Left Hand Underused and Underutilized

[Outkaster]

The above video is more about placement and timing. That isn't my issue.

[Doc Tonewheel]

Each person is different, but the following pieces really helped me develop my left hand:

Tarkus by ELP (the whole thing)

The Spider by Kansas

Scott Joplin rags

Bach, Bach, and more Bach or to be more specific:

Well Tempered Clavier (both books)

2 and 3 Part Inventions

Chaconne from Partita No. 2 in D Minor J.S. Bach Arrangement for Piano, Left-Hand (specifically for the left hand)

 

Also Chopin Preludes (try Opus 28., No.3 in G Major)

 

Yes, classical is where you are really going to build your left hand. Now if I can only get my pedaling down to where I'm happy.

[analogman1]

All great suggestions! I'm a big fan of the Bach stuff; especially the Inventions.

 

Even doing a few of the pieces you all mentioned would help greatly.

It's a struggle we ALL, as keyboardists, must learn to constantly battle with.

 

Good luck and happy practicing!

Tom

[Mitch Towne]

Sal told me that at lunch in 2015

 

I miss him all the time.

[Outkaster]

Mitch. It would be wild to be with him. He'd look at a video or see an organ and know the vintage by details that no one else could figure out. One time in 2015 I saw him bring a B-3 back to life in a church. I think he didn't like that there was a lot of supposed Hammond techs out there that flooded the internet with the wrong information. He didn't even know about the organ forum till a little before he died. He always told me his collection was "not the largest but the most important". Now I finally got a B-3 and a slew of Leslies and I can't share it with him.

[Mitch Towne]

Same here. I have a few in my collection now and I wish he could hear me play them. Also, he taught my son, who is now a professional electronics repair tech, how to work on Hammonds and leslies over the phone. He was always so giving of his time.

[WesG]

My hand independence is pretty good - I can use either of them pretty good, independently. It's my hand togetherness that's an issue.

 

Mitch, that was a beautiful tribute to Sal. I tried taking that advice, twice. I have a transcription of a bass line Scott Hawthorn wrote for Keyboard Magazine(?) in the 80s. Jazz Blues in F. Both times ended up with my wife yelling at me because she can't stand listening to me play nothin' but bass.

 

Maybe I should suck it up and use headphones. I despise headphones.. and fake Leslies almost as much.

 

So I play mostly boogie-woogie piano derived bass lines on the organ, and it's a good thing I don't play those in public. I haven't ingrained that jazz-organ-blues that you were playing yet. BTW, were those "ah-ONE" same-note hits octave spread? Sounded like it. I love how the 16' foldback works WITH you on the organ and how wrong I was when I thought I wanted bass-all-the-way-down as an organ newb.

 

Bass is a funny creature, though. As a mostly-rock player, I don't play much. I did a bunch of work on jazz walking a few years ago, with a bit advice and encouragement from John (I Miss Richard Tee) via this forum. I can fake my way through standards now, as long as I only have to play bass and comp. The minute I have to play the head, or, worse yet, a solo, it all falls apart. I just can't think of two things at the same time. I will also cover bass at Big Band rehearsals when the bass player doesn't show up for whatever reason. The last time this happened, we rehearsed a tune that had a pretty important piano part. I walked bass, comped, and sang my part. It was hilarious.

 

I'll also cover bass at the odd rehearsal with my rock band for similar reasons. Boy, you really know whether you know a song or not when you try to add a bass line without a chart. Some of those tunes, I have been playing so long they are just there with muscle memory. I consider that knowing the part, not the tune.

 

But bass and piano lessons have a funny way of sticking in your brain. I was trying to work out the (brilliant!!!) solo in "You Win Again" from The Grateful Dead's Europe '72 album, and noticed -- to my complete surprise -- that I was playing a simple bass line that my teacher must have taught me about 30 years ago....that I gave up on about 29 years ago... The old 1+5 1+5 1+6 1+6, swung eighth notes. Nice to know those lessons are still in there somewhere.

[Doerfler]

Both times ended up with my wife yelling at me because she can't stand listening to me.

 

I hear you , brother.