Boogie Woogie for Beginners

Cloptn, Onn

THEBOOGIEV/CCGIESTYLE Whot lr Boogh Wooglc Eoogie Woogie is o twclv?-mcosurc Jozz form wirh o uniquc rhythm in thc boss.The boss feoiures o repeoting figure which for thc mosl porr tokes thc form of cight eighth notes fo the mcosure.

ll is from its olmost choroclcristic usc of on eight-to-the-bor boss figure fhof Boogie Woogic is somclimes retcrrcd lo os "Eight fo the Bo/'.

Lifr Boogie Woogic, like oll Jozz, is in 1./ I

tlme. And oll Jozz hos o "1ift" (resulting

from rhe rhyrhm of Jozz 3yncopofionsogoinst o stcody bcof.) Thc Boogie Woogie boss being "eight fo the bo/', mokcs for o "li(t" oll its own. ll con hove thc light lift of Pinc' top's Eoogie Woogie Blues,lhe croshing drive of Mcode Lux Lcwis's Six Wheel Chascr, or the "ir^p" of Pete Johnson's Deoth Roy Eoogie. Onc connot limil Boogic Woogie lo o spccific lifi or tempo. As long os the boss figurc repcots itsclf rhphmicolly wiihin ?hc fwelvc-mcosurc (orm, i/s Boogic Woogic.

Color ord Effrctr 03 Boogic Woogic ir on intimofc pcrrcnol cxprcrlion, Ycrf rich in "ctfilQdt" ruch lhc rhythm, color, powcr, clc. Whcn lcsr convcntionol nolcs orc ulcd ogoinst this boss, ond vorying rhodcr of Boogic Woogic "colo/' comc ouf. Nolc thc rhyfhmic forcc, color, powcr in thcs. chordst

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C o p y r i g hOt 1 9 4 1S O N G SO F U N I V E R S A LI N , C CopyrightRenewed All RightsReserved Used by Permission

Boogie Woogie hor no melody o( ils own in the 3cn3c tho? o populor song hoc o melody. lt is bosed on o simplc chord potlern consisting ol twelve meosurcs. A Boogie Woogie improvisolion or composition consistsof differcni voriolions boscd on ?hir chord pottern.

Boogie Woogie chord Pottcrn The pottern is built oround the ihrec fundomentol chords of o scole,the l, lV, ond

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In rne '\ey or L, Tne I ts

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ond the V i3

Thesechords follow eoch other i n t h e s e q u e n c el , l V , l , V , l . P l o y t h i s s e q u e n c eo n t h c p i o n o o n d n o t e h o w e o s i l y o n d f o m i l i o r l y t h e c h o r d sf o l l o w e o c h o t h e r . I chord

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o lV chord

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O f t e n m e o s u r e s( 2 ) o n d ( 1 0 ) c h o n g e t o t h e f V c h o r d .

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A Typicol BoogieWoogie Chorus T h e f o f l o w i n g i s t h e f i r s t c h o r u s o f P e t e J o h n s o n ' sv e r s i o n o l K o y c e e o n M y M i n d . M edium B oogi e W o o g i e T e mP o

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C o p y n g hI t 1 9 4 1S O N G SO F U N I V E R S A LI 'N C '

Arr RishrsSgtJ'Sit?r"*"0*#""'.n'.",on This chorus is rich in Boogie Woogie efiecls. Note the rhphm ond color in ihe right hond. Note the syncopotions in meosures (4) ond (10), the "lremolo" in meosure (8), the o f f - c o l o r c h o r d s i n m e o s u r e ( 4 ) , o n d t h e v o r i e t y o f s i x t e e n t h - n o l ed e c o r o l i o n s i n m e o l u r e s (1) (6) ond (10).

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Suggcrllonr Bcfore you con ot?empt to ploy Boogie Woogie lcorn how to get the most out listeningto it. of

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o t m u s i c _ mok i n g os on expression, rother lhon simply os on ottempt lo c r eole b e o u ty . l f y o u h o v e o stondord conceplion ,,good of piono lone,, os being " beoulifu 1 " ,,, c l i n g i n g ,,,,,s w e e l ,,, e l c" ond oppfy i hi s concepti on to off musi c-regordress the form ond expression of of rhe music in ques?ion-ger rid of ihis notion quickfy. When you heor c ho rd s l i k e th e fo l l o w i n g ,

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Cqyngft@ 1941 SONGS OF UNTVEBSAL.tNc.

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don't listcn jor o,'beovtitvl,, or ,,clinging,, lonc.In this po'_ sogG' from A4code tux tcwis's Sosson Top,thc cffcct intendcd wos nor beoufy. ff ,hc chords wGre hcld longer or ployed "bcourfivily",rhcy woufd bc,,corn y,, ondlhc originor composition would be hopclcssfy out of losle. As o mo'cr or iocl, o ,,corny,, rendirionis onc which feolurcs orfificiof effecls-efiects which thc performcr did not hovc o genuinc feering for exprcssing' ond which he threw in tostcfcssfy ond pointlcssly. This ir why Jozzr3 difficult for the unlolcnlcd ,o ond so simpfc for rhc torcntcd-ony music which is not fert properly ond is not performcd in torre comes ovi,,corny,,:.

