Share Your Music, Recordings, & Performances 🎵

[Hayden]

Wonderful performance George - thanks for sharing!

I love the voicing that you end on … It reminds me of the Red Garland Trio version with the dissonant ending.

I also love Red’s use of block chords in that recording. It’s a great way to inject energy whilst playing the main melody and also when soloing. We have a lesson on that voicing technique here if you’re interested, also using the tune “There Will Never Be Another You”:

Red Garland Voicing Tutorial | Red Garland Block Chords Lesson

I also like how you use the melody of the tune as ‘a springboard’ to develop your own melodic ideas. The opening motif of this tune is very catchy and can be played once, and then developed further using the same rhythm.

I had some fun jamming on this tune with @Lyndol a couple of years ago, notice during my solo at 2:00, just as I start the 2nd A Section, I play the original melody over Ebmaj7 and then play the same rhythmic figure again over the 251 to the C Minor, and the 251 to Bb Minor:

Finally, if you desire to work on your timing…

@Tuomo hosted a wonderful live seminar this morning on “How To Use The Metronome”.

He used the tune “There Will Never Be Another You” as an example throughout the seminar so you might like to check out the recording, you can find it here:

How to Practice With A Metronome For Jazz Piano: Chords & Improvisation

Tuomo covered the following exercises and drills for improving time:

• Metronome Practice with Hanon Exercises
• Metronome Practice with a Bebop Line
• Metronome Practice with Barry Harris Voicings
• Improv Exercises - 8th Notes & Triplets
• Practicing with Metronome on beats 2 & 4
• Advanced Metronome Exercises
• A useful drill alternating 8th Notes, Triplets, 16th Notes

Most of the drills and exercises are demonstrated over “There Will Never Be Another You” - so definitely worth checking out.

Thanks again for sharing @George_Miller - it’s wonderful inspiration for us all!

[George_Miller]

Thanks Scott. The audacity app records speech or sound and it is a basic editor too, so you can make adjustments, edit the recording and export as eny format you like. I’m playing a Yamaha 5’7’’ grand. I have my eye on an electronic keyboard but haven’t taken the plunge yet!
Aye,
George

[George_Miller]

Thanks Lori. IReal Pro is popular in Britain but I hadn’t heard of it in Canada before coming on the site. I have Band in a Box which does much the same thing and it’s a real learning curve playing to rhythm when you’re not used to it. After listening to my piece I realize I need to do more of it.
Aye,
George

[George_Miller]

Thanks Hayden. I had already worked on the Red Garland Block chords video but hadn’t got to the voicing tutorial. I went through that this morning and love the sound of the octaves and fifths in the right hand against the left hand voicings. I’ll work on that.
I enjoyed the jam session you posted with @Lyndol and identified the section you mention. Now that I am more comfortable with extended chords I’m working on improvisation and solo development.
Tuomo is always incredible in his insights. I’m looking through the app store for a metronome app right now. I must admit to a little bit of evil seeing Tuomo struggle a bit with the Barry Harris voicings. I’ve been working on them now for a year, still have trouble visualising the drop 2 with diminished, and I’ll never ever be as accomplished as Tuomo.
Thanks for your help
Aye,
George

[celia]

Very nice George! Thanks for sharing! I agree with you and others on the timing issue, although most of what I play is rubato which gives me some room. I still find hesitancies that I don’t like. I also get nervous when I try to record myself…it is like a setup for a boo boo!

[Hayden]

@George_Miller - here are a couple of metronome apps for consideration:

Tempo:

‎Tempo - Metronome with Setlist

I find this app simple and intuitive to use, which is what a metronome app should be.

DrumGenius:

Drumgenius Drum Loops

This app is somewhat of a cross between a backing track and a metronome. There is no bass included in the tracks which makes it great for practicing left hand shuffle and walking bass lines. If you are working on our Chicago Blues, Boogie Woogie, or New Orleans Blues courses, this app is great for working on timing and groove.

The drum sounds and nuances have been carefully constructed to imitate the style of famous jazz drummers. If you download the app, you can choose 5 tracks for free if I remember correctly - so there’s nothing to loose by trying it out - and then you must get the full version for access to the full library of drum sound and styles.

We have more info on it here:

Drumgenius: Best "metronome" practice app ever!

Hey, folks, I have no stake in this app at all except as a very happy user, and I thought I’d mention it to the PianoGroove community. Pretty much all of us could use more practice with a metronome, but there’s actually something better than a metronome for most of the common time signatures! A fellow player put me onto this app called Drumgenius (available for at least iOS and Android) and I’ve been using it regularly ever since in my own practice. The app has a library of drumbeats, mostly c…

[Lyndol]

Very Creative! Love how you play around esp. at the end. And enjoyed the voicing movement.

