The first set of lesson notes I wrote for an adult beginner who was mostly interested in playing jazz organ, e.g. Jimmy Smith and the James Taylor Quartet.
GENERAL
When it comes to practice habits:
- try to do a little every day (say, 15 mins)
- don’t confuse practice with playing
- focus on one or two things per practice session
NOTE NAMES
Test yourself on these by jumping around the keyboard, naming notes as you go.
- C is just to the left of the group of 2 black notes
- F and B are the Front and Back of the group of 3 black notes
- D Divides the group of 2 black notes
- G and A are in the middle of the group of 3 black notes (think GAGA)
- E – picture an E on its side, slotting into the group of 2 black notes – E is then the bottom prong
STARSKY & HUTCH
With all of the playing this week, just aim to play the right notes with the right fingers – don’t worry too much about rhythm.
Master each exercise before moving onto the next one.
1) Learn “shapes” 1 and 2:
“Legato” means going from one melody note to another without a break (the opposite is “staccato”).
2) Practice the “crushed” note:
3) Combine it with the top “shape”:
4) Learn the 4-finger “drum”:
5) If you get as far as putting them all together, this is what it’ll look like:
WHAT’D I SAY
1) Learn the “shape” with E, A, and B at the top:
2) Learn the LH:
The pattern is:
E E E E
A A E E
B A E E
That’s called a 12-bar blues. I’ll explain next time.
3) Put them together, if you have time:
FINGER EXERCISE
This will help you prepare for Back at the Chicken Shack. You can do this on the desk at work:
VIRTUAL HAMMONDS
Apparently this one is the best. I don’t know how it works – you’ll have to investigate and might want to search for alternatives as well! Try the demo version first if you’re interested.
http://www.genuinesoundware.com/?a=showproduct&b=24
