Simple Piano Comping?Suggestions
beginnerpianostudent
i play guitar and can sight read ok.
my question is is there a simple piano comping style which will enable
me to play simple songs, like beatles hey jude or imagine.
i'll be singing so the melody is taken care of.
i just want to be able to have a nice harmony underneath it but still
not play the piano just as block chords.
maybe a youtube video?
thanks
n
EdV
I have had pretty goog luck with youtube videos for songs by
"Coldplay". There are also some Hal Leonard books with simple
arrangments for piano and voice of Beatles songs. For "Imagine"
though you can play the block chords pretty much 4/4 through out and
then tag the end of the phrases with a fill. You might be able to
figure that one out just from listening a few times.
Have fun,
Ed V.
Neil
It sounds like you have the basics down, and want to learn more about
accompanying arranging. Tony Bennett's recordings (except 1950s) were
backed by jazz trios, heavy on the piano. There's even the classic
album Tony Bennett and Bill Evans (many say the greatest jazz
pianist). Find CDs like that to study. There are isolated pop songs to
learn from, like Simon and Garfunkel's original recording of Bridge
Over Troubled Water. And Carol King accompanied herself on the piano.
Search, listen, cover, invent.
Neil Miller, author of The Piano Lessons Book
Enter in Amazon.com search: Neil Miller Piano Lessons Book
OR http://www.createspace.com/3332371
tysteel
It's been a while since I seriously tickled the ivories, but to answer
your question:
I think a good book to recommend would be "The Pop Piano book" by Mark
Harrison.
A lot of rock/pop accompaniment --depending on the song in question as
there is no "one size
fits all" in music - is indeed based on the playing of block chords
to help create that drive
or groove, but what is imperative is to use good voice leading. So
much of rock music is based on using patterns in accompaniment, but
being a guitarist, I'm sure that is nothing new to you.
So, in other words, you shouldn't adopt a default playing style of
playing all the chords in root position, one after the other, while
singing the melody. Use inversions and transition smoothly from one
chord to the next. But of course, there are times when you don't
want to use block chords.......but that's what I hear in so much of
rock music.
Do check out the book I recommend and see the kind of "patterns" they
recommend, and try them out and see for yourself. Nothing wrong with
coming up with your own patterns as long as you understand the
principle.
best of luck,
tysteel
beginnerpianostudent
sounds good guys
ill check them out and try them
thanks
Melodious Thunk
"Hey Jude" *is* block chords.
Now, what Lennon does in "Imagine" might be more of what you're after,
especially as a beginner. One way to play (accompaniment behind) that
chart is, start the 1st chord in root position, then "rock" your right
hand back 'n forth... say the 1st chord is C, then rock your hand in
eight notes: G/E-C-G/E-C etc. The last beat of the 1st measure is
Cmaj7, so rock between B/G-E and then to the next measure, which would
be F, so rock between A/F-C-A/F-C etc. "Hey Jude" could be played in
much the same way. In the left hand, simply play the root in octaves
on each chord change, and to add variety, play the root and then on
the 3rd count, play the third.
"Nice harmony underneath" implies supporting the melody with
complimentary notes, but I suspect what I've tried to describe above
(if you can figure it out!) is more like what you're asking for.