Here is a video of Keith Jarrett playing a piano solo of Danny Boy, originally known as Londonderry Air. This performance is from a live concert in Tokyo, Japan in 2002. Londonderry Air is an old English song that has been modernized in recent decades. It is a simple song, but Jarrett creates a deeper and more emotional performance by using many chord substitutions.
Keith Jarrett is known for his mastery of the piano keyboard. His expressive and beautiful piano playing is also deepened by his remarkable improvisations skills and superb melodic and chord variations. Keith Jarrett began playing piano before he was three years old. By the age of five, he was already taking piano lessons. Jarrett is known for his classical recordings and many jazz and blues performances as both solo and trio player. Jarrett’s remarkable music talent is unmatched today by any other pianist in the jazz and blues idiom.
This is a wonderful video of Abdullah Ibrahim playing “Cape Town Flower” from the Lugano Jazz Festival, recorded in Lugano, Switzerland in 1999. His trio playing in this recording is superb, and they are one of the very best groups he has performed with. I love listening to Abdullah Ibrahim. He is a superb pianist and composer. His music is so diversified, with major influences from his native Cape Town, South Africa, and more from musicians from all over the world. His playing is a rich composite of elements from Jazz, Blues, and Ethnic African music.
Born in 1932 in Cape Town, South Africa, Abdullah Ibrahim began his musical journey early on. He was eager to take piano lessons at the age of 7. He studied recordings of Jazz music brought over by American sailors. His professional career began in 1949. He later moved to Europe, New York City, and then back to Cape Town for a while.
Much of his music revolves around musical memories from his childhood. Distinct features of African, Gospel, and Blues, are the foundation of his unique Jazz sound. Thelonius Monk and Duke Ellington were strong contributors to the sound he has created.
Learning to play improvisation has much to do with listening to and hearing what other musicians have done. I teach piano in Portland, Oregon. When my piano students express an interest in studying Jazz or Blues Piano, I often suggest Abdullah Ibrahim as someone to study. His music is accessible compared to most mainstream Jazz. Piano students will find it easier to understand. Abdullah Ibrahim has recorded many albums, and has contributed immensely to the world of Jazz piano history.
Some of Abdullah Ibrahim Best Albums
Banyana
Anatomy Of A South African Village
African Sun
African Suite – For Trio And String Orchestra
African Marketplace
African Magic
Africa – Tears And Laughter
African Dawn
Here’s a video of Silvan Zingg and his band playing his composition “Silvan’s Night Train Trip”. Enzo Muci is on Bass and Michel Denis on drums. This is a very typical Boogie Woogie style. Silvan Zingg is a Swiss pianist, specializing in Boogie Woogie, Blues and Jazz. In 2002 he created the International Boogie Woogie festival located in Lugano, Switzerland. Zingg was born in a musical family and was already playing piano before he started school. He has performed all over the world, having given his first concert at the age of 18. He has performed with Ray Charles, Chuck Berry, B.B.King, Michel Petrucciani, and many other artists.
Blues Piano is very popular today. At my piano lessons studio, here in Portland, many of my students love learning to play Blues Piano. Students who have basic reading and playing skills can learn to play Blues on piano or keyboard. We start with the basics of a 12 bar blues, the chord progression and the blues scale. Although there is sheet music of blues songs, our focus is to learn to play blues completely by ear. We do this by listening to blues, working on developing good melodies and rhythmic elements, and trying out different improvisational techniques. I provide all the direction. Students only need to play and have fun. Blues can be played on either an acoustic piano or keyboard. Compared to the time it takes to master classical music, players can start sounding very good playing blues in much less time.
There are many styles of Blues Piano, including Boogie Woogie, Swing, Jazz, R&B, Rock and Roll, New Orleans, Barrelhouse, and Chicago. Most blues is played in a 12 bar pattern, although there are variations using 16 bars and even styles of blues waltz in 3/4 time.
