Big Road Blues Discussion Forums • View topic - Got Da Fever!!
Iam tryin hard to get control of my piano, Iam a geetar player of 40+ years, and Ive gotten bored and wanted a change!decided to get into the keys!! Ain't as easy as it looks, notes and the way they are layed out seems simple enough!! but Iam having a big problem between my left hand and right hand Gezzz!! I feel so retarded!!I have a nice baby grand sounds great,but those damn hands!!Left sounds great I can lay out a good blues line,Right hand has it goin on it knowes what to do!!but they refuse to work together!!
Welcome to the club! 3/8 of a century ago I had 'em working together (on classical stuff), but it's hard getting 'em going now!
I've neglected the piano, namely because I don't own one right now, but also because I've been diving into guitar the last few months, where I'm not as proficient. I just joined the forum not even realizing there was a piano section. Those rhythms you're talking about can be a serious pain, and though I haven't played played much blues piano, what I have learned is that I don;t think about two different things at the same time very well, so what I tried to do is stop thinking, its acually advice an old b-ball coach gave i.e. (your thinking to damn much, if you're open let it fly). I let my left hand handle one rhythm, lets say a shuffle, and try to get it out of my head and let it just sit in that hand as a kind of muscle memory, freeing up the old dome for the fun part the right hand. Whenever you think about both you'll get yourself in trouble. Since left hand is usually more structuredI try to let it be like the foot I don't even know I'm tapping, something that used to piss off my childhood piano teacher, maybe because it was a hard-soled shoe on hardwood floor and I was in the front row of the recital waiting my turn.
Yeah, Billy, what you were saying about thinking too much is definitely the reason as far as I'm concerned. As I mentioned in my earlier post about this problem, I decided to try playing while incredibly drunk to try and combat the problem, but it didn't help.
I have a digital Yammy console grand,with a memory feature, so I can lay down a left hand track (once I get it "down"),and then replay it and work on the right hand. Once I've got each part down,I try throwin' 'em together,and it seems to work pretty good. I still haven't graduated to any complex rhythms with the bass hand that are set off of the right hand,but once you crack the code on the simpler stuff,the rest seems to build little by little. I'll slave my rhythm box to it occasionally as well,so I got a little percussion accompaniment at times. Last nite,as has been my habit lately,I practiced both piano and harp. My wife has been very tolerant of me playin' without the headsets on piano as well,even though it's trying to hear the same stuff bein' practiced over and over.
Yup I got frustrated last night wif it, I tried rubbin muh belly and patten my head stuff, But I can get the 1 5 6 7 stuff wif my left hand sounds good but then my right hand ahhhhhhhh!!!!I think I just got to keep it up til Iam not thinkin about it Iam stil thinkin as I play the rythm lines,even with my guitar you cross dat point!!When you can play both with out thinkin, muscel memory!!
I picked up this Young Chang,a couple years ago I thought it was beautiful and the price was well worth the investment,But I was fellin guilty it just sittin there, I want to play it, And I have learned a lot the last 2 weeks ,I guess iam just tryin to rush it,Ive got to develope that muscle mem,which just takes time,But Iam very happy with it and the piano is a very expresive insturment,Plus you can filp a rock and find a guitar player sittin there, But a good piano player is hard to find!!Iam gonna keep workin on it till I get it!!I am working those on line lessons as well,there really great!!
Over the years Ive noticed with my guitar,I can be workin on a riff,and I just struggle with it for hours,and just lay it down and walk away,but in muh head Iam still goin over it and thinkin about it ,and days later I can sit down and play it !!
My inspirations usually come during the late night, before time to get up. I'd do a lot better if I got up and played them then, but I've got to work.
[updated:LAST EDITED ON Mar-16-06 AT 09:40 AM (EST)]Yea I agree, Most of my vocals on my new CD was done at 5:am Before my voice is ruined durin the normal day, I read about that and it works!! Went Home last night,and got on dat piano for about an hr. and Iam just a little better than the weekend ,just gettin it in muh head, this weekend Iam going to be better as well maybe 1 day I will be as good as you guys!!
Hey BTW 601...nice piano. I really like the Young Changs I've played...My buddy's got a white epoxy spinet in his lounge at home. I bought a digital so I could practice with the headphones on any time of day or nite...but a digital doesn't get the house movin' quite the same way. My Yammy console only weighs about 125 pounds...I jus' think a regular heavy piano prob'ly transmits sound into the floor and walls much better.
Since Ive been workin on da piano I have been noticing diff ones, Stevie Wonder was playin a yahama last night on American Idol! Still as far as pianos I really don't know a goodin from a badden, And I know da young chang is not the top,but I do really like da sound, I put a boom stand over it with a studio instrument mic over da week end when nobody was at home and To me it was fabilous,just caint waint to boogie on it Iam up to the 2nd bar of da saints go marchin in!!! GEZZZZZ!!!
A couple of years ago I sold the little Cable-Nelson spinet we got for our kids' piano lessons to a local private college's music department, cheap. But last year I picked up a big old Hammond organ that I'm messing around with.