My Funny Valentine: Journey Through The Real Book

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My Funny Valentine: Journey Through The Real Book

Рет қаралды 1,877

Күн бұрын

A jazz piano lesson to help you learn jazz standard “My Funny Valentine,” by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart.
Take your LH playing to the next level with my free ebook: Jazz Piano Left Hand Techniques: keyboardimprov...
You'll find my book, The Inner World of Piano Improvisation, on Amazon.
Yesterday’s Broadway songs are today’s jazz standards 0:12
The evolution of composer Richard Rodgers 0:24
The 1937 Broadway show “Babes In Arms” 0:52
Popular music in The Great Depression 1:24
The song’s lyrics 2:41
A Richard Rodgers song that sounds like it was composed by Cole Porter 3:12
The genius of the last ‘A’ section 4:16
AABA songs with “extra” measures 4:36
Recordings by Miles Davis and Gerry Mulligan 5:15
Beginning with an atmospheric texture 5:30
A “pro tip” when learning “My Funny Valentine” 5:39
The classical impressionist influence on jazz 6:24
Starting the performance way out in “left field” 6:52
Beginning to play the melody, still rubato 7:21
A flurry of contrary motion… 7:49
… followed by stillness 7:54
The 2nd ‘A’ section, with melodic embellishment 8:04
An F minor chord, with both the 6th and 7th 8:24
Gil Evans-influenced voicings 8:31
Close voicings at the start of the bridge 8:38
A gradually descending, stepwise bass line 8:43
Returning to the original bass line 8:58
A melodic fill under the sustained melody note 9:05
Herbie 9:08
The final ‘A’ section of the melody 9:12
Altering the written countermelody 9:17
A slightly lush texture 9:28
Bringing the 1st chorus to a conclusion 9:40
The 2nd chorus - beginning the improvisation like the intro 10:02
Continuing with the repeated-note motif, which was originally from the melody’s bridge 10:08
Letting the motif morph into melodic 5ths 10:25
Flowing into a trill-based texture 10:32
The trills become arpeggios 10:48
Hinting at the bridge’s melody with the LH 11:07
The RH run ends on the high point of the bridge’s melody, during the improv 11:38
Bringing in chords, for a different sound 11:41
Faster repeated notes, with chords and harmonic intervals 11:43
Bringing back the melody, with arpeggiated voicings underneath 12:01
A softer feeling for the conclusion of the 2nd chorus 12:07
Starting the 3rd chorus by referencing the melody 12:36
This is almost like French Baroque-era harpsichord music 12:46
A Middle Eastern-influenced descending motif 13:04
A highly embellished rendering of the tune’s melody 13:12
Bringing back the descending motif 13:26
Playing the bridge with a more chordal texture 13:42
A voicing like those played in the intro 14:10
A sparser texture, leaving space 14:14
The final ‘A’ section 14:18
Widely spaced upper grace notes 14:39
Repeated high tones 14:44
Playing very slowly for the ending 14:54
Extending the ending with a I/IV vamp 15:05
Quoting Red Garland’s piano intro from the Miles Davis recording 15:23
Ending with the repeated-note motif 15:35
Personalizing how we play jazz standards15:46
Being influenced by The John Coltrane Quartet’s sound 16:04
Assimilating our musical influences 16:17
“My Funny Valentine” is a “must-know” tune! 16:33
Essential jazz ballads 16:41
Thanks for joining me here! 17:05
Here are some more Free Jazz Piano Lessons for you at the KeyboardImprov website: keyboardimprov...
Thanks for joining me on this musical adventure, and please LIKE, COMMENT and SHARE this video with your musical friends.
If you'd like to start my full video course, you'll find it here: keyboardimprov...
For Zoom and Skype lessons, please email me at rondrotos@keyboardimprov.com.
Enjoy the journey, and "let the music flow!"
Ron

Пікірлер: 23

@chugaevanna Жыл бұрын

❤❤❤

@r0mmm Жыл бұрын

restarted your playing 4 times now, love it a lot. thank you so much ron, these videos are simply amazing and helped me so much get through a bunch of standards. you're a hero

@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 Жыл бұрын

Thanks! You made my day, and I'm glad these are helping so much :)

@eprohoda Жыл бұрын

incredible shots~take acre.Ron, 🤠

@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 Жыл бұрын

Thanks!

@HowardGoldman Жыл бұрын

I'm hooked on these lessons!

@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 Жыл бұрын

Thanks Howard, and this is a wonderful compliment from such a great pianist as yourself!

@larrysaidman Жыл бұрын

Lovely intro. One day when I was playing it I was reminded of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. So I started using the first four bars of that as an intro and an extro. Nowhere as creative as what you're doing....but it's fun.

@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 Жыл бұрын

I can see that, Larry - the Beethoven, after all, was titles Quasi una Fantasia, meaning it was like an improvisation.

@daliborlukas1700 Жыл бұрын

Dear Ron, what a beautiful performance! I love the way you are expressing yourself. I think it is the essence of music, about which nobody told me when I was taught piano as a kid. You are sending this in your videos at every single moment. Thank you so much!

@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 Жыл бұрын

Thanks! Yes, this is the most important thing, as you've said so well :)

@thejulietset Жыл бұрын

I wish I had seen this before we sang it, easier to remember this way! Love it!!

@elidranow Жыл бұрын

Ron Drotos makes me feel content

@brendaboykin3281 Жыл бұрын

Beautifully played, Ron. I love what you did with the harmony and changing expectation of where the melody is placed. Thanks for the background info:these stories/observations add a special impact. 🌹🌹🌹🌹

@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 Жыл бұрын

Thanks, Brenda! It's such an important tune.

@song4night Жыл бұрын

Yes! This is right mysterious! Really great playing, fabulous voicings...definitely in my top 5 of all you've done. Bravo!

@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 Жыл бұрын

Thanks!!!

@ninjapolitician6994 Жыл бұрын

I think my favorite version of this song is the one by Bill Evans and Jim Hall on their album Undercurrents, but I think I love your interpretation just as much. I think you really tapped into the starlight magic of the song. Something that always impresses me is that you interpret the lyrics in your playing as well as the music, and it really shows here. Thank you!

@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 Жыл бұрын

That's a great album! As for lyrics, I've performed with so many vocalists that it comes naturally.

@thewillage Жыл бұрын

Great video. I can watch it all day. It would be great if you showed the chords you are over so we can see your voicings, that would be very insignhtfful. Keep doing these, your efforts are being appreciated and bringing joy to others with this reat music.

@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 Жыл бұрын

Thanks William - much appreciated! I invite you to learn the tune thoroughly, so you know the chords as you watch me play. You'll benefit immensely more from that than if I put the chords on the video. My aim is to inspire you to do this :)