Stevie Wonder is without question one of my favorite artists of all-time.  From his killer piano/keyboard playing, to his soulful singing, to his unrivaled songwriting, he is a serious triple-threat.  I love learning to play Stevie songs as much as I love listening to them.  Although you'll probably never hear me doing this in public, I also love to play the chords to his songs and sing along.  In fact, teaching my students how to play piano while they sing along is one of my favorite things to do because I know how much joy that can bring. 

I am working with an online student where we almost exclusively learn how to play the chords of songs so she can sing along with them.  She recently asked to learn Stevie Wonder's song "As."  Needless to say, it didn't take much convincing for us to work on this one.  

Check out the video below of me playing the voicings.  I start by playing the voicings with some rhythmic embellishment then simplify things by playing as written on the sheet music (below).  Tell me what you think of this new split screen MIDI technology I'm experimenting with, so you can get a better idea of what notes I am playing.

When learning "As," here's two things to think about:  

Chord voicings

Once again, as I talked about my previous blog entry about "Let's Groove," many of these chord voicings are Root in the left hand and 7-3-5 in the right hand.  It's a classic voicing that you'll see again and again.  Also take note on how on some dominant 7 chords (i.e. C#7, F#7) I use a 3-7-9 voicing.  That's another good one to have under your fingers.

Chord function

Ok, time to put your theory hats on.  With any song you learn, whether it be R&B, jazz, pop, rock, whatever -- I can't stress how important it is to know the FUNCTION (roman numerals) of each chord.  Take the key of C major.  You have C major (the I chord), D minor (the ii chord), E minor (the iii chord), F (the IV chord) and so on. Think of every chord in terms of its function.  This will help you in so many ways -- with memorization, with transposing, with learning the way certain chord progressions sound by ear.  I started doing this way later in the game than I wish I had and I won't let you make the same mistake.  Trust me on this one!  

So let's talk chord function for Stevie Wonder's "As."  This one isn't so straight-forward, that's why I thought it might be a good one to talk down.  Don't worry so much if this is too complex, see what you can understand. Hit me up with private questions or we can talk about this sort of thing in a one-on-one lesson.  

First step -- what key are we in?  Well, we are sort of shifting between B major and then the relative minor (a 6th up), G# minor.  I've attached below my harmonic analysis of it.  Remember capital roman numerals are major chords and lower-case roman numerals are minor chords.  A triangle means "major."  

Verse
The first measure starts off with the Imaj7 chord which changes to a I7 chord.  That I7 acts as a dominant that leads to the IVmaj7 chord.  Then the 3rd measure has the same Imaj7 to I7 but instead Stevie goes to a bVIImaj7 chord.  Pretty tricky move there.  It's a FLAT VIImaj7 because an A natural is out of the key of B major, something us theory nerds call "modal interchange."  Measures 5 and 6 are the same as 1 and 2.  

Now we get to a vi7 chord in measure 7.  That can act as the plain old vi7 chord or also a i7 chord in a new key, G#minor.  This makes the G#m7 chord something we call a "pivot chord," a chord that works in two different keys that helps you switch from one key to another.  I think of the next two chords as in G#minor -- the iidim7 and the V7b9.  (Normally the ii chord in minor keys is half-diminished, but just to make things a bit more complex, Stevie uses a ii fully dim 7).  Now thinking of measure 8 in B major again, we have a pretty classic turn-around, vi7, II7, ii7, V7.  

Chorus
The chorus is only 4 chords and I consider that to be exclusively in G#minor.  It goes i7, iidim7, i6/5 (an inversion of i7 with the 3rd in the bass), and finally a IV7.  Note that the iv chord in minor is usually a minor chord, but here Stevie uses a dom7 chord.  This is very common in R&B/funk etc.  

Bridge
The chord that leads into the bridge is a cool one, F7#5.  I labeled that one as a something from B major, a bII7(#5)/IV.  What??! you might ask.  The "/IV" can be read as "of four" meaning that the function of this chord is to lead to the IV chord in B major, which is Emaj7.  Now think, what's the flat 2 of E major scale?  The 2nd degree of the E major scale is F#, so the flat 2 is F.  The "flat 2" 7(#5) is an F 7(#5).  

That bII7(#5)/IV leads us to the first chord of the bridge, Emaj7, or the IV of B major.  Then the bridge is pretty straightforward after that:  Imaj7, IVmaj7, bIIImaj7 (another "modal interchange"), IVmaj7, Imaj7, ii7, and another common turn-around iii7, VI7, ii7, V7.

Phew.  There ya have it.  Is your brain still functioning after all that?  Ok, now forget all that theory stuff and have fun playing and singing the tune.

Happy shedding!

I am always trying to keep students inspired to play (and practice!) piano by teaching them songs they know and love.  This goes for students of all ages of course, but sometimes it's hard to get younger students to tell me what songs they enjoy.  I was happy when a parent mentioned that her son loved the songs from Mary Poppins.  Immediately, I thought of  "Chim Chim Cher-ee," a personal favorite. 

I grew up on the songs of Mary Poppins (and other Disney movies) so it's embedded deep in my musical memory.  A few years back,  my view of Chim Chim Cher-ee changed when a friend and fellow musician introduced me to John Coltrane's version -- in classic John Coltrane fashion, he takes a melody we all know and love and uses the simple harmony as a spring board for brilliant modal improvisation.  Check it out:

It's no wonder that Coltrane and other jazz musicians (most notably Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong) have recorded versions of this song.  The simple minor melody and chord changes are beautifully constructed and make for a great instrumental melody as well as a form over which to improvise.  I loved the instrumental versions of the song so much it became a regular tune I played with my trio during live performances.  It wasn't uncommon that members of the audience would ask me after the show, "What was that song you played?  It's so familiar, I just can't place the name of it."  "Chim Chim Cher-ee," I'd happily tell them.  Everybody loves Mary Poppins.  

