Rock Piano.pdf

To my wife Beth and my son David, whose love and support throughout this project was unfailing, even at high volume and endless repetition. To Jim Colgrove and N.D. Smart li, my first teachers in rock time. To Jerry Ragovoy, who showed me how to write it ali down. Cover photography by Gered Mankowitz. Cover design by Pearce Marchbank. Book designed by Mark Stein. Text photographs: Andrew Putler/Retna: page 11, Vincent Grosso: page 18, David Gahr: pages 32, 87, Atlantic Records: page 35, Wamer/Reprise: pages 38-39, 45 Sea-Saint Recording Studio: page 44, RCA Records and Tapes: page 56, ATCO: page 67, Herb Wise: pages 71, 75. Technical photographs by Mark Stein. Ali Uncle Mike songs are ASCAP. Copyright © 1978 Consolidated Music Publishers. Published 1983 by Amsco Publications, A Division of Music Sales Corporation, New York, NY. Ali rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review. Order No. AM 32012 US lnternational Standard Book Number: 0.8256.4071. 7 UK lnternational Standard Book Number: 0.7119.0192.9 Exclusive Distributors: Music Sales Corporation 257 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10010 USA Music Sales Limited 8/9 Frith Street, London W1V STZ England Music Sales pty. Limited 120 Rothschild Street, Rosebery, Sydney, NSW 2018, Australia Printed in the United States of America by Vicks Lithograph and Printing Corporation

- :reword

Arpeggiated Ballad Style 48 I Can 't Sleep (If I Can 't Sleep With You )

5

rroduction

6

~ Country Gospel Shuffle

50

52

o Early Rock Became Rock _ Brief Overview 8

I Never Did Sing You A Love Song

ºgh Slapping _-t. Technique for Practicing Rock Body Rhythms

i Country Rock Ballad (A Los Angeles Style)

· le Feel Ballads e Fats Domino Style 'Jne Starry Night 12

~

Country Rock

9

E.arly New Orleans R & B "llle Straight Eighth Note Styles of Huey "Piano" Smith, James Booker, Allen Toussaint, and others 14 ' ho 's Gonna Love You? 16

' ?.

The Pop Style of Carole King Hurricane ln My Heart 76

~

24

Blues Harmony/Time vs. Country Harmony/Time Blues Rock Fingerings Blues-Gospel Style ly His Love 34

One-Note "Linear" Grooves 28

30

e Straight-Eighth Note Rhythm and Blues Style 7hat Is Success? 46

74

78

Half-Time Pop Piano Styles Hard Rock Period 81 The Half-Time Style of Elton John Pocket Man 84

33

e "Straight-Eight" (Eighth Note) Gospel Style Broke Down 40

~

Contemporary New Orleans Piano Styles The Traditional Influence ln New Orleans R & B Let's Make A Better World To Live ln 68 The Latin-American lnfluence 70 Mos' Scocious 72

20

Rock-A-Boogie Shuffle :1:te Memphis Style of Jerry Lee Lewis - erry Lee 's Boogie 26

56

Lyin 'Rhinestone Kid ln L.A. 58 Country Rock Boogie 59 Let's Spend Some Time Together 60 Fretted-Style Piano 62 Hammering Around 63 The Talking Ballad 64 It Makes Me Cry 65

10

Eight-To-The-Bar Rock Boogie ,... eet Little Fourteen 22

54

37

42

The Half-Time Style of Leon Russell Shootin' Through 88

82

86

Appendix Keeping ln Shape For Rock Piano Playing lmproving Your Nerve Tone 94

91

-IJ

Fo1ewo1d To me, "rock piano" means a set of contemporary piano styles that have been associated with popular music since the early fifties. That's when the world stopped "swinging" and started "rocking." These styles are not too difficult to play or understand, and they provide lots of enjoyment for player and listener alike. They require only a modest technique, and no strenuous exercises. Basically, they are solid rhythm styles used mostly in ensemble playing, with little emphasis on soloing or extended improvisation. The modem notion of rock piano has expanded to include electric as well as acoustic keyboards, and both are included in this book where it is appropriate. Many categories of rock piano styles come to mind: rock 'n' roll, boogie, hard rock, blues rock, jazz rock, R & B, country rock, gospel (both blues and country ), to name a few. These categories are largely the invention of record companies, which need new products ali the ti~e. However, these "labels" can help you identify the feeling and musical background most appropriate to what you are playing, and I will use them as we go along. ln each case, I urge you to dig deeper on your own into the roots from which the rock style emanates, and I have given you my own personal record recommendations for a start. Rock music today is a direct descendant of rock 'n' roll, which was a cnmbination of blues and country music. ln varying degrees, rock piano styles continue to reflect these origins, and to rely on a few fundamental rhythm and harmonic concepts. Once you be-

