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Hi Dough,

when I play the Second Chorus in Jump Shuffle, sometimes I feel like a child swinging on a swing... :-)

Next steps:
1) a smooth passage from the two choruses;
2) that swing feel also when I improvise.

At he moment I memorize a song and I just read the score when I am not sure what's coming next and I need a help.

I hope to be able to play Monday Struggle one day... I have the Colin Davey's transcription, but at the moment it's Greek to me. :-)

b-52

Hi b-52 I have been working on the Colin Davey transcription for about 3 months..can play the first 2 pages just fair so far..I have given myself a year to learn it and another six months to get it up to speed...probally will never play it at recommended tempo 175!! I found it fairly daunting to start with..but I like Monday Struggle and have listened to it a lot..this is why I brought SmartScore so I can hear it played a 60 bpm and I can learn the parts while reading the sheet...others I like are Shout for joy..Luxs boogie..Honky tonk train..Dive bommer..Roll em pete..Pinetops boogie..Boogie woogie stomp...Yancys special..Six wheel chaser.. Death ray boogie..Night train..Honky tonk train blues...Luxemboogie..and there are many others

Hi b-52..Its a great feeling when it all comes together..I was reading a thread somewhere that a chap had been learning a short boogie piece for about 8 months and never thought he would get it together..woke up one morning ..went to the piano and just played straight through...so it just takes time ..and this is what happens with this type music.....Doug

Hi Doug,

It seems that we like the same BWs... :-)

This mornign I started Seventh Blues (pag.84): it isn't difficult, but I need to strenghen my little finger, because sometimes it doesn't go where I tell it to go and it misses the Seventh.
In this first section of Chapter 3 (Seventh Chords) there are some good exercises and I'm going to do my homework.

Furthermore I'm doing what Tim Richards says in Appendix V and I combine tunes in the Key of C from different chapters and then I improvise.

So.. I'm a little busy... :-)

Hey Boogieman,

That's one possibility. But you have another option, too. Stay with Beginner's Boogie, but substitute a different bass line from the appendix on page 244. You can do that for any of the lessons. Richards himself makes this suggestion somewhere in the book.

Hi Bruce ..The appendix is a great way to find a bass line that can suit the need of a particular right hand riff..I have been using the Boogie woogie line on a certain put down..pick up I have recently learnt..I have another book with 40 bass lines published by Matthew Ball .. titled .. The art of boogie woogie...it comes with a CD ....He has another book called Blues Preludes..this has 10 blues pieces including ..cow cow blues...baby spann blues..great pieces to learn in the future..Doug

Hi b-52 ..I used a lot 7th chords both major and dominant in blues music playing guitar..some other blues I played had 9 and 11 chording...had to play them or the vocal wouldn't sound right...Doug

Hi Bruce and Doug,
thanks for your inputs!

I already use different bass lines, but at the moment my focus is on learning the right hand vocabulary on a steady and familiar left hand bass line.

I didn't know the books suggested by Doug: thanks, I'm going to give them a try in the future.
b-52

The Seventh Blues (pag. 84-87) has so many ideas, assignment, improvisation tips I can't stop playing...
I need a rest! :-)
b-52

hI B-52...The books by Matthew Ball ..He is also know as W.W.W. Boogie Woogie Kid and is on Utube...well worth a look...he has some blues as well as boogie..has a great feel for both types of music....Doug

Hi Boogieman,
Have you checked out Otis Spann's playing yet? He was and continues to be EXTREMELY influential to so many great blues piano players. Amazing runs, amazing feel, and impeccable swing feel and timing.
I would also check out Johnnie Johnson's boogie playing. Very simple but every note he played was just right.
Both of these guys have been a huge influence on my blues playing and teaching over the years.

Hi Doug,
at Amazon I checked the books by Matthew Ball: they are good, but at the moment I am very busy with Improvising Blues Piano, as you can see... :-)

Hi Steve,
Otis Spann is one of the Blues Piano Players I love the best!
I visited your web site and I like it, but -as I just told Doug- now I am really in IBP and I do not feel like studying new Books or DVDs, even if I find them interesting.

Tonight is Blues For Sal time (pag. 88).
I play it with a left hand shuffle and I find it very easy, because it's the kind of Blues I already play.
So I'm just relaxing and having fun with all those triplets!

Hi...Steve...Johnny Johnson is a great entertainer..if have a look through the Matthew Ball (Boogiewoogie Kid) Utube video's he has a few excellent blues numbers and one is a famous Otis Spann piece..it is an excellent rendition....and as J.J says... just having fun.....Doug

Hi b-52.. I have brought the extra books as reference material ...have also just received.. The story of Boggie-Woggie (a left hand like god) very interesting history of Boogie ..where it all started...
Page 88 the triplets these are great for the dexterity of the fingers...they are great for fills just on one chord...have fun....Doug

Hi Doug,

"I woke up this morning, the triplets all around my bed..." :-)

The Story of Boogie Woogie by Peter Silvester is a great book!
I found it second hand a few years ago, when the first edition was out of print. Now there is a second edition and maybe I'm going to buy it in the future.

Thanks for all your posts!
B-52

Yes I agree boogieman..Spann was great! Thank you for your kind words as well about my site! Very thoughtful of you. Good luck with your blues studies

Hi Steve, and everybody,

I'm back to my piano and IBP.

After 3 days away from home, my fingers are a little stiff, so today I'm not going to study anything new: just a revision of the Blues I have already learnt and... I have almost forgotten!

Ninth Blues (pag. 130) is a nice tune based on the ninth chords.

I have found it quite easy, because it's the kind of Blues I prefer: a solid shuffle and some appealing riffs, with a lot of triplets.

The tornaround and the ending are a little tricky, because I am not used to an open voicing 9th chord approached from a semitone above, but I'm practising quite hard so I hope to play it smoothly in a couple of hours.

The more I study Improvising Blues Piano by Tim Richards, the more I recommend it to everybody who really want to dig deep into the Blues!

Hi b-52....Had a run through Ninth's Blues...has a great shuffle feel...the thing about this ... it dosent take long to get it happening.......Doug

Hi Doug,

for the moment at the end of Ninth Blues I have decided to play a turnaround that's more familiar to me.
In this way I can play it smoothly.

Medium Jump (pag. 182) is another tune I'm really enjoying.
It's very close to Jump Shuffle (pag. 53) and I do love both of them.
The second chorus keeps my Right Hand quite busy trying to get that jumping feeling, so I am not able to improvise yet.

Take care.
b-52