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 prowess on Sting’s tune, Never Coming Home.

And here’s the free transcription of the piano solo as promised in PDF format.

jason-rebello-piano-solo-on-never-coming-home

The transcription is from 0m34s to 1m19s of the video above.

The form is basically a four bars looping, that’s why you will see how I added a double bar line after every four bars. The chords applied over the four bars are :

||:    Db13         |   C7alt          |    Fm9         |    Fm9            :||

However towards the end, there’s a change on the fourth bar. To be exact, bars 16, 20 and 24 of the transcription, the chord is actually a D7alt, instead of Fm9.

SCALES

The two bars of Fm9 can be dealt with in several ways. Here are two options:

1. F minor pentatonic scale

The F minor pentatonic scale will undoubtedly fit nicely over the Fm9 chord. For an extra bluesy effect, the blues note B can be used occasionally, as seen in bars 1 and 16.

Bar 1

Bar 16

However, a keen observer would notice how the F minor pentatonic scale left out a few very important notes that can be used. Here’s where the next scale comes in.

2. F dorian scale

When applying this scale, you would have two extra choices of notes to use, ie. the G and D.
The G functioning as the 9th of the Fm chord, will give you a nice jazzy color.
The D functioning as the 13th of the Fm chord will give you an even brighter and interesting sound. Note how Jason Rebello applied it every once in while in his solo.

Bar 3

Bar 12

For some added tension, the note E can be applied, but with caution. This will produce an effect close to the F minor harmonic scale. This can be observed in bar 4 of the transcription.

Bar 4

For practise, experiment with these scales until you are very comfortable with them. And don’t forget to practise some side slipping too, eg. from F dorian to F# dorian.

Until then. Have fun and Enjoy…. 😀