Music Lesson: Exploring Left Hand Techniques

So let's talk about some of the stuff I was doing on that tune. Let's start with the left hand like we did with Junco Partner. This is much more of a kind of stride-influenced left hand.

Stride Influences

• A lot more of these kinds of jumps, although it's not purely that.
• Similar to the Junco Partner left hand, which was doing that kind of root-fifth movement.
• This also involves jumping up and playing more chords, possibly going down as well.
• Always using that anticipation kind of thing introduced by Jelly Roll Morton to this ragtime style of playing.

Rhythm Patterns

In a 3/4 context, you could incorporate some slightly more walking patterns:

• When it gets to that two-chord section, you could do something like:

  1, 2, 3, 4...

If you notice, I'm actually changing direction sometimes. Instead of going:

• 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4
  I'm mixing it up with:
  1, 2, 3, 4... 1, 2, 3, 4.

This variation helps with the unpredictability of the music and maintains a constant forward motion.

Inversions in Left Hand

I did include something quite naturally, which is again a Jelly Roll influence but something that James Booker uses a lot:

• Using inversions in the left hand.
• So instead of just playing a straight fifth, he might use a sixth, which essentially outlines the G chord with a little passing note.

Here's how it can look on that G7 chord:

• From the minor third to the major third.

Incorporating Rolls

And of course, you might notice that I'm also doing some rolls as well. Often, these rolls replace the chord at the top.

• Instead of always returning to that chord, I might insert a roll.
• So, yeah, use those rolls! Throw them about.

Practice Tips

• Perhaps practice on one chord until you're confident with the idea.
• Try different variations of those notes:
  • Which octaves you're placing things in.
  • If you're playing them as octaves or single notes.
  • If you're adding a fifth.

All these variations are useful for creating a groove and adding a bit of interest to your piano part.

Conclusion

This is a relatively simple version of what you can do. There are all kinds of subtle variations depending on:

• What octave you use.
• Whether you play full octaves or not.

So do practice that on the different chords in the sequence!