Indiana - with shells in left hand
With
Tim RichardsTim Richards shows how to play 'shells' - simple two-note left-hand voicings (root and third, or root and seventh) - to comp through 'Indiana' from a lead sheet.
What's in the course
13 lessons (0h 26m) · 1 free
01. Indiana - lead sheet
2:22
02. Indiana with syncopated melody (performance)
0:57
03. Indiana - adding a bass line
4:53
04. Indiana - with shells in left hand
You are here1:48
05. Four-part and five-part harmony
5:05
06. Indiana with two-handed voicings (performance)
0:57
07. Lead sheet choices
4:54
08. Indiana with left-hand chords (performance)
0:58
09. CHECKPOINT #3 - Twelve point programme
0:39
Lesson transcript
Exploring Shells in Music
As an alternative to playing a bassline when you're reading from a lead sheet, try playing shells instead.
What are Shells?
- Shells will still have the roots on the bottom, by definition:
- Root and third
- Root and seventh
You'll be playing two notes in the left hand as a shorthand version of the harmony.
Working with a Bass Player
You can do this with the bass player because the roots that you're playing are much higher than the bass line. We won't go right down into the bass register.
- Ideal Shell Placement: Shells should ideally be in the octave below middle C or thereabouts, sometimes a bit lower.
Demonstration
Here comes the same melody with some shells implemented:
-
When choosing my shells, I'm aware of the need to avoid doubling.
- If the melody is the third, I'd probably choose a root and seventh shell.
- Conversely, if the melody is the seventh of the chord, then I'd choose a root and third shell.
Important Note: You don't want to play 2/3 or 2/7 without much else.
Next Steps
In the next lesson, we're going to look at four or five-part harmony, which is the same technique, but with the addition of even more notes in the right hand.
This will allow you to get four or five notes for each chord, ensuring that at least the main melody notes will be harmonized.
- Harmonization Focus: With this approach, we won't have to harmonize the passing notes, just the long notes.
13 lessons
0h 26m 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
