Transposed Blues Licks and an H4 Piano Demo
- May 13th, 2008
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Just a minor update while I continue to try and find time to finish up my in-progress piano series, “How to Play a Funk Groove, II.”
A number of people have requested transpositions of the 30 must-have blues licks into other keys. Thanks to software, this is very easy! You can now get PDF files for the 30 blues licks in most of the major keys. I’ve also uploaded the raw Finale file, so if you have that software, you can take them and bend them to your will! See below for links to them all.
But first, my parents gave me a very generous birthday gift (I won’t give too much away, but its nearer to 40 than anything else…). A Zoom H4 Handy Recorder. This cool little beast is an all-digital stereo recorder with built-in microphones and makes some pretty nice recordings. I threw it up on the piano and did a quick improv which covers a little new age to start, heads into some funk with jazzy overtones, and ends up with a little more of a blues feel. You can even hear the dog bark at one point! Pretty ragged as it’s a complete 1-take improv, but it shows off the quality of the recorder — Including the fact that my piano is well overdue for a tuning! Here’s a download, and here’s a player:
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To wrap up, I’m very appreciative of the nice comments you’ve sent in. I’m always on the lookout for ideas on other series. Recent suggestions include more funk, jazz comping and soloing, and even electronica with all-free software (which is how I do it). If you have a vote, or an alternative suggestion, just post a comment or send me a note.
Hi Johnathon,
Thanks for the transposed keys. It will be fun moving them around cycle 5. I guess F# would be a fun one to try too. I definately will get started and keep checking back to your site.
Really nice playing on the Zoom by the way. I recently got an Edirol R-09 by Roland. They are great little recorders in the plam of your hands.
Cheers,
-Stephen Page
Oh its so easy for some people!!……. just kidding. V kool,
cheers Simon
Great piano playing – my ears must be bad since I can’t hear anything out of tune …
The Zoom sounds good – I have been using a minidisk for some years now with a home-made preamp with binaural mics – giving it its unmistakable (uncompressed) CD quality.
Can’t wait for the second series on funk piano – any idea on when that may eventuate?
Very Nice, Dirk! I have other friends who still swear by their minidiscs. I’d love to see your pre-amp… don’t see it on your site, though.
By the way, I still have your fixed notation for my funk groove — I just haven’t found the time yet to get the update in place, but I will!
I hope to have the next funk series done in early June — all depends on how busy everything else is…
All I can say is “just damn…” You continue to amaze me. And *I* knew you when…
Keep it up – you are so very talented…
Good for you – passing the passion along!
Hi Jonathan,
. I also play keyboards, so I really enjoyed your series on funk and blues patterns. I can see the Oscar and Gene influence heavily in your blues riffs 
. Yeah, we might as well steal from the best. (I wish Oscar had done more in the funk style, did you ever hear his version of Ode to Billy Jo?) Anyway, just a quick note to say thanks for the videos. I stole a couple cool ideas off the funk lessons, so I’m a happy camper. The price is unbeatable too 
Just discovered your funk and blues lessons on YouTube and came to your site here to see what is happening. First of all, welcome to another UNC grad… I was the lead alto player in the top UNC jazz band for 4 years back in the 70s and Gene Aiken came on the scene just a couple years before I graduated; I assume this is before your time
Best, Jim
Wow! Glad you enjoyed the vids. I actually didn’t graduate from UNC — but my College Jazz Band at Montana State made the pilgramage to the UNC jazz fest every year, and I lucked out and won an award one of those times. Always a fun trip though… I’ll definitely check out the Oscar Ode to Billy Jo — one of my favorite tunes. We used to cover it in a weird funk/ska band back in the day.
Aw, quit being so modest. Your keyboard playing is excellent and I have no doubts you well deserved any awards coming your way. You definately need to make a CD. We’ll keep pushing you -). The Oscar tune, BYW, is on his Motions & Emotions album, lemme know if you have trouble finding it and I’ll send you the mp3.
(Great version of the bossa nova “Wave” on that album too).
BTW, speaking of UNC, I attended the recent jazz fest there in April to hear Ahmad Jamal and his trio. It was a treat! The oldster still plays his butt off. Good to see a lot of high school and college kids interested in jazz come to these things, every time I think real jazz is dying it is motivating to see the kids get involved.
In summary, let’s get that CD going .
