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Created byKaren Gibson

Last updated 8/2013

English

What you'll learn

By the end of this course you will be able to play at least 6 simple 12 bar blues pieces along with variations and have the tools to create your own blues pieces.
In this course you will learn two variations of the 12 bar blues pattern and understand what the I, IV and V are in the pattern and how they relate to what you will play on the keyboard.
In this course you will learn how to put hands together in a variety of rhythm patterns and increase hand independence which will not only improve your playing of the blues but will also improve your playing in whatever genre or style is your favorite.
In this course you will learn several riffs or licks and grooves and understand how these work together to create many different blues pieces that will impress your family and friends.

Course content

12 sections • 27 lectures • 2h 36m total length

A few basics: finger numbers and key names3:36
There are a few things you need to know before starting on your first song. Finger numbers, the names of the keys and how to find C are the basics you will need to know.

0:00 Introduction

0:23 Numbering your fingers

1:05 Names of the keys

1:55 Finding C

2:50 Hand shape on the keyboard

Demonstration of basic blues piece0:32

The 12 bar blues pattern and playing it with your right hand6:36

Many blues pieces are built around what is known as a 12 bar blues patterns. In this lecture we will discuss the 12 bar blues pattern and how to play it with your right hand (RH) on the keyboard.

0:05 12 bar blues pattern

0:35  Memorizing the pattern

1:20  I and playing the C chord

2:00  Alternative ways to play chords

3:13  Finding IV and playing the F chord

4:00  Finding V and playing the G chord

4:30  Putting it all together; playing the
 whole 12 bar blues pattern

Playing the 12 bar blues patterns with your left hand6:08

Now that you have mastered the right hand in a basic 12 bar blues piece, it is time to learn what the left hand does.

0:00 Introduction

0:30 Left hand in I, IV and V positions

1:43 Going through positions in the whole
 pattern

2:23 Thumb movement

3:05 Playing the pinky/finger 5

4:08 Putting it all together in the left
 hand

5:26 Review and wrap up

Putting both hands together4:37

In this lecture we will briefly review what the right hand and the left hand play alone and then put it all together.

0:00 Introduction

0:08 Right hand review

0:37 Left hand review

1:36 Putting both hands together for the first
 time

2:57 Playing the whole song with both hands

The Secret6:29
In this lecture you will learn 'the secret' to smoother playing of blues pieces by learning how to manage the hands as they move around the keyboard.

0:00 Introduction
1:00 Demonstration of technique
1:50 Explanation
2:55 Talking to yourself and counting
5:19 Review and wrap up
Blues basics

Right hand and left hand of Hobo Blues4:00

In this lecture we will learn the right hand and the left hand for a second piece, Hobo Blues.

0:00 Hobo Blues demo

1:00 Left hand

1:16 Right hand pattern or riff

2:17 IV position

2:38 V position

2:55 Walking through the whole pattern with
 the right hand

3:43 Review and conclusion

Both hands together7:30

Once you have learned the right hand of Hobo Blues you will be ready to learn how both hands go together. This lecture will show you how to do that.

0:00 Review right hand and left hand

0:23 Demonstrate both hand together

0:45 Breaking it down

1:40 IV position with both hands

1:54 Putting it all together

3:15 Hand placement

4:10 Finger 2 replacing finger 3

5:40 Observing

6:45 Review and wrap up

A new left hand6:57

In this new song, Saturday Morning Walk, we will work with a new left hand pattern.

0:00 Saturday Morning Walk demo

0:35 Right hand

0:48 New left hand

1:06 Counting keys

1:52 I position and pattern

2:58 IV position

3:44 V position

4:30 An octave lower

4:50 Playing the whole left hand pattern

6:00 Hand position

Putting both hands together4:19

In this lecture you will learn how to put both hands together for Saturday Morning Walk.

0:00 Review left hand

0:49 Putting both hands together

2:10 Slow and even

3:50 Where we are at: review and wrap
 up to this point

Half steps and the slide6:05
In this lecture we will talk about what a half step looks like on the keyboard as well as touch on the concepts of up and down. Finally, we will learn how to play a slide and then put it into Hobo Blues.

