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Playing with Style

Testimonial from student

Testimonial from student

"Playing with Style" was written for the student who knows their chords pretty well and doesn't know what to do with them. Sure, you can play the chords with the left hand and the melody with the right hand, but this gets boring after a while. This special book will show you many ways to break up your chords between both hands. No melody required. You will provide the melody by singing it. By doing this, you are free to add a lot more embellishments and riffs in both hands to liven up your playing and add a sense of rhythm to your music. You will learn 21 different techniques for playing in many different styles.

Written by Debbie Gruber.

CHAPTERS OF THE BOOK,

Introduction - Major Chord Chart. A quick and pattern-centered approach to memorizing your chords. Learn the magic formulas that allow you to construct ANY Major, Minor and Seventh Chord.

Chapter One - Up-Temp Broadway songs. Use the Easy Stride style. Learn how to use a very simple accompaniment pattern to play just about any Up-Tempo Broadway Song! Works for traditional songs too.

Chapter Two - Broadway Ballads. Learn how to turn a chord on it's head (called an inversion) to change the sound. Two beautiful Open Voicings. Then break up those voicings to create "filler" for your songs.

Chapter Three - Country-Western and Folk/Rock. - In this chapter you will learn the "Hammer On" technique which is a very effective way of achieving that country sound. Just a bit of dissonance goes a long way!

Chapter Four - Jazz Ballads. This is a really meaty chapter. You will learn how to play arpeggios, strumming, Full and Half Rolls and the Alternating Thumb technique. Great patterns for the left hand (everyone's weakness).

Chapter Five - Jazz Swing. Learn a simple version of the "Walking Bass" for the left hand that real jazzers use all the time. Then we add chord "punches" in the right hand to fill it out. All applied to "Take the "A" Train".

Chapter Six - Early Rhythm and Blues. In this chapter we explore what I call "pulsing". Then we add a little syncopated left hand to give the song some motion and rhythmic vitality.

Chapter Seven - Rock and Roll. Rock needs a hard-driving beat so we use another syncopated left hand pattern to make this happen. Called "Staccato Beat".

Chapter Eight - Folk or Children's Song. In this chapter, we break up the right hand and left hand chords in various ways. These are called "Simple Broken Chord" Techniques. Lots of cool and easy ways to break up your blocked chords. Sounds great on "Scarborough Fair".

Chapter Nine - Pop Ballad. In this Chapter, we get into more advanced ways of breaking up a chord for the right hand. Sounds awesome on "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face"

Chapter Ten - The Blues. Learn two boogie-woogie patterns for the left hand and a right hand blues riff that will knock your socks off! You can put these patterns into any rock or R & B song.

Chapter Eleven - Latin Rhythm! Learn a Rhythm Pattern in the Right hand that will quickly add a latin flavor to your songs. It involves putting the chords of the song in a very syncopated rhythm. Once you learn this pattern, you apply it to lots of latin songs.

Chapter Twelve - Gospel. Learn the tricks of how to turn a regular old major chord into a gospel/churchy sound! You will learn the "Bass Third" and the "Amen" progression, plus a particular inversion that will change the sound of your chord.

Playing with Style - Booklet and 2 CD's $39

The Piano EXPRESS

This comprehensive 44-page Book and CD (20 tracks!) is ready and available for shipment on June 4th! This beginner method for adults starts at the very basic level of learning right hand melody notes. Then it introduces the student to the Major, Minor, Dominant Seventh and Minor Seventh chords. Songs used for demonstration are from the traditional, folk, pop, and show tune idioms. You will learn with a non-traditional method of playing by ear and with chords to play the songs you love.

Students also learn basic techniques for accompaniment and how to transpose songs into their key for singing. All chords are diagramed on a keyboard "map" for ease in learning them. Every song and technique is demonstrated slowly and clearly on the accompanying CD.

Outline of Chapters in The Piano Express

Chapter One - What is a Major Triad, Fingering, simple chord progressions

Chapter Two - Parts of a Chord, How to practice reading a melody, lines and spaces on the staff, playing by intervals

Chapter Three - Minor chords, arpeggios, A minor to G Major

Chapter Four - Dominant Seventh Chords, Inversions, Chord progression major to dominant seventh.

Chapter Five - Major Chord Chart, the best way to memorize your chords, learning chords by touch and shape

Chapter Six - The Minor Seventh chord group, when to use them, their unique sound, Dm7, Em7, Am7

Chapter Seven - Up-tempo accompaniment pattern, 3/4, 4/4 time, new chords

Chapter Eight - Ballad accompaniment pattern, LH and RH options, A, C7, D7

Chapter Nine - Key Signatures, How to find the primary chords in any key, B Minor

Chapter Ten - Transposing a song into your key, Bb Major

Appendix - 20 CD track titles, chord diagrams for 48 chords, further courseware.

The Piano Express - Booklet and CD - $25