Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Pop Piano Pro - Hot Tips and Mini Lessons

A recent PM with Dale inspired this piece. It uses Alberti bass pattern. On the repeat I added a few harmony notes.
Audio: http://www.box.net/shared/bqileg0pzu
Sheet Music: http://www.box.net/shared/f1j8d6is51

Thank you very much Pete. I am still working on the Alberti Bass. Getting the 2 hands working together is taking a little more time with this than I thought it would.
Everyone: Pete suggested a Fake Book to Ragtime Clown in a previous message. I will quote part of that message here:

Quote from Pete about the Fake Book:

The book "the Ultimate POP ROCK fake book" Hal Leonard HL00240099 contains 8 Beatles songs and 10 Carpenters songs which already makes it worth the price. There are 582 other songs as well.

End Quote:

I have that book, and I think it will be a big help along with the patterns in the Pop Piano Pro book.

Here is the link to that previous message in this thread about the fake book.

http://www.pianoworld.com/ubb/ubb/ultimatebb.php?/topic/32/7708/2.html#000041



List of the Songs in the Fake Book at this link.

http://www.andysmusiconline.com/products/the-ultimate-pop-rock-fake-book-4th-edition/hl00240099.html

Here is the Amazon link to it.

http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Pop-...nstruments&qid=1235078661&sr=8-3

The sheet music store link.

http://www.music44.com/X/product/240099-H2

As promised here are some solos for St Louis Blues. The idea behind the solos is to keep your hand position steady and move from one chord to the next without big jumps.
Sheetmusic is here: http://www.box.net/shared/by6nro569s

Example #1 Poached audio: http://www.box.net/shared/0mt65vlhqq

Example #2 Sunny Side Up audio: http://www.box.net/shared/9aihglbjfq

Example #3 Over Easy audio: http://www.box.net/shared/h4qaltmufl

Example #4 Scrambled audio: http://www.box.net/shared/3z9e38cli2

HOLA FINGERING - THE MOVIE
Finally, the hands of Pete the Bean in their long awaited sequel:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/ut342j

Wow, thanks Pete for the audios and the sheetmusic....this should be fun and lots of opportunities to practice the Blues. How nice of you to do this for us.

I will be gone on a short trip for a few days but want you to know that I'm still playing the other songs and working also on "Watches". This one my hands are having a hard time keeping to the same rhythm pattern in the left hand. The song should be easy but my left hand keeps wanting to stray from the notated rhythm....I think my left hand is just used to doing it's own thing so trying to stay within the rhythm pattern for each phrase is my difficulty right now.

Your teaching is GREAT! Thanks!
Alene

Everyone following this thread...
What do the rest of you think of the video that Pete sent with the fingering for the first lesson ( Hola ) ?

Get the PDF file of the lesson at http://www.sendspace.com/file/05wxk8

It is helping me very much. You can download the video to your computer at
http://www.sendspace.com/file/ut342j

Or, View the online video of the fingering used in Hola ( Click on the hand of Pete the bean )
<a href='http://album2.myphotoalbum.com/view_photo.php?set_albumName=album25&id=Hola_Fingering_Final_copy' title='Fingering for HOLA - Photo Sharing by MyPhotoAlbum'><img src='http://pix.myphotoalbum.com/a/al/alb/albu/album/album2/albums/album25/Hola_Fingering_Final_copy.thumb.jpg' border=0 alt='Fingering for HOLA - Photo Sharing by MyPhotoAlbum'></a>

Wow, I was just away for a while....and lots of goodies for us.

First, Davy's groovy song with alberti bass sounds very nice and delicate. I like it.

And how creative you are Pete....the variety of cooking a music egg....yes, I love all of them, especially, you can probably guess which one........the scrambled boogie. Love those triplets in there.

And thanks for making those music sheets for us to see what you do. Better than this, you can't get. It's hard to imitate just by listening but now with the handouts I know actually what you do.

How good of you Pete to notate all these lessons for us to learn. This is really the best boogie blues lessons I've studied so far that is fun and very motivating.

Hope to record something for you to hear soon.

