Intro to I Wish You Love - Skatalites Version

[roygBiv]

Hi Guys

 

Sorry for the low-IQ post about to follow, but I am looking for tips on how to play this cool intro to the Skatalites version of "I Wish You Love"

 

 

[video:youtube]

 

(I'm talking about the piano background in the first ~42 seconds).

 

From what I can gather (based by listening and stealing chords from iRealPro on my iPad) the chords are a "walk-down" as follows:

 

| Bb- | Bb -7/A | C half-dim 7 /Ab | F7 b13 |

 

 

Does this sound approximately correct to you smart fellers out there?

 

I'm also trying to figure out how to approximate some of the "classical" (i.e. fancy man 2-bit) flourishes in there - lots of octaves/inversions? Lots of sustain pedaling, tux-tail flipping? (I keep visualizing how Victor Borge would play it, which is fun but not really helping).

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

Disclaimer - I'm pretty much a self taught guitar-turned-keyboard player that knows (and is still learning) some jazz theory, but this is definitely a step above my normal comfort and/or competency level.

 

Thanks,

 

roy

 

 

[timwat]

At a very quick listen, I hear:

 

Bbm | Bbm (maj7)/A | Ab6/9 | Eb7/G

 

Gbmaj7 | % | F7 | F7

 

A lot like My Funny Valentine, and other tunes that undergird a repetitive melodic motif with with the "gee I really love you" chromatic descending bass line (nothing says I love you like a chromatic descending bass line). Essentially, it's hanging on to that Bbm triad while the bass line tells its sad tale of woe. There are lots of possibilities for upper extensions and such if you want to theory geek out, but setting up the song doesn't require it.

 

That being said, your question is tips to play this more like the vid you posted.

 

To me this is all about chord arpeggiation with attitude. Start by getting comfortable arpeggiating each of the chords by themselves. Start with the Bbm. Run that sucker up and down the keyboard, starting with the root in the bottom, then try the 5th as your lowest note, etc. Try to get so familiar that you can creatively arpeggiate any of the six chords on their own, in any sequence. Maybe develop flashcards to prompt you. You already know this cold on guitar - you want to build the same "no look" facility on the keyboard.

 

Then study the recording to get a sense of the little riffs the pianist interjects in between vocal phrases to lead from one chord to the next. If you need to, cop the ones you like, learn them verbatim. Then try to translate that same little lick in between a different pair of chords in the sequence.

 

For guys like me who started on piano, it's kinda a second nature thing. So I had to mentally think through what might be helpful for guys like you where the keyboard is 2nd instrument. I hope this helps some. I really envy gals and guys like you who are multi-instrumentalists.

 

Tim

 

 

 

[roygBiv]

Very helpful - thanks Tim!

roy