Great presentation. Thank you so much! You've made sense of 3 modes for me. :-)

That sounds so pretty. 😀

Hey bill ur so amazing and you have helped me with piano but I'm still having trouble with improvising and it sounding good without it reapeting and when to use the black keys in a scale

@lukewroblewski6526

7 жыл бұрын

you sound like me :s

@BillHilton

7 жыл бұрын

Thanks Jonathan! First thing to say is don't worry about repetition in your improvisations in the early days. Repetition is an important part of improvising on the piano in any circumstances, but when you're just getting a feel for improv styles it's natural to repeat a lot of stuff - don't worry too much about it. Re: the black keys, it sounds like you need to work on your theory knowledge and practise your scales. I have various tutorials on that kind of thing - give me a shout if you want some specific suggestions.

Great practical starter explanation of the link between modes and impro, Bill. I am familiar with modes but have never quite worked out how they are used, or how the two relate, in jazz. Are any of the 7 modes more "important" or widely used than others? Or do I have to buckle down and get to know all 7 inside out? Many thanks. Look foward to the next lesson.

@BillHilton

7 жыл бұрын

They're all useful, but in different contexts, and sometimes you won't really play them consciously: so, for example, Locrian works well over diminished chords, but if you're playing a dim chord you'd probably end up finding good notes just by feel and ear rather than thinking "aha, now it's time for some Locrian!" - that's a very unscientific way of putting it, but hopefully you get the idea. There aren't actually *that* many to learn. Ionian is the same as the major scale; Aeolian is the same as the (natural) minor; Dorian (v similar to minor) is handy, as is Phrygian (it contains the bebop-ish flat second in an otherwise natural-ish minor scale). In general I think the trick is to play around and trust your ear rather than slavishly memorising all the modes.

Could you maybe make a video for making piano accompaniments to original songs?

@BillHilton

7 жыл бұрын

I'm actually a planning a series of tutorials on useful skills for songwriters this summer - so piano accompaniments should get covered in that!

@shishi1103

7 жыл бұрын

I'm looking forward to it; you make great videos.

Have you or could you do a video on Davina and the Vagabonds style of piano please?

That starting chord prog is the same as "Let me entertain You" in a different key right? Interesting that you chose those modes - my lazy thought simply went: "ah! G scale with a b3 and b7 - that's G Dorian and I left it at that (though I did wonder about the mood of the song which is quite uplifting whereas Dorian is associated more with moody minor-ish tunes...)

@BillHilton

5 жыл бұрын

Yep, you've got it - the "Let Me Entertain You" sequence is quite common (and, in fact, was very common in certain types of jive and hot jazz in the 1940s - but that's another story)

Bill - do you teach piano over skype? Ive been playing classical for 10 years but am looking for someone to teach me some more advanced techniques for accompanying myself on piano.

@BillHilton

7 жыл бұрын

Hi Lianne: the short answer is no, because life is pretty busy already! That's not to say I can't help in some way, though - drop me an email at billhiltonmedia at gmail dot com and I'll see if I can point you in something like the right direction!