Rosa

One thing I have learned doing this thread is that a picture is worth 1000 words.
Here is Hola on video:
Hola Melody Fingering: http://www.4shared.com/file/89932420/e81ef5de/Hola_Fingering_Final_copy.html

Section A LH alone:
http://www.4shared.com/file/89846019/4bf82e87/Hola_Section_A_Hands_Together.html?

Section B LH alone part 1: http://www.4shared.com/file/89851925/c6051be9/Hola_Section_B_LH_part_1.html?
Section B LH alone part 2: http://www.4shared.com/file/89869159/cf5c282/Hola_Section_B_LH_part_2.html?

Section A HT: http://www.4shared.com/file/89846019/4bf82e87/Hola_Section_A_Hands_Together.html?

Section B HT: http://www.4shared.com/file/89911566/ca60356/Hola_Section_B_Hands_Together.html?

Pro Zone: http://www.4shared.com/file/89930857/9a28c755/Hola_ProZone.html

Hola Performance:
http://www.4shared.com/file/89833038/8b3750b1/Hola_Performance.html?

Very good! Thanks for sharing!

Rick

Dale began this thread about 3 months ago. I did not have a blog or a camcorder. Now about 3 months into things I have online friends around the globe. I am converting video to mp4. I have written a batch of songs and exercises that I have not had the motivation to write before. So thanks Dale for asking me to contribute. It has been a steep learning curve and a lot of fun.

Those Videos are fantastic Pete. You really know how to explain things and make them very clear. You are the one we all have to thank.
Anyone wanting the pdf file that has the sheet music and some instructions to the videos that Pete just sent, can get them at this link.

Hola Sheetmusic - First lesson from Poppianopro

You can right click on it and select Save Target As... to save it to your computer, or just click it to read the pdf file online.

Dale

Hello All,

I'm new here, so sorry if this was brought up before. Just some questions after a little background. To give you an idea of where I'm coming from, I'm about 10 pieces shy of finishing Book One of Alfreds All in One Course (so you see, I'm not even an intermediate player).

I notice that Pete's book has a "Write Your Own Hit" or similar section for mostly each tune.

At my level, should I go through the book and skip the sections that ask for that higher ability stuff? Or should I go for it?

Note that one of my piano goals is to learn to play from a fakebook. Multiple Choice Question:
Should I:

A) Start with the basics first and jump around Pete's book to get the basics. Then, later go back to the material about improvising.

B) 'Bite the bullet,' take it slow, and go through the book in its presented order.

Thanks!

Angelo

Angelo: A) Jump around. Do what you can do in my book.
Keep working on your Method book. It will teach you all the basics you need to get a handle on my book material. I know the method book can seem frustrating and a slow slog, but there is a whole lot to learn. From what I see on your progress on your blog, you have an iron will and your are making quick progress.

I think you may find the Write your own hit a bit of a challenge at this point. But if you do try that section, be sure to have my song from that lesson firmly in your fingers. The LH parts will be identical.

The moderator of the ABF, Greg, said that he sees a lot of good things going on in this thread, so he was kind enough to add it to the Study Groups under

Important Topics On The Adult Beginners Forum

Dale

Hi Everyone,

Notice that I have a new log in name. I just could not log in with my old user name even with change of passwords. Thanks to Dale and also BB player for trying to help me solve my problem, so I am posting now to show you that I can get logged in.

I wanted to say this last week.....but could not log in.

Last week, while I was playing a Jewish song at church called El Shaddai...... and I remember Pete mentioned about the Latin stride that can be used in 2/2 song....it was PERFECT....and I love it because the latin rhythm gave the song a mystical feeling. Exactly what I wanted to produce when the congregation was singing. Again it is that fingering that I love so much cuz in the past I used a wrong fingering and didn't give me that Latin rhythmic feel. Anyways thanks to PETE.

Although Pete said that he is not familiar with hymn playing but what you are teaching in your book sure is good for hymn playing.


Sometimes I think we may expect a lot from ourselves and expect 'magic' from a method or from a book and then we might evaluate quickly that this method or this book is no use. By doing so, we actually quit too soon or get disappointed too soon. Just like this Latin stride thing that I learned about 2 months ago...... and now I can readily use it for public playing at church. Some things need time to sink in.