come familiar with these concepts, the categories::: tioned will seem much more fluid, and you voi...... be able to invent new rock piano grooves that ~~ _ own special tastes. Writing this book has given me the oppo sharing with you many of the musical experien have had over the years. As a performer and reco::""' artist, I have played with some fine musiciar:E whom I have great respect. I gladly pass along wJ::a~ "tricks of the trade" I have been able to dere_o_ the hopes that they will smooth your way into su1002s:s-ful rock piano playing, increase your affection: _ kinds of good rock sounds, and broaden your m outlook in general. As a final word, I want to suggest that yo every possible opportunity to see your favorite keyboard players in action. Whether Ray Chrl Elton John, Nicky Hopkins or Carole Kin g _ ::e: Franklin or Commander Cody, Leon Russell or Hudson, Stevie Wonder or Barry Manilow, Fa no or Jerry Lee Lewis: all the great players intimate physical involvement with the piano best communicated in live performance. Besi a treat, it'll help your playing tremendously they move when they're playing well. As wi things, if it feels right, it is right.

=_

Jeffrey Gutcheon New York City, 1978

Rock 'n' roll grew directly out of American jazz in the late 1940s and early 1950s. By 1954, it had clearly replaced jazz as the source of our popular music, and with few exceptions, it has remained the source ever since. At the time, it represented a major shift toward rhythm as the core of the music. ln jazz, it was common for lead instruments to play "outside the time"; in fact, getting "far out" was the goal. ln rock, all playing is an expression of the rhythm. Based mostly upon the blues, early rock was a "live" music which flourished in lounges and dance halls, particularly in the Mid-west and the South. People danced a kind of "jitterbug" to it, a dance which had been in vogue since the early 1940s when boogie-woogie swept the nation as a musical craze. (Today, the disco "hustle" is a form of jitterbug.) The " good-tlme" environment from which rock sprang was important to its musical development, as the intention of rock has always been to express and reinforce the rhythmic beat. Through its techniques, rock literally generates the power to move people. Melodie subtleties and progressive harmonies are, for the most part, of secondary interest. ln fact, "primitive" was the label most often applied by critics when rock first captivated the public's attention. The piano was one of the seminal instruments in early rock 'n' roll, and it has emerged since t he guitaroriented sixties as the comerstone of today's rock ensemble. But while the early rock piano giants like Fats Domino, Huey "Piano" SÍnith, Ray Charles, and Jerry Lee Lewis are well known, good rock piano music owes an equal debt to the behind-the-scenes keyboard

men who have made memorable recordings. To ~..... only a few, there is Allen Toussaint, the guiding _ of New Orleans rock; Johnny Johnson, the C . ~ bluesman who played many of the Chuck Berry Richard Tee, our foremost gospel pianist; and Hargu.s "Pig" Robbins, who has synthesized the sweet -gm:sy Nashville piano sound of the seventies. For the past decade or so, as record companies have fared well with such great singer-songwriters as Carole King, Leon Russell, and Elton John, the roe world has moved from the small club to the recordina studio and the concert stage. Thus, much of the "poprock" piano playing of today is primarily a recording and listening rather than a dancing or boogie style. -nfortunately, we'll never see these players in our local hooch clubs banging away at the upright; and on their concert tours they must take sophisticated electronic equipment along with them to recreate their records iI: person. But this is only to suggest that some of the "simple" pop styles you hear are not always so simple as they appear. l love the playing of all these stylists, and l ~ try to give each his or her due in discussing the ~ spectrum of rock piano music. Contemporary rock continues to be a super-eclectic musical form that borrom; continuously from its many sources and is inextricably woven into the total fabric of American music. Iwould be nearly impossible to describe in words the main stylistic influences upon rock players, so instead I've made a kind of genealogical chart that maps the evolution of the styles most prominent today.

