Thanks for your tutorials. As a classically trained piano player, I never found myself with the opportunity to work toward jazz or blues, but Hugh Laurie's "Let them talk" record got me interested, and your videos have been a huge help. Keep up the great work, and we're looking forward to what you have in store in the future!

Love the videos. They're very helpful! One small thing though, if you just do a quick search online you'll find that what you are calling melodic minor scales are actually called harmonic minor scales. Actual melodic minors have the same raised 7th scale degree you talked about, but also have a raised 6th scale degree when ascending. The melodic minor scale actually changes according to which direction you are traveling and when descending, the 6th and 7th become normal again (the same as natural minor). Keep up the good work!

Just a note - what you are calling a melodic minor scale is actually a harmonic minor. A melodic minor scale raises the 6th & 7th tones on the way up and lowers them to their original pitch on the way down

@BillHilton

2 ай бұрын

You’re quite right Grace - slip of the tongue (or more likely of whole brain 😂) on my part. Thanks for pointing it out!

Love the videos. I always felt I was a strong musician as I have a background in guitar, saxophone, and other instruments; the piano is still a different beast to me...the head knowledge is there but putting it into play has eluded me. With no teacher, I felt lost in many areas, these vids help a lot. Now my piano has a deeper purpose than to cover up the bad spot on the carpet; so thanks and keep up the good work

Thanks again Bill...another worthwhile session with you.

@Justin, that's what he was saying about not overdoing the dorian. He's showing you how to mix the Dorian with your blues and pentatonic scale for a better jazz sound

Very well thanks, Jonathan! Bit of a hiatus on at the moment because we're about to move house, but I'm planning to restart tutorials in the new year (I might even manage a quick Christmas one this week). Have a great one yourself!

I enjoyed your mixture of blues and dorian mode. I am like you, staying in any mode gets boring. You might not have the greatest video recording setup but you have some great information to share.

You're too kind, Peter! In fact, once shipping, printing and distribution costs are taken into account, I make about the same amount from the print copy as the ebook. I'm afraid new shoes are a few months off yet, as I've just bought a new house, which apparently needs equipping with all sorts of horrendously expensive stuff. Thanks again!

I believe the melodic scale you are talking about early in the video is a "harmonic minor scale" not melodic. harmonic has a raised 7th tone. melodic minor in the key of C is one flat asending "Eb" and 3 flats desending "Eb,Ab and Bb. used mostly in classical music. jazz likes to use major and minor penitonic scales combined and also combine the root and 5th of whatever key you are playing in, major and minor pentonic and using half steps when you aproch the 1,3, or 7th tones. also diminished 6th scales and half/whole tone scales is used over minor and alterd chords alot. half/whole tone scale is a "Must" all the greats used those scales to fall back on and would sound very shpoisticated passing though chords.

@BillHilton

8 жыл бұрын

+Reuben Andrews Yep, spot on - it's hard to avoid tongue-slips when shooting one of these things :(

@PIANOSTYLE100

7 жыл бұрын

yes i do videos and it s hard to talk play and consider what will help the most people.. so not only are you an instrument your having to think theory ect. i feel your pain.

And it's a GREAT video - well done! I hope you do some more soon!

Thank u for the video really helped me a lot 😀😀!!

Brilliant dude. Thanks for sharing.

I love your playing.😆

i was about to email you ..what that doesn't sound like the melodic minor. then i saw your message.. i can pick that leading tone out before any other tone.. that b going to c is very eastern sounding..

1:15 that’s C harmonic my friend

I love wooden floors

Thanks a million!

..write a hit song! ..then write another book on how to compose and arrange hit songs with keyboard and vocals, ..to pay for the house stuff, is my suggestion. If you don't sing, like me, write a demo for someone who does and needs songs, a hit song ; ) I like your piano tuts, and hope to buy your book soon, maybe Feb, pro'lly, eBook. Cheers! ... I thought of Hilton Hotels but, I have no idea if you ever met Paris ; )

Great video man it helped a lot

you're fantastic. :D

Thank you Bill~!

lovely! thank you. good info

scales confusion: when you say d pentatatonic around 6:10, you are playing the notes f-g-a-c-d (i think). wouldn't that be f pentatonic? Also, where are the links you mention?

Whoops - thanks Anne, well spotted! Getting my knickers in a twist there. I'll add an annotation to clarify...

