Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner - Non Classical Tim Richards: Improvising Blues Piano

Hi Mike/cruiser,
great idea!

How can it be organized?
B-52

Hi doug,
thank you for visiting my site.

Yes, my wife and I have a great time dancing to the kind of Music I (would...) like to play.... :-)

Go back to the dancefloor... it's so exciting to be there... among other dancers... a good band on the stage!

In the beginning Boogie Woogie was music for dancers and every time we go to the dance floor we keep alive that tradition!
b-52

Thanks for posting the link to your site, which includes the YouTube video of the Luca Sestak version of Boogie Woogie Stomp. I believe that this is a variation of Pinetop's Boogie Woogie.

This brings me back to my favorite version of Pinetop's Boogie Woogie, by LIttle Brother Montgomery. A 1966 TV broadcast can be seen on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku-gfv8oWdY (Little Brother Montgomery - Pinetops Boogie. (1966)) It can also be heard on the Smithsonian Folkways CD "Classic Piano Blues." This version seems a bit slower than than most versions. I love watching LIttle Brother Montgomery playing.

Well b-52, I wasn't thinking of anything really structured other than to suggest that we post something which represents our current level of achievement, no matter how "basic".

As for myself, I intend to work through the book as methodically as I can and, although I'm "dipping my toes" into later chapters, I really want to internalize (To use Tim's own word) as much as possible from each chapter in sequence. I firmly believe that this approach will be of most benefit in building a solid foundation in Blues, Boogie and Jazz. As Tim also says, this doesn't mean that we have to master every piece in each chapter before progressing. However I believe it's important to have a good grip of the harmonic and other theoretical principles (Not to mention the improvisation practice!) in each chapter before moving on. A quick glance at some of the work to come will will confirm the need for this, I think. The theory at each level can be practiced with the easier pieces in each chapter of course, returning later to the more difficult work.

Although I've got to the end of chapter 1, I'm by no means satisfied that I've "internalized" as much as I need to before progressing to chapter 2. I particularly want to spend more time transposing and improvising before moving on. The tools at our disposal in chapter 1 are of necessity limited, but it doesn't matter - let's just do the best we can and encourage each other. As we progress, and our armoury get's stronger, I'm sure we'll be pleasantly surprised by our progress.

I suggest that we post something from each chapter in turn, but this of course is only a suggestion. Anyone can post anything they like, or nothing at all - that's o.k. too I'll try and post something within the next day or so.

There's plenty of information elsewhere in the forums on how to record and upload mp3 files to hosting sites, if anyone is unfamiliar with the process.

I'm currently studying "Blues for Booker" - tricky! I don't think I'll be recording this piece for a while!

Mike

Hi Mike...I had been thinking along the same line and had created an account with Box last week...just a matter of setting up a piece of software to record in mp3 from the piano...If you do post your level of effort so far... be aware there are people out there, that have no idea what effort you might have put in to be able to play the piece even at the lowest level..criticism is good and it can also be very harmful for the student to continue with their studies...if you not comfortable posting.. then PM your work to someone who is active on the thread who you would feel would be objective ..to me any effort is worth complements and support.....Doug

Hi Walkfar...There are a lot of great exponents of blues a nd boogie on Utube...one I like is Matthew Ball (boogiewoogiekid) he plays at a very measured speed you can hear clean notes...well worth a view..Doug

Hi boogieman52 ... Theres no doubt that boogie is a great form of music to dance to...great for fitness as well..Doug

[quote=WalkFar]This brings me back to my favorite version of Pinetop's Boogie Woogie, by LIttle Brother Montgomery. (...) It can also be heard on the Smithsonian Folkways CD "Classic Piano Blues." This version seems a bit slower than most versions. /quote]

Hi Walkfar!
What a coincidence: Classic Piano Blues -one of my favourite CDs- is in my CD player right now. I love those BWs played slower than they are played nowadays.

You are right about Boogie Woogie Stomp: it is the Pinetop's Boogie Woogie version by Albert Ammons, who added some more choruses.

This week I'm going to start Pinetop's Boogie Woogie (p.150: at the moment my major goal! :-)
b-52

Hi Doug and thanks for your comments. I agree with you 100%. Maybe, as you suggest, it would be better to send each other our recordings via PM. On the other hand, we can continue as we are right now and post something in the member's recordings forum, when we've completed the book

Hi Doug and Mike.
I do agree with both of you.
Probably in this early stage it's better to keep our sharing a little more intimate... :-)
b-52

For those who don't know Matthew Ball, here is his channel on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/Boogiewoogiekid?blend=2&ob=1

Enjoy! :-)
b-52

Hi boogieman52..Thanks for posting the link...I didn't want to push my agenda as to who I like playing boogie and blues .... there is a lot of young talent in Europe as well.... this is your forum on TRB and learning to play blues....Matthew Ball is also a very competent blues player ..just doesn't play it but feels it..hope the link connects some people to watch him play both Blues and Boogie......you wont be dissapointed....Doug

Hey all,

I've been going through this book with my piano teacher for about 18 months now on & off. He hasn't taken me through page by page, but rather has taken important pieces & areas from it to focus on. I think this book is fantastic, and as we've done new standards & pieces outside the book, very often I'll get the feeling of 'the penny dropping' as I relate something explained earlier in the book to other pieces. I really like it.

I'm actually VERY keen to get onto the jazz book, but now that I've read a number of people say to complete the blues book before moving onto the jazz one (which is what my teacher also says) I'll do just that...