Cow-Cow Davenport Speckled Red Cripple Clarence Lofton

New Orleans Barrelhouse & Ragtime Early Jazz

Primitive Country Charlie Rich "Smokey" Joe Baugh Ed Thomas Hargus " Pig" Rob b. •

Jelly Roll Morton Leroy Garnet Charlie Spand Depression Blues Players

Boogie Woogie Pinetop Smith Pete Johnson Albert Ammons Meade Lux Lewis

Montana Taylor Jimmy Yancey Walter Davis Leroy Carr Roosevelt Sykes

New Orleans Early Rock, R & B

Chicago Blues Early Rock, R & B

Rock-A-Boogie Early Rock

Roy "Professor Longhair" Bird Huey "Piano" Smith Fats Domino James Booker

Otis Spann Johnny Johnson Lafayette Leake

Jerry Lee Lewis Mickey Gilley Ike Turner

Modem C

Modem Gospel

Floyd~­

David B • ...

Aretha Franklin Ray Charles Ernie Hayes Richard Tee Joe Sample

-0

Pop-Rock Boogie George "Commander" Cody Nicky Hopkins Ian Stewart

re mporary New Orleans Rock, R & B

Contemporary "Northeastem" Rhythm & Blues

Allen Toussaint ··Doctor John" Rebennack

Stevie Wonder Paul Griffin Leon Pendarvis

Eclectic "Pop" Rock Stylists, Listed on the Side of Major Influence

Blues/ Gospel Leaning '--------------------..,~!

Country Le~-

Leon Russell David Maxwell Mark Jordan Jef Labes Mike Utley Ralph Schukett Bill Payne Jeff Gutcheon Ken Asher

Howlaty A Brief Overview Jazz was basically music in 4/4 or 2/4 time played with a certain feeling that carne to be known as "swing". Technically, this meant that you sloughed off on the tempo, playing every second eighth note in the 4/4 bar just a little bit late: it was known as "shuffling."

'f J

J J J J J J J li these

beats

delayed

slightly

Borrowing from the Delta blues idiom, early rock players stretched this eighth note even further, so that a quarter note value sounded like an eighth note triplet with the second note of the triplet tied to the first: shuffling , - 3 ---,

J

,-- 3 ---,

) J

,-- 3 ---,

) J

) J

A.! shuffle 4

..

..

•

Straight

Eighth

Note

..

..

Feel

..

12 - T.1me 8

.

.. !Time 4

..

..

..

,,

3

..

..

r-3-,

r- 3-,

~Time

Straight Eighth Note

..

li

4

3

3

- 3 -;,

--------

r- 3 ---,

) li

Because rockers liked to stress the literal beat, rock music became polarized into 4/4 rhythms with 8 eighth notes to a bar, and rhythms with 4 "pulses" and 12 eighth notes per bar, where the beats were not sloughed but played right on time.

Tripie

That polarization has continued and ~;- ened so that rock today is built on these rate basic rhythmic foundations: those with a eighth note feeling, and those with a triple fee · g. :" distinction is explored continually tbrougho book, and also applies to time signatures like 3 ~ 6/4 which are already in a triple mode.

1

.. Tripie

.. Feel

.. -6 T"1me 4

..

..

..

(with

Shuffle

Add~

Please note that I am separating the mann · of these two basic time feelings in early ro instructional purposes, even though they were =:-closely entwined in the music itself. For exam_ .- Chuck Berry's record of "Johnny B. Goode, 'Jo Johnson (the piano player) lapses in and out of time on the piano because he's playing in the 1950s Chicago blues idiom. But Berry's guitar is out a hard, flat eight-to-the-bar. When the Chuck influence resurfaced in 1963-64 with the Beaall traces of the shuffle were gone, and modem was bom. So when you're listening to rock-a-boogie ords from the fifties which sound pretty ' shuffly," remember: it's the tendency that counts.

Tec niq e f ock Body Rhythms Thigh slapping is a great technique for practicing rock piano rhythms any time or any place. It is used by most musicians I know, especially piano players and drummers (who both play by hitting their instruments with downward motions). To get started with two-hand rock coordination, tap out the following basic rock rliythms using your open palms on your thighs. These basic rhythms and their variants will appear throughout rhis book with each piece, so it's a good idea to start 'Cle ting them into your hands in a simple form right away. The eighth note rest sign (/) just marks a space at lasts an eighth beat but doesn't get played. As a rule, the left hand taps the major beats while the right hand taps the strong backbeat and special accents.

