Jazz Piano Lesson #40: Stride Piano Run (Art Tatum/Thelonious Monk)

This week's lesson marks number 40 from my YouTube jazz piano lessons series!  Thank you so much for your support and feedback about the lessons.  I hope we can continue to grow and positively influence the experience of improvisors around the world.

You can get the sheet music to all 40 lessons here:  Complete Lessons 1-40 in downloadable .pdf

-  They are currently specially discounted 66%.  I will be raising prices soon so if you're interested now's the time to buy.  

In this week's jazz piano lesson we tackle a descending run inspired by Art Tatum and Thelonious Monk.  I use the run at the end of tunes but you may also incorporate it in to normal improvisation.  Both players were heavily influenced by Harlem Stride Piano of the 1920's and 30's.  Check out the videos after the lesson for a brief video history of Stride Piano.

Download the Sheet Music:  Jazz Piano Lesson #40: Stride Piano Run (Tatum/Monk) .pdf

Video Lesson #40:

Here's a brief but interesting look at the evolution of Stride Piano.

James P Johnson "The Father of Harlem Stride Piano"

Here is James. P Johnson playing the Fats Waller composition "Honeysuckle Rose" in 1930.  You can hear the evolution of Harlem Stride piano throughout this recording.  Look for elements of both Ragtime and Boogie Woogie throughout the performance.

Teddy Wilson
Mostly know for his "Swing" piano style, Wilson was also well versed in Stride as shown in this 1939 recording of Tiger Rag.


Art Tatum
Fats Waller once said "God is in the house" when hearing of Art Tatum walking in to the club he was playing at.  Listen for the descending runs that influenced the above lesson.



Thelonious Monk
Monk gives no indication in his performances in group settings that he is capable of such thrilling Stride piano playing.  Check out his performance of "Nice Work if You Can Get It" below.


I will do a much more thorough review of Harlem Stride Piano in the future.  Hope you enjoyed this brief but interesting summary.

Modern Jazz Line #13 - Delayed Resolution Augmented - Tri-Tone Sub

I hope you enjoyed watching the first 10 lessons from my Modern Jazz Line series.  In these jazz lessons I covered how to become a better improvisor using the ii-V-I progression as a guide.  The next Modern Jazz Line videos will cover the tri-tone substitution used in the context of a basic ii-V-I progression (see example below).  If you haven't read or watched my explanation of the tri-tone substitution you may want to check it out before continuing with the lesson below.

Introduction to the Tri-Tone Substitution: The Tri-Tone Substitution

Modern Jazz Line #13:

Get the sheet music:

Modern Jazz Line #13 .pdf

Watch the lesson:

Modern Jazz Line #12 - Simple Pentatonic Melody

I hope you enjoyed watching the first 10 lessons from my Modern Jazz Line series.  In these jazz lessons I covered how to become a better improvisor using the ii-V-I progression as a guide.  The next Modern Jazz Line videos will cover the tri-tone substitution used in the context of a basic ii-V-I progression (see example below).  If you haven't read or watched my explanation of the tri-tone substitution you may want to check it out before continuing with the lesson below.

Introduction to the Tri-Tone Substitution: The Tri-Tone Substitution

Modern Jazz Line #12 in the key of C:

This week's modern jazz line is a simple pentatonic melody over a ii-V-I progression.  Below is a list of the pentatonic scales used for each chord.

Dm7 = F Major or D minor pentatonic

Db7 = Db Major Pentatonic

CMaj7 = C Major Pentatonic

Sheet Music for Modern Jazz Line #12: Modern Jazz Line #12 - Simple Pentatonic .pdf

Jazz Piano Lesson #39: Whole Tone Scale Fingering and Construction

The Whole-Tone Scale is compromised of a series of ascending and descending whole-steps.  You can create the scale off of any root by simply playing up or down in whole-steps until you reach an octave above or below the root.  The Whole-Tone Scale is a symmetrical scale which means that its intervals equally divide the octave.  This is good news for players wanting to memorize the scale because it means there are only two variations in fingering and construction.

The Whole-Tone Scale is also inversionally symmetrical.  This means that when inverted, the interval arrangement of the scale and the notes of the scale remain identical.  Let me show you what I mean.

