Using crushed notes

Exploring Crush Notes in Jerry Lee Lewis' Style

Cool! So let's look at these crush notes that Jerry Lee uses at the end of the solo. He employs this technique a lot, and there are so many things we can do with that idea.

Starting with Crush Notes

For example, why not start the solo with those crush notes, but this time on the chord of C? You can do that kind of thing, it's quite a nice idea.

• Why not?
• You could add some intervals there, which would be cool.

Melodic Variations

How about doing a little melodic idea?
How about a variation that goes down, using that as a basis? That's quite a nice thing to do.

• Extending the Idea: You could think about making it slightly less crushed. However, you could still use a great triplet idea, like:
  2, 1, 2, 3, 4.

And then change where you play it. You don't necessarily need to play the third on the top; you could just do it in that kind of way.

• Creating a Nice Effect:
  For example, try this:
  1, 2, 3.
  It actually sounds quite impressive, and it fits under the fingers nicely.

Quick Tempos

You can also play it at quite quick tempos as well. That's a very Jerry Lee Lewis thing!
So, have fun with both those crush notes and the kind of broken version of them.

Transitioning from Triplets

Just briefly on that, you might want to change from triplets to something even quicker, break it down into sixteenths. Here's a little idea:

• Maybe it's not working:
  If it sounds a little too calculated or thought out, that's okay! But it's a great idea, and it's important to explore your own creativity.

Embrace Unique Styles

After all, it would be boring if we all sounded the same! So, don't be afraid to try your unique ideas.

Conclusion

We've looked at loads of ideas in "A Whole Lot of Shakin' Goin' On" and some creative ways to utilize those concepts. Now, let's explore some different ideas from various Jerry Lee Lewis tunes.