Welcome to Scott Healy's website - please check back for updates and new music. close ×
+

Screen shot 2015-01-19 at 7.20.06 PMI’m posting this lesson from Keyboard Magazine last Spring–for no other reason than I began a draft of this post (which involves pretty much simply copying and pasting from their website), and never posted it. So here goes…the only thing harder than writing out right hand blues licks is playing them back as written. I attempt it in the soundcloud audio examples below.

How to play traditional slow blues piano

May 12, 2015

Playing a traditional, slow, Chicago-style, 12-bar blues tune can be a real challenge for a pianist. Doing so involves many duties: laying down a groove, establishing proper harmony, and creating excitement, all while restraining yourself to a simple chord progression and a five or six-note scale. With traditional blues, the only strict rule is there are no rules, only traditions. So let’s look at some of them.

1. Starting from the Five

Ex. 1 demonstrates how sometimes you’ll be starting the blues with a loud guitar or drum pickup into the last four bars of the progression, a la “Key of C, from the five! . . . two, three, four…” At that point, you start right on the V chord, so come in strong with both hands. In this scenario, the entire rhythm section is setting up the time, the groove and the harmony with the “walk-down” chords (V7-IV7-I7) and the subsequent turnaround (V7#5-I7).

2. Slower Than Slow

A traditional slow blues can be really slow, as illustrated in Ex. 2. In this scenario, the singer might cut the band on the downbeat, and break things down to a really soft first chorus of solo or vocals. Now the band’s suddenly playing very softly and your part is exposed. In this situation, open chords work great. Spice them up with a few fills, tremolos, slip notes, or hammers, which are basically on-the-beat grace notes. If you’ve grown up listening to rock and blues, these licks might already be in your DNA; it’s just a matter of activating them and playing them tastily. In this example, I’m moving to a “quick four,” which is a IV chord on the second measure. Then I’m back to the I7 chord in the third, and then to a V7#5 to a I7 in the third to fourth bar. Whatever you do, you must watch the singer, listen to the drummer, and listen to the vocal phrasing. You can play a tasty fill in the space between lines. So too might the guitarist. In my experience, some of the authentic stone-cold blues players want you to fill and solo with them at the same time.

3. Triplets and Shell Voicings

You might want to build on a 12/8 feel by playing triplets in the right hand, as seen in Ex. 3. For the left hand, you can choose to play nothing at all, roots by themselves, third and seventh “shell” voicings, or even tenth voicings if you can reach. It’s also cool to open the voicings up, spreading the notes between both hands. Whatever voicings you use, remember to listen to the drummer and put everything right “in the pocket.”

4. Tremolos and Slippery Licks

When you want to kick things up a notch, try playing close voicings or even triplets in the left hand, and tremolo riffs and cool slippery licks in the right hand, as in Ex. 4. Full rhythmic coordination of both hands will take a while to get used to, because so many blues licks are out of time. But no matter what you do in your left hand, don’t comp like you’re playing jazz. Play strong, because you might be the only rhythm instrument playing the chords.

5. Rocking Solo Riffs

During the last chorus of a solo, the whole band should open up and really rock, as illustrated in Ex. 5. This is your time to hook up with the bass player, drummer, and hopefully the guitarist, too. Play the boogie/rock left-hand pattern, and in the right hand you can riff loudly and frenetically in a high register. Out-of-time, four-finger repeated riffs work great, as do traditional rock and New Orleans-style riffs.

Want to read more stories like this?
Get our Free Newsletter Here!
Share : facebooktwittergoogle plus
pinterest

MyMusicMasterclass.com: Two-Part Roots Piano Instructional Video

Roots Piano Instructional Video

I had the honor of meeting bassist and producer Adam Small at NAMM last January. As it turns out, he’s also an entrepreneur, having built a website which features instructional videos from established pros like Bob Mintzer, Larry Goldings, and Kenny Werner to name a few. These informal and comprehensive videos cover a wide range of topics from instrumental instruction in a variety of modern and traditional styles, composition and arranging, to record producing, songwriting and career counseling. Adam asked me to do a lesson on what some call “Roots” piano styles – basically anything cool that isn’t jazz, such…

Read more

Share : facebooktwittergoogle plus
pinterest

Scott Healy Feature by Jon Regen- Keyboard Magazine, Feb. 2015

Scott Healy Keyboard Mag Feature

SCOTT HEALY IS EQUALLY AT HOME BEHIND A HAMMOND ORGAN OR THE CONDUCTOR’S PODIUM IN A CONCERT HALL. Best known for his quarter-century romp as the high-energy keyboardist in Conan O’Brien’s television band, Healy is also a Grammy- nominated, classically trained composer of serious sonic merit. (And to top it off, he’s a frequent contributor to Keyboard, Where does he find the time?) Healy took a break from his near nonstop rehearsal and performance schedule to talk about a musical journey that has spanned Bach to rock, and everything in between. CLICK TO DOWNLOAD HI RES PDF OF THIS ARTICLE…

Read more

Share : facebooktwittergoogle plus
pinterest

The Rhodes Less Traveled – Keyboard Mag Lesson Jan 2015

Click for original article on keyboardmag.com Getting the Most out of the your Fender Rhodes The Rhodes is an instrument with a practically unparalleled dynamic range, versatility, richness and playability. Just about anything that sounds good on a piano sounds good on a Rhodes as well. But unless you’ve known one intimately by toughing it out, carting it to gigs and getting to know it inside and out, the only contact you may have had with this ancient funk machine might be through “vintage keys” sample libraries and virtual instruments. In this lesson, let’s break things down and discover how…

Read more

Share : facebooktwittergoogle plus
pinterest

Stride Piano [not a] Master Class

Here’s a reprint of a lesson from 2009 published in Keyboard Magazine. I did NOT, repeat NOT name it “…Master Class..” as I am far from a stride master. 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…

Read more

Share : facebooktwittergoogle plus
pinterest

“Jazz Arranging Power” – Keyboard Magazine, March 2014

“Jazz Arranging Power” from the March, 2014 issue of Keyboard Magazine. Click here for original article Jazz Arranging Power By Scott Healy In my last lesson back in the January 2014 issue, I demonstrated how adding just one note can change a chord’s color and character. This month, I’ll offer up ways to give your arrangements added punch, power, and clarity. I used many of these techniques on my new album Hudson City Suite. 1. Call and Response Ex. 1 illustrates the time-honored technique known as “call and response,” which creates excitement by way of a musical “dialogue.” Here’s a…

Read more

Share : facebooktwittergoogle plus
pinterest

1 2 3