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Thanks, Doug.
I already knew Luckyluca99 from German: he's awsome!
Here is the link to his new web site: http://www.piano99.de/home_EN.htm

Hi boogieman52..The interest in boogie and blues piano by young European piano players is amazing..hope it spreads through out the world..a lot of them that play boogie and blues are classically trained..just shows there is more to life than classical music ??

Hi cruiser,
I'm sure this time is the right time! :-)
And I'm happy that following this thread for a while has given you an input to give another go to this wonderful book.
It would be great to create a large group of students from different parts of the world and share our experiences!
Regards.
b-52

Thanks for your encouragement bm52. I'm making a fresh start with IBP today and will post my progress

Today is Jimmie Yancey bass line day. :-)

In fact I'm practising Blue Third Blues (p. 22, but transposed from C to G) + Five Fingers Blues (p. 31) + Blues in Thirds (p. 96): all of them played one after the other in the key of G and against the Jimmie Yancey LH.

The three melodies are very easy, but the LH gives them a feeling I do love.

I'm very happy because a couple of weeks ago I found very difficult to coordinate the bouncing LH and the RH triplets in Blue Third Blues, but now everything goes smoothly.

As they say: practice makes perfect! :-))))

I've also been working on "Blue Third Blues" today and had the same problem with the triplets against the Yancey bass. Came together after a while though. My improvising isn't very adventurous yet!

Hi boogieman52....cruiser...I have found it take several weeks to get a piece playing smoothly...and if you dont keep playing it ...the smoothness drops of very quickly with this type of music...Blue Third Blues ..are you using a metronome..this will help with the triplets....keep at it as it will be very rewarding when can play it proficiently.....Doug

You are right, Doug.
A metronome is very helpful with the triplets.

I also find very helpful to study the score and check very carefully each note in the RH triplets against the LH bass line: in other words, I try to train my mind before sitting at the piano.

It may seems silly, but this training, a metronome and tons of patience are the right way to enjoy this wonderful music. :-)
b-52

Hi boogieman52....Definitaly not silly...Patience is the essence to overcome this music...one must be confident also want play it and have love for it....I always read it through and sing it in my head before playing..When watching experienced players of this music you can see the confidence when playing...they look around and smile at the camera..some of the good younger players have been playing this type for at least 3 years...with other piano training proir to learning blues or boogie....Doug

Tim Richards is going to teach at the Jazz Piano Summer School in London.

You may want to check this link: http://www.timrichards.ndo.co.uk/PremisesJazzPianoWeek.html

It's really a pity it's not a Blues School...

I don't know if Tim is going to teach again at the Euro Blues Week (http://www.euroblues.co.uk/index.htm), as he did last year: http://www.euroblues.co.uk/bluesweek2010.htm

Now that's a course I'd love to attend b-52, although my knowledge of the pre-requisite chords (as specified in the link) falls somewhat short! I've got lots of work to do.

From what I've seen, there is a blues element to the course.

My best to all studying IBP!
Mike

I'm at the stage where I faltered the last time I attempted IBP.

Trill Blues (page 35) is too much for my weak 5th finger at the moment and so I'll miss this piece out for now whilst continuing to practice the trills.

There is so much memorizing, improvising, mixing and matching etc. to be done that I'm starting to confuse myself again! There's also the "Developing a vocabulary" to bare in mind.

I guess it's a case of persevering at this stage. As I wrote earlier, patience is my problem

I think I'll consolidate what I've learned so far and try to memorize the pieces I've covered whilst giving more effort to transposing into the "basic" keys (C, G, F, D) and spend more time improvising.

Out of interest, here's a video of a friend of mine playing a great Boogie Woogie version of "Just a closer walk with thee" (There's a version in IBP). He started playing about 3 years ago, can't read music and doesn't have an extensive knowledge of harmony. He's learned everything from YouTube videos that he's downloaded and slowed down in order to copy what he sees. In the meantime he's built a great vocabulary of licks and chord accompaniments and he's a great improviser.

Hi...Mike...Dont try to do to much as it will fry your brain...keep down to a couple and try and get them smooth first..I was trying to much to start with and it stops you from progressing ..when you are only doing a couple of pieces you are more likely to get your coordination with left and right keeping in time with each other..just play it really slow and in the next few days you will find you will automatically start playing it a bit quicker ..use the CD ..listen to the piece over and over..if your CD played has a loop timer for tracks use it so you dont have to recall the track ..The thing about this music is.. it must be in your head...Keep at it ..Doug

Thanks for the words of advice and encouragement Doug. I'm determined not to give up this time!

I think "this music must be in your head" is particularly important. As someone who's "come over" from the classics, I need to develop a freedom and ability to "play in the moment". That reminds me, I must dig out Kenny Werner's excellent book "Effortless Mastery".

Today I'm working on "On-off Boogie" with that great new lick (or turn-around?) in bar 10.

Mike

I do agree.
A book like IBP has so many tunes, assignements, tips etc. that at the beginning I was tempted to do everything in a short time... :-)

Then I learned to take my time and slow down.
So now I love to pick up a tune and patiently work on it, just for the pleasure to hear a certain line, improvise a couple of bars and so on.

Today I'm back to Barrelhouse Blues, improvising as suggested by Tim Richards, throwing some lines from other Blues and...let's see what happens! :-)

b52

Great video. Thanks for sharing!
Your friend has the right feeling to play Blues and Boogie Woogie.
Bravo!!!

Hi Doug, in my Blog Boogieworld (in Italian... sorry... :-))) I have embedded a couple of Luckyluca/Luca Sestak's Videos.
You may want to check this link: http://boogieworld.myblog.it/

The first time I saw him on You tube I was very impressed and since then he has improved a lot.
I hope to see him live, here in Europe.

A nice weekend to everybody! :-)

Hi boogieman52..I have been to your site already..looks like you and you partner have a great time around the dances..I was doing the same 10 years ago...I'm still into Rockabilly ..played lead guitar in bands for years....tend to slow down a bit as you get older......Doug

Hi b-52 and Doug (And anyone else following IBP).

How about we try linking to some recordings of our efforts so far (on Box.net or similar)? This might give our progress added impetus as well as perhaps focusing our efforts more. Doesn't have to be anything fancy at this stage! What do you think?
Mike