Jazz for Piano - Orientation
Before we begin looking at some specific artists and compositions we should get our bearings with a bit of an overview:
"Preparational Analysis"
“Theoretical Analysis” traditionally uses comparison to describe the function of a musics elements. It develops a set of principles to compare various pieces or compare a piece to an abstract model. The goal is primarily educational.
We have a different goal – something we call “Preparational Analysis“. As improvisers, we are looking to prepare ourselves and the music so that we can create interpretations, variations or expansions of a song. We will introduce a number of ways that we can prepare a piece for improvisation as we work through the different compositions.
Here’s a sample head with some steps you might follow to begin your Preparational Analysis. These steps are discussed in more detail on the ‘Aural Logic’ page (Link) and the ‘Changes’ page (Link).
Blue Monk
PART 1: What type of polyphony is it? Supportive.
What’s the basic form? 12 bars repeated.
Are there repeated phrases? Two repeated motifs (bar 1 and bar 3).
Are there points of clear Resolution? Bar 4, bar 8, bar 12.
Are your expectations satisfied, delayed, denied? Satisfied.
PART 2: Is there an obvious Tonic? Yes Bb Major.
What members of the tonal set are being used? I, IV, V.
Is it basically a Blues? Yes.
Are there flex-tones at play? Very much so.
Is it in a Minor key? No.
Any modulations? No.
Are there any Cycle Chains? No.
"Difficulty"
We have marked most of the songs in ‘Our Analysis’ with one of four ”Difficulty” tags: Straightforward, Intermediate, Demanding or Very Demanding. They are not meant to show how hard the piece is to play, that will depend on your piano skills, but rather, it is meant to indicate how hard we think it is to work up a convincing improvisation.
Here are a few pieces we marked “Straightforward”: ‘Relaxin’ at Camarillo’ (Link), ‘Bouncing With Bud’ (Link), Line for Lyons (Link), Opus de Funk (Link), Grand Valse (Link), The Jody Grind (Link), Golden Notebooks (Link).
The songs are organized chronologically so, to a great extent, the material gets more complex as you move through time, but we do let the compositions decide what topics we discuss when.
We provide links to related material whenever possible. These links will help explain or expand on a topic.
Be sure to refer back to the tabs at the top of the page when things start getting muddy.
‘That’s about it.
Next: Our Analysis