Here's an arrangement of the song I created for beginner piano students.  The melody is divided over two hands which stay in one position the entire song.   Note that I've transposed the song to A minor (it was originally in C minor) to make it easier to play.  

A few things to think about when learning this arrangement:

1.  Rhythm!  I think it's important for new students to be exposed to a lot of music in 3/4 time.  Often, they'll see most of their music in 4/4 and have trouble feeling measures that only have three beats.  To really get the feel of 3/4 I'll have students clap quarter notes and count 1-2-3, 1-2-3 until they really feel the one as a strong beat.  Or they might tap their foot on beat 1 and clap on 2 and 3.  This can also be transferred to the piano:  middle C on beat one, and a C one octave higher on beats 2 and 3.  Anything so that the 3/4 can be FELT!  

There's also other bits of challenging rhythm in this song.  The pairs of eighth notes that happen in the first few measures can be tough.  However, if the student knows the song, he/she will play the eighth notes correctly and not even think about it!  

A last rhythm to take note of is the dotted quarter note + eighth note in measure 3.  It might help to clap the rhythm of measures 3 and 4 a few times to make sure this rhythm is properly played.  The rhythmic cell of a dotted quarter + eight note is a common one, so it's a good one to really feel.  

2.  Hand position & Note Reading -- this arrangement purposely stays in one hand position the entire song.  The left hand thumb is on the D above middle C.  The right hand thumb is on E above middle C.  Stay there and you should be good!  Try not to write in the notes letters or fingers for the song.  Instead read the SHAPE of the line.  Remember when notes go from a line to the next space (or space to the next line) that's called a step (or second).  It's just the next white note up or down.  When notes go from a line to the next line or a space to the next space that's called a skip (or third).  That's means it skips over one white note to the next.

As an added exercise for beginners, say the note letter names as you play them.    

3.  Accidentals -- aka Sharps and Flats aka Black Keys -- There are a few to watch out for in this song.  In measure 7, you'll see an A# (the black key directly above A).  In measure 19, there is a G# (the black key directly above G) -- play this one with finger 3.  

4.  For the advanced student!  Don't be fooled if you are a more advanced player, there's still plenty you can do with this song.  Try playing the entire melody in your right hand.  Use your ear (or listen to the recording) to find some bass notes work with the melody.  You also could try to transpose the melody to other keys by ear.  A good one to start with would be C minor (the original key of the song).

Happy Shedding!  

It may be blasphemous in some circles of heady jazz musicians, but I love folk music.  I've even been known to call my trio music "instrumental folk" but that might be pushing it a bit.   But in any case, I can't deny it: old country music, folk songs, and Americana hold a special spot in my heart.  I just love the longing lyrics, the not-so-polished vocals, and the hypnotic rhythm of finger-picking.  Maybe in another life I was (or will be?) a guitar playing singer-songwriter.

This is why I was thrilled when I Skype student of the Piano Shed asked to learn the Willie Nelson tune "Crazy."  This is a song that I've always loved but never played on piano, so I decided to write an intermediate level piano arrangement for my student, myself, and for you all!  This song was made famous by Patsy Cline and has been covered like crazy (pun INTENDED).  Here's Willie's version:  

Below is a video of me playing the arrangement a few different ways.  Listen to the youTube video as you follow along with the sheet music.  

I thought this tune would be a good opportunity to work on a steady left-hand quarter note pulse.  This reminds me of the Erroll Garner style.  The left-hand chomps away on the chords, providing a solid rhythmic foundation, while the right hand freely interprets the melody.   Check out the master at work --  listen to the way he makes the quarter notes groove in the left hand!

Here's how I would go about learning this one:

STEP 1:  Get the left-hand solid until you can play along with a metronome.  Start with a metronome on all 4 beats, and then if you are up for a challenge, check it out with the metronome on 2 & 4 like I do in the video.  It's harder than you might think!  

STEP 2:  Right hand.  Similar to the Garner style, the right hand has a way of floating over the steady rhythm of the left hand.  It's important to mention that I didn't transcribe the melody exactly as Willie sang it. Why that's?  Well, Willie has a very unique way of phrasing the melody.  (Phrasing, by the way, describes the way a melody is interpreted by the performer -- the way he/she changes the rhythm, the timing, the dynamics, and articulations to make it sound more...well...human).  He plays around with the rhythm, often singing behind the pulse, giving it this great lazy and defeated feeling.  If I transcribed the rhythm exactly as he sang it it would be terribly confusing to read and wouldn't be fun for anyone.  It's more about a feeling than notes on a page.  
So, first learn the melody as I wrote it.  Again, it won't sound like the recording but it will be close (check out the video!). Then once you have it down, try and get a little more adventurous with the rhythm.  Listen to the Willie Nelson recording and see how close you can get to off-kilter rhythmic stylings.  

When working on playing melodies on an instrument, one of the best things we can do is listen to vocalists and imitate how they do it.  Miles Davis said that he used to listen to Frank Sinatra records to learn how to interpret melodies.  If we can make our instrument sound like it's singing, we are doing something right. 

Now see if you can that grooving persistent left hand, all while playing a loose melody on the top of it.  Make Erroll Garner proud! 

STEP 3:  As a final challenge for the advanced player, you can try to go off the page a bit and make your own stride arrangement of the tune.  Check out what I did at the end of the video for a guideline.  This is a whole other topic, but basically what I am doing is: 

LH:  plays root notes on beat 1 or (beats 1 and 3) then then the chord (or parts of the chord) on the other beats.  
RH:  plays the melody but thickens it up by adding in octaves and chord tones.  

Happy Shedding!