C Whole Tone:
C, D, E, F#, G#, Bb

Lets invert the scale by transposing the C up an octave.  We now have a D Whole-Tone Scale.

D Whole Tone:
D, E, F#, G#, Bb, C

Same intervals.  Same exact notes!

So once you've learned the fingering and notes to the C Whole-Tone scale, you've also learned D (and E, F#, Ab, Bb).

The other variation of the scale can start on either B, C#, Eb, F, G or A.  The same rules stated above hold true for these scales.  Click below to view the sheet music to this lesson and follow the steps in the video for mastery.

Sheet Music:  Jazz Piano Lesson #39 - Whole Tone Scale Fingering Exercise .pdf

YouTube:

Modern Jazz Line Demonstration

By request, here is Modern Jazz Line #11 played at goal tempo.  I could should have played this with a metronome and you should too!  It can take me anywhere from 48 hours to a week to begin to feel comfortable with a new line.  For YouTube purposes, I try to write lines based around a jazz concept.  For example, the ii-V-I or the Tri-Tone substitution.  However, when at home or teaching a student I try to write a line that is just out of reach of my (or the students) technical ability.  I learned this from watching Kenny Werner's Effortless Mastery DVD and have found it to be an extremely rewarding practice technique.

Modern Jazz Line #11: The Tri-Tone Substitution

I hope you enjoyed watching the first 10 lessons from my Modern Jazz Line series.  In these jazz lessons I covered how to become a better improvisor using the ii-V-I progression as a guide.  The next Modern Jazz Line videos will cover the tri-tone substitution used in the context of a basic ii-V-I progression (see example below).  If you haven't read or watched my explanation of the tri-tone substitution you may want to check it out before continuing with the lesson below.

Introduction to the Tri-Tone Substitution: The Tri-Tone Substitution

Sheet Music for Modern Jazz Line #11:  Modern Jazz Line #11.pdf

Video Lesson Guide:

Tri-Tone Substitution - Introduction to Modern Jazz Lines #11-20

This week I'm beginning the next section of my Modern Jazz Line video series.  The goal of the first ten Modern Jazz Lines was to learn how to hear and improvise creatively over the ii-V-I progression.  Now, I'll admit ten jazz melodies played and sung in all twelve keys probably isn't enough to justify mastery. Please note however that these short ten video segments are meant as an introduction to each progression.  As with all subjects, student exploration and self study is essential to mastery.  I strongly encourage you to take on writing your own ii-V-I jazz melodies no matter how simple they may be.

The next section (#11-20) of the Modern Jazz Line series will cover the tri-tone substitution.  A "tri-sub" within a ii-V-I involves substituting a Dominant 7th chord a tri-tone away from the V7 chord.  The concept is explained simply in the video below.


Simply put, you can substitute a Dominant 7th chord a tri-tone away from the V chord (in a ii-V-I for example) because they share the same guide tones.

G7 = 3rd and 7th = B and F
Db7 (tri-sub) = 7th and 3rd = B and F!

If voiced correctly the two chords can and will function essential the same in a ii-V-I sequence.  If finding a tri-tone away from the V7 chord is hard at first just think a half-step below the ii chord.  I'll show you what I mean.

ii-V-I in C Major = Dm7-G7-CMaj7

with a tri-sub on the V7
ii-V-I in C Major = Dm7-Db7-CMaj7

Notice the root movement of the new progression.  Each note simply moves down in half-steps.  Feel free to use this method if it is easier for you to remember.

Modern Jazz Line #10 - Large Intervals and Triads

Hearing large intervals, particularly descending 6ths and 7ths, have always been a big challenge for me.  For this week's Modern Jazz Line I've decided to tackle some of those tricky intervals using triad embellishment. Try to notice which intervals you struggle the most with.  You may want to identify these intervals for later isolated practice through all 12 keys.

The embellished superimposed triads for each chord are as follows.
Dm7 = FMajor Triad (i.e. 3-5-7 of Dm7)
G7 = AMajor Triad (9-#11-13 of G7)
CMaj7 = DMajor Triad (9-#11-13)
C6 = n/a



Sheet Music for this lesson:  Modern Jazz Line #10 .pdf

Follow the steps in the video below for mastery of this jazz lesson.