(21 Do nol oppty anl convcnlionof "rules" ol dynomics (dcArccs of foudncrs ond softncrs) to Eoogie Woogic. Thc dynomicr in Boogic Woogic orc porf of, ond contoincd in, lhc originol conccplion of idcos. (3) Eliminote ony "rvbolo" (fiuctuotionr in fimc) wfrich cou3cs lhe tcmpo lo wover in Eoogie Woogic. Thcrc con bc no rhythm wifi ruch o rubofo. Ruboto, in music othcr thon Jozz, is frcqucnily indulgcd in, ond ovcrdonc by omolcurs who hovc no 3cn3cof timc ond phrosing ond who lock confol of thcir honds. In Boogia Woogic thc timc must bc strict throughoul so thot thc rhphm (potlcrn of occenls in fime) con hovc mconing. ln thir con' ncction, whcn you lisfcn to Boogic Woogic do noi otlcmpt to cnioy strict timc-this is quitc impossiblc. Listcn, rolhcr, for thc rhythm ond "1ift" rcsu,hingfrom thc stcody bcof. (4) f ry lo feel ol homc wilh chromolic lones so thol you won'i heor lhem os "wrong" noles. From uAnswetto

the Prayer" by Meade "Lux" Leuis, Margaret

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Coleman and' Bishop Edeel Ammons

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Copyright O I941U p.,,.i rri on ArI Rishts t""::tJ::' ?,"J"0*o"vd

f f y ou fe e l ? h e s e n o l e s o re " w rong" Boch used "vtong"

you w i l l feel thot S i rovi nsky, R ovel , ond

even

noies. In Boogie Woogie these chomolic lones rnusl bc listened to for

whot th e y o re i n l e n d e d . A t i i m e s rhey devel op on i deo, ol other l i mes, they gi ve " color ", embellish,elc.

(5) Do nol use ony pedols in Eoogie Woogie. Pedols orc olmosl ncyer uscd in Boogie Woogic excepl for speciol ionol crorhes ond percussivc eftecis which ore for bcyond the beginn c r' s s l o g c .

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TOUCH How fo moke sound come out of o key is not the problem of ploying the piono. The f undom e n to l p ro b l e m i s h o w to p l oy notes consecul i vel y i n l i me. l f you hove o system o{ piono-ploying which reods for ihe most port, "don'l use lhe orm, don't use the wrist, don'l use the fingers, don'l use the keys" . . . throw it out. You con never be hoppy under such c o n d i t i o n s . A n d y o u c e r l o i n l y c o n n o i p l o y t h e p i o n o . P l o y i n g n o t e s c o n s e c u t i v e l yi n i i m e , ond with the tone desired is indeed o problem. The solution lies in reloxing ond controcti n g t h e p r o p e r m u s c l e s ,o n d i n u s i n g i h e l e o s t o m o u n t o f m u s c u l o r e x e r f i o n . A s o r e s u l t , o n y " b e o u t i f u l " o n d " s w i s h y " h o n d m o v e m e n t s o r e o s u n n e c e s s o r yo n d t i r i n g o f f h e k e y boord os they ore in brushing your hoir. Foncy hond movementsleod to lock of musculor pr epor oti o n o n d i n d u c e fo ti g u e o n d l ock of control . In foct,

these foncy hqnd-fl i tti ngs o r e

f ov or ed b y rh e " h o m" o c l o r w h e n he pl oys the rol e of o pi oni st--on o dummy pi ono.

Method Don't be ofroid of the piono. Do nof ploy feebly on top of the keyboord. Ploy "inlo ?hekeys" to ocquire o firm touch.

Hit rhe following note:

Now, when reody, hit this noie:

When

ot oll timcs The frecdom with which you executedthese three notes must be presenl more conlrol' when you plqy. T h e f o l l o w i n g e x e r c i s ei s i n s t r i c t t i m e , o n d d e m o n d s the exercise Whether you ore ploying pp or ff, ihe qttock on the key mustbe definite.Ploy il ' os slowly os you wish but be reody for eoch nole before yov ploy

Ariiculolion (clority in rhythm ond louchl Ploy eoch note with the propGr omouni of force ond hold eoch notc prcciscly for the durotion indicoted.

exercisc (l )

e x e rc i s e (2 )

exercise (3)

e x e rc i s e (4 )

C|opt,, JL,,n

THE LEFTHAND Your Boogic Woogie is only os good 03 your left hond. Thc left hond musl be so moslcrcd thot if ploys the boss ftgurc oulomoticolfy, noturolly, solidly-without

being

bothercd by ony cxprctsion of thc right hond. The lcfi hond musl bc copoble of ploying nolcr conscculivcly in limc, ond it musl orticulofe thcse notes in o cleor rhphm. In short, it must dcvclop cnduroncc ond controf.

Singte.nolGlor

Figurc

In thc following bogs ftgurc, for cxomple, thc bcginncr oftcn ncglects 1o sTli6ufote ficr

nolca.

Thb regufrrin o bos ftgurc lhot roundr quitc dificrcnl from thc originol figurc. I hovc hcord bcginnorr ploy il fiis woy!

This corcfcsnacs in orticulotion must bo cfirinotcd bcforc thc bcainncr ocquirct thc hobit

of "rfoppy"ploying,

Method for procllclng o barr flgurr ploy coch note of the bosr figurc in o voricty of grodcd rhythmr, or indicotcd balow. Ploy only os fost os you con ploy wiih comforl, lonG, ond clcor orliculotion.

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I n t r i p l c t s ' ( D o nol let the rhYthm uPset thc clcor oriiculotion of coch nole in the figurc).

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l n dotted eighths o n d cixteenths:(Attock the sixteenth with o definiie strokc).

potAftcr hoving studied the boss figure in thesc rhphms try to ploy thc boss in thc chord tern. Eoch note must be even. Pfoy in stricf time ond tokc Yovr own ?empo'

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Work ouf o similor exerciro employing the difierenl rhythms on the following borsert

Don'l be ofroid of ploying on block keys. Unlessyou becomo occustomedto ploying borh block ond white keys you connot devctop control of ?he keyboord.

Olher fypes of borer "Wolking Bogs" The "wolking boss" is mode up of broken o