GrooveWindow

Microlesson #2: 4-Bar Groove from Microlesson #1

Jonathon — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 23:15:27 +0000

The next Microlesson. Learn the funky 4-bar ending from Microlesson #001. Be sure to make it to 6:40, where there’s a funky little groove breakdown using this lick.

Off the Cuff Groove #2: Ain’t Superstitious

Jonathon — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 05:18:17 +0000

Here’s another live looped groove: A favorite old blues tune of mine by Willie Dixon, “Ain’t Superstitious.” Sure, there were covers by Jeff Beck and Megadeath, but I grew up listening to the Howlin’ Wolf London Sessions version with Eric Clapton on guitar. I used to sing and play this in my very first blues band: “The Loose Tubes” … way back in time.

Microlesson #1: Partial Swing Values and Accents

Jonathon — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 03:31:18 +0000

Trying something new: “Microlessons” – quick little lessons about improving your funk/jazz/blues/groove playing. Here’s the first one – let me know whether this is valuable to you! If so – what would you like changed, and what topics should I cover?

MIDI File

Sheet Music for Lick

Harmonica Blues Jam with AerospacePat

Jonathon — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 03:18:39 +0000

Patrick (See his YouTube Channel, aerospacepat) uploaded this sweet harmonica solo – two choruses of down-home 12-bar blues, and I liked it so much, I thought I’d join in and play along and edit us together.

It was fun playing with you, Pat! Let’s do it again sometime!

Click the thumbnail below to watch the vid.

Off the Cuff Groove #1

Jonathon — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 18:54:50 +0000

As many of you may have already seen on my Facebook page, I uploaded a funky little looped groove that I played the other night. The place where I’m currently living is too small to have my acoustic piano out (sniff) — it’s in storage, so I’m limited to what I can do with the electronic keyboard.

My rule for all of these will be: they must be a single take – no redos! :) I propped the camera up on my desk, and recorded the audio straight into the computer while the camera ran. Unfortunately, I had the recording levels a little too high, so there’s a bit of distortion. I’ll remedy that for the next one!

If you want to be in the first to know when new videos come out, go directly to the source and subscribe to my YouTube channel. That’s where they show up first, naturally.

Click the thumbnail below to watch the video. Enjoy!

MIDI File (Bass Lick)

Sheet Music (Bass Lick)

Uwe Karcher offers a great blues transcription

Jonathon — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 03:11:05 +0000

A lovely gift showed up in my inbox today: Uwe Karcher, a German pianist and piano teacher has transcribed the final solo from 30 Must-have Blues Licks and added in his own left-hand parts. The transcription is top-notch, and the left hand parts are a great way to make this into a complete piece.

Many people have asked for some kind of left-hand part to go with these blues and thanks to Uwe — now it’s here! Just head over to the dedicated blues page, scroll down near the bottom and download Uwe’s PDF!

Groove Starter #1 Available

Jonathon — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 14:58:01 +0000

Many people have suggested that they would appreciate some tutorials that were a little easier than the advanced funk grooves. So this is the first of many in a new set of tutorials called “Groove Starters.”

This one is called “Open Fifths” and highlights both that chord and the fifth interval. If you learn this piece, you’ll be able to play a fifth anywhere on the piano at the drop of a hat! We’ll also discuss some of the music theory behind the slightly-dissonant hanging chords which give this tune its ambient feel.

Head over to the dedicated Groove Starter #1 page for all of the videos, a free PDF with the sheet music, and several MIDI files for loading into Synthesia or your favorite sequencer.

Click the thumbnail below to watch the first video, and to hear the whole tune at full speed.

A Beautiful Version of Lullaby #4 from neimaD11

Jonathon — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 05:11:12 +0000

neimaD11 from YouTube submits an absolutely gorgeous recording of my “Lullaby #4″ from 2008. I don’t think I could have played this better myself. Bravo!

Improv: C-Jam Blues & Chameleon

Jonathon — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 20:56:26 +0000

I was excited to wrap up shooting for the upcoming tutorial series, “Groove Starter #1″ and in celebration I recorded a quick little jazz/funk improv including snippets of the classic Ellington tune, “C-Jam Blues” and a bit of Herbie Hancock’s “Chameleon” along with a bunch of random piano wankery.

Enjoy!

Harry Sharp Kills Funk Groove #4

Jonathon — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 00:34:27 +0000

MAN! Long-time friend and reader, Harry Sharp puts in this killer performance of Funk Groove #4. Nothing half-way here: He plays the whole tune from start to finish, and nails the whole thing. Thanks, Harry! Sounding great!