0:00 Introduction
0:35 Half steps; going up and down on the keyboard
1:40 Slides
3:20 Putting slides into Hobo Blues (right hand)
4:34 Adding the left hand
5:15 Demonstration of Hobo Blues with slides and both hands

Sharps and Flats and Saturday Mornings Walk 212:23

In this lecture we will continue our discussion of half steps, learn what sharps and flats are, discuss a second variation of the 12 bar blues pattern and learn a new left hand for Saturday Morning Walk putting all of this to practice.

0:00 Introduction

0:32 Saturday Morning Walk 2 demonstration

1:00 Right hand

1:08 Left hand

1:20 12 bar blues pattern - variation 2

2:25 Review of half steps; introduce sharps
 and flats

6:34 New left hand pattern

7:46 Fingering

8:40 IV position

9:10 Whole pattern with left hand

10:20 New ending

11:14 Review and wrap up

Saturday Morning Walk 2 Both hands; 2 variations2:42
In this lecture we will look at 2 different ways to put the hands together in this piece.

0:00 Review new left hand pattern
0:20 Variation 1 - hold right hand
1:09 Variation 2 - play chord in each bar
SMW2 double note LH and quick RH3:11
In this lecture we'll look at a fun variation of Saturday Morning Walk 2 that doubles up a note in the left hand and shortens the chord in the right hand.

0:00 Demonstration of piece
0:31 Right hand
0:59 Left hand
2:07 Both hands
2:40 Review and wrap up

Saturday Morning Walk 37:31

In this lecture you will learn two different rhythm variations that you can use when playing Saturday Morning Walk.

0:00 Demonstration of Saturday Morning
 Walk 3

0:38 First rhythm variation with both hands

2:04 Variation in left hand

3:10 A second rhythm variation: left/right

3:37 Demonstrate new rhythm variation

4:09 Putting the hands together slowly

5:16 Demonstrate second variation again

6:02 Review and wrap up

How to play a blues scale5:45

In this lecture you will learn how to play a blues run or blues scale.

0:00 Demonstration and introduction

0:44 Counting half steps

1:47 Triangles

2:22 Pointing to notes

3:00 Thumb and finger 2

4:36 Going up

5:27 Review and wrap up

Improvising using the blues scale4:51

Once you have a good feel for the blues scale or blues run you can use it to improvise or put it on the end of a blues piece you have played.

0:00 Sample piece

0:40 Using groups of 3 notes

1:20 Adding more notes

1:37 Playing a single note

2:15 Adding a left hand

3:15 Adding a shuffle in the left hand

3:45 Improvising over your basic blues piece

4:14 Tacking a blues run on the end of a 
blues song

Right hand8:46

In this lecture you will learn a piece that takes its original pattern from the blues run.

0:00 Demonstration

0:30 Right hand riff in I position

2:15 Right hand riff in IV position

3:42 Right hand riff in V position

4:43 Second 'I' pattern

5:00 Putting it all together

Left and and both hands together8:53

In this lecture you will learn how to add the left hand to Monday Night Blues.

0:00 Right hand review

1:00 Left hand riff

2:15 Hand position

2:40 V position

3:25 Both hands, first riff

5:48 Both hands second pattern

6:08 Whole song with both hands

7:35 Adding slides

8:34 Review and wrap up

Right hand7:27

In this lecture you will learn the right hand for a new piece, Echo Blues, which is based off of the left hand in Saturday Morning Walk 2.

0:00 Demonstrate piece

0:30 Left hand

0:38 Right hand

1:00 Right hand fingering

2:31 IV position

3:00 Walking through the pattern

3:45 Fingering of last few notes

4:39 Adding extra notes - I position

5:22 Adding extra notes - IV position

5:50 Putting it all together

6:40 Review and wrap up

Both hands3:58

In this lecture you will learn how to put both hands together in Echo Blues as well as fine tune the rhythm.