The other side to hearing yourself play on a recording, is that sometimes things you thought were mistake, actually sound great. It can work both ways. Funny how different it is to listen passively, verses listen whilst playing. I’m always surprised both pleasantly and not. Takes courage.

[Izzy]

Hi everyone,

I have been getting loads of ideas off the tutorial videos and live feeds, and recently have been getting to know Bill Evans and Oscar Peterson through listening, playing videos, and watching Youtube videos. I created a short jazz composition in the style of Oscar Peterson, called “Izzy Does It”, for piano, bass and drums (not played with live players yet!). I tried to do Oscar Peterson-style piano voicings, which are fun (if a little stretchy for my hands!). On this audio, there are no solos or da capo, just the head played through, jumping straight to the coda.

[scott1]

Izzy,

That’s sweet! Would you share with us your setup? I’m curious about what keyboard you use, how you record, backing tracks, drum loops, etc. It sounds very good. I’m just getting started with Logic Pro X and looking for ideas. Keep sharing.

[Izzy]

Hi Scott, thanks. This is just an export from MuseScore, where I notated everything. I am a Logic user as well and frequently record audio or use a MIDI interface to play into Logic, so feel free to ask any questions. For audio, I have a Scarlett microphone and audio interface. For software instruments, i.e. playing in a MIDI line, I use my Kawai digital keyboard, which plugs straight into my computer using USB A-B cable.

[Hayden]

Nice composition @Izzy - and awesome how you created all of this in MuseScore.

Regrading stretchy voicings… we can most often rearrange the notes into a smaller register of the piano if the original voicings are too much of a stretch.

Tuomo posted some useful tips here on hand position to avoid an injury when playing:

What are you working on in quarantine?

Hi @chris4, basically while playing you should not feel any pain. Here’s a list of things you can do: 1. Make sure your fingering is the best possible, then stick to it. Keep your hand above the wanted voicing’s keys, and use the fingers that are closest to the notes of the voicing, do not stretch if not necessary. Also you can move your whole hand deeper to the piano (Meaning more above the black keys than white), that can help you reduce finger stretches. 2. Make sure you’re sitting in …

Also… An Upcoming Music Composition Seminar

Also on the topic of composition, we have a “Music Composition” live seminar next week with Jovino, add the event to your calendar here if you are interested:

Music Composition Workshop | Live Seminar with Jovino Santos Neto

[Izzy]

Thanks @Hayden. I’m definitely interested in any composition-themed seminars, so hope I will be not be teaching for this next one …! If not I’ll watch on catch-up. Look forward to it.

[George_Miller]

@Izzy

I created a short jazz composition in the style of Oscar Peterson,

That was so cool!

I could definitely hear Oscar Petersen there!

Aye,
George

[Pierrot]

Nice done ! this call and response btw bass and piano cool

[adam_powell]

Oh my Izzy. That was awesome. I love that stutter that you threw in there. I was like “Whuuuu.” Thanks for sharing what you have been exploring.

Kindly,
Adam

[George_Miller]

Hi all.

I attended Jovino’s seminar on Brazilian rhythms a short time ago and have been working on Bossa Nova and the accents as he suggested. I’m trying The Girl from Ipanema, The shadow of your smile, and Insensitive. Here’s my attempt at the latter. In one of Jovino’s lessons on this piece he mentions that Chopin’s prelude in E minor has much the same harmony, so I decided to put it in and see what it sounded like. (In D minor!). You’re always more likely to murder a classical piece than succeed in jazz, so I give my apologies in advance!

[Izzy]

Thanks George. I’ve now Latinised it for a 3-horn ensemble; sounding less Oscar Peterson now!

Izzy

[Izzy]

Thanks Pierrot. I noticed that Oscar P likes to do piano/bass alternation, so this is my nod to that.

[Izzy]

Thanks Adam. Yeah Oscar P does tremolos all over the place, and I love playing them, so it had to happen

Izzy

[Kristeta]

@George_Miller oh my gosh!!! I love it! I have been trying that song (There will never be…) and I am always stuck in the first page hahaha… I need to keep up and keep working on it. You on another note have done a very impressive version, Wowow! Gave me a BIG smile listening to it! Would have been nice to see your video tooooo… listening to this made my day today! Thank you for sharing.

I was just listening to Insensitive too- (if thats the other audio you shared) I REALLY like it a LOT - is that available on PianoGroove too??? wow I would like to check it out! you did AMAZING!