key centre

And another thing ...

2008-07-22T21:45:00.002+01:00

The other thing on my mind is getting a digital piano. Subjecting the family to hours of grinding away at scales etc. isn't fair, and has to stop once the kids are in bed. So a good digital piano and decent set of headphones is required.

When Dan and I were in London last Saturday we went to Chappells in Wardour Street, so Dan could wow the shoppers while he tried out a few semi-pro horns, and I could try out a couple of Yamaha's digital pianos (with headphones, 'cause I ain't gonna 'wow' anyone yet).

I tried the P140 and the CP33, both of which came at the top of my list from some online research. The CP33 is a stage piano, so no on-board amp/speakers (not a bad thing), plus proper balanced quarter-inch outputs and pitch wheels etc. It is supposed to recreate the classic electric grand sound (you know, the sound we heard on so many albums back in the day), and costs substantially more than the P140, so I was expecting great things. I was a little disappointed. The piano sounds are good, but the other voices are not - even the Rhodes-like electric piano sound wasn't great.

The P140, on the other hand, seemed to be much better on all counts: the grand piano sounds were just as good (subjectively I thought they were better, but I'm willing to bet the samples are the same in both, and I know the key action is the same), and the supplementary sounds were much better. The Rhodes and Wurlitzer knock-offs were much closer to what I'd expected. The P140 is also much cheaper and lighter. It doesn't have a proper 1/4 inch line-out (why??) but does have RCA connectors which I can probably use.

Practice, practice

2008-07-22T21:32:00.002+01:00

So the scales and arpeggios continue, and my frustration at my own hands grows! Both hands are very out of condition, but the left is the worst. Fortunately, I want to keep at it, so I'm able (for now) to see the longer-term benefits of the short-term pain.

I've also started working with the excellent Jazz Piano from Scratch book by Charles Beale. I've gone through the rhythm exercises and listened to a fair bit of the CD (well beyond the bits I've read). I was delighted to hear him play a favourite tune of mine, the Billy Taylor piece "I wish I knew how it felt to be free". I loved this piece the first time I heard it, and some time ago managed to work it out, very roughly, at the keyboard. But of course I didn't really know what I was doing. So this is a 'target' piece for me: if I can learn to play it (and improvise adequately over the changes), I'll consider that an achievement.

But for now, it has to be back to the practice...

Day 1. Scales ...

2008-07-17T16:36:00.002+01:00

Scales, arpeggios ... You know you have to do it. So I've started as I mean to go on, by opening the ABRSM scales book and just starting at the beginning. It may well be that I don't really need to start on page 1, but it does no harm to go right back to the start, especially as I've not played or practiced seriously for so many years.

The most noticeable thing immediately is the emphasis on modes (e.g. Dorian) and the pentatonic scales rather than straight-ahead major/minor and the fingering differences between this (jazz) and what was drummed into me all those years ago. My fingers are so out of condition, I have accumulated bad habits and I'm very inconsistent: I'm having to concentrate on making sure each note is the same length (and strength).

I'm determined not to take short-cuts, or to avoid the scales/arpeggios. I'm convinced they are the backbone of a good practice regime which will make me a better player. It's true that scales etc. are vital in all music, but these jazz scales really seem to be the bedrock of a lot of improvisation and theme-building.

Starting Out

2008-07-16T11:54:00.001+01:00

A long, long time ago I played the piano. Pretty badly, but I did play. In common with so many middle-class kids, I had piano lessons once a week for a few years, eventually getting to Grade 6 or so. All I ever played (or was encouraged to play) was syllabus material, and our teacher (a fine musician, dedicated to her vocation) had absolutely no time for anything remotely contemporary. I ended up hating lessons, avoiding practice and wasting whatever ability I had.

I didn't discover Jazz properly until much later in life. My Dad's interest in Jazz went no further than a few Acker Bilk and Benny Goodman records, which even as a kid I found cheesy and unappealing. At the time, I had no idea that anything else existed. As a teenager I wasn't adventurous enough to discover jazz properly: I listened to and loved most of the same rock music as my contemporaries (Pink Floyd, Yes, ELP, Deep Purple, AC/DC etc.), went to see those bands, and didn't move on.

Only at college did I finally find jazz properly. A friend gave me a Pat Metheny tape to listen to (I think it was 'American Garage'), and it was about this time that I first heard Bill Evans (the Village Vanguard recordings) and Oscar Peterson (an old copy of 'We Get Requests'). Someone else loaned me a Soft Machine record (can't recall which one). A group of us went to London to see the Pat Metheny group. I started to borrow jazz records to listen to. My world changed forever!

What I should have done then was to go and find a jazz piano teacher and get started, but I had too many other things on my mind. I kept playing the piano, but with no clear aim: I have a reasonable ear, so I simply improvised, deducing patterns and harmonies from listening to CDs and trying to work out favourite themes on the piano, just from hearing them. The years have rolled past and finally I have decided to do what I always should have done: learn jazz piano properly and enjoy playing again.

And I have another great reason to do this: my son Dan is a very accomplished jazz saxophone player. He has passed Grade 8, plays with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra here in the UK, and can comfortably sit-in with most bands, sight-read charts and solo. Now, I'm not expecting to be able to approach Dan's standard anytime soon, but it would be so good to be able to play together, even if material will be limited by my ability.

It will also mean I can put to proper use the wonderful Bechstein upright (I believe it's probably a Model 10) left to me by an old family friend, in her will. This piano is approaching 100 years old, but has a tone and touch which I have always loved. She kept it in an unheated room, together with her painting materials; I would clear canvases and oil paints from the keyboard and stool, and spend an hour or two doodling away happily on it. It's tall because it's not overstrung, which I suspect may be why it has such a great sound.

I decided to start this blog to record practice notes, keep track of progress and by keeping a regular diary, to force me to stick to the programme! My starting point is the Associated Board Jazz piano syllabus.

Yesterday I went out and bought the two books I feel are likely to be most useful to me:

Jazz Piano from Scratch, by Charles Beale
Jazz Piano Scales, grades 1 - 5

Both of these are ABRSM publications.

I'm also shopping for a digital piano to use for private practice with headphones, so I don't drive the family crazy with scales, arpeggios and mistakes. The Yamaha P140 looks reasonably good.

I'm starting right at the beginning; I made a conscious decision not to assume that any of my previous experience would permit me to take shortcuts. The first really helpful mental adjustment I have made is to recognize just how much work I need to do.