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MASTE R C LAS S: STR I D E Can you play stride like nobody since Art Tatum? Post a link to your playing on our forums at keyboardmag.com and you may be featured in print or online.

STRIDE PIANO by Scott Healy

Nothing strikes fear into the hearts of piano players like the mention of stride piano. This seemingly impossible old style is like ragtime on steroids, and pushes jazz pianists to the limit. The left hand alternates a low bass, frequently played in tenths, with close position midrange chords, while the right hand provides

melody, syncopations, lines, and runs. The total effect is a relentless, locked-down swing eighth-note feel. Even if you can’t invest the hours necessary to master stride, studying its fundamentals will increase your harmonic language skills and center your time feel. Plus, there’s nothing wrong with gaining an

appreciation of an almost-lost art that has inspired everyone from Duke Ellington, Art Tatum, and Oscar Peterson to Dick Hyman, Marcus Roberts, Kenny Werner, and Bill Charlap. Beyond the flash and the bluster of stride is a deep awareness of song structure, chord voicing, root movement and harmony, and most of all, swing.

Ex. 1. When playing stride, your left hand is the rhythm section, and it never lets up. Practice getting used to the motion of your left arm, aiming low with your fifth finger to hit the bass note, then moving quickly to the middle register to grab a chord. In example 1a, the chords move from I to V7, F to C7, using an alternating bass note on beats 1 and 3. One trick: Start the V7 (C7) on the fifth (G) of the chord instead of the root. This way you don’t have to repeat a note (C). Make your bass line more melodic in 1b by starting the F6 on the third (A) in the second measure, then move down to the V7 through a passing diminished chord (Abdim7). Since you start the V7 on the fifth (G), substitute Gm7 and make a ii7-V7. Upstairs, notice the chord voicings in the last two measures. The top notes in each chord create a nice melody — D, E, D, C — and you can use your thumb to bring these out. F6 F6/A A " dim7 Gm7 C7 $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ "'$$$$ $$$ $$$ $$$ $$$ $$$ $$$$ 4 % $ % & $ $ "$ !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! #"4 &$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ a)

F6

C7

1 2 3 5

b)

5

Ex. 2. Most of the great stride players like James P. Johnson, Fats Waller, Earl Himes, and Art Tatum played tenths in the left hand, and sometimes added a third note with the second or third finger. The top thumb note adds a tenor voice and a rich counter-line; the effect is harmonically dense and exponentially more difficult to play. Give it a shot but don’t push it. A " dim7 Gm7 F *dim7 Gm7 C7 ) ' )) " )) )) )) )) ) 44 (( " ) ! " ) ") ) ) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! # ( *) F

1 2 or 3 5

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Ex. 3. Try the same constructions show in Example 2 with two hands, to make things a bit smipler. It’s not cheating to break up the tenth and, at fast tempos, this is an effective technique. Here is a complete eighth-bar A-section with a turnaround, using the passing diminished and ii7-V7. F

*

$

F

A dim7 Gm7

F dim7 Gm7

C7

*

Gm7

F dim7 Gm7 C7

$

F

A dim7 Gm7 C7

%% ) %% ($)%% % %% %% %% $ %% %% %% %% %% % %% 44 %% %% $% % $ % $% % *% % !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! # /% % *% % % / % $% % % % % 1 1 3 or 2

1 2

Ex. 4. If you can handle tenths, here’s how it’s done. Notice the embellishing pickup at the end of bar 4 — E to F.

$

*

%%% %% %%%% ) %% $) %%%% ($)%% %%%% % *$ %%%% %%%% % %%%% % * % % 4 % % ())% % $ % $% % % % % !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! #$4 % *% % % % F6

F6/A

A dim7

Gm7

F dim7

Gm7

C7/G

E

F

Ex. 5. The right hand in stride is based on swing eighth-note lines, usually built on broken-up chord tones. Practice this example with simple chords in the left hand and get used to really swinging the right-hand line. F6 A $ dim7 Gm7 C7 Gm C7 % % % % ) % % % &% * &% % % % % % % *% % % + % % % , % % % ( + $ 44 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! " . .. ---.... ... .... ) .... $ . ... . 4 . ( #$4 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! F6 4

3

2

1

5

4

5

1

2

1

5

4

1

4

3

5

1

2

1

4

5

1

4

3

Ex. 6. Using the same chords in the left hand, add some thirds. The off-beat accents really make the riffs pop, and any syncopation in the right hand will play against the pumping quarter notes of the left hand — when you add them in with the next example! F6 A $ dim7 Gm7 C7 Gm C7 ' ' ' ' ' ' * &%% '%% % %% % % *) &%% %% % %%$) %% % $ &%% %% % % % * % % %% * &%% %% %())%% '%% 4 % ( % ( ( , !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "$4 F6