Here are some well known traditional blues artists:
Albert Ammons
Leroy Carr
Ray Charles
James Crutchfield
Charles “Cow Cow” Davenport
Blind John Davis
Fats Domino
Champion Jack Dupree
Cecil Gant
Dr John
Henry Gray
Piano video from the movie ‘Secret’ (不能說的秘密), starring and directed by Jay Chou. Two very talented pianists battle it out on the piano. Yuhao Zhan’s improvisation skill is absolutely amazing. A brilliant showdown of dueling pianos in competition.
Cast
周杰倫 (周杰伦) Jay Chou as 葉湘倫 (Ye Xianglun): Music student majoring in piano and lives with his father.
桂綸鎂 (桂纶镁) Kwai Lun-mei as 路小雨 (Lu Xiaoyu): Music student who lives with her mother.
黄秋生 (黄秋生) Anthony Wong Chau-sang as 小倫爸爸 (Xianglun’s father): The discipline teacher of Xianglun’s school and his father.
曾愷玹 (曾恺玹) Alice Tzeng as 晴依 (Qing Yi): The girl Ye Xianglun met when he joined Dangjian. She always admired Ye Xianglun.
宋健彰 Devon Song as 阿宝/阿寶 (Abao): Not a well-behaved student. Member of a rugby team.
黃俊郎 (黄俊郎) Huang Junlang as 阿郎 (Alang): Abao’s good friend, captain of the rugby team. Organised a dance party where he performs.
詹宇豪 Yuhao Zhan as 雨豪 (Yu Hao): “Prince of the piano”, a talented piano player, had a “piano battle” with Ye Xianglun.
Plot
Ye Xianglun, a music student majoring in piano, transfers to Tamkang (Danjiang)Secondary School. It is a school famous for musically talented students, especially for those who play piano. On the first day of school, as he wanders through the piano building, he hears a mysterious melody being played that leads him to Lu Xiaoyu, another piano major. When he asks her about the song she was playing, she tells him that it is a secret that cannot be told. The two develop a relationship that is clouded in mystery. When Xianglun tells Xiaoyu of the demolition of the piano building on graduation day, she teaches him the song that he heard on the first day of school.
However, when a mis-passed note leads to Xianglun’s accidental kissing of Qing Yi, Xiaoyu disappears for five months, only to return on graduation day and mysteriously disappear again. Xianglun asks around and discovers through Xiaoyu’s mother and his own father that Xiaoyu was actually a student from the class of 1979, who graduated 20 years ago. His father tells him claimed she time traveled to the present via a piece called “Secret” that she played on an old piano in the piano building. She had fallen in love with Xianglun, but the only barrier is that, in the present, the first person she sees on each trip is the only person that can see her.
When Xiaoyu was misled that Xianglun liked Qing Yi, she returned back twenty years to her normal time. During her absence, her story spread and everyone believed that she was crazy. Remembering that the piano room would be destroyed on graduation day of 1999, she tried time traveling to see Xianglun one last time, but was misled once again that he liked Qing Yi as she saw Xianglun was wearing Qing Yi’s bracelet, loaned to him for good luck for playing at the graduation ceremony. Xiaoyu retreats back to her own time and faints due to an asthma attack, while writing on her desk, to which Xianglun desperately tries to write back by writing on a desk with white out.
After finally learning of Xiaoyu’s story, Xianglun realizes that the piece that she taught him was “Secret”, which had the power to take the pianist forward or backward in time depending on the tempo at which it is played. He rushes off to the piano room, which is about to be torn down. Xianglun’s father retrieves the manuscript of Secret that Xiaoyu had given to him for safekeeping, then realizes that Xiaoyu had written a secret message to which he finds out was for Xianglun. Meanwhile, Xianglun enters the piano building where the old piano is. As the demolition begins, Xianglun begins “Secret” from memory, recalling something Xiaoyu told him while teaching him the piece: “I always play it that fast when I go back”. Just before the piano room is completely destroyed, Xianglun travels back to 1979. He sees Xiaoyu, and she sees him and smiles, but doesn’t seem to know him. The last scene is when the 1979 Tamkang (Danjiang) Secondary School graduation picture is taken, in which Xianglun and Xiaoyu are present. As the old piano and the piano building have been destroyed, Xianglun stays forever in the past living a normal life with his love Xiaoyu.
