Beginners blues/boogie/rock discussion

Sophia · 2024-05-29T17:17:55+00:00

I have always been fascinated by boogie woogie, but of course I am limited by my very limited piano skills 😃 However now that I'm in the second Alfred book,...

WieWaldi

Sophia is it one that slowly starts skipping ticks to train us to use our own internal clock?

Yes - exactly this one.
It is really annoying to get used to. If the random generator decides to skip 4 or 5 beats in a row, I am lost. I can hear the ticks again, but have no clue to what beat it fits. Sometimes the beat is with me, sometimes not. And sometimes the beat is with me, but I am a quarter note too fast. Or too slow - I really have no clue then.

You and your method books.📚
First Alfred, then Thompson and AFAIK you had an affair with Thompson before that, too. But hey - I am fine with. As long you spend some time on the method books, I can keep up with your pace at the Blues lessons.

Sophia

Hmmm sounds like this app is missing the CLING 🔔 tock 🕰️ tock 🕰️ tock 🕰️ of your old metronome (I sure miss that, you sounded so... Wie Waldi with that). That way you can tell by the 🔔 if you reach the first beat on the, well, first beat. Send them a message to complain 🤣

Method books: ahh pfft humbug. You're just jealous of my Disco Beat Bach!

WieWaldi

Sophia You're just jealous of my Disco Beat Bach!

Dammit - true. That one was really genius. J. S. would have loved it.

WieWaldi

While all folks are listening to the recitals, let me sneak in and hope nobody notices the tempo issues in the beginning, some sloppy playing in the center, and the glitch near the end.

Back to Blues...

Nightowl

WieWaldi I saw no sloppy playing, that was great! In addition to your piano skills I'd like to commend you on your extremely efficient page turning, which added a pleasant swish sound in perfect time with rhythm - very impressive! 😁
I feel that it's time to update your wrist band to something more befitting for the Bavarian Blues King - maybe a diamond encrusted watch?!? Not that you need the additional sparkle - your playing already dazzles! 😁

hebele

WieWaldi that is sneaky!

This one feels much faster but still smooth and clean. It was indeed fantastic. And that page turning is impressive. I also haven't heard of mistakes. I have suspicion this time it is not because of my ears.

WieWaldi

WieWaldi Probably my longest lesson, at least I hope this one will be the longest one for all time...
No - this one was not as hard as Lesson 5, and way more fun to learn. It's just me beeing that slow. 🦥

Blues Piano in G String...

Unfortunately, I missed recording licks 1 to 3, but who cares. Those licks were better blues scales and I had a hard time to fit them into the routine, anyway. (But I can play 'em. Honestly.) And now I consider this as finished. Done. Bye. Adios.

Btw: @Sophia, it's your turn to find out which part(s) comes from my head.

WieWaldi

Thanks my lovely total beginner fellows ❤️😍💕

Sophia those mistakes are only in your imagination.

Honestly, I missed notes. But I don't wonder you didn't hear it. I mean, how can you hear something I haven't played - ey? Not to mention, you are lacking radar ears:

Nightowl which added a pleasant swish sound in perfect time with rhythm

Sophia But what's with the VERY! LOUD! page turns??

Haha - this was exactly the volume my microphone picked it up... You can see my smartphone sitting left of my music desk - it had a metronome app running (with 50% randomly muted notes *proud*). If I wanted to stay in the rhythm, I had to be that fast with the page turns. I am not like all those accomplished classical players in the recitals. Those guys that have a good internal metronome and can slow down for page turns. They call it rubato. Nono - not me. My tempo-keeping ability is rather poor - I need the metronome. And this thing forces me to turn as quick as possible. And it IS THAT LOUD - no joke.

Sophia From about 2:18 I didn't enjoy the harmonies very much.

Me too. It's mainly due to the Train LH. But if you play it more often, you get used to it and it is not as bad, as it was in the beginning. It cost me a lot of practice to switch between both LH hands. The first one (you know it from the Before You Accuse Me) has fingering "5-2-1-2", the Train has "5-1-2-1" and a slightly different hand shape... It screwed up my mind so badly. But it is what it is - finger exercises - and brain unknotting.

Sophia

What?! How dare you distract me from the recital! With such sloppy playing, tempo issues and that gli .... wait. NO. It was fantastic, all those mistakes are only in your imagination. You are getting truly fancy! You truly deserve the name BBK (now Bavarian Boogie King)... - yes, you're stuck with it now.

Your lesson doesn't need a lot of commenting, it was just great to listen to. But what's with the VERY! LOUD! page turns?? First time that happened, I wasn't watching the screen and I nearly jumped against the ceiling, I thought one of the cats was into some major mischief!

From about 2:18 I didn't enjoy the harmonies very much. But as you said, it's just LH training. I know, nothing to do with your playing, but it didn't sound as nice as some of the other licks. Then ending was cute though.

