Monthly Livestream #35!

Thanks all for a great livestream this afternoon! Had a lot of questions, and covered a lot of ground. Here's what went down:

First I played a few tunes: "Sweet Georgia Brown" and "Meditation". Had a question about "how to play creatively on dominant chords, like on It Had To Be You, or Sweet Georgia Brown", so I decided to just play the tune. Also had a question about playing bossas solo piano, so thought I'd play Meditation which is one of my old favorites.

Then had a lot more questions!:

- about playing melodies in your L.H thumb, which is a device I love to use to shift the texture in solo or trio playing. I demonstrated on "I Hear A Rhapsody". (I actually made a video about this on Patreon back in 2020, and I've been practicing it since then: https://www.patreon.com/posts/what-is-voicing-38195377?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link)

- about comping behind a bass solo in a bass/piano duo context. A difficult question to answer, as it really depends on the what the particular bass player wants, but I was happy to provide a few pointers. And the lower register is still fair game.

- about playing lines, and some things that I look out for when playing lines, which I boiled down to three important things to look out for when playing lines on piano! I am constantly checking this checklist when I'm playing or practicing lines. (I also reference this earlier Patreon video in my answer, "The Importance of Stopping": https://www.patreon.com/posts/importance-of-53288886?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link)

- about stiffness in piano playing - an important topic! It's impossible to move without tension, but too much tension inhibits rhythm and flow, so the trick is to direct the tension properly. (I think!)

- about how to practice arrangements/how to prepare a solo without writing it out. An interesting and important topic in piano playing. In general, I think improvising requires more specific preparation than is commonly thought.

- about playing lines in the left hand - and for that I'd apply the same "checklist" that I'd apply to playing lines in the right hand.

- about how to practice hand independence over a left-hand device

- about the relationship between "triadic" chords as opposed to bigger/"extended" chords.

Thank you again for tuning in, and for the great questions! I'm always inspired after these sessions, and have a lot to think about and practice, and I hope you all do too.

Until next month!

Glenn