PIerre practice routine in video, challenges

Hello Pianogroovers

Because still nobody join me for creating a practice group, i decide to create this topic :weight_lifting_man: to challenge myself and see how i keep this practice going . For myself i still got difficulties to keep this going alone. I 'm interested in so many things. Even about music i love jazz latin , i am discovering funk neosoul, classical music . And even have other instruments bass and doublebass that i still practice… I dont count in all that, the time for my family and my job :slight_smile: the daytime not long enough… :rofl: . Doing all that is already a challenge itself. I hear Hayden speaking about meditation too . I travel in Thailand where i learn some basics with a great Buddhist monk ( just one day long), ; i think this should help me too, not getting insane :blush: but still nor regular yet.

But enough talk lets begin !

My goals

  • for this week 251 minor and learning a new song by memory i already know "song for my father " and a transcription exercice

  • for the month a new song i never played : my foolish heart

the challenge is written !

P.S.

  • Anybody can join me here for getting this challenge done ! I will try to write it there each week and will try to take stock of the situation at the end of the month.
  • i keep the idea of creating a practice group with you all pianogroovers friends :v: !
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heres the playlist i created for song for my father

i have to pick some extract of them and try to transpose them
probably Michel Camillo will be my first choice but i love some soulfunk idea

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and for my foolish heart

Thats the version that touch me the most :heart_eyes:, simple and so effective ; but the singing is more than 50% for it ; and those cats for me does the perfect comping too . Thats the versions that makes me to play it too

and this one :yum:

and this playlist :sunglasses:

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Haha, your not getting insane @Pierrot I’m loving your posts and openness :slight_smile: Keep them coming.
Also your use of emoji’s should win a badge of some sort here, loving the weightlifter :+1:

Hello Dr Renton Thanks ! :face_with_monocle:

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Great idea @Pierrot … I haven’t learnt “Song For My Father” so I will join in and post my arrangement :weight_lifting_man:

I know my minor 251s, but coincidentally I am working on these for the Rootless Voicings Practice Series, so i will post my videos too.

I’ll also post my favourite versions of “Song For My Father” shortly.

Your playlist is awesome Pierre, exactly how I approach learning new songs, listen to every record I can find, then make a shortlist.

Great set of records here that you have compiled:

I’m looking forward to delving in :ok_hand::ok_hand::ok_hand:

Wow psychological strain grow :blush:

Great to see someone jumping in :man_playing_handball: :man_cartwheeling: come all in water :bath: here fellows groover :swimming_man::swimming_woman: :sunrise::desert_island: :dark_sunglasses:

the flight :airplane: is for :date: next tuesday , and takeoff :rocket: before midnight
:stopwatch: :hourglass_flowing_sand: :hourglass: …

Dr Renton :face_with_monocle: will supervise :film_projector: the flight … and master :mortar_board: Hayden will groove :musical_keyboard: around elegantly :tophat:…

:stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: :rofl::crazy_face::partying_face::partying_face:
must be the pressure

:syringe: no no !!

5 minutes meditation for Pierrot :yin_yang:

:sunny::rainbow:

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I’ll participate in all of your exercises and routines Pierre. Always count me in :sunglasses:

Looking forward to getting started on this song!

Not sure if you’ve included this version of “Song for My Father,” but I came across this video tonight and thought I’d share. It’s his quintet from 1968. Fascinating to watch him play. He’s really on here.

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Ye great, so joyceful to see Horace Silver playing and getting inside this spicy song . In between really unique style of playing probably not the most impressing, but so effective and personnal , i love that . It 's some fusion between jazz funk bossa blues . In fact all the genres of music i’m in love :slight_smile: Thanks @scott1 to point it to me.

We are Tuesday the day to post our videos …. i really hope some of you will join me in my practicing journey … even just posting some exercice about 251 minor … its a challenge for ourself , not a competition so dont need to be perfect played at all . It’s more about seeing at which step we are ourself :camera_flash: , and recording ourself ( no need of videos too ) is often already a challenge :muscle: and hearing ourself even could be painful :broken_heart: sometimes ; BUT posting it in the forum is another step to push us to do it better :champagne:.

…
wAiTing YOU all !!!

Pierre

Hi Pierre,

Here’s my minor 251s all 12 keys moving around the circle of fifths :weight_lifting_man:

For each I play:

  • ii-7b5
  • V7b9#5
  • i-9

I do both Type A & Type B for each, Type A starts with the 1st Inversion for the ii-7b5 chord (b3-b5-b7-R) and then Type B starts with the 3rd inversion (b7-R-b3-b5).

You will see I made a little slip on my last 251 in G, which is all good, it shows which ones I need to practice. There’s also a couple of other hesitations which could have been quicker IMO.

Great exercise, I hope this inspires others.

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There’s many variations to minor 251 drills, I would recommend to take the following around all 12 keys:

  • The exercise above (ii-7b5 to V7#5b9 to i-9) lesson on that here.

