Piano - Beginning Blues

An introduction to the black keys as played by the left hand.

The black keys are laid out on the piano in a 2-3-2-3 pattern.

How to find E-flat, the most important key on the piano.

In this assignment, we'll practice finding E-flat quickly.

How to find A-flat and B-flat.  These notes are necessary in order to play the blues pattern in the left hand.

Students are asked to play each of the three black keys in the order they are called out.

In this assignment, we'll practice playing the three flats in a particular order using the left hand.

We name the pattern we've been playing in the left hand.

If you know the special pattern of the 12-Bar Blues, it's easy to memorize!

Add a special challenge to the pattern:  Play it from start to finish with your left pinky!

In this assignment, we'll practice playing the 12-bar blues pattern using only the pinky, from memory!

Review assignment:  continue to improvise on the black keys only, with the right hand only

What happens when you combine the left hand pattern with improvisation on the black keys in the right hand?

Using a start-stop technique as an interim step, students can get better at combining the two hands.

In this assignment, students are asked to practice combining the two hands using the blues pattern and the black keys, using the start-stop method.

Why is it so important that the left hand part be played in a steady tempo?

In this assignment, students are asked to play the left-hand pattern steady, taking four seconds per each note.

Ways to approach our goal of steady left-hand, wiggling right-hand.

In this assignment, students are asked to play a steady left-hand pattern while wiggling the right-hand on the black keys.

Here's a game you can play to help you improve the steadiness of the left-hand while wiggling the right.

A few words about why the Game is important in the long run of your life as an improvisor.

In this assignment, students are asked to win a 5X Game.  In other words, to choose the right number of right-hand notes and set the right tempo to be able to play the left-hand pattern correctly five times in a row.

A review of the Game and its use in blues improvisation

Can we add white keys to the right hand?  Which ones are the most useful to add?

In this assignment, students are asked to combine all their skills to play the blues in both hands.

Congratulations on completing the Entry Level Blues course!

Adam demonstrates some of the blues ideas we'll learn about in the next course.