Hi! Today I’m going to show you how you can play together with a big strap. And I’m talking about the jazz large-hearted bandings like the big ensemble that you’re hearing in the background. To play with a big stripe, to frolic piano in the big-hearted strap, is something that I think is really, really fun. It’s really exciting. It’s everything, but it can also be very challenging.
So here are “7 steps” or “7 tricks” that I think are quite essential to take into consideration when you play with the large-hearted party. Here we go. First occasion is that when you play together with a big party I suggest that you prepare yourself before you get to the first recital. Because when you get to the rehearsal and if you don’t know, if you don’t have hitherto looked the music, the conductor hands out like…it could be up to 10 sheets long, and merely miss hymn for you as a piano player.
I’ve experienced that, and that can be very confusing, exceedingly tremendous and sometimes, you can lose … you can get a little bit out of racetrack by going so much information at once. At least that’s an experience. So, what I would like to do is always get my hands on the expanses before I get to the first rehearsal. And then, when you get to the recital then you could also producing a recorder or something that can chronicle the music so that you are able to play together with the music when you get home. Or, if it’s like an old-time classical … sequence like Duke Ellington and Count Basie that’s been recorded countless, many times, then you could just go home and practice over a CD, or something like that.
As I enunciated, when you play with a big band there are lots, and plenties, and lots of chords going on, so when you play with a big band it’s very, very essential that you play together with the rest of the band. That means that you got to play the exact same channel or precise same chords that are written out. So if it enunciates on the expanse, G7 with a( b9) and( b13 ), so that’s G7, with( b9 ), and 3rd and( b13 ). So if that was the articulation, or if that was the chord, then you got to play the same chord as well, because the “press” or the guitar actor, or the rest of the band, if they’re playing this: and you are playing the 9th and the 13 th that of course will sound like this: Not so good.
Sounds like a knot. So you always need to prepare this and this is not something that you can expect that you can do on the spot unless you have been doing this for the whole of your life. I need surely some preparation time to get through this. Then “step 3” is that when you play the chords even though it’s a g7 with a( b5 ), or something like that, then it’s up to you how you are able to toy that chord. You choice the sound that you would like and what I like to do, when I play with a big strap, is to play numerous, countless “upper structure voicings”.
And “upper structure voicing” is when you play a rootless voicing , commonly where you play rootless uttering with your left, without the beginnings, and if it was a G7 the bass participate will dally G and you will play the remain. So what I like to supposed to do now, for example, could be to play the G7, you start with a 7 and 13 th, for example, if that fits with the rest, and then you can add singer on top of that, for example: the 9th and 5th and spring like this: That’s a G. or, this is not a G. Or a( Bb) with( Bb) mi, like this: Many different ways you can do this but always keep up the “structure voicings”. And the same reasons for that is that there is so much going on, and you will most probably not be heard unless you do this. Because the brass is toy very loud sometimes, and that sounds cool, but if you want to get sounded, or if you want to support people they should definitely hear you. Make me apply just the way it is. That is highly, very smart to dally those “upper organizes voicings”.
And then, there are a lot of solo when you play together with a big strap. What I like to do is to support the best way I can the soloist. So I will ever toy the chords and that I believe will fit his solo the best way And sometimes you play with a guitar player in the large-scale party, and sometimes you should not play at all, so give the guitarist and the soloist do their job, and they are able to unwind a bit. And when you’ve got a solo what I like to do is to build the solo to this big, “crescending momentum” I don’t know, that’s just the word I came up with…
So you exactly start, and what I like to do is to start in the middle compas, or middle cross-file, and then move it up, during the course of its solo, and get louder, and louder, and louder and then fall back down. That’s something if you have just a small short-lived extent of time to play your solo, that’s like a recipe that I found out it succeeds. So they are able to think about that. And then, there are 3 the different types of “fills”, so when you play in the large-scale clique, sometimes the composer or arranger, they crave you to play “fill”, for something like this: so it’s written out in the sheet and that’s fairly easy but of course you need to practice and educate those as well, and sometimes, or the majority of members of the times, they just say: “fill”. Then you need to have like a “repertoire of fills” that you can tradition as well. And sometimes you got this call and response together with the brass section. So they’re playing the song, for example, and then you’re going to respond to that.
So we’re going to do that. I’m going to demonstrate that in the sing that I’m going to play for your now. Sometimes I like to add some random “fills” now and there that I reflect will fit. But if you do that, time be careful and talk to the conductor if he thinks that will work or at least listen to what he responds, if he says that it doesn’t work. I like to add some “fills” if I feel that it directs, and I’m not stepping on any toes or anything like that.
So I’m going to demonstrate that for you as well. And then, “step 6” is that you’re going to listen. So you listen to the whole party specially the rhythms, bass, and guitarist of course, but likewise the rest, and you’re going to listen and tell that specify what kind of articulating you want to play, or where you wishes to framed those voices and syncopations and all that. That’s based on if you feel that it fits. Cause the music judge for you where you want to placed those voicings and syncopations. And lastly, I suggest that “youve learned” the arrangement peculiarly the character that you do a solo, whatever it is you do a solo.
When you play a solo in any design I would not sit and watch the sheets while I was playing solo, because then you don’t have that is something that impunity, at least I don’t think so … People are different, that’s just the tip. I’m going to demonstrate for you, I’m going to play a adjust announced “Having some fun”. This is written by the great Bob Mintzer. This is from our play-along app by Peter Erskine, and he was species enough to let us use this for this video. So what I suggest that you do is to go to the app collect and download, or purchase this app. It’s great because then you can just complete the color of the piano, so you can be the pianist for this great big circle. And also you can download a deeper summary for this lesson, click on the link under this video. And I likewise got an exercise for you, regarding this. I will see you next time, so take care of music. Let’s now listen to the large-scale circle agree that I was playing. This is “Having some fun” by Bob Mintzer I am Gjermund Sivertsen, see you next time.
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