Rock Rhythm no. 3 12 / 8 time with a triple feeling: The basic go blues-rock rhythm: Moderately slow

::·:t1::ll:~: 1:Jl::~~ 1 A

A

l. back beat j

Rock Rhythm no. 4 12 / 8 Shuffle time: The basic rock-a-boogie rhythm: Pretty fast

Rock Rhythm no. 1 -: 4 time with a straight eighth note feeling: The basic ogie rhythm:

::~: 1 : :.:::1 :::~ :~ l

ecately fast

A

A

l.back beat_j

: :: 11: :

J: : : J: : A

A

1: ) : : : l : : li A

A

t._ back beatj

l.back beat j

A

l_ back beé -

A

1.

ltiack beu

J

Rock Rhythm no. 5 4/4 Half time: The basic pop-rock and hard-_ rhythm: Moderate

ock Rhythm no. 2 -:::: -1 time with a two-beat feeling : The basic New Oreans or country-rock rhythm, Cajun style: !lllldlnte

~·:: ti: ~ : : : ~ 1

A

A

l. back beat _j

:

:

:

A l. back beat j

A

1

Every song we will deal with in this b unique form of thigh-slapping rhythm which right up front so you can think about it wh:ile listening ,walking about, or doing anything at ah. _be amazed how much it helps these rhythms alr your body when you sit down to play. T

Tripie Feel lhe Fats Domino Style

The early New Orleans style of Fats Domino is seldom invoked directly today. But it has had a tremendous effect on rock piano playing in its stark devotion to simple rhythm. l have included it here because it's the perfect introduction to the triple feel sequence in this book. It should help you understand quickly something that took me years; namely, how liberating it is to play completely within a groove and let the rhythm take over, almost like meditating. ln this case the bass pattern is similar for all changes, and the right hand plays eighth notes in clusters of three, 12 to a bar.

or

. The challenge here is to play every eighth note with equal conviction. Y ou should be just as comfortable playing 3 eighth notes per quarter measure as you are playing 2 per quarter. To help define this difference more clearly for yourself, play the following passage severa! times in a row, giving equal time to the quarter measure in each section. ln other words, play at the sarne tempo throughout.

10

Now you can see why the tripie feeling o f · Starry Night" is 12/8, and not 414 with eighth n o e , plets. There are never 8 eighth notes to a bar an_ in this music, so it's pointless to write it as i.,,. might be. Have fun playing like Fats Domino, even · _ find it a little boring. Practice playing tripie feel -- notes earnestly, because a lot of good rock pla) · "' pends on understanding this time signature. I ~ · cuss triple feel more later. Now take a look at the right hand in bars: 13, the only places where the block chording · briefly by a little melody figure. ln bar 13 note time remains constant; in bar 10. lick announces itself briefly by doubling - e · 2 sixteenth notes, then finishes out the - ê"::cluster with eighth notes. The point to rem in rock, ali melodie improvisation happens in -e the rhythm-it's an extension of the groove . Useful Recordings

This Is Fats Domino, Imperial LP-12389 is good. any vintage Fats Domino will do. Keep away frorn !ater records with gooey string arrangemen ts as piano is ali but invisible.

One Starry

1gh

Medium (Heavy Handed and Even Tempered)

Eb Introduction

3 Gmin

D7

Eb7

5 I

-.. .. ~-

. rJ

./

V

J. Gutcheo

16th note tremolo

- - - -

-- -- ---- :

-

:

F7 - - - - 6 Jffl=ff ...

-- ---- - -- ... ... --

- - -

4 B li7

li:

li:

li:

...

..

"' '"'

7 Bb

-J:. .....f .....f ..J:f-... --I= '"'

1._ ,....

-

' 1

-,,... .. V

.....

- -• -- . .... --.. ••-..._...•

.... 1

Bb7

=

e ·e Reserred. l:sed By Perm.ission.

12

•-..

'

- ---

- - -- ..... - ---- --

1- ._1- 1- .. ,_ ,....

....

E bmin6 ,1, -- ... ~ .......

1..;;o

..

- - . - - ..--- -- -- -- -

- :4 .....--.. ................

... "11 11

C7

13

14

17

6

1

-"

-

.. -"

'' • /

-

--

....

-

1

..

... ' 711•

'

I

• b1'1j1f •

T•

~

- --

.,

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

- -" -..... - -....-

.....

.... ,

1

,

_,

1

D7

...-

......

1

.. 11

tt•

'

..