Hey Jonathon,
I *really* enjoyed your series of 30 Blues Piano Licks. It’s the most well produced I’ve seen on the web. The sound quality, camera work, lighting, and on screen graphics really help transmit the material, I thought. Not to mention the PDF which is indispensable.
I’ve been learning the crap out of them the last few weeks (I’m trying to teach myself piano). My vote for an upcoming series is definitely for 30 Essential Jazz Piano Licks (1st place), with a series on jazz comp’ing a close 2nd.
My bias is that these are the things I an trying to wrap my head around right now, and the blues series was so well done that having a jazz version would be great. Also, the fact that the blues licks could be combined in so many ways (or varied for even more complexity), seems a perfect fit for jazz improv. If you could pull off something similar in a jazz comp’ing series, that would be awesome.
Thanks again… you’re a HUGE help to people like me who are self-learners. =)
-Ryan
Hey Ryan!
Thanks for the nice comments — I’m glad you’re getting something out of the videos! I’m just finishing up “How to Play a Funk Groove, II” — and after that, I think a jazz series (both comping and solo licks) would be a good next project. Consider it “In Production”
-Jonathon
I know Ahmad jamal, oscar peterson ,bill evans and more.. i downloaded their jazz mp3 but I’m not abit amazed at all by how they play. Eventhough their harmonies seems complicated to learn or follow. I worked for Alfa Romeo before Italian company. Their cars seems complicated yet ineffective and troublesome. I like American Muscles and japanese. Muscles are a true beauty.furthermore engine components looks simple and located neatly without many sensors that will fail and hard to trace. A complicated work of art doesn’t mean it will attract people. Some simpler are better.
In other words, I’m more attracted and amazed by some no-name musician. some of them are ‘Kenny James’..(songs can be downloaded at eMule) ‘ Fly me to the moon’(from japanese animation cartoon neon genesis evangelion) and nevertheless songs by Jonathan wilson(can be downloaded at http://www.aqua-web.com). The difference with them is, they know what tunes to play and their tunes are all well harmonized and sound great.
hey man,
just would like to write a thank you for making that pdf file w/ the blues licks notations available.
your video persona is very admirable — down to earth, easy going, and your coaching words instill confidence in piano students like me.
the piano amazes and intimdates me, but your well presented lessons take some of the anxiety away. thanks alot for that.
peace to you and yours man. & thanks again.
Heh – great name, Ten Thumbs…
Thanks for the kind words! Glad you’re getting something out of the vids. Plenty more to come. Nothing to be anxious about — Music is one of the true ‘free’ joys in life. Only requirement is effort on your part, and its yours.
-j
Hi Jonathon,
i like the jazzy part of the H4 demo.
can you also do a more latin/salsa tune for piano. what I find is that piano plays a accompaniment role. what i am looking for is that the piano plays the whole song. perhaps both solo as accompaniment. or just a great salsa groove (to speak in “funk groove” language). that would be great. to enjoy playing and inpress the people, a bit…:-)
best regards,
Hendrik Stok, the Netherlands, Europe.
for me Jonathan’s lessons are very fundamental and will open up all the doors to understand blues harmonization and prepare ones mind to improvise any blues tune that one will listen.
Experiment with his lessons and you will be amazed.
Hi Jonathon,
Great lessons !!!
All the way from Perth Western Australia, I’d like to thank you for your great generosity.
I am making the transition from classical piano (only grade 6), and at this stage working on the Blues licks in most keys. I am trying to avoid reading and rather transpose in my head. All great so far… If I may take the liberty to ask for one more thing it would be some left hands patterns to complete the picture. Currently using 1+5 1+6 simple left hand accompaniment… Thanks again and keep up the great work.
Excellent suggestion — and others have asked for the same. I’ll see what I can do
Glad to have you along!
Nice. Piano’s not as badly out of tune as our Story Clark, tuned 2 weeks ago. Noted me: hire new tuner. The dog bark surprised me so that I took off my headphones… surprised me as much as that BbGbDb/G at 4:58 lol, strange things. Now if I could just remember more than 8 in a series of notes, I’d transcribe for fun (although I’m figuring out how to mentally reframe fast riffwork into 3 or 4 sets of chords)
or, DbGbBb/G depending on how you write it. ’twas C13 into an A and some-odd
…A 13 b9 brain crash. ?? lol.