I am moving on in Pete's book and working on the 3rd song 'Watches'. I am familiar with the LH accompaniment cuz I teach those to my students but somehow seeing someone teaching it and using them to help us improvise open a new door for me. It helps me break out to new grounds.

Thanks Dale for posting those videos. Now that my log in problem is fixed, I can get going again.

(I am going to press submit....and let's see what comes up, whether it works.)

Rosa

Guess what? It works.

But I am starting all over again -- back to post 1.

Rosa

Since I could not get back for the last week, I am wondering what's everyone is working on so that we know who is studying this together. It's kinda fun to know what each one of us is up to.

Again, thanks to Pete for all the extra help and files that you are making available to us. Also thanks to Dale for organizing everything neatly for us to access.

Rosa

Pete,

I am working on 'watches'. The song only moves around 3 chords. You said that it is Eb major and then it modulates to Fm. So the Bbm is actually the iv of i (Fm).

I am wondering why the natural minor of Fm is used here, or is it up to the composer to decide which key to modulate to and there needs no logical predictable chord progression to follow when it comes to modulation?

I would think that if one were to use the natural minor of Eb major, it would be Cm and not Fm in this song.

I'm a bit fuzzy about how minor chords are used and you mentioned that in the first lesson: natural minor, harmonic minor and jazz minor. I don't know when to decide to use which one, do you?

----------

The next question is about the cluster tones played togther on p.29. In Eb cluseter #2 where there is only half step of G to Ab....in the lower tones, I found that it sounds ok.

For Bbm the 3rd one where you have: F Bb C Db
-- the C and Db are only half steps away, and some teachers say to avoid that kind of clash as it doesn't sound good, what is your view on this?

Rosa

In PPP, I am working on Journey Into the Lights, while polishing Hola and You Thought You Had a Bad Day. Lights is a tough one!

I am also trying to apply the techniques we are learning here to several Beatles tunes - Let It Be, Hey Jude, and The Long and Winding Road. I have a Beatles Fake book I bought when I first restarted 2 years ago and really didn't know how to dress up the tunes. Now, though, things are slowly coming around.

GregF

Rosa: Your questions are getting tougher which must mean you are getting smarter.
Trying to figure this progression is a bit tricky. The Eb chord sounds like home so it must be a I chord(tonic). To my ears the Bbm is acting as ivm of Fm. I am calling the scale F natural minor or aeolian mode. I hear the seventh note of the scale Eb working well with the Bbm chord. E natural is not doing it. ( a #11 does not work well with a minor chord.)
So what minor scale I use does depend on whether my IV chord is major or minor. If the song went to a Bb major chord, I would stay away from the natural minor because the Db note in the scale would clash with the D natural in the Bb chord.
It also depends on the I chord. Do I hear Fm7 as tonic or do I prefer a Fm maj7 or Fm6.
To modulate, all you really need is a V7 to precede the new key. Most likely, the modulation will not stray too far around the key cycle. And in this case, we stay close. Only 1 note needs to change from the Eb major scale to F natural minor.( D changes to Db).
In this song there is no V7/ivm. If you wanted to reharmonize you could try a C7 b9 before the Fm.

With regard to 1/2 steps clashing, the C Db are not a typo. I love the sound of a minor chord with an add 9. I use that often and it really fills the sound nicely. Try Cm root positon CEbG. Now stick a D between the C and Eb. You like? I also fill in my major triads the same way.
So my opinion is that it depends on the function of the note (123...#11 b13etc) and what is going on around it whether or not to avoid it It does not depend on whether it is 1/2 step interval.

Pete,

Your explanation on the minor chord makes sense. You have a way of explaining things in a very clear manner so that we can get it.

Regarding the 1/2 step clash that I was asking, you said:

"So my opinion is that it depends on the function of the note (123...#11 b13etc) and what is going on around it whether or not to avoid it It does not depend on whether it is 1/2 step interval."

I find your reply interesting. I've been concentrating on the wrong thing. I like that D in the Cm chord too but I had the impression we were to avoid 1/2 step clash cuz people find it too harsh.

Off hand, would you know which function of the note would make the clash undesirable? I can only think of a 7 and tonic in a major 7 chord when the melody tone is tonic.

Rosa