Music Lesson: "Raise the Bar"

Overview

Let's have a look at "Raise the Bar." There's actually a pattern at the very beginning that repeats almost exactly the same from bar five.

Pattern Details

• Sound Structure:

  • We've got a legato sound followed by a staccato sound in the first two bars.
  • This pattern repeats in bars five and six, but the ending staccato bit is slightly different.

• Dynamics:

  • The pattern played the first time is going to be piano, and the second time it'll be forte.

Rhythm Breakdown

There's a tricky rhythm part that happens twice:

• Locations: Bar 8 and then again in Bar 10.

• Count:

  • It starts with a half rest and then goes straight into it. So I'll count two first:
    One and two and three and four.
  • The last note will be tied over to a whole note that's carried through to the next bar.

• Recurrence:

  • It happens again from bar 10 to 11, but the notes are different. Just a step up:
    1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and.
  • And then it carries through the next bar.

Left Hand Rhythm

There's another tricky rhythm part in the left hand starting from bar seven. This pattern continues almost until the end of the piece.

Important Notes:

• There are lots of tied notes here that you actually need to hold rather than play.

• If I were to snap that for you first, it would sound like this:

  • 1 and 2, 3, 4.
  • I'll do that again: 1 and 2 and 3 and 4.

• Pitch Progression:

  • When we put the pitches in, you'll see that it's a succession of fifths.
  • There will be three notes between the fingers:
    • Sounds like:
      One and two and three and four and
      One and two and three and four.
    • Then it repeats a step up:
      One and two and three and 4 and
      One and two and three and 4 and.
    • And then it happens a final time for one bar on C and G:
      1 and 2 and 3 and 4.

Practice Recommendations

I'm now going to play this for you with both hands together. However, I highly recommend that you first break this down into very small chunks, so maybe one or two bars at a time. Do separate hands after that.

Tips:

• When it feels comfortable, try putting hands together very slowly.
• Remember that you can use the interactive sheet music to slow down and speed up the track to help you practice here.
• You can also loop tricky parts so that you can practice it over and over again.

Sample Performance

Here's how this piece would sound:
One and two and three and four and
One and two and three and four.
One and two and three and four dot and
One and two and three and 4.
And one and two and three, and four.
And one and two, three and four.
And one and 2 and 3 and 4.
And one and 2 and three and four.
And one, two and three and four.
And 1 and 2 and 3 and 4.
And 1 and 2 and 3 and 4.
And 1 and 2 and 3 and four.
And 1 and 2 and 3, and 4 and.

Final Note

Now, let's try with the backing track.