More improvisation and practice tips
With
Tim Richards
What's in the course
19 lessons (0h 29m) · 1 free
Lesson transcript
Solo Techniques and Bass Line Flexibility
Did you notice in my solo that I was using two-bar patterns in the bass?
- The bass line can be quite flexible.
- You don't always have to just play the same thing in every bar.
By now, you should have several options so that every time you revisit the beginning of the 12 bars, you're not playing exactly the same bass line.
Increasing Right-Hand Fluency
To increase your fluency in the right hand:
- Practice arpeggios with the root on top as well as the bottom.
- This is really good for strengthening the fourth and fifth fingers.
You could also try:
- Broken chords played like this.
This will really help you get used to playing the different inversions of the chord and provide you with a lot more options in your solos.
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Meet your guru
Meet your guru
Critically acclaimed jazz pianist and composer Tim Richards is one of Britain’s most experienced jazz educators, teaching piano privately for over 30 years, as well as at Morley College, Goldsmiths College, the University of Surrey, Premises Studios and other venues in the UK and abroad. He has produced numerous titles for Schott Music, including the best-selling two-volume Exploring Jazz Piano, Blues, Boogie & Gospel Collection and the acclaimed Improvising Blues Piano. He is also co-author, with John Crawford, of Exploring Latin Piano and Brazilian Piano Collection.
More recently Schott have published Jazz, Latin & Modern Collection (15 pieces for solo piano), comprising Tim Richards originals alongside pieces by Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk, and the two volume set Beginning Jazz Piano (now a two-part MusicGurus course).
“The real joy of Tim’s music… is that it is both hugely educational but also such great fun to play. Anyone with the slightest interest in learning to play or teach jazz piano should really acquire a set of Tim’s books.” PianoDao
As a performer Tim has been a presence on the UK jazz scene since the 1980s, also playing the blues with UK and US legends such as Otis Grand, Earl Green, Dana Gillespie, Larry Garner, Joe Louis Walker and Mojo Buford. He has released over a dozen albums as a leader (featuring many of London’s best jazz musicians including Pete King, Gilad Atzmon, Tony Kofi, Jason Yarde, Seb Rochford, Ed Jones, Dick Pearce and many others), and toured all over Europe with line-ups ranging from duo to nine-piece. His latest recording, the album ‘Telegraph Hill’ by the six-piece Hextet, was described in The Observer as "A true joy from beginning to end".
More info can be found on his website www.timrichards.ndo.co.uk