  • Then #5#9 variation over the V7 chord

  • Then experiment with the i-9 chord (we can also land on i-maj7 or the i-69 which sounds beautiful… the latter has a crunchy flavour which you hear a lot in Brazilian/Latin styles)

  • When I land on the i-7 chord, i sometimes like to bring out the minor line cliche, b7 moving up to maj7, then falling to the b7, then falling again to the 6. This could be a separate exercise in itself, but I like to practice multiple things at ones.

  • start with the -11b5 chord which is R-11-b5-b7 (see advanced minor 251 lesson here) and move every note up a minor 3rd and you get V7#5#9 - this is more of a modern sound… hard to visualise at first, but comes with time.

  • Finally at the end of my video, you will see that I stack some 4ths and 5ths on top using my right hand. This gives you a big fat sound which I like to use when comping. Again take around all 12 keys.

  • Also on that final note, we have 2-handed minor 251s, that is super useful to take around the circle of fifths and really helped me to start visualising the b9s and #9s in all 12 keys.

I’m sure there are many more variations too, that’s what I like to work on. Cheers!

wow :flushed:

i’m late but still here havent see or read your comment before
my videos are loading in youtube

very interesting but hard week … not very proud of the result … but that was the deal … and this highlight the necessity to keep working them

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rootless voicing 251 minor up 4th bpm 75 voicing with 3rd at the bottom

251 minor voicing with 7 at the bottom bpm 80

youtube loading seems having trouble 30 minutes for 3 minutes videos
will post song for my father later …
Thanks Hayden for your great support ! :postal_horn::loudspeaker:

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Here s the my version of song for my father for today … :roll_eyes:ye need to still work on it too … but no more leadsheet needed this goal is attempted :sunglasses:

plenty of ideas id like to incorporate but cant do it nicely …
but i’m improving … thats pretty satisfying …

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This is awesome Pierre. Minor 251s are super tricky to learn and you are playing them nicely, I like how you are moving that voice around on the i-7 chord.

If I’m correct, you are playing the same in both hands? You are playing b9#5 over each dominant chord, and then when you hit the i- chord, to first play i-9, and then go to 1-69 by dropping the b7 to the 6. Is that correct?

I think it would help if we always explain what we are doing in the videos. Because it’s hard to see the keyboard. Just like I did here:

I think that would help other students understand what is going on, and exactly what the exercise is.

Awesome exercise this week Pierre :1st_place_medal:, I enjoyed revisiting this theory, and it also helped me plan the upcoming practice series on minor 251s.

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Wow that’s awesome Pierre :star_struck: beautiful arrangement .

Brilliant control of the melody which is tricky to play, and your improvised sections are really nice, and capture the Brazilian flavour. I’m impressed!

I didn’t actually get time to record myself but I will get around to it when I’m back at my piano in Manchester next week.

ps. I edited your post so that the video embeds properly in the post.

Hey Hayden

Thanks for your comment, but your to much polite :). Above all, don’t be afraid to criticize me and especially to point out to me the points where I should improve.

So i will do it for you :smile: :

grr I miss lot of my 251 and my rhythm is a not as acurate and swinging as i would like it to be. Probably normal because 251 not yet internalized too. I really need to work on this topic a lot and incorporate it in my routine .

In btw , It would be nice to do some course of different comping rhythm and exercice on it this could be a great topic IMPROVING RHYTHM in Jazz , not much about it on the site , or did i miss some lessons (only bossa rhythm from Jovino) ?

About my version of Song for my father ; i realize solo piano on it are rare as pearls and playing it was in fact pretty a big challenge for me. I even prefer not hearing it after recording before to send it :see_no_evil: :hear_no_evil: :speak_no_evil:. :rofl:

I have tried to incorporated some montuno but i completly miss what i have prepared for it :slight_smile:
Maybe Master Jovino could do some 5 minutes or even a whole course on montuno and Cubano rhythm as he does with bossa that would be great ! . Even mutuno are not brazilian rhythm

I also realized that i would never have post those videos if i have not challenge myself here. Good or bad thing … future will tell it :space_invader:

PS What was wrong in my editing of videos , to avoid you wasting your time for next videos.

So next challenge for the week

  • 251 minor rootless voicing ii-7b5 to V7#5b9 to i-9 (voicing 3 on bottom) with an easy minor right hand pattern

1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 (in bold the rhythm)

  • my foolish heart
    -learn the A part

    -trying to analyse the Carmen Mc Rae version ( arg yes it is in EbM , another challenge )

a question for you Hayden

Here where i am when i just play it reading the leadsheet 3 times. I know there could be a different answer for each players because of our levels and goals. So i post you this honest video just for this.

https://youtu.be/H-SBeeEPH-E

What do you suggest me

  • try to memorize your version https://www.pianogroove.com/jazz-piano-lessons/my-foolish-heart-tutorial/ before and then trying to build on it for creating my own arrangement ?

  • or just learn some parts i love from your arrangement ? to be able to incorporate them in future songs more easily ?

  • should i always try to memorize the all form of a song with leadsheet before jumping in your arrangements ?

Thanks for your great help and generosity !

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