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Monthly Livestream #72!

Thanks for tuning in to today's livestream!

I started off by sharing a few left hand devices that I encountered recently. They are tricky! But have been inspiring to practice, and helping me to conceive of the piano in a new (and improved) way.

The first was this left hand from Brad Mehldau on his tune "Boomer", from his incredible record "House on Hill" (Studio version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxofwM_s8No, Live version:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hWWtiMcCMU, Sheet Music from Brad's webbstie: https://joannkanemusic.com/products/boomer). I showed what this LH was, tried to play it a bit, and demonstrated ways to practice it.

And the second was this left hand from Eric Lewis: "Cubist Cubism" from "ELEW plays Rosenwinkel": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibHAz9jtt_E This is a crazy LH part that I encountered a few years ago on an Insagram post - it is difficult but very playable! Practicing this very tricky LH material helps us to play simple things better as well. So I was excited to share these with everybody.

Then, into some great questions:

  • First, someone has broken a finger in their RH, and asked about some things they could practice with their left hands alone for the next while! In addition to the devices above, I was happy to share some LH things that we all should be practicing, whether or not our right hands are broken! And, by request, I used the Cole Porter tune "Easy to Love" as an example.

  • Then had a question about things to think about when accompanying a singer at medium to fast tempos. In addition to knowing the melody well (which is always the most important thing!), I shared a few ideas about rhythmic orchestration that have helped me.

  • Then an important question about learning tunes: is it better to learn them by ear or from a lead sheet? Generally, learning by ear is definitely better, and I was happy to explain why. But, there's some nuance here, and sometimes lead sheets are OK, especially when we are first learning.

  • Then finally, a question about how to practice soloing over ostinatos. I was happy to share a bit of how I practice this, and also want to recommend this album as an example of incredible soloing over an ostinato: Abdullah Ibrahim - "African Piano"

Thank you all for tuning in, and see you next month!

Glenn