What Level were U At When U were Playing For 3 yrs?

[SisterCM]

very encouraging!  Thanks,

[musallio]

that was very encouraging...

I can't believe I read the whole thing but i told myself i was going to read it and i found it to help me in a lot of ways... you are right i just need to practice. like Tuesday night at prayer meeting they sung... What a Mighty God we serve... the congragational one... and i didn't know that song for nothing but after i bombed while they was sing it (i still played it through like i knew what i was playing whether i hit the wrong chord or not) i made it my business to fill the song out... i think it went 5 (x3) - 4 - 3 - 6-5 then went back to 5-4-3-2-1 but if filled it out with the bass note... all i have to do now is put the chords with it... i need to get on it because i think whether i am ready or not i will be playing a lot sooner than i think do to some situtions with our current musician...  (frown on him right now...)

Wow, U read thru it all!!
it is quite long indeed..sorry..

The good thing with practicing (& practicing various type of stuff ) is that your fingers become accustomed to the common patterns PLUS, they are ready to play any variation as per the song. these variations will be communicated from your brain & directed to your hands. If your hands are in sync with the Board/ Piano & your brain, then you'll find yourself playing anything in minimal effort after investing from the start..

There are songs I never imagined I could be able to play right now, let alone say in my most feared key (whichever that  is ) But because I've played all the "umbrella/ shell" patterns in all the keys + make a mental note of it + appl them on almost all the songs I do, no matter how difficult the song, I will have the basic idea of it in any key..Of course I might mess up the fill-ins etc the 1st few times..But I'm glad if that's the only thing I struggle with bcos I know I only have to learn those & I have the song & many other related songs.

& most importantly, your hands sort of remember all the possible fill ins U've ever used & they adapt accordingly..Cheers to brainpower

for instance, start playing around the 2-5 walk up.. (that intro you hear in Yolanda Adam's Battle Is Not Yours song (key of D-->Eb-->E)...play it in as many variations as you can..once you're happy with that, add the 5-1 walk down to it..
so now you have the 2-5-1..
If you understand what you are hearing, you have already covered a multitude of songs by learning these patterns with your fingers & your ears.
the only reason you might not be able to hear it in many songs that you play but contain that umbrella pattern all over the song is mainly due to the rhythm & beat of the song.
So it is imperative that you start learning to screen out other sounds you are not interested in & listen to what you want to hear. On the flip side, it is equally important to hear everything as a full package

Last words:

You are in a very good position because you have theory..Imagine what the guys without theory can do.. Now if you couple your hard work & knowledge, you can do so much more & become very inventive & KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING..Don't let that theory retire in there, make sure it works for you!! I use mine..especially during practice time..

enough preaching..*It's good 2 see that I still have an audience even though I'm not preaching prosperity yet..still preaching the convicting stuff..practicing *

[musallio]

you can view the fraction of the hundreds of 2-5 variatons here

[SisterCM]

Wow, U read thru it all!!
it is quite long indeed..sorry..

You got my attention,  also.

the only reason you might not be able to hear it in many songs that you play but contain that umbrella pattern all over the song is mainly due to the rhythm & beat of the song.
So it is imperative that you start learning to screen out other sounds you are not interested in & listen to what you want to hear. On the flip side, it is equally important to hear everything as a full package

This is one of my struggles, hearing the patterns in a song.  Most of the time, I can't hear the keys in the songs because of all the other instruments.  Any suggestions?

[musallio]

You got my attention,  also.


This is one of my struggles, hearing the patterns in a song.  Most of the time, I can't hear the keys in the songs because of all the other instruments.  Any suggestions?

I also struggle alot because my ear still needs alot of developing.
But it's not so much the patterns I struggle with..It's hearing the actual tone/ voice I want to hear if it's in a song.

Sadly, I don't know of any other way of hearing the "voice/ instrument" other than actually listening to a cd over & over again, trying to screen out the other instruments (so in a generic song, it would be the brass/ horns you want to screen out, as well as the bass if you have a bass player).
In the case where you don't have a bassist, then try to listen for that bass..This is normally the easiest tone to hear.

You could also use the bass to find your key.
Sometimes, in fact, most of the time, the pianist will be playing some intimidating stuff
In this case, the best is really your best friend. Follow the bass line & try to listen to how it sounds when you end a verse or hit some ending: does it sound tonal?
Most songs have verses that end on the "1".

Also, the bass gives you a nice spine of the song..(take a preview of Brighter Day by Kirk for instance..those horns are intimidating..but the bass can be caught onto with some (or lots) of effort..)


Do you notice what I've just said effectively here...

I've actually said what T-Block always says: use the bass to give you the direction of the song..then you can fill in the chords that go with it (can be strenous!!)

So how do you make identifying the bass & predicting the bass patterns even on a song you've never heard before easier?

--going up or down a half step is quite popular.

eg, up: 1->#1-->2  or 5->#5-->6  (eg in key of CM: C->C#->D;  G->G#->A
eg, down:  6-->b6-->5 (note, this is very common..here, the "b6" is played to take you to the "5" instead of the "2".
  had you played a 2, it would have been a 6-2-5..& notice how that 6-2-5 is moving in 4ths...

so in the key of CM:  6-b6-5 = A-->Ab-->G  & the 6-2-5 = A-->D-->G

I mentioned "predicting the next note" above, right..

So can you predict what's the most likely bass note to come after the 5??  of course you can

What I've just explained above might seem little, but taking some time to listen to those progressions I've just highlighted above & being able to at least recognise them in a mid-tempoed song will take you far.
You should even start to sing in numbers  (I did it alot when I was learning all the other keys & do it occassionally..I always do it subconciously!--Have U seen Kevin "KC" Conley's preview.. he was doing it for "No Weapon!")


that's end of step 1.
step 2 is figuring out the chords.. some gurus can explain how to go about.

oh, almost forgot...
to help you out with the 2-5-1 pattern :
there is a song by R Kelly titled "How Did I Manage"..in the key of C..

the bass pattern from start to end is 6-2-5-1...
What I did with it was to play the alternative bass patterns over it, ie, play 6->b6->5->1  [A-Ab-G-C] instead of 6-2-5-1 while the song is playing..  sometimes I played 1-#1-2 instead of the 1-6-2   (see that pattern there since the bass just rotates like that..

& then of course you play the pattern as a 6-2-5-1 other times & variate..listen to the variations..

As for the piano part, lots of improvising taking place there, but the bass note sort of gives you an idea of how to improvise.

that's where I stop.  (please find the song on youtube or somewhere else..) gotta go to church.