I'm Learning Blues and Gospel Piano...

[Treasured]

Hi All,

I'd really appreciate feedback and advice. I live in a Canadian city where authentic Gospel piano and singing is pretty much non-existent.

I took classical piano for many years, was chained to sheet music, and hated it. It soured me on playing. I haven't retained even one song I had to memorize. I do understand chord charts---theoretically.

I'm in my 40's. I started a "learn by ear" online piano course March 9th. I've been practicing the pop music component, along with the blues track. The blues track leads into Gospel piano. The course, overall, teaches you to play patterns based on chord structures.

This is David Sprunger's "Play Piano Today" course.

Today I'm in tears. I'm not at all retaining the songs that remind me of playing sheet music, i.e. patterns based on major/minor scales, melodic and lyrical. Four months later, and I still haven't memorized the chord patterns and fingering for the very first piece. David's instructions are very clear. It's definitely me.

I practice 5-6 days a week, for 1-2 hours. I routinely review the the older pieces, following David's instructions.

HowEVER, my hands and spirit come alive when I practice the blues scales and riffs. I remember the patterns, and sing along. I find myself lying in bed, reviewing the finger patterns in my head and humming them. I get it. Though it's always been difficult to visualize major and minor scales, I'm finding blues scales to be vivid. Almost as if the keys are color-coded.

David also uses gospel music to teach blues patterns. E.g. a bluesey version of "Down by the Riverside." I love this.

My question: is it possible to become a rounded "by ear" pianist by basing myself in blues and Gospel music? I'm quite a good singer, and dream of playing in churches and festivals, accompanying myself.

If I focus on the blues and gospel patterns, practice in all the keys, will melodies start to come naturally under my hands? I know I'll never touch Twinkie Clarke or Roberta Flack, but I'd like to sing more complex pieces than 12 bar blues.

That's my fear. Becoming one of those old people who can only play 12 bar in C. Jamming forever in damp basements. Hanging out only with the smoking, drinking blues crowd. I'm not a snob, and I don't shun people. It's just that I want a higher purpose and a cleaner life than the bars can offer. Believe me, I've been there.

I know I sound muddled. There's just no one here in my town I can turn to about this. I occasionally drive down to a US city to get my blues and Gospel "fix," and am astonished by how very very different American players sound than Canadian ones.

I'd sure appreciate any feedback. I guess I'm having a spiritual crisis as well as a "piano" crisis. Thanking you in advance.

[berbie]

Blues and gospel music are very similar but blues and gospel people often are not.  As a matter of fact, you can't group people according to the music that they like. For  instance, I very seldom go to bars and I don't have a dark basement but I love the blues.  If you play them in church, though, I will be mad at you, even though the music might have a similar beat.  I can play, "you're welcome home Smoky"  but I haven't started hanging around barns and going to rodeos. I kinda like the song.  People who like western/country music hang in western/country bars, often in dark basements or seedy loud holes in the wall.  Or in highbrow western clubs.  Who knows. 

They listen to blues everywhere, dives to fancy clubs.  All kinds of people.  Play your music and take your choice.  If you are determined, your arena will change according to your ability to get your musical message across. (whatever type of music you are playing)

[betnich]

Welcome to LGM, Treasured

It's a good idea to develop your ear, as well as keeping up your reading skills. www.ntimemusic.com has a good selection of Gospel sheet music and books.

Search for Gospel on YouTube - there's lots of videos, from Blues and Gospel performances to piano tutorials.

Hear+ Play and Wheatworks has some videos for purchase and study. And of course check out SoundOfJoy's posts right here on LGM. He has a FREE course available online  - www.samsmuzikco.com/

Are you going to church? Even a small group or Bible study will help. People might not 'get' you and your musical dreams and desires, but you do need others (I know that, being a loner myself)


If you're tired of the bar scene, make it a long-term project to visit and search out multicultural churches in your area. Pickings may be slim, but when you find the right one, well...

[elio]

Treasured,

First of all - be encouraged. It sounds like the change you want to make is in your life first and in your music second. You've come to the right place for encouragement and directions.

Couple of words of advice (from my own experience):
- Find a good, local life-giving church and get plugged in - in the music ministry if you can. Nothing like playing live in a church setting to stimulate your "by ear" playing. You'll learn how to jam, transpose in your head, play with little/no soundcheck, ...
- Listen. Develop an ear for the bass line in a song. That's your foundation - once you get that, the rest is easy 
- Learn the number system (second betnich's suggestion re: www.hearandplay.com), you'll discover the similarities between all those songs.

Stick around on LGM and let us know how it goes...

[berbie]

Betnich, if I were a betting man, I would bet that you are a good music teacher.

[T-Block]

HowEVER, my hands and spirit come alive when I practice the blues scales and riffs. I remember the patterns, and sing along. I find myself lying in bed, reviewing the finger patterns in my head and humming them. I get it. Though it's always been difficult to visualize major and minor scales, I'm finding blues scales to be vivid. Almost as if the keys are color-coded.

David also uses gospel music to teach blues patterns. E.g. a bluesey version of "Down by the Riverside." I love this.

