Natchez Trace Music Lesson

This is an interesting piece, first really inspired by country guitarists such as Albert Lee, Brad Paisley, and Brent Mason, to name a few. Normally, as I said, this would be played on guitar, so playing this on the piano poses some quite interesting challenges. However, once you've got your fingers around the notes, I'm sure it will be a very rewarding piece to play.

Arpeggios

Straight off the bat, we can demonstrate the use of arpeggios in this piece from section A.

• That's an A major arpeggio.
• Arpeggios are used pretty much throughout the entire piece, so it's a good idea to practice these over the chord shapes slowly and just with the right hand only to get them nice and even.

Syncopation

Another important element to note, particularly early on, like in section B, is the use of syncopation.

• In bar six, we immediately have a tied note in the first half of the bar, which creates the effect of syncopation.
  • Count: 1, 2, 3, 4.
• This, again, like the arpeggios, crops up throughout the piece, so it's good to practice these in isolation.

Harmony Overview

In terms of harmony, here's a quick overview:

• Pretty simple harmony here, mostly based around five different chords, most of them triads:
  • A major
  • E major
  • D major
  • B major
• The only slightly more complex harmony would be the diminished chords, such as in bar two, where we have an E flat diminished figure.
• This crops up a few times in the piece.
• Also, at the end of the piece, in the penultimate bar, we have F sharp diminished.

It's a good idea to familiarize yourself with those sounds as well. Harmonically speaking, we also have a few suspensions, so not only do we have the open triadic chords, but within the arpeggios in the right hand, some of the notes in the lead melody line create what we call suspensions or sus chords.

• Example: Bar ten features a sus four, going back to the original triad of A major.

Getting used to that sound is helpful. Harmonically speaking, it's pretty straightforward, but the real challenge in this piece is the articulation and the way you play these 16th notes, which are pretty constant throughout the whole piece.

Practice Tips

• Start practicing section by section at a much slower tempo, probably with a metronome, and aim to get all these semiquavers nice and even.
• In this style, the focus should be more on an even approach to playing these semiquavers as opposed to the dynamics of the piece.
• In terms of dynamics, it's pretty much on the same level throughout. The real focus is the articulation of these semiquavers.

Section Breakdown

So, let's look at the piece in a step-by-step form.

Sections A and B

Sections A and B are pretty similar in terms of harmony and articulation.

• Bar eight: Watch out for a little grace note at the beginning of the bar.

  • It doesn't land on the strongest beat; the smallest note comes just before the main note.

• Bar 13: Look out for the use of staccato, which is very important here.

• Bar 14: There's another little grace note at the end of Beat 4, slightly trickier because it's wedged in between four of the semiquavers. This has to be executed quite precisely.

Section C

Section C is similar to the previous sections, but it's about getting your fingers around the notes, as not all of the passages are straightforward arpeggios.

• Bar 22: Practice a little reset in the second half of the bar.

Transition to Swing Feel

The big change comes at letter D, where we're moving into a swing feel, or as it's described here, Western swing.

• This comes from the Nashville tradition of swing music.
• The main thing here is the field change; the semiquavers now are going to be played in more of a triplet fashion.

Demo Count: 1, 2, 3, 4.

It's important to make sure those triplet figures come out strongly, and unlike the rest of the piece, we're using more of a block chord approach here. Make sure all of the notes in the chord sound as they should.

Returning to Straight Semiquavers

Once we reach letter E, we're back to the straight semiquaver feel for the rest of the piece.

• The challenges now lie in familiarizing yourself with the actual phrases, particularly in bar 39.

Independence Between Hands

A continuous challenge throughout is maintaining independence between the right and left hands, as throughout, the left hand plays the same figure on the off beats.

• Count: 1, 2, 3, 4.
• The right hand must include all the syncopations while ensuring the left hand is solid on those off beats.

Technical Challenges

In bar 40, you might have to deal with a combination of double notes and repeating notes in the right hand.

• Bar 51, 2, 3, 4: Syncopations and double/single notes will be present here, so practice that in isolation.

Band Drops Out

Also, as seen previously in bar 12 and bar 20, in bar 52, you are on your own.

• The band drops out for a bar, so you must prepare for this moment.

Final Section to Practice

The penultimate bar features another diminished run, which should be practiced slowly. And there are some repeated notes, which aren't too hard, but at the final tempo might be worth a close look.

Conclusion

This piece needs to be practiced very slowly with a metronome, keeping in mind the aspects I've mentioned. However, when you get it under your fingers, it'll be very rewarding to play.

Have fun, and we'll see you for the next lesson!