Jazz Piano-Simple Trick for the right hand:
—Are you Rock’n Your Piano—?
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Yes, getting a jazz foundation can be overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be, you can get some great sounds with just a few simple tips.
Tip & trick I use for the right hand and it’s easy and you can do this on all of your music, contemporary, blues or jazz.Using the melody note is an E and the chord is CM7.
It can be that simple.
a) Double the melody note E and make it an octave, play the E octave.
b) When playing the octave, which note is easy for the 2 finger to play? It’s the A.
Does the A fit into C chord? (C-E-G-B) The A is a 6th and will work with the CM7 chord.
When playing the octave E to E, Add the A for the 2 finger.
c ) Which note is easy for the 3 finger to play?
It’s a B, does the B fit into C Chord? Yes, It’s the 7th tone.
If you know the rules for adding 9th’s 11th’s & 13th’s, this will make it simple to choose which notes to add in the 2 & 3 fingers. Otherwise try using scale tones.
If you do not get the sound you need, move the inner tones, up or down 1/2 steps.
Playing the right hand melody:
1. Play the melody in an octave
2. With the 2 finger, add a tone of the chord
3. With the 3 finger, add a tone either from the chord or the scale.
Why does this hand position work? Because anytime we can arrange chords in 4ths or 5ths we can get a dissonant jazz sound.
Let’s apply it in a song using Silent Night.
Try this on other songs of your choice. You’ll find many places where this right hand styling will fit.
One simple styling tip can give you a big full jazz sound, it’s easy to play and easy to add to your music.
Find out more about Alana’s methods to playing jazz piano.
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