“This Is Such A Blast. I’m Finally Learning What I Wanted, Improvise Blues Piano.” – J. Simmons
“Playing The Blues By Ear Has Always Been My Dream. What Fun.” – Sandra Michaels
“Soon I’ll Be Able To Jam With My Friends”
– D. Baker
Why Blues Piano?
Learning Blues Piano is a great way to expand your piano skills. Blues piano is a great introduction to learning to play by ear, playing jazz, and becoming fluent on the keyboard. Students who acquire basic facility with blues, experience a sense a freedom of being able to play piano with ease and little effort. What makes Blues Piano so much fun? It’s spontaneous, energetic, experimental, imaginative. It’s the most playful type of music.
Students who already play, will discover that learning blues improvisation, will revitalize and energize their playing. It’s a terrific way to learn how to jam along with your friends. Those of you who are complete beginners, will want to spend a few months learning to read music before beginning blues. Once you have basic playing skills, blues is an excellent way to be introduced to new playing techniques.
Along with blues, you might also be interested in working on some extra theory, learning arrange your own music, and writing original music. If you sing, you might want to learn to accompany your voice with chords. Children love to experiment on piano, and blues gives them a way to use their imagination. They take to it immediately and it’s inventive nature.
What Is The Blues? Blues is truly the original American music. It’s artistic, soulful, and very innovative. The twelve bar blues progression is a structure of chords combined with melodies and improvised. Blues played on the guitar is generally slow and melancholy, and accompanied by vocals. On the piano, blues often has no vocals, and the music is much faster, and full of creative energy.
Blues is a kind of jazz, and it’s a great way to get introduced to the world of jazz improvisation. Blues and jazz have influenced music for decades. It’s everywhere, and internationally loved and appreciated. Some popular blues players piano players are: Oscar Peterson, Abdullah Ibrahim, Otis Spann, Dr. John, Pete Johnson, Albert Ammons, Professor Longhair, Barrelhouse Chuck. Blues piano can evoke emotions in many ways. Its constant swirl of textures can be imaginative, delicate, rambunctious, evocative, captivating, elegant, and playful.
Getting Started Music stores are full of ‘Learn To Play Blues Piano’ books. However, I’ve yet to find a student who could make sense of the material presented in book form. They end up confused and frustrated. Learning blues piano is a hands on experience. I’ve taught hundreds of students to understand and blues. One-to-one training is effective, and the way to go.
Playing blues on the piano is very well suited for beginner players. To learn to play blues, students don’t need any previous piano experience. We can start right at the beginning with reading music. As soon as the student has enough playing skill, we can begin the blues. If you already play piano and have a good ear but don’t read music, then we can begin blues right away.
The Lessons My approach to blues is unique; modern, clean, easy to understand. Learning 12 bar blues starts with the left hand chord progression and right hand melodies. I’ll show you all the steps you need to play a real nice blues. After a short time practicing the basics, you’ll be improvising your very first original blues. I’ll teach you everything you need to know to master the basic styles of blues.
You should find blues piano to be a delightful introduction to improvisation. Those who are starting piano from the beginning will enjoy the freedom of playing without music. Those of you that already play will find new energy and expression in this engaging music. If you have tried playing jazz piano, and found it too hard, blues piano should be a much easier style to learn. Each student is a unique individual, so the lessons are guided by each students interests and comfort level.
Live Remote, Online, Virtual
Piano Lessons & Keyboard Lessons Call for Details
Examples of Blues
Some techniques covered in the lessons: • Understanding Basic Chord Theory • Left & Right Hand Swing Rhythms • Left Hand Walking Bass • Left Hand Rhythmic Variations • Alternative 12 Bar Chords • Diminished Chords & Scales • Boogie Woogie & New Orleans Styles
