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

Blues Monday: How To Play Clarinet Blues

Photo Credit: ronnieb

 Martha Mier wrote Clarinet Blues; soulfully with slow blues swing.

The bass runs are pretty much AE, played together, then single notes F, Gb, F.

The right hand run starts on G#, A, C, D, Eb, D, C, A. Then you'll hear a
descending run with single notes; A, Ab, G, E, Eb, D, C, C, A.

The triplet in the right hand is C#, D, F that is played 3 times.

That cool ending chord is AE/CGB.

Syncopation

Ragtime is the music most commonly thought of when you talk about syncopation. Another way to put it is "ragged rhythm". I am finding that pop music is filled with syncopation quite a bit also. An oldie song "The Best Is Yet To Come" by Mr. Coleman has many syncopated beats and you can feel the syncopation, especially if you know the song just by saying the words, Out of the tree of life, I just picked me a plum.

There seems to be two problems musicians face when confronted with this kind of syncopated pattern. The first is how to read the rhythm patterns correctly. Perhaps you can use this tip to help you if you find playing syncopated notes is somewhat challenging. First you need to change each of the oddly placed quarter notes to two eighth notes and then turn them into tied notes. Now you can count the rhythm.

So before we had eighth note, quarter note, eighth note, quarter note, eighth note, tied eighth note in one measure. Now we can count easily, 1 &, 2 &, 3, 4 & because we have three sets of eighth notes and one quarter note. The second problem is in playing the melody with a real rhythmic feel. To make this happen, place accents on the notes that occur on the normally weak beats. Any music dictionary will tell you to shift the accent of a note or chord to a weak beat or the weak part of a beat.

Back to our original song, the accent would would look like this:

Out of the tree of life, I just picked me a plum. Anticipating and feeling the beat are common words applied to Cuban music. These irregular patterns are so very necessary to play in your piano practice no matter what genre of playing. So, spice up your playing with more syncopation!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3624661

This is a great tool to have as a musician, Song Robot Software

Happy Blues Monday!

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

Jazz, Rags & Blues

The piano tutorial for this song can be found here. Martha Mier produced a music
book of Jazz, Rags & Blues for the early intermediate to intermediate pianist. There
are 8 original pieces in the book... I chose one of the songs, Beach Buggy Boogie.
It really should be played lively, with a solid beat. It has 4/4 time signature.

Jazz, Rags & Blues, Book 2 (Alfred's Basic Piano Library)
 
I have been asked to fill in a lot of notes on this song. It's a 3 page song.

Basically, the l.h. is playing low C and G together, then C and A; back and forth.
F and C played together, then F and D. They are quarter notes that get one count each.
There's a bass walk down for a few measures, G and D - F and C - C and G.
And another one... G and D to Gb and Db, F and C to Eb and Bb, then C and G.
For the ending... C and G, C and A, C and G, to G and F... then CEG to low C.

O.k., the right hand runs have triplets and eighth notes. They are fun to play.
Along with the CG and CA bass notes, play these single notes in the r.h.

1. Bb, A, G, E, D#, E, G, A then the chord EGAC (2x)
2. Bb, A, G, E, D#, E, G, A, then EG.

With bass notes, FC and FD, add this run.

1. Eb, D, C, A, G#, A, C, D, then ACDF (2x)

Along with CG to CA, play this riff:
1. Bb, A, G, E, D#, E, G, E, C

With GD/ E, D, A#, B, G, G#
With FC/ A, C, G#, A, F
With CG/ Bb, A, G
With CA/ E, D#
With CG/ E, G
With CA/ E, C

There's a mid-section on page 2 that goes like this:
l.h./ r.h. single notes

CG to CA/ D#, E, G, D#, E, C... D#, E, G, D#, E, C
CG to CA/ D#, E, G, D#, E, G, A, then EBb.
FC to FD/ G#, A, C, G#, A, F, G#, A, C, G#, A, F
CG to CA/ D#, E, G, D#, E, G, D#, E, G, D#, E, C

Here's a cool part of the song with bass walk down:

GD/ G, B, G, B, G, B, G... then GbDb/BbGb
FC/ F, A, F, A, F, A, F... then EbBb/GEb
CG/ EGAC

For the third page and final section of the song, play thirds in r.h.

CG to CA/ BbD, AC, G#B,  GBb
single notes D, D#, E
CD to CA/ BbD, AC, G#B, GBb
single notes G, G#, A

FC to FD/ EbG, DF, C#E, CEb
CG to CA/ C, A, G, E, D#, E, G, E, C

GD/BG
GbDb/BbGb
FC/ AF
EbBb/GEb
CG/EGAC
FC/EbGAC
CG/EGAC
GF/BD#A
CEG/BD#A
CEG/AC

Sincerely hope this breakdown helps some of you who want to play
Martha's Beach Buggy Boogie.

When you get the chance, stop by...
4 Free Video Lessons and Sequence

Warm Regards,






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

Related articles

• Teaching Jazz As A Language (pianodiana.blogspot.com)
• Monday Music Quote: Chinese Proverb (pianodiana.blogspot.com)

Beach Buggy Blues Lesson

Beach Buggy Boogie has been a very popular song performed by piano players of 

all ages. This upbeat piano song was written by Martha Mier. Set the metronome at 144.

If you sight read music well and you would like to invest in her book that includes 8 original

pieces for early intermediate to intermediate pianist, visit:

Jazz, Rags & Blues, Book 2 (Alfred's Basic Piano Library)

I originally uploaded the song on YouTube and received an avalanche of emails asking 

if I would send sheet music to all parts of the country and abroad. The answer to that 

question (over and over) is that I do not send free sheet music for you to learn for your 

upcoming music events... sorry.

What I like to do is share the chord progression to a song. If you know your chords and can 

connect chord progressions in all keys, then you'll have lots of songs under your belt

that you love to play. So, here's my original video on YouTube.

Here are some tips, plus the right hand runs with the single notes for you.

L.H. Chords:

CG, CA, CG, CA

FC,  FD, FC, FD

CG, CA, CG, CA

GD, GD then FC, FC and back to CG, CA, CG, CA

GD, GbDb, FC, EbBb, CG, CA, CG

Last 3 measures for the l.h.

FC, FD, FC then CG, CA, CG, GD and CEG to C.

Right Hand Runs:

Bb, A, G, E, D#, E, G, A

Eb, D, C, A, G#, A, C, D

Bb, A, G, E, D#, E, G, E, C

C, A, G, E, D#, E, G, E, C




It's easy to play this popular song since it's written in the Key of C and it fits the 12 bar blues structure
pretty well. More to see:
Easy piano music at Sheet Music Plus. Old classics and the latest pop hits.

You may be interested in PITCH Ear-Training Software and Song Robot Software

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