0:00 Review

0:24 Putting both hands together

1:03 IV position

1:32 V position

1:48 Ending notes

2:25 Rhythm

3:13 Review and wrap up

Right hand chords3:56
In this lecture you will learn a new song, Happy Jack Blues which involves 3 new chords and a modified Hobo Blues riff.

0:00 Demonstration
0:30 Overview
0:44 New chords in right hand - I chord
1:42 IV chord
2:50 V chord
3:13 Review and wrap up
Right hand - putting it all together3:35
In this lecture you will learn the modified Hobo Blues riff and how to put it together with the chords learned in lecture 22 to complete the right hand of Happy Jack Blues.

0:00 Review chords and pattern
0:25 Modified Hobo Blues riff
0:52 Putting the chords and riffs together - I position
1:24 IV position
2:30 Review and wrap up

Both hands6:23

In this lecture we will put everything together using both the shuffle and the Saturday Morning Walk 2 groove in the left hand.

0:00 Putting hands together - chords and
 shuffle

0:50 Putting hands together - Hobo Blues
 riff and shuffle

2:45 Substituting Saturday Morning Walk 2
 left hand

5:00 Review and wrap up

Requirements

Access to a piano or keyboard of at least 49 full sized keys with 61 or more keys being optimal.
A commitment to practice at least 10 – 15 minutes a day 5 or 6 days a week.
A laptop or tablet to set up next to your keyboard or piano.

Description

Have you always wanted to be the life of the party, able to sit down at the piano and play fun, toe-tapping music for family and friends without needing to drag a lot of music books around or even needing to know how to read music?

If you've taken piano lessons before, have you ever been embarrassed because you couldn't just sit down and play, any time, any place, without needing music in front of you?

Playing the blues is a lot of fun! And with a little time and effort, you too can impress your family and friends with the piano pieces you will learn – and even create – after going through this course.

In this course we will:

-look at 2 common variations of the 12 bar blues pattern;

-learn how that pattern translates to the keyboard; and

-learn several riffs, blues-y sounding chords and an ornament or two that will get you playing blues in no time.

Added to that will be a handful of simple patterns or grooves for the left hand and finally, instruction on how to put it all together.

By the time the course is completed, you will have the information you need to start creating your own simple blues pieces to play for your own enjoyment or to share with others.

Through the use of videos, you will be encouraged to play along as I demonstrate each piece a chunk at a time. Key concepts or patterns found on the keyboard will be reinforced through text documents so you have vital pieces of information to easily access during your practice time. While written music will also be provided I strongly encourage you to learn the pieces as presented in the videos. Of course if you don't already read music, that's fine too. Just prop up the music on your keyboard when you are playing and see how impressed family are friends are when they see what you can play!

As you are going through the course I will be available for questions, responding to them at least once a week if not sooner.

This course can be completed in as little as a month depending on amount of time put into practicing and prior experience. If you have never played blues before, this course will give you a brief but detailed introduction into playing 12 bar blues.

Not sure you like blues? Even if you never played another blues piece again, after this course, you will find your hand independence has developed, you are more skilled at putting the hands together in different rhythms, and you have increased confidence in your improvisation abilities. All of these skill will improve your playing, whatever the style or genre.

What are you waiting for? Make your dreams of playing fun, energizing pieces (without even needing to be able to read music) now. You may never see a better deal than this.

Who this course is for:

This course is appropriate for any new piano blues player whether experienced in other styles of piano music or just sitting down to the piano for the first time.

What you'll learn

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Course content

Getting Started1 lecture • 4min

12 bar blues pattern and your first piece5 lectures • 24min

Hobo Blues2 lectures • 12min

Saturday Morning Walk2 lectures • 11min

The Slide1 lecture • 6min

Variations on Saturday Morning Walk4 lectures • 26min

The blues scale or blues run2 lectures • 11min

Monday Night Blues2 lectures • 18min

Echo Blues2 lectures • 11min

Happy Jack Blues3 lectures • 14min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: