Blue Monday: Bittersweet Blues

Right now over at Hear and Play, Jermaine Griggs is having a sale on the Song Robot. It's a great software tool where you can get free midis on the internet and watch the keys light up with the right notes and chords. You'll learn how to play many songs at your finger tips. I think he's asking $37.00 and the sale continues through Monday. I have the program and recommend it to you.

Bittersweet Blues  (Key of G) 4/4 time Signature

First practice the L.H. alone, setting a steady beat.

Fashion each L.H. interval with a small down-up motion of the wrist. This will keep your hand relaxed.

Measure 1 

GD/Bb, A, G (single notes, triplets)

GE/B, A, G

GF/Bb, A, G

GE/Bb, A, G

Measure 2 

GD/B (hold the B key 4 counts, a whole note, while moving the l.h.)
GE/
GF/
GE


Measure 3 


GD/Bb, A, G


GE/Bb, A, G

GF/Bb, A, G

GE/Bb, A, G


Measure 4

GD/B
GE/
GF/
GE/


Measure 5


CG/C, Bb, G

CA/C, Bb, G

CBb/C, Bb, G

CA/C, Bb, G


Measure 6 


CG/Bb
CA/
CBb/C


Measure 7 


GD/Bb, A, G
GE/Bb, A, G
GF/Bb, A, G
GE/Bb, A, G


Measure 8


GD/B
GE/
GF/
GE/


Measure 9

D/D, C, A, D, C, A, D (single note in bass and single notes in r.h.)

Measure 10

C/C, Bb, G, C, Bb, G, C

Measure 11

GD/Bb, A, G
GE/Bb, A, G
GF/Bb, A, G
GE/Bb, A, G

Measure 12

GD/B, G, F



So, that's the song, Bittersweet Blues. Here's a note on how notes move in the measure.

Notes move on the staff in three ways:

Step
Skip
Repeat

Notes on or above the middle line have down stems.
Notes below the middle line have up stems.

Measuring Intervals

The distance between two notes is called an interval. Another way to say it; the distance from the pitch of one note to the pitch of another.

2nd Interval:

space or space to line.
On the keys a 2nd is like a step: from one key to the next key.
On the staff a 2nd is like a step: from line to

3rd Interval:

On the keys a 3rd is like a skip: from line to line or space to space. One skipped key is a 3rd.

4th Interval:

Two skipped keys is a 4th. On the staff a 4th is either line to space or space to line. On the keys a 4th is a larger skip.

5th Interval:

Three skipped keys is a 5th. On the staff a 5th is either line to line or space to space.
Melodic and Harmonic Intervals:

A melodic interval has single notes, like notes in a melody that are played one at a time. If you sing a note and then another then this is a melodic interval.

A harmonic interval has two notes played together to make harmony in music. If two people each sing a different note at the same time then this is called a harmonic interval.

Now that you know what intervals are why do you suppose we need to learn them?

Learning to recognize intervals, whether by sound, on paper, or an instrument, is extremely helpful for many reasons. Among them are chord building, improvisation, sight singing, composition, understanding and remembering keys and their related accidentals, and figure out music by ear. If you are trying to play a melody that is in your head or on the radio, knowing your intervals eliminates most of the time spent searching for the right notes.

One of the coolest ways to add feeling and expression while playing those piano notes is to observe road map signs or what musicians call Dynamics or dynamic markings.

Basically there are symbols that indicate varying degrees of volume. So we have degrees of loudness or softness.

Music has loud and soft signs called dynamics.

mf means medium loud.
Its Italian name is Mezzo Forte.
f means loud.
Its Italian name is forte.
ff means very loud
Its Italian name is Fortissimo.
fff means very, very loud.
Its Italian name is Fortississimo.
ppp means very, very soft.
Its Italian name is Pianississimo.
pp means very soft.
Its Italian name is Pianissimo.
P means soft.
Its Italian name is Piano.

With this understanding of how notes move while playing quietly or loudly, you will enjoy hearing yourself play with more feeling in addition to technically playing the notes correctly. Have fun!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/4429256

If you have the time, stop by Song Robot.







"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Don't Wanna' Leave You Blues

Photo Credit: clarita

Don't Wanna' Leave You Blues by Martha Mier

I receive emails from beginners asking me for tutorials on slow blues for beginners.
Martha Mier has written a song in the Key of C with a slow, blues swing. 4/4 tempo.



I am still working on the camera angle with my webcam. I woke up this a.m. thinking
of all the moms who are saying goodbye to their graduates as they prepare to go to college. It's so important to "let go" and trust... I hope you enjoy following along with this song.

Left Hand Blues Patterns

The left hand has eighth notes that give that blues swing feel.

CG play together twice, then CA play twice.

FC  "        "             "       then FD play twice.

DA "         "            "        then DB play twice.

