Week 5 - Scales; Start on "Good Times"

This week we will have our scale quiz and play our blues changes. Next week we will begin work on "Good Times". The original tune and the chart are on the sidebar. More to come...

Week 3 - New Arrangement for "When A Man Loves A Woman"

Hi y'all -

Here is the revised arrangement for playing "When A Man Loves A Woman" in class.

1. First 8 bars: Ignore repeat.
2. Second 8 bars: Ignore repeat and 1st ending, take 2nd ending to the bridge
3. Play bridge, take the D.S. to the beginning
4. On the D.S. play the repeat, and take the Coda on the second time through the repeat - in other words, jump from the 4th bar on the repeat to the Coda (3rd measure from the end.)

Be prepared to play this song in class with the track - that means use a metronome for practicing so you can stay with the track. I can change it to any tempo that works for you, so have an idea of what tempo you can comfortably play.

Advanced players - think about using chords in the left hand and melody or improvisation in the right - melody in octaves works well for this style.

Remember - bring me your practice log to sign at the beginning of the class!

See you Wednesday :-)

Welcome Back!

Hi all - welcome back to Keys III, Part Deux! This week we're going to get started on our 2-octave scales, hands together.


Our scales for the first half of the quarter are Eb, Ab and B, 2 octaves. Since this is the first time we're doing 2 octaves, you don't need to play at the tempo you were at last quarter. Go as slow as you need to with your metronome to keep it clean.

The fingering rules for black-key scales are what we call the "V-W" system. This means that you will use your first two fingers (2 and 3 in piano numbering) to play Db and Eb - making a "V", sort of like the Nixon Victory sign.

For the group of 3 black keys (Gb, Ab and Bb) you will use your first 3 fingers (2, 3 and 4 in piano numbering) which will look like a "W". The only challenge here is getting used to making the switch from the first to the second octave. Once you get comfortable with that, you're home free. You can do as many scales in a row as you like.

We will also be working on chord chart reading this quarter. Next week I will give you some charts to read through during your practice.

The song we will start with is "Don't Know Why" by Norah Jones. The song and the chart are on the sidebar. We'll go over how to approach reading the chord changes.

As usual - scales and song, 30 minutes a day - fill in your pracice record, downloadable on the sidebar!

Week 3 - Finger Independence Exercises

Today, we're going to play our song from last week, "When a Man Loves a Woman" to a GarageBand track.

Here is a new exercise page that I would like you to work on during your half-hour daily practice sessions:


This will help you play chords with finger independence rather than the forbidden Quarter-Note Clumps™. The first exercise is on a basic C chord, and the second is a 1-5-6-4 progression in the key of F. Yes, I know that in Music Theory they use Roman numerals, and that is the 'correct' usage, but I would like you to start thinking in terms of numbers. When I play by ear, I always think in terms of regular numbers, and I remember the sound characteristics of each number position.

And if you can count to 13, you can play anything in the world!

If you are ready for something more difficult, practice this for your daily exercise:


You can click on the images to either read them from the browser or download them.

Welcome To Week 2 - Voice Leading

This week we're going to jump on in and get started with our first song, "When a Man Loves a Woman". These changes are written out by note because I want to emphasize voice leading. There are, of course, as many different ways to play these changes as there are people who play them, but I have written out a basic set of voice-led chords to get you comfortable with making these transitions.

This song is an exercise, so I would like you to play this one with the exact notes that are written. Where I would like you to use your individuality is by the rhythmic choices you make. As outlined in the section called "The Next Level", there are many ways to play chords. Look at some of these, and use your own ideas.

Next week we will play this with a bass and drum track - be prepared to play!

Assignments for Weeks 7-11

Here are our scales for the last half of the quarter. Write in the fingerings using the V-W system.

Scales will be played Week 10.

You have your choice of two songs to work on for the rest of the quarter - "Don't Know Why" or "Isn't She Lovely". The songs and charts are on the sidebar.

Your final project is teaming up in pairs and one person plays while the other sings and vice versa. You will need a handwritten chart for your song.

This will be Week 11.

Week 5 - Scale Week! The "V-W" System

Next week, as you know, we'll be playing scales. Our scales for the first half of the quarter are Eb, Ab and B, 2 octaves. Since this is the first time we're doing 2 octaves, you don't need to play at the tempo you were at last quarter. Go as slow as you need to with your metronome to keep it clean.

The fingering rules for black-key scales are what we call the "V-W" system. This means that you will use your first two fingers (2 and 3 in piano numbering) to play Db and Eb - making a "V", sort of like the Nixon Victory sign.

For the group of 3 black keys (Gb, Ab and Bb) you will use your first 3 fingers (2, 3 and 4 in piano numbering) which will look like a "W". The only challenge here is getting used to making the switch from the first to the second octave. Once you get comfortable with that, you're home free. You can do as many scales in a row as you like.