I'm 15 or so and I've been playing piano for just a year when I got the call from a singer of my acquaintance. She is cute and she needs an accompanist for the outdoor church strawberry social. I accept. (Though I'm way over my head, I'm keen to impress.)

We practice together. Somehow, I survive. However, I am about to learn the difference between the practice room and the stage. (I didn't imagine it is like basic training verses combat.) So, picture this: It's a beautiful day as I approach the piano the church has hauled onto the grass. The back of the piano faces the singer and the audience. I confidently sit down, and immediately my right leg starts to bounce uncontrollably against the underside of the piano. People are looking around for the source of the noise. I remain deadpan behind the piano. She keeps singing. It mercifully ends.

Takeaways.

1. "Superbia et ante ruinam" Pride goes before the fall. But the show must go on.
2. Never underestimate the power of shameless audacity in a show business career.
3. The magic of the performing arts is its illusion that it is easy.

David
Revised June 2023

Bach - The Complete Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin by Arthur Grumiaux
Mozart: Fantasia in D minor
Classical students 

1. Phrasing: Notice how the performer tapers each 2-note slur
2. Chords: Notice how the performer "strums" the chord from the bottom to top note
3. Dynamics: When the music goes up in pitch so does the intensity and vice versa. This is a common effect in classical music performance. Furthermore, phrases which rise often start softer before the crescendo.
4. Bach uses chromatic approach notes into chord tones measure three. Mozart uses these types of figures as well in the 10th measure of his Fantasia in D minor ten.

Have fun. 

David
Revised June 2023

Lockdown 2.0 Oh boy!
The article above supplies some great ideas to keep us practicing. I invite you to click the photo to read the article. 

​David

In 2018 I traveled to Poland to study with American Jazz Masters: Dena DeRose, Miguel Zenon, Aaron Goldberg, Mike Moreno, Ali Jackson, and Luques Curtis. This transformation experience was worth every penny. Aaron Goldberg, pianist, was my ensemble leader for the week.

But first.

About seven years ago I first attended the Jamie Aebersold Jazz Workshop in Louisville Kentucky as a drummer. I was green but pumped. I was pulled out of the workshop on day one and sent to a room where two instructors waited. Instructor and bassist Bob Sinicrope started drilling me with questions. Who are you? Why are you here? Very direct.

I explained I was a piano teacher and musician from Toronto who now played the drums. I had attended Berklee College of Music back in the day… He cut me off. “Who did you study with?”

"Ah, Ray Santisi."
“Ray Santisi, I’m his bass player!” We were instant friends.

Which brings me back to Poland and Aaron Goldberg. On day one, after hearing us all play, we were put into groups and assigned rooms to report to. A bunch of us showed up, nervously eyeing each other. Language was immediately an issue. There were 5 Poles, 2 Russian teenager wunderkinds, 1 Chinese Rock Star, and 1 Canadian old guy. And we all noticed the room was devoid of music stands.

Aaron walks in and introduces himself. Turns out h was a student of Bob Sinicrope!  He then calls the first tune Body and Soul. Everyone knew it by memory! So, without music we sing, using solfege, together the bass line of the song after much discussion and negotiation of the chords.  Then the singer, in halting English, explains it’s in the wrong key. Aaron gives us a new tonic note and low and behold we sing the bass line in a new key. He counts us in. Away we go. I was glad I was a drummer that day.

At the concerts we are the only group playing without music. The lack of music meant we played with an intensity and conviction that the fakebook readers didn't have. I chalk it up to the terror of flying without a net. Our reward? Aaron buys us a bottle of Bison Vodka at weeks end and toasts us all. 
​
Thank you, Aaron, for the valuable insights and the vodka.

​David
Revised January 2024

Memorizing simple tunes is the shortest way to get your jazz mojo swinging. The jazz method below is based on the wise words of Louis Armstrong and the teaching experience of Lenny Tristano. I credit the singing of the chord roots to Aaron Goldberg who I spent a week studying with in 2018.  

1. Listen to the recording over and over until you can confidently sing the melody.
2. Now search for the melody on the piano.  
3. From the chord lead sheet in iReal Pro, sing the roots of the chords in time and on pitch.
4. Next play the melodies over the bass notes you’ve just sung.
5. Construct the jazz chords for the left hand and then jam with the recordings. Later add the melody.
6. Everyday play with the recordings until it’s solidly memorized.
7. Now you are ready to focus on improvising.  
8. Here is a playlist to get you started. (31) Beginner Jazz Tunes to Play Along With - YouTube

• Autumn Leaves    Key of Gm
• Blue Monk            Key of Bb
• Satin Doll               Key of C
• Blue Bossa     Key of C minor
• C jam Blues              Key of C
• Summertime Key of G minor
• All Blues Key of G
• Mr. PC Key of C minor
• St. Thomas Key of C
• Doxy Key of Bb
• Bag's Groove Key of F
• My Little Suede Shoes Key of Eb

Let us consider the benefit of singing the bass lines in the manner above

• Your head is no longer in the book.
• You can play with the recordings.
• You can jam with more confidence.

Because you learned the melodies by ear, you will have absorbed the feel, swing, and articulations of jazz. Other beginners will be envious.

​If I can help you through these steps, please call me.
 
David
Revised June 2023

It is two months before the big date. What do you do? How do you practice?
​
Some thoughts:

1. Listen to great music, piano music, music in the style of your program. Over time you will begin to recognise the difference between good, great, and indifferent playing.
2. Practice technique using a metronome. If this is difficult; start by playing the scale in whole notes with the metronome playing in quarter notes. Count aloud. When this stabilises play in half notes, then quarter, and finally 8th notes. Counting aloud the entire time. This step may take some patient work over a week or two.
3. Listen to professional recordings of your program before practicing. You need the intimate familiarity of the music to the same degree we all know happy birthday. You want to easily know when an error occurs in practice.
4. Work daily on the sight-reading book exercise, pencil in hand, answering all questions. The text is the lesson.
5. If you ear testing is weak, use the online service. Codes are in inside the back cover of the sight reading book.
6. Self assess your progress by recording yourself playing your program. Note in the score on playback where the trouble bits are found. Start practicing there. Playing the pieces top to bottom before they are completed is a waste of time.
7. Do some more listening to great music.
8. Back to the theory book. The pillars of music learning are aural skills, sight-reading skills, and theory knowledge. Excelling in these 3 areas will build your confidence and put a bounce in your step.
9. Back to technique.
10. Finally, intersperse other pieces you enjoy playing into your practice time for 2 reasons. One, to remind yourself you really can play the piano. Two, playing time, clocking the hours. The 10,000-hour rule has been heavily criticized by folks more knowledgeable than me, but it still gives us a good benchmark. The steps above respond to those criticisms: Hours are fine, but how you spend your hours is more important.

​David

Listen to superb musicians playing great music. It is a musical truism: "we are who we listen to" because who we listen to inculcates the sound of the music into our being. This inculcation will colour how you play. 

Try this on your next new piece. 

1. Find a professional recording.
2. Listen a few times to the recording while watching the score.
3. With pencil in hand, work out the fingering for both hands on every note. You can skip repeated notes.
4. Now back to the recording. Listen to the first phrase, typically 2-4 measures. Using the fingering you wrote down mimic the expression of what you heard. If you are playing jazz, adjust the notation to match the recording because the recording is correct; fakebooks are just approximations. 
5. Painstakingly continue to the end of the piece one phrase at a time. 
6. Next day start over. It will go quicker today.
7. As you go along, record your phrases, and listen back. Are you shaping and articulating correctly? Don't worry about the tempo. That will come later. 

Have fun. 

David
Revised January 2024