GD  "        "              "      then GE, then GF


Melody Line, Single Notes

Intro:

CG, CG, CA, CA, CG, CG, CA, CA /


l.h.. notes CG, CG, then CA, CA, CG ... with the right hand play these single notes:

C, D, C / E, E, E, E / D, C, C, D, C /

l.h. notes FC, FC, then FD, FD, FC while playing:

G, F, Eb, D, C /

play CG, CG then CA, CA, CG while r.h. plays:

C, D, C / E, E, E, E / D, C, C, C#

play DA, DA, DB, DB, DA (l.h.):

D, Bb, A /

Play GD, GD, GE, GE, GF :

G, G, A, G /

Play CG, CG, CA, CA, CG :

C, C, C, G, A, G / BbC (notes played together) / C, D, C

Play FC, FC, FD, FD, FC :

(r.h. third intervals) EbC, DF, CE, D, C

Play CG, CG, CA, CA, CG (3 x's) :

C, D, C / E, E, E, E / D, C, C, D, C

Play FC (half notes, 2 counts), GD (half notes 2 counts):

G, F, G, F, Eb, D, C /

Play CG, CG, CA, CA, CG

C, Eb, F, F# /

Play FC, FC, FD, FD, FC

G, G, Gb, F, Eb

l.h. plays CG, CG, CA, CA, CG:

C, C, Eb, F, F#

Play FC, FC, FD, FD, FC:

G, G, G, Gb, F, Eb

Play CG, CG, CA, CA, CG, CG, CA, CA:

C /

Last Measure

Play in l.h. CG and then l.h. plays last note, EBbD

If you're interested in learning riffs, funk, fill ins and patterns, visit Guitar 301






"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Fats Domino: Blue Monday

Image via Wikipedia

I just learned that Fats Domino's birthday was yesterday! One of my favorite songs of his is "Blueberry Hill." Antoine Dominique "Fats" Domino, Jr. (born February 26, 1928) is an American R&B and rock and roll pianist and singer-songwriter. He was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Creole was his first language. For more information about this wonderful musician, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fats_Domino

I have a fantastic record collection. I've been collecting records for as long as I can remember. I love to play disc jockey and entertain family and friends with an eclectic music sample.

A chart topper in 1956 was Blue Monday.

Blue Monday" is a song originally written by Dave Bartholomew, and first recorded by Smiley Lewis in 1954. It was later popularized in a recording by Fats Domino in 1956, on Imperial Records (catalog # 5417), on which the songwriting credit was shared between Bartholomew and Domino. You can read more details at Blue Monday.

Here is the music chord progression.

#1.

    G
Blue Monday,
            G7
I hate blue Monday,
       C                     G
Got to work like a slave all day.
G
Here come Tuesdays,

Oh hard, Tuesdays,
       D
I'm so tired got no time to play.

#2.
          G
Here come Wednesday,
               G7
I'm beat to my socks,
        C                          G     
My girl calls, got to tell her I'm out,
                                 D
Cause Thursday is a hard workin' day,
                    G  G7
And Friday I get my pay.

CHORUS:
         C
Saturday mornin'..
             Eb
Oh, Saturday mornin'.
       G                         G7
All my tiredness is half gone a..way.
       C            A7
Got my money and my honey,
        D                   D7
And I'm out on the stand to play.

#3.
D7           G                  G7
But...Sunday mornin' my head is bad..
             C
Though, it's worth it
                    G
For the time that I had.
                       D
But I've got to get my rest
                  G
Cause Monday is a mess.

CHORUS:

REPEAT #3.

 Rock and Roll and Beyond

 Its origins lie in a combination of rhythm and blues, jazz, and country-western music. The earliest known song that represents rock and roll is the song by Bill Hayley and His Comets entitled "Rock Around the Clock" (1954). Soon after that song came out, a young man from Memphis, Tennessee, known as Elvis Presley hit the scene and reigned for nearly 20 years as the "king" of rock and roll.

This new style of music captivated the young audiences in America in the 1950's. It was, for them, a form of rebellion and a way to break out of the molds that their parents had set for them. In 1964 a little-known group known as 'THE BEATLES' came on an American tour. They became, in a very short period of time, the most well-known and successful rock band in history. Throughout the 1960's African-American rock music was known as "soul' music. It got its name from the emphasis that these tunes placed on gospel origins and heartfelt words.

Throughout time, rock music has come to be a term that acts as an umbrella under which an incredible variety of styles and sounds coexists. So strong has rock's influence been that composers have sought to incorporate elements of rock and roll in musicals, choir pieces, church music, and symphonies. Rock music, like jazz, country-western, and all the other styles of music, has taken the elements of music from the past and combined them in new and different ways to create an independent identity.

It is impossible to predict what will happen in the future. There are composers today who are hearkening back to the music of the past, and many composers today are desperately seeking to be the Mozarts or Schonbergs of the future. Only time will tell what music will bring to us, but rest assured that we will hear it loud and clear.

 Article Source

 

If interested, check out GospelKeys 101

Hope you have enjoyed going down memory lane with me!

"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King