My question: is it possible to become a rounded "by ear" pianist by basing myself in blues and Gospel music? I'm quite a good singer, and dream of playing in churches and festivals, accompanying myself.

If I focus on the blues and gospel patterns, practice in all the keys, will melodies start to come naturally under my hands? I know I'll never touch Twinkie Clarke or Roberta Flack, but I'd like to sing more complex pieces than 12 bar blues.

It seems to me from reading your post that you found a genre of music that excites you enough to want to learn more about that specific genre. That is all good, but it won't make you that well-rounded until you explore other genres as well.

Believe it or not, if you don't grasp hold to the major scale, your musical journey will be tremendously hindered. The major scale is the basis for every type of music that's out there. What I mean by that is, every musical idea can in some way or another be traced back to the major scale. So, even if it's boring to you now, stick with it. It takes the "boring" stuff to give you a foundation. Once u have a foundation, then you can explore stuff like the blues scales and other things that excite you.

People in general tend to remember and retain what they like the most, and disregard what they don't like. Most of the times, what they don't like is what they need the most. So, I would suggest that you start to change your mindset about this whole music process. There is a method to the madness, but it will take you making up your mind that you're gonna stick with it no matter what.

After you get a solid foundation, then you can branch off into specific things. And then, to answer you last question, once u practice those blues and gospel patterns and listen to enough blues and gospel music, you will slowly begin to come up with your own stuff. Even now, when I listen to certain songs, I hear melodies of my own and I try to play along with the recording to see if my ideas sound good.

The more you practice and understand, the easier things will be for you to learn. There are songs that I thought were impossible for me to play a few years ago. But now, they seem easy because my understanding of what's being played has increased. And above all, pray and ask God to guide you. He will increase your talents if You ask Him and be diligent. You can pm me for advice anytime. God bless you!!!

[betnich]

Betnich, if I were a betting man, I would bet that you are a good music teacher.

That is how I make my living - but since it's summer and students are down, away on vacation, etc. pray I get more....

[berbie]

Surely, betnich and presidential pull certainly won't hurt either(smile)

[betnich]

Surely, betnich and presidential pull certainly won't hurt either(smile)

Malia and Sasha take piano....unfortunately I don't live in the D.C. area...

[Treasured]

Thank you all so much. Betnich, I looked up the free course, and I like the way he lays out scale practice. I can't even look at my old theory books, but I'm fine with the number system.

I love your Obama photo. I couldn't make it to DC for the Inauguration, but I drove to another American city, and had an amazing time. Went to church and on the MLK march. You can laugh at me, but I thought the march was an act of civil disobedience, and maybe I was in trouble on foreign soil. I'm Canadian, what do I know about civil rights? Then the city buses picked us up and took us for dinner. I couldn't believe the whole entire wonderfulness of it. Everyone was so kind to me. When the hotel staff found out why I was there, they couldn't DO enough. They drove me around, gave me meal gift certificates...Americans can be so kind and generous.

T-Block, you'll like this: I spent a couple of days playing only blues, and got tremendously bored. I'll keep plugging away at the entire musical spectrum, even and especially on days I think I don't "get it." Something must be growing underneath. Maybe I'm at the place plants are before they push through the soil? Best to just keep drinking in the water and bathing in sunshine until spring comes. For all we know, the most beautiful flowers may be bored to tears under the soil all winter.

A funny thing happened. As I was playing blues scales, I recited, "1, flat 3, 3..." and started vividly seeing the major scales underneath. They were "dead" to me before. Now they jumped out in colors different from the blues scale. This is a hopeful sign.

Elio, I know the number system. I have an intellectual understanding of mathematical relationships in music. It's my hands that don't seem to memorize the chords and progressions. Yet they do with blues. Absolutely, the bass line is important. I love bass lines. I worked out a new bass line to Fever, and that's loads of fun.

Yes, if I found a church where I felt at home with both the music and doctrine, I'd love to be on the worship team. As I said, traditional gospel is not the norm here. Lots of guitar-based contemporary music that doesn't appeal to me.

Berbie, I have to smile. I mostly listened to C/W when I rode in horse shows. Seasoned show horses start loping as soon as they hear the opening bars to Ring of Fire. I do a mean Patsy Cline.

There seem to be old voices from my past in my mind. I need to replace them with Christ's voice and my own adult wisdom. I'm so glad I posted here. I've been feeling really alone in this journey. Part of it is feeling I've wasted time I could have spent learning to play by ear.

Thanks so much, my new friends. I went through a similar crisis with my voice. Years ago, I ruptured a vocal chord. The journey to creating a new voice that never gets sore and is my reliable friend has been incredibly worthwhile. At the time, I experienced similar emotional pain. But I asked questions and searched and prayed until God sent me exactly the right teachers. I even moved across the country to be with them. When my voice was at its peak, I had cancer surgery that cut my "singing muscles" in half. I had to rebuild all over again. Now I understand mine and others' voices intimately. It was a gift.

This seems to be the start of the same process with piano. All the best to every one of you, my new friends!