I have to say though, that like ALL textbooks of this style, I think I'd find it difficult, if not entirely impossible to work through it from beginning to end on my own. I need a teacher there. I think this is a better way to learn, but more fundamentally I have just never had the patience to be able to work through a book like that end to end. I know a lot of people feel the same. I have a number of jazz books, a few highly regarded, but I was never able to persist through them until I started seeing a teacher. So my 2c is simply that if you can work through it with a teacher, give it a shot - you might find it a lot easier. I for one admire anyone who is able to actually go through the books on their own and get to the end - but don't be surprised, or feel defeated if you can't

Regards,
Manachi

Hi Manachi .. It would be unusual for someone to go through this book from start to finish in that order as some of the pieces don't appeal...this is probally a reason that Tim says to play music that appeals to your hearing .. thus jump to different parts of the book you can cope with...This type of music requires confidence and once you have a piece sussed out ..it does start to fall into place..I use it as a reference to other pieces I learn and play...I steal right hand riffs and left hand from it to make up my own pieces..
If a teacher helps you ...and you can afford it..thats the way to go...especially if they are interested in what you want to learn and play....I have the two Tim Richards Jazz books they are excellent as I play a few standards and I also use them as reference books..they have helped me with comping left chords..as I like the way Erroll Garner plays...useing his left hand like a guitar strumming chords...Hope you stay with us on our quest to become good blues players......Doug

Hey dissyfingers,

I'm glad to hear it's not just me that finds it difficult to digest a textbook like this straight through from beginning to end (goes for any textbook in my experience) To go a bit off topic, I also have the book "Jazz Piano" by Mark Levine after having it recommended on this forum (amongst other places) and I still haven't got around to properly going through that. Even though it seems to be highly praised, so far I've found Tim Richard's books easier to comprehend.

dissyfingers, out of interest, did you find that you needed to 'internalise' most of the Blues book before going into Tim Richard's Jazz books? Or did you have a go at diving into the jazz books early?

To be honest I actually veered off the textbook for some time and went through some standards from real/fake books with my teacher, and while that has been great fun, and I gained a lot from it, I'm wanting to come back and fill in the gaps from this book that I missed, and hopefully get onto the jazz book soon too

Glad to have found this thread btw. Good one!

Cheers

Hi...Hey...Manachi...The good thing about blues and boogie is way you can adapt it into even the real/fake books..a typical example is Swanee River... use a left hand shuffle with it and it becomes the Swanee River Boogie..Theres a lot of simple 3 chord songs which can be adapted to this...its all about having some fun without getting to serious about it...I don't have any problem with the jazz books as I understand the theory of how scales are made up and chords 9-11-13th are used ...one of my favorite chords is a major 7th ..sometimes it pays to give the texts away for a couple of weeks and just concentrate on playing.......Doug

Welcome Manachi! :-)
I have just never had the patience to be able to work with a teacher! :-)
6 months were enough: all that Hanon... the posture... the pink this way, not that way... :-))))

So I prefer to struggle against IBP all by myself, rather than practice things I do not love, but I understand people who are able to study with a teacher, in particular if they don't play only Blues. And I probably do envy them a little... :-)

Regards! :-)
b-52

That's the main point, Doug.

Sometimes the Blues is about sufferance, but it doesn't have to be a cause of sufferance.

So when I'm getting too serious about IBP, I stop and do something else.
In this way, when I come back to the piano and IBP I feel better and I start playing with a new energy!

Keep on posting, Folks! :-)
b-52

Hi...boogieman52......I'm with you ..I'll struggle along the same as you...once I have found some mp3 software to load the piano into.. I'll start sharing with others with my progress on the thread..
It's very hard to find a teacher who is completely structured to abide with what you want to learn and not try to steer you into another direction...I'm happy just plodding along..having fun and this great TRB thread to talking to you guys.....Doug

Hi Manachi, good to have another enthusiast on board!

I agree wholeheartedly with what you've written about the advantage of having a teacher to work with, even with great "guided" books like IBP and Tim's Jazz books.

I'm a recent convert to Blues/Jazz having studied classical piano with a teacher for the last five years. I live in Germany (Originally from Wales) and if I could find a Jazz teacher here who would work with me through Tim's books as well as - importantly! - whose English language skills were up to it, then this is the route I would take too.

You're right, it takes a lot of focused discipline to work alone, even with great books like Tim's. As I posted earlier, I've already had a couple of "false starts" with IBP, at the time lacking the commitment to persevere. Now that I've put the classics on the back burner I'm hoping this will change.

Another problem for me - and it is a problem! - is that I tend to want to do things "by the numbers" if you understand me. Instead of a more flexible approach, which I think Doug (dissyfingers) and b-52 adopt, I tend to want to plow through all the material in order, whether I actually enjoy all the pieces or not. On the other hand there are valuable lessons to be learned at all stages in IBP, none of which I want to miss. As I work through IBP this time I'm trying really hard to be more flexible in my approach.

As you, Manachi, and Doug have suggested, I also think it's important not to take the blinkered approach with IBP and study only this excellent book for what could be a very long time. I think this would be a recipe for giving up again. In parallel with my IBP studies I would like to be able to learn some Blues/Jazz pieces worthy of performance, so that my enthusiasm is maintained. Bearing in mind that I'm not a beginner at the piano, I could do with some help here

EDIT: Great replies from Doug and b-52!

Mike