3 1

4 2

5 3

4 2

5 3

1

2

5 3

4 2

1

4 2

1

2

4 2

5 1 3

5 3

4 2

3 1

Ex. 7. Syncopate the right hand and you’re in full stride. In measure 1, the left hand walks up in tenths; in measure 2, the right-hand syncopations push against the quarter note pulse. You can grab an octave in the right hand whenever you want for emphasis. F6/A A $ dim7 Gm7 F * dim7 Gm7 C7 $ 9 ' ' ' '% )'% $'% $ % % % % % % % % % $% % % %% '%% % '% '% % % % % % % & & $ % % % ( % ) % % ( &% + % ( ) &% ( ( $ &% % *% % % ( *& $ 44 &% !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! " 3 % ) % ) %% %% % ) % $ %%%% % %%% % $ %%% % % % % % ) %%%% % % $ %% % % 4 * % % % ( ( ) $% % #$4 % % % *% !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *% % % F6

2

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P L AY I T !

JA Z Z Share some of your own killer whole tone playing on our forums at keyboardmag.com and you may just be featured in a future issue of Keyboard!

WHOLE TONE TIPS, PART 2 by Andy LaVerne

Last month, we dove into the theory behind the whole tone scale and explored some creative ways to play with it. This

month, we go deeper, using the whole tone scale for more complex melodies and figures. Remember to dial up the metronome

and start slowly — and don’t forget to listen to masters like McCoy Tyner and John Coltrane for inspiration!

Ex. 1. In 1a, the right hand can be played up an octave, or in the middle of the treble clef. The G common tones anchor the moving voicings. This type of movement can be heard on some Coltrane recordings, with McCoy Tyner. With a slight adjustment in 1b, we now have two-hand voicings which contain all six notes of the whole tone scale.

$ %% ' % $ %%% $% 44 $ ### $ ### ### $ ### $ ### $ ### ### $ ### 44 $ %%% $ %% !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! " ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!! " ! a)

b)

4 44 ## ## $ ## # %% " 4 $ ## $ ## $ ### ### $ %% $ %%% !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!! " ! $ # $ # $ %%% # % # # # # %

Ex. 2. Scale tone triads (in this case all augmented triads), which move up in whole steps, can be an effective melodic device. In 2a, we make a four-note pattern out of three notes. Don’t neglect the opposing whole tone scale — 2b shows another exercise with scale tone chords, this time ascending and descending in triplets. 2c shows another scale tone triad pattern, played by McCoy.

$# 44 $ # # # # # #$ # # # # $ # # # # $ # # 44 $ # # # $ # # $ # # # $ # $ # # 44 $ # # # # $ # # # $ # # # # $ # !!!!!!!!!!! " ! !!!!!!!!! " ! !!!!!!!!! " ! 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 $ %% $ %%% % 44 4 4 $ %% $ %%% &4 !!!!!!!!!!! " $ %% $ %% " 4 %% ! !!!!!!!!! ! $ %%% ! !!!!!!!!! $% % $% % a)

b)

c)

Want to learn more about whole tone scales?

CDs: John Coltrane, One Down, One Up (Impulse); Wayne Shorter, Ju Ju (Blue Note) Book: Chords in Motion, Andy LaVerne (Jamey Aebersold Jazz)

Ex. 3. In 3a, we have a line that outlines a scale tone triad (Dbaug), and continues with a scalar passage. With the addition of two chromatic tones (Dn and Ab) in 3b, we can tie two augmented triads (Gaug and Dnaug) together in a line.

$# # $# # # # # # $ # # 4 # $# # # # # # $# $# # % 4 $# # $# # # !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "4 ! !!!!!!!!!!!! "4 ## ! $( $% $ ((( $ %%% 44 (( 44 %% & ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! & ! !!!!!!!!!!!! a)

b)

Ex. 4. Taking Example 3 a step further, we now outline three augmented triads (Gaug, Baug, and Ebaug), linking them with chromatic tones (C, F, and E), to create a triplet-based line which floats over the chords in 4a. These three augmented triads are actually the same one, in its inversions. When you get comfortable in the use of whole tone scales, the next step is to play opposing whole tone scales within the same line, to create even more intensity. You can also play the whole tone scale over minor chords; just use the whole tone scale built on the fifth of the minor chord. Example 4b could be used over a Cm7, as well as a G7aug. With whole tone scales, the sky’s the limit!

$# # $# # # # $# # 44 44 # # # $ # # $ # ) # # $ # # # $ # # # # # # # # # # # ) # $# # !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! " $# $# # # # ! !!!!!!!!!!!!! " ! ## 3 3 3 a)

3

3

3

3

3

b)

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For audio examples of this lesson, visit keyboardmag.com. Visit Andy online at andylaverne.com