Sudnow

A cool piano day. Taking my time, relearning "Over the Rainbow" but trying not to rush learning it. Thinking through the process, incorporating open and closed voicings and learning. Thanks again, David Sudnow, for demystifying the process. It's up to me to be patient with the tools he has provided.

Consolidation!

Ok. I'm definitely on to something with these ideas. However, it's not the "secret tolling the piano instantly.". Going for the Sudnow type handshapes is helping. Getting to know some good ones for the present song is helpful. But I still should not rush the process. Take the time to learn the songs. With this different track I'm taking, it's helping me in actually remembering the chords, and thus helping to remember them when I'll need them in future songs. But I STILL will have to work on getting the songs to sound smooth.

Reevaluation!

Not sure the memorization of closed voicings is the way to go. I want to play SOLO piano, and learning closed voicings may minimize the color notes used. Maybe today I'll try to figure out favorite OPEN voicings to use for low and high melody notes. Or maybe today I'll smash my piano with a hammer.... ! Using the Open voicings sounds soooo nice.... Stay tuned....

November 13, 2010; Forging Ahead With My Own Rules

I think I'm on to something cool here, and it's gonna take some work. Memorizing closed voicings to play in low/medium/high registers. Sounds like three, but it's really two fingerings for each chord (they repeat). Using closed voicings in the right hand. Going song by song, learning the chords for each given song.
Combining:
1) Rote learning out of context: The Voicings.
Going over them, over them, and over them.
2) Contextual application in the context of songs.

First Projec: Working on learning closed voicings involved in the chords in "Wichita Lineman," and applying my knowledge of those chords by playing them in the song.

Worked on this throughout the day......ITS DIFFICULT (Confusing the chords while simultaneously making them hit the melody note)...

Patience....patience....

Working on the C, Bb, Am, Dm chord voicings.....the song also has Other chords for me to learn.

Good 'ole patience needed.

Closed Voicings (Again)

Interested now in making my own piano rules. I'm now in a different yet related direction...
I'm incorporating Sudnow, a jazz voicings book I recently got, and some ideas to try something. I'm interested in memorizing closed voicings and utilizing them in the right hand.

"Smoke Gets in Your Eyes"

Worked today on "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes." Interesting how the strong desire to play piano kicks in. Here's "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" (copy and paste):
http://www.box.net/shared/8p0sn4z0j5

"Wichita Lineman"

Here it is with closed and open voicings, along with a run adapted from the book "Tons of Runs" by Andy LaVerne. Copy and paste:
http://www.box.net/shared/k7j3g3ov8g

Closed Voicings (Again)

Went thru "Just the Way You Are," and struggled thru it!
Working on "Wichita Lineman" with closed voicings....but here's the cool part: Sudnow made sense not emphasizing closed voicings over open voicings. Cool to play the left hand closed voicing form with the right hand open one. Also using a book to help with a little piano run during the song.

Closed Voicings

Update: I've been working recently on keeping "Just the Way You Are" in my hands. I haven't really been working on "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes." But yesterday at the piano warrants reporting:

I listened to David Sudnow's teaching of closed voicings recently, and I tried to put some of it in action yesterday. I kind of surprised myself with how many I was able to get in hand relatively quickly: C, Bb, D, Gm, Dm, Am, and G. I tried playing "Wichata Lineman" using the closed voicing. interesting. One thing What ffrustrating was using the right hand to play the melody; I was fumbling with not only playing the correct right hand melody notes, but also with using a fingering that was not clumsy. The other frustrating thing was trying to get timing down correctly using these closed voicing. Sudnow calls these voicings "Stride," and for good reason; to get it sounding really good, I guess you need at least two beats per chord. It's frustrating for me trying to get my timing right.

But on the other hand, these closed voicings add a great addition to how to make sounds at the piano! Of course I've been tempted to buy another piano method, but Suds' emphasis on self-learning makes sense to me. I'm still not convinced there are any "easy" methods of learning to play the piano sophisticated out there. David Sudnow's approach (to me) offers the student ways of making sophisticated sounds at the piano, but it forces the student to put all of his pieces of knowledge together in a self-learning kind of way. Sometimes blending various pieces together in one tune (open voicings, closed voicings).

So......because these closed voicings can add to a tune, I'll keep learning them. My piano buddy has told me how they are key, and I agree.

September 26, 2010

Working on "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes."

Septenber 25, 2010

Here's how "Just the Way You Are" sounds today...
Copy and Paste:
http://www.box.net/shared/q14pcvlprt

September 19, 2010

"Just the Way You Are" is sounding nice. Just a little bit more to learn.

September 18, 2010

Still working on "Just the Way You Are," and it feels good taking it slow and doing it correctly.

September 10, 2010

Voicing "Just the Way You Are."
Difficult, but I'm getting there. Has clusters I'm not too familiar with, due to being in an unfamiliar key (two sharps). Take it slow....take it slow....

September 9, 2010

Its been awhile since my last post! Back using the ideas off David Sudnow. First song of 20 I'd like to voice: "Just the Way You Are." Going to just have the goal of voicing 20 songs, keeping six in hand at any particular time.