On to the next lesson, you speed devil you!

Edit: sorry cross posted with you Nightowl - so yeah, everything you said!

WieWaldi

Ok, ok...
about the "sloppy play/missed notes":

0:05 I rushed ahead of the metronome and there I waited a bit for the click to sync up again. This happens during the entire piece here and there again, but in the beginning it was most prominent
1:14 the 16th notes rundown was sloppy played. Similar16th rundown pattern happens a few seconds later again and again and here I had time to position my hand properly before, and it comes out how it should: Crisp and clear.
2:18 the first note was kind of muted. The same phrase a little later was good (in comparison).

All in all acceptable, especially this is only a lesson recording and not a recital. But I want to be able to play a lesson at least once perfect. This was around 95% (as always). Interstingly, this unstead tempo happens quite often to me - especially in the beginning when my hands have to adapt to the metronome. This is something I have to work on. Hope, the Time Guru apps helps in the long run.
(OMG, I sound like a serious piano student😱 - shame on me 😨)

WieWaldi

How's your progress going, @Sophia and @hebele? I am currently lost in the key of G. New blues scale. New chords. New thirds. New sixths. New fingering. Left hand a bit different. Seems I'm stuck

(¹/₃^rd of 5 pages done 🤯)

hebele

WieWaldi I am sad to report no blues progress since my last "lesson". Loads of things happening in non-piano land. But I hope to start next lesson soonish.

Sophia

I'm loving Fever! I can now switch chords ever so smoothly - play the melody and then improv 1 to 5. Although 5 is not very smooth yet, I'm thinking of adding 6 tomorrow. I think there are a total of 8 and then the intro at the end (logical right?).

This time I'm not doing a full improvisation of my own. But still, instead of repeating the same thing three times, I will change each of the repeats one just a little to still call it my own 🙂

So, TL: DR version: over halfway there, it's coming along!

WieWaldi

Sophia and then the intro at the end (logical right?).

Sure - very logical. I played the intro as the intro of the next lesson - worked 😄

Sophia So, TL: DR version: over halfway there, it's coming along!

Ahh - things are becoming normal again

Sophia

Fever! As usual, not error free. But so much fun 😃 A tiny explanation for the ones who didn't follow this lesson yet: there are 8 licks, each gets repeated three times. I tried to play at least one of each according to Christian's lesson, then two repeats with someone my own invention (but tried to stay within the lick theme).

At the end of the lesson he teaches an introduction, but I don't think that fits this particular lesson. So as usual I followed WieWie's example and will leave that for the next lesson 🙂

WieWaldi

Sophia Niiiiiiiceeee!
You made some very nice variations to the sheet music. Here a syncopation, there some delayed notes - or pushed. A bit unexpected for me and how I remember this lesson. It's like the icing on the cake, it sounds really good. I must admit, you developed a solid feeling for the blues. This one particulary has this classy charme of a bar somewhere in downtown Chicago. A late night bar piano with a very relaxed and laid back feeling.

Nightowl

Sophia Nice playing - so smoooooth!

Just one thing - maybe set the drum beat at a slightly lower volume next time, so the piano sounds more prominent.

Simonb

Hi Sophia

Nicely done! You've progressed really well since I last saw/heard anything from you, which is probably down to me not being on the forum much, rather than you not posting.

I don't know what's in the sheet music as I don't own it, but you're right to start adding in your own variations and improvisations. As I've probably said before, if you work through all the books in the series, and at the end of it you still can't play a 12 bar blues without having some music in front of you; you've really missed the point. Or the books aren't doing their job.

That said we all have different talents and levels of natural ability, and when it comes to playing the blues it just may not suit some people.

Cheers

Sophia

Thanks! Yeah, I took some liberties, but one of each should be close to Christian's version. Sometimes the second repeat, if I butchered the first one... which I wouldn't confess to of course. It was all intended of course

Just now I listened to your original version - you actually played it at Rita speed! Respect, that's very impressive!!! The only thing - I borrowed your sonar ears and I think you played one of the chords ~~wrong~~ different. The G7 chord is played by Christian as G-B-F but my ears tell me you play something different... G-C-F perhaps? Or are my ears completely mistaken?

Next lesson I think is the "Hanon" one, but it will have to wait a little and concentrate on Beale Street Blues for a bit.

WieWaldi

I am quite sure, I played it this way. My muscle memory got back quite quickly.
Link
Sorry - I have filmed myself, but was too entusiastic with removing the SD card after switching my camera off. Guess I need to reboot my PC in safe mode to be able to format it... (Takes a while)

Sophia

Ah yes definitely correct! More proof that I just don’t possess the all famous WieWie ears 😘

WieWaldi

Sophia No - I think you are right. Rewatching my video, I can see it on my fingers. I play C instead of B. And I don't hear it! 😱

WieWaldi

The trophy for the best radar ears goes to:
🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁

............................❤️Sophia❤️

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