I’m Gonna Teach You a Lesson!
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Listen to Easy Stride demonstration
Listen to technique for playing a ballad
Testimonial from student
Testimonial from student
Testimonial from Ron of Carmel, Indiana
"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