For many years I used the tri-tone chord progression — in fact it was one of my favorite chord substituions — but I didn’t know what it was called. I thought of it as a way to “slide in” to … Continue reading →
If asked to name a piano piece that is near-perfect, one noted example comes to mind for many people. That piece is Clair de Lune by Claude Debussy. Clair de Lune, the third and most famous movement of Debussy’s Suite … Continue reading →
Chord substitutions is precisely what the name implies: the substitution of one chord for another during a chord progression. It’s a technique often found in jazz music (but other genres, as well) used to add a little extra pizzazz to … Continue reading →
I took piano lessons from the time I was 6 until about 13, but didn’t really get into music until I had a chance to play piano in the school combo my freshman year in high school. The piano player … Continue reading →
Figured bass is a type of notation that uses numbers to denote certain intervals or chords. It can be viewed as a sort of musical shorthand; only the bass note is shown on the staff, and the numbers written underneath … Continue reading →
We have all heard the terms “mambo”, “samba”, “bossa nova”, “beguine”, “rhumba”, and so on, but it’s easy to get confused — especially for those of us who don’t come from that tradition. Mambo is a Cuban genre of music … Continue reading →
Check out the article in the Medford Mail Tribune this morning about the relationship between music and health.
Continue reading →I’m sure that you have had the experience sometime in your piano-playing life when someone asks you to play a song — but in a different key than in which it is written. It might be a singer wanting you … Continue reading →
Several people have asked me if guitar chords are the same as piano chords. The answer is yes and no. No — because they are fingered entirely different, and of course the tone color of the sound is different. Yes … Continue reading →
Rhythm and blues, in its most modern definition, is soul and funk-based style of pop music that started during disco but truly flourished well after disco’s death. Originally, however, in the 1940s rhythm and blues was a term coined as … Continue reading →
