'Blues with Pickups' (performance)
With
Tim RichardsIn this lesson we'll upgrade the shuffle previously played in two hands to the left hand only. This is demonstrated in the tune ‘Blues with Pickups’.
What's in the course
15 lessons (0h 41m) · 1 free
Lesson transcript
Lesson 2: Upgrading the Shuffle
In this lesson, we're going to upgrade the shuffle that we played with two hands earlier.
Focus on the Left Hand:
- In our first lesson, we played the shuffle with both hands.
- Now, we're going to focus on the left hand only.
I call this a left hand shuffle. It's one of the most common left hand figures in blues piano.
Key Characteristics:
- It resembles a barrel house style.
- This shuffle consists of eight notes to the bar.
We will be playing this in the key of G, so the left hand will sound like this:
- [Insert audio or notation reference here]
Right Hand Pickups:
- We're also going to play some pickups to start with in the right hand.
- That's why this lesson is called Blues with Pickups.
15 lessons
0h 41m of structured video lessons
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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
