Therefore, in the key of C major, your top harmony notes are C and G.Ī popular way to use top harmony is to retain the top harmony note while moving through two or more scale tones below it. Top harmony can be added to any line derived from the Major Blues Scale by placing one of two notes on top-either the tonic or the 5th. The final improv technique we’ll explore in today’s lesson is called top harmony or harmonized lines. This technique produces high-energy piano lines that sound bright and cheerful. Want to get these double slides under your fingers? Try playing the previous Slide Exercise, but replace the up slides with double slides instead.įor ever more pro tips with the Major Blue Scale, be sure to check out our full-length course on The Major Blues Scale / Gospel Scale (Level 2, Level 3) where you’ll learn to play turns, rolls, harmonized slides and more! Technique #3: Top Harmony with Root or 5th ![]() Slidesĭouble slides are tasteful sound that expand on the concept of single-note slides by adding an additional ½ step with the adjacent finger. The example below shows three common slides on the C Major Blues Scale that sound great. However, shhh…don’t tell your classical piano teacher…we are actually going to play the slide and the main note with the same finger! That’s right, we are literally sliding off a black key onto a white key. A slide is written like a grace note and is played on the beat. The next improv technique on today’s lesson sheet is slides (aka: “finger slides” or “blues slides”). Then, continue on to the following sections which cover two hip ornamentation techniques- slides and top harmony. ![]() As you can see, this chord accounts for the final two notes of Example C.ĭon’t forget to try some of your own original phrases on Motif #3. Therefore, instead of G9 (G–B–D–F–A), we have G9(sus4) which contains the following notes: G–C–D–F–A. The “sus4” indicates that that 3rd of the chord has been replaced by the 4th. The answer is that when we play a Major Pentatonic Scale or the Major Blues Scale over the 5-chord, we are essentially implying a “dominant sus” sound, such as G7(sus4), G9(sus4) or even G13(sus4). However, some students may wonder, “How come the notes C and A work over G major?” That is a good question. 8th Note Motif #1: Example AĮxample C is rather straightforward. Now let’s examine Jonny’s sample phrase from today’s lesson sheet that uses this rhythmic motif. Motif #1 (below) is abstracted from the first example on today’s lesson sheet. In this section, we will explore improve phrases based on the following 8th note motifs.Ī particularly helpful practice method for developing more intuitive improvisational phrasing is to try to come up with multiple lines that use the same rhythm. With this technique, our goal is to try to play deliberate sounding phrases that have a definite start and finish. The first improv technique we’ll explore is 8th note lines. By applying each of these methods, your improv lines will sound original and interesting. Now that you have learned the C Major Blues scale, let’s approach these notes through the lens of 3 different improv techniques. Next, we’ll explore 3 different piano improv techniques using the notes of the C Major Blues Scale. ![]() The C Major Blues Scale is Jonny’s “go to” improv sound for the Happy Piano Chord Progression. ![]() Today’s lesson is like a piano party, and students of all levels will find plenty to learn and apply. Until now! In today’s Quick Tip, Jonny May shows you how to play an upbeat, toe-tapping piano groove that represents the epitome of joy! You’ll learn: Therefore, happiness lends itself to a groove-based playing approach, and that’s where many piano students struggle to get started. On the other hand, how would you exemplify happiness or joy? Not so easy, right? One reason why “happy piano” is so challenging is because happiness and joy are upbeat feelings. Have you ever noticed that some emotions are easier to depict on the piano than others? For example, emotions such as frustration, sadness, or sorrow are more easily personified.
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