-. . -

'

J

- - - - - - - - - - , .......... .. . .. .. --- - - - ------. - - ... - ... ... - -- - -- - -- - - -- ---- -- -- - --Gmin.

~.

.. - - - - .. . - - ... • .... --- -- - -- -- - - - -- - - -- --

18

-- -- - -- -

b- - - --· .. - -- --

B b7

- -- .. .... .... .. .. .. .. .. .. - - .. - - "" ~ : - - -- -- ...- -- -- -- - -- -f

!

15 F7

....... l1J.a. ~::: , ...

20 l.

1-1- ..

,_ -

~

-

,_

•

~

1 1 1

1,

-

1""-~

'

,

....

- -·

_,, ,_

-......._,_-- ......

1

-

- ,. .....

.....

~.

-

.

....

/

.. ...

. •

......

- -_,... - . -- --... .....

1

Faug7

B~9

13

The Straight Eighth Note Styles Of Huey "Piano" Smith, James Booker, Allen Toussaint, and Others

l

"

1

-

O

u

J' .. 1

-

"

l

andl

-

I

Ã

Ã

•

i •

1

the fourth beat, and in the right hand by arriving a top of the next bar an eighth note early. This ex:tI2 little kick is known as:

l

Pushing the Beat New Orleans, more than any of our cities, is the richest source of American musical inspiration. As even a casual visit makes clear, its music has been influenced by that of many different cultures. These elements have been so well assimilated that it would be futile to try to separate all of them, so I'll just name a few of the more prominent ones: the blues from the Mississippi Delta; dance music from the Cajuns (a subculture of dispossessed French Canadians living in the bayou country); romantic classicism from the French colonials; Caribbean island rhythms including Latin and Haitian Creole, with a strong African residue; and country music from the American South. These influences produce certain musical effects in combination; after a while, you will begin to recognize them as distinctly New Orleans. Here are a few of them.

Pushing the beat occurs when you play any bea.an eighth note ahead of time and tie the note throu the actual beat.

[

When used frequently, this technique creates forwa! momentum by stressing the offbeat as much as beat itself, pushing ahead your sense of rhythm-roc · ing and rolling. This can be expressed in terms ~ accented eighth notes as:

"b " "X~ t) " " "b " "g~ J' " " "

ln plain language, this means dividing each bar in two. The division is accomplished by a bass move halfway through the bar, usually to the fifth of the chord being played. The term "two-beat" comes from country music which is generally written in 2/4 time, with the bass note alternating between tonic and dominant. ln New Orleans 4/4 rock, this alternation occurs on beats one and three in the left hand. Tonic

r

Dominant

X

J

1

X

~)

!

g

Now try this typical Huey "Piano" Smith twohand rhythm play a la "Rockin' Pneumonia" or "High Blood Pressure." Notice how the left hand pushes the beat for the right hand, and vice versa, rocking back and forth. Here the "two-beat" feeling is brought ou even more with a typical New Orleans lilt by accenting the two- and and four-and beats, pushing one and three~

í í

The application to dancing of the "two-beat" feeling in 4/4 time is easy to see. Your weight shifts down on ONE, back up and over on TWO, down the other side on THREE, up and over again on FOUR, and so on. The motion is assisted in the left hand by playing

14

1

1 1 1 g x1 x 1 x g One-&-Two-&-Three-&-Four-& One-&-Two-&-Three-&-Four-& g

The "Two-Beat Feeling"

Push 1 Push 2 Push 3

Push 2

If you gave each eighth note the sarne accent, you'd

be playing in the Cajun style.

Licks, N ew Orleans Style _ :a.in piano flourishes and hot licks are associ-

.th New Orleans rock, and I think you should i:-lop a few of them. They are usually played at the o~

a verse or chorus before the "turnaround"

= or the pickup to the next section), so they can

oe used as an intra. Thus, they help provide :ure to an arrangement. Here is the main New tL.r.L!~·...,,,- lick in several variations. It is associated by with Huey Smith, James Booker, Mac Rebennack, _ Charles (in "What I Say"), Mike Utley, and others.

li Dr. John

li

~

Huey "Piano" Smith

Ray Charles

Jd

0

li

o s Gonna Love Y ou?" is a piece I've confor you in three sections to illustrate the main -~- and mannerisms of the New Orleans style. The section is an elementary funky rhythm style also uses a melody figure for embellishmen t. on two is completely straight, unadorned rhythm _ =hich would be used mainly as accompaniment in ble play. The third section combines rhythm :.::: hot licks to give you a taste of how to play a solo - ·- style.

