did some transcribing on the solos. Here is…
Transcription of Jason Rebello Piano Solo Improvisation
Free Transcription and Video of Jason Rebello Funky Piano Solo on Sting’s Never Coming Home, with brief analysis on transcription. Jason Rebello maybe one of the most underrated pianist in the jazz scene, but he has been one of my favourites for a long time. Here’s a youtube clip of him demonstrating his amazing improvisation…
Leadsheet Playing
Having recently inquired into Pianologist.com and corresponding with KCLau, the opportunity to share some experiences and teachings, spanning several years, has arisen. Concerning leadsheet playing I have seen and played from many different fake books through the years. I have seen them compiled from various cultural backgrounds and periods of time; some without any indicated…
How are you playing the piano??
Every piano player, amateur or pro, has their own piano playing posture. What many fail to realize is how each posture could trigger a very different effect in our playing. Here’s a paragraph from Hal Galper in his book Forward Motion – ” One evening a blue-haired old lady came up to the piano and…
Pianologist Live in Penang
Did a wedding gig in Penang, Malaysia recently. Had a wonderful line up, blessed with some wonderful talented musicians on stage. Here’s a youtube clip of us doing the famous Grover Washington Jr tune, just the two of us. [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoiFNAupOLw] One of my aim, when performing that song, was to find a comping pattern that…
Transcription and Lead Sheet of Chick Corea’s Humpty Dumpty
Chick Corea’s Humpty Dumpty piano solo transcription and lead sheet, with examples of polyrhythm application. Chick Corea’s Humpty Dumpty is an interesting and challenging tune the play, mainly because of two reasons: The harmony changes in the tune breaks away from the normal 2-5-1 progression that we expect. The length of the tune is actually…
Polyrhythm
Polyrhythm is when we have two or more rhythms existing simultaneously. The most commonly used polyrhythms are the “two on three” and “three on two”. Shown below are two examples of polyrhythms. Figure 1 Figure 2 In figure 1, the left hand is clearly playing the basic pulse of a 3/4 time. The right hand…
Swinging in sixteenth notes
Sixteenth notes are often neglected by many when improvising over a swing beat. Observe how pianist David Newton demonstrates the use of sixteenth notes in his solo, at 3m33s of this video. [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxFIot-2s3U] The basic rhythm for a swing beat is as shown in diagram 1 below Diagram 1 Thus an improvised melody maybe played…