Piano Cover: Meant to Be (Bebe Rexha, feat. Florida Georgia Line)

Summer Piano Deal: 6-Lesson Trial for Loudoun County, VA

Back by popular demand, our 6-lesson summer trial is back!  Are you hesitant to commit to a long term of lessons but want to see if piano is for you?  Purchase 6 summer lessons for the price of 5, scheduled around your vacations and availability.  And the best part?  You don't have to drive.  I come to you!

Areas serviced:  Purcellville, Hamilton, Round Hill, Leesburg, Ashburn, Lovettsville, Point of Rocks (Tuesdays only).  

To register, fill out the form at http://www.piano2go.com/sign-up

Summer Piano Lesson Deal/ Piano Camp/ Summer Music Camp by Piano 2 Go:  Serving Loudoun County, Virginia (VA)  

Jazz Jam-Along No. 2 in Eb Blues/ Eb Dorian

Here is my next jazz jam-along, composed about 15 years ago (for real).  It has some pretty far-out 13th chords, suspensions, 11ths, etc.  I just never recorded it until now (thanks for recording this last week, Mike Pugh​).  This is not a stand-alone piece and is meant to be paired with another solo instrument like sax, trumpet, piano, jazz organ, clarinet, jazz guitar - whatever!  Have the other instrument improvise along in Eb Blues or Eb Dorian.  If you teach little kids, tell them to improvise with the black keys and it works!  Enjoy!

"Maybe I'm Amazed" as a Case Study in Good Songwriting

The chromatic piano bass walk at 00:55. A simple detail, but an example of what's missing from modern popular music arrangements. I've been trying to figure out what song this little chromatic piano bass walk was in (it was filed in my head but I could't remember what song). I wanted to show my songwriting students so they can incorporate this sort of bass walk into their accompaniments. Well, here it is. It's a chromatic scale from the root to the 7th of a dominant 7th chord. Some say it's cliche. I like it. I want to hear more cool bass walks in modern pop music. This is just one example. The piece flirts with 3 different keys and has chords that confuse the heck out of music theorists (they don't seem to belong, and yet, they work). The chorus is transposed up from the verse and contains 3 different variations of a D chord (D Ma, DMa7, and D7). How's that for variety? Who transposes the chorus anymore? Well some do at the end of the song, but it's less common to go back and forth between keys as Paul does here. Then there's a clear B section that's a definite contrast (I'm not sure modern pop artists know what a true B section is). Also, considering that most modern pop songs only have four chords max, Paul McCartney should be hailed as a pop genius for having 12 different chords in this piece. They are:

1. A
2. D
3. Dm
4. Em7
5. Bb
6. F
7. C
8. G
9. Ab
10. Eb
11. DMa7
12. D7

Wow! That's a lot of chord variety! YES. Study the Beatles if you want to write good songs (this was performed by Wings, after the Beatles broke up). Also study Carole King, Billy Joel, and Elton John. Always look to the classic rockers for good songwriting.

So what makes a good song?

• MORE THAN 4 CHORDS (ok that eliminates most of today's pop music, true)
• A CLEAR B SECTION THAT IS SUBSTANTIALLY DIFFERENT, WITH DIFFERENT CHORDS -- THAN THE A SECTION. A BRIDGE IS NICE TOO (C SECTION). Expose your kids to musical theatre....it really helps expose them to clear-cut musical form.
• SOME 7TH CHORDS THAT ARE NOT GARDEN-VARIETY 7TH CHORDS (ie, not just dominant 7ths, but major 7ths and minor 7ths). Heck, if you can throw a diminished 7th in there, you're a super-hero.
• COOL BASS LINES AND UNEXPECTED BASS TONES LIKE PAUL'S G/C IN THIS SONG.
• COOL INSTRUMENTAL FILLS
• A GOOD INSTRUMENTAL SOLO WITH IMPROV
• GOOD LYRICS WITH CREATIVE WORD CHOICE (study musical theatre)
• RHYTHM'S IMPORTANT, TOO, BUT WE'LL COVER THAT LATER....

Lyrics are far less noticeable to me -- because I'm a musician. But a good song must have both.

Jazz Piano Lessons/ Classes in Loudoun County, Virginia

Here are some samples of how we integrate jazz improvisation into beginner piano lessons, from our November 18 recital!  You can see how much fun everyone is having. 



Disclaimer:  I teach more than just jazz.  In fact, I teach all styles at Piano 2 Go, including classical, pop, classic rock, jazz, composition, songwriting, and improvisation.  For more info on in-home lessons, please contact me at jennifer@piano2go.com.

Snowflake: A Teacher-Student Improv Duet in D Minor Pentatonic

My Top 6 Favorite Classical Pieces

Ok.  A reckoning for you.  Despite my blog description, and the fact that I broke out of the classical cage long ago to explore other genres, I go weak in the knees when I hear certain classical pieces.  Obviously, my early compositions were inspired by classical influences, and I still compose and improvise in a very classical style (although I'm more jazzy every year).  Here are my favorite classical pieces.  I play all but the first on the piano.

1.  Samuel Barber:  Adagio for Strings.  Just when you think the phrase can't go on any longer (or get any more intense), it does.  Also featured in the movie, Platoon, I fell in love with this piece in high school; there is no piano but it is one of the most moving pieces ever written.  Close your eyes; be open and receptive to the sadness of this piece, and it will rip you to pieces.

 

2.  Gabriel Faure:  Pavane.  I'm a softie for anything de Francais, especially French composers.  Debussy, Faure, Saint-Saens, Satie...I love them all.  The joie de vivre is truly celebrated in French music, and harmonies are just more imaginative.  Just the right tempo is critical.  The mood is spoiled when this piece is delivered too quickly.   This duo has a nice moderate pace and the flutist has a lovely tone and phrasing.  (One of the most gorgeous pieces, I like to spontaneously arrange this on many gigs).

3.  Schubert:  Serenade (this is a particularly good version; I don't like it too slow, and I love Perlman's interpretation on violin.)

4.  Massenet:  Meditation from the opera Thais.  One of the most beautiful melodies ever written; Joshua Bell never disappoints.

5.  Beethoven:  Second Movement of Sonata Pathetique.  To listen to Beethoven is to experience a crazy cocktail of life's drama.  Quickly flipping from seething, violent outbursts to mournful meditations, there is never a dull moment in Beethoven.  I guess that's why I love him so much, and have two of his pieces here.  In this, one of Beethoven's more mournful meditations, the performer puts it all on the table for us:  blood, sweat, and tears.  I performed this movement in church just after 9/11.  I have enjoyed showing students Freddy's facial expressions in this piece.  His inner torment is palpable.

6.  Beethoven:  Third Movement of Moonlight Sonata.  (apologies - I posted the wrong video the first time).  This is my favorite movement of the Moonlight Sonata.  Sure, I love the first movement like everyone, but the electricity and passion of the third movement is hard to beat.  This piece makes me cry when I hear Evgeny Kissin perform it, but Valentina Lisitsa has chops.  Plus, I can't find a live recording of Evgeny playing it online.