Paddy improvses a Rock 'n' Roll tune

Paddy Milner
Paddy Milner

Lesson time: (0min 0sec)

Paddy Milner improvises a rock 'n' roll 12-bar blues in G, drawing on Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard and Fats Domino. Slow it down or loop sections to work out the riffs.

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This lesson is part of the course Play Authentic Rock 'n' Roll Piano
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Lesson transcript:

Exploring Rock and Roll: A 12-Bar Blues in G

So we've looked at a few Jerry D. Lewis tunes.

What I'm going to do now is play around with a 12-bar blues in the key of G.

Inspirations

I'll be drawing inspiration from various artists, which may include:

  • Jerry Lee Lewis style
  • Johnny Johnson (whom you may know from Chuck Berry records)
  • Little Richard
  • Fats Domino

Playing Process

I'll just play around and pick out some of the riffs that I think could be useful and break them down.

Note

You can use the player to:

  • Slow it down
  • Loop sections

This will help you work out what I'm doing, even if I don't go into detail about everything I'm going to play.

Let's Begin

So here we go.

Here's a little rock and roll style, 12-bar blues.

Go 2, 1, 2, 3.

All right!

About the instructor

Paddy Milner
Paddy Milner

Paddy Milner is recognised as one of the leading blues piano players in the world - he is currently keyboard player of choice for Sir Tom Jones, following several years with the late, great Jack Bruce - but he is also a superb original songwriter and a distinctive singer. Just read the praise from the likes of Dave Brubeck below! His playing was featured on the soundtrack for the hit 2019 film 'Rocketman'. He has twice won the award for Best Keyboard Player in the British Blues Awards, and he holds a long-standing residency as a founder member of the Ronnie Scott's Blues Explosion at the world-renowned Ronnie Scott's club. His current group LONDONOLA plays homegrown British music with a strong dose of New Orleans spirit, and his collaborative group JAWBONE goes from strength to strength following the release of their self-titled debut album. "I love it... there's a guy who can really play the piano" - Dave Brubeck "I highly recommend it. Somehow things start to feel much better!" - Jack Bruce "The best blues piano player in Europe..." - Blues Access, USA "Impressive & original" - The Times "Dazzling" - The Independent Across his courses, Paddy breaks down authentic blues shuffle, slow blues, boogie-woogie, rock 'n' roll and New Orleans piano - right down to three classic boogie-woogie songs - so you can learn these styles from one of the very best in the business. read more

What's included?

25 lessons (1h 21m)
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