Whos Gon a ove Bright & deliberate "blue" figure begins lst chorus l Eh

4 J. Gutche figure develops

figure continues 3

~

r 6 5

figure with two hands

r 2-bar rhythm tum - -9

Ab7

- - - - ,11

10

Eb7

15 14

the "turnaround"

©1978, Uncle Mike Music Ali Rights Reserved. Used By Permission.

16

12

17 2nd Chorus ( Straight rhytht::

Eh

26

29 Ab Adim Bb

Bb 7

30

31

turnaround lick

"Improvised Solo" chorus 34

46

48 Ebmin.6 Abmin. Eb7 Bb7 Eb7

-

-

- are

l

ci:aracr.E~:r::

noting. For ~ a small :- figure which then develops in bars 2, 4 , 6, and !!..- ~ -· e changes of the verse are introduced.

l

2

1

1 1L

.. T

1

·'! -:-: -:. '! 1 T

;JIO r~r ~~

J

And as you have seen, the turnaround between tions contains the main New Orleans hot lic ~ variants. When used consistently in this way, melOQ_ rhythm figures are known as hooks. Hooks give your playing and arranging a which provides clarity for the listener by mar· progress through a tune. If you always play - (or similar) phrase at the pickup or ~ people will know a verse is coming (or ending -~ appreciate you for providing this additio nal understanding your music. I think this use of the hook is record-industry jargon meaning "some · g hang your hat on." 1 have used many kinds of throughout the book. Some are notated in the mi..s:i and some aren't. But keep your ears open for them --try to develop an instinct about using them.

Useful Recordings ......,

L

Check your Oldies but Goodies shop for records by: Huey "Piano" Smith, Chris Kenner, Barbara Geor2e. Jesse Hill, Earl King, and Ernie K-Doe. Ali c-.-'recorded in New Orleans in the mid-to-late Fifties. the stylistic consistency is excellent.

Ei9ht-Toor 3

4

5: ~ í li: jJ]J qJJ1Jn

or

~h fll:

1&2&3&4&

Eight-to-the-bar boogie-woogie originated in Kansas City in the late 1930s and became a worldwide smash in the ensuing years. Its foremost exponents were Pete "Roll 'em Pete" Johnson, Albert Ammons, Clarence Lofton, and Pine Top Smith, who is generally credited with coining the phrase boogie-woogie. If I had to choose the two or three most important precursors of rock, this would surely be one of them. Here is the beginning of that hard-driving eighth note time and get down playing style that we associate with rock music today. To play this style successfully you have to keep thinking down; keep pushing those eighth notes down hard, with equal intensity and attack. The musical brilliance in rock-a-boogie comes from its note combinations. Rhythmically, it's "straight ahead" all the way, and really simple to play once you get going. The key to playing eight-to-the-bar boogie is a strong, independent left hand. The sarne bass figurethis one, for example,

& :;;;: 1 1&2&3& 4&

Now that you have steady eighth note left-hand figures clearly in mind, the rhythm patterns of righ~­ hand play can be easily understood. There are three basic options. Option no 1: Play all the eighth notes with equal emphasis (like the left hand): OPTION 1

~~~~~~/\/\

,.,

/\ /\ /\ /\

.... -...

'

'

. -. . . .

,A/\/\/\/\/\A /\ _ _ _, __ -JI

~

f'3

1

2

Option no. 2: Emphasize the main beat: OPTION 2

is repeated in each of the standard blues changes. These are: the tonic (root), subdominant (fourth), and dominant (fifth) chords of any major key (often referred to as the I, IV, and V chords ). Before going any further, read through "Sweet Little Fourteen" playing only the left hand. Take amoderate tempo at first until your hand gets used to this kind of repetitive groove, and try to play with an aggressive evenness. Natice that the bass pattem shifts on the second and fourth beats of each measure. These are known as the "back beats"-That's.where the percussionist usually plays a snare shot in rock. Back beats are always emphasized by motion in boogie-woogie basses such as these:

1

f)= b í

.;li

li: JJ~J J

1&2&3&4&

Option no 3: Emphasize the "off" and beat:

/\

li

2

ar

:>=& íll:JBJB:11

1~

/\

/\

-.

V~

~~

b.

f ~

~

1

1

/\

/\

/\

/\

..

..

1 & 2 &3&4 & 1

20

f\

OPTION 3

l

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

o

improvise boogie-woogie successfully, just these three rhythm options. Here are some __ e roles for how to do it: ~e

A.

change emphasis from main beat to off beat, strongly the first off beat you wish to play and tie it ilirough the next main beat (eighth note), accent'- - successive off beats.

- B change emphasis from off beat back to main beat, both in succession, and just the main beats

rule A

rule B

ou find the finger constructions as noted e self-explanatory, try "Sweet Little Fourteen," a .een-bar boogie I wrote reminiscent of the style on the old Chuck Berry records by Johnny -on, Lafayette Leake, and Otis Spann. Otherwise, :o the chapter on Blues Rock Fingerings for a more ete discussion .

efu.l Recordings ~

Chuc k Berry masters have been packaged and re·• ed many times by Chess records. Chess LP-1465 - a nice assortment. The piano players on the best o wn bits were : - nny Johnson: belline, Roll Over Beethoven, School Days. "" •ette Leake: · ' n' Roll Musi c, Oh Baby Doll, Sweet Little Six' Johnny B. Goode.

Spann: _ Can 't Catch Me , No Money Down .

Sweet

ee

le

Introduction

J. G ...~~.......·~ Bva- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - .L..

=+--

1

Bb

loco

Bva- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

' ..

I

I<

•r-

1

~ ~~ ~ ~ ,... - ,... ,... ~ ~ ... ,_,...

-

V

_, - -

--

~

1

- -- - - --

-- - - - ---

,...

'V

._i

5 3

5 3

1

tt}! - ~f~ b~tt ~~ - . -

1

- . .. .

.. -' •

/

l

4 2

""

4

2

.•

-•

-

5

4 2

3

5 3

5 3

lb!: l#~ --·~ .. 2

,

r--

•r -

._

~

F 3 4

4 2

2

2

l:b• ~s:

...._

4 2 1-.. ~

-~ ff}l:S: -

4

--- ---

5

4

4

4

4 2

' q,i - -!..11~l 1: Ô11

2

~·

3

5

...-- -- -- -

.-.. ,_

-

1

4 2

i '".,,.~3

qJ'L

"

"

r

...-· - -

- - - ... ,... --- ,_,_. ,_...

....... -,.

,_.

1.-

'

--- --

- ,... ,_ ,_ ,_

r-

/

,_.

1

-• • • -• -• -- --

..

•

5 ~

I

..

5

5

Bb

~~ ...-~~

-

3

t. ~• w'

'-'

,

...-·

..

V

3

-•

--

•

- - -•

-•

1 - -- - • • •

•

•

7 4 2

F

5

lbq ~ b.-

b! ~== 1: s: 1-'i ,, - - - ,...-

6

•

1

1

arp eggio

•

b:J:

1

1

·-- - - ~-

!:lJ.4 2 r-

'\.V

- .

,,

n

--1

~

1

- ... .. /

V

-- - - --- - - --- --,... r,_ ,_

,_

r-

8

.- 5,...-.

, •

- ... ._

I<

or

'

-·· .. ~.

/'

V

-

r-

,....

r1

r1

5

3

~...;.. ,,

r-

5

9

3

bi !:

--

-- ,...,_- - ,_ ,....,...-- -

,... ,.... ,_ ,_

r-

1

1: 1 1 "-

- - - - - -.. -- - .,, • • • • •

C9 1

1:

3

- -

--- ---

-

,_ ,_ ,... 1

* 5

1

•

4

j.

-• •--

10

- -

- - -- -

-• 4 2

~

• •

• •

3

1: ~J: .._

5 1

4 1

- •- .. .. -- -- -...- --- -- -- -...- -...- -- -- --- --- -- -- -...- -1

1

1: ...

1

1

1

,

1./

~

,,,,

•

,_

_, ,

v-

1

© 1 978, Uncle Mike Music Ali Rights R eserved. Used By Perm ission.

22

,• '" '" '

V

'

1..

5 3

4 2

-... -

,-_ ,_--

-• -•

••

""

J

r-

J

-

-

•

,...

L __ __ ____ __ __ _______ _ Bva bassa

1

2nd chorus

F

--.. bs: :- -. if

1

,,,,.··- -

--

1 ,_ · n -

it--

1

-·- :

.._~

,.. ·- ~

e.,.

. - - - -- 4

--

1

•

-

.. ~ 1: - ·-

--

'"