Great, great video! About the bridge, I've replaced the second Bb for a G. What do you say? I'm no expert... far from that... just sounded better to my ears. Thanks for the lessons!!!

Hi bill, sorrybfor borherkng, just wondering, I assume you could play this but just over regular block chords?

@BillHilton

3 жыл бұрын

Bother as much as you want! Absolutely you could play it over block chords in the left: You'd just need to be judicious in the voicings you used, and mindful that the further down your left hand goes, the darker and "muddier" the sound your block chords will make. As always, let your ears be the judge.

@S24W2

3 жыл бұрын

@@BillHilton Thank you so much, I was also wondering if at some point you could do a video on simple improvising over a 251 in both major and minor keys where you highlight different modes that work well over each chord ? I will support you on patreon for sure!

when you go to the bridge, does your R.H. play the scales based on chord chagnes or do you continute to play in d dorian/pentatonic/blues?

Like blue minor

Hi! What's the theory behind not using the e and b note in the d dorian? E and B notes are included in the D dorian right? Thanks in advance for the reply :)

@BillHilton

7 жыл бұрын

Yep, they are. I was actually leaning pretty hard on D minor pentatonic here, on the basis that the E and the B are a little less easy to work in. That's purely down to me being lazy I should have made a bit more effort to incorporate them. In terms of your own practice, play around with them and listen to the sounds: you may see what I mean...!

@svperglowing_13

7 жыл бұрын

Bill Hilton yeah i noticed that. Thanks for clarifying! The video really helps alot especially for beginners. Hope you upload more jazz modes scales tutorials!

very helpful. thank you:) im new

Bill...could you please tell me what you are using for your overhead camera and how you have it set up?

@BillHilton

8 жыл бұрын

+scottkb2000 Every piano tutorial I've ever posted on KZread has just been shot on my phone - I started out using an iPhone 3s, now I'm on a 5s (which is why the video quality has improved over the years - it's been a function of my phone contract...). I'm overdue an upgrade, so soon the image quality might get even better. The phone used to be attached, face down, to a ring mounting on a standard boom-type mic stand: I just attached it with an elastic band (and an old sock for cushioning). Now I've progressed to using a proper mic - mostly to try to eliminate sound from the piano's keys that the iPhone mic would pick up - so the mic is in the ring mount and my phone is clamped to the mic with a GorillaPod arm, action clamp and GripTight mount, all from Joby.com. One of these days I'll get around to shooting a "how to shoot a piano tutorial" tutorial...

@scottkb2000

8 жыл бұрын

Thank you, so much...I'm trying to instruct my nephew with some jazz/blues soloing. That should work great.

actually dorian is a kind of minor scale...

@CowmanCowman

5 жыл бұрын

He means a natural minor

Cheers! Marks and Spencers, naturally...

Talented bro, but I have always been trying to figure out what is that sort of jazz/blues called like the riff you played at the beginning it's not like the sorry depressed blues, but like myterious sort of blues if you know what I mean do you know what that is called? am I just stupid and it's called jazz?

It would be so much cooler if you simply recorded the audio from your keyboard and laid it over the video so we don't have to hear the plastic keys. Would be more work but might create a cool effect.

C dorian has E flat and B flat, 1, 2, b3, 4,5 ,6, b7

@BillHilton

6 жыл бұрын

Yes indeed - that's what I play at 1:51. In the improvisation - as I think I say at one point - I don't play a pure dorian.

Bill, Have you considered working with a metronome to improve your timing?

Hi Bill, I noticed when you're playing the D Dorian scale over the chords you avoid the E note. Could you explain why?

@km4hr

8 жыл бұрын

You're right. He never touches the E note for some reason. I wonder if there's are reason for avoiding it.

@foxdonze

4 жыл бұрын

A little late, but the Dorian mode is a mode pertaining to the minor scale. Bill is improvising mostly in the pentatonic scale in his right hand, which leaves out the 2nd (E) and the 6th (B) when playing in a minor scale

@jayceejackson3584

4 жыл бұрын

Fox Donze i’m here bro and I appreciate it even now. Of course by now I completely understand all that you described. Thanks!

Impressive, but you don't explain in which modes/tones you are improvising in the middle peace

My screen turns green when you play the dorian for the first time.

thats Dorian?

@BillHilton

5 жыл бұрын

Yup. I'm dropping in a few grace notes from a D minor blues scale, but the core of the thing is pure D dorian. See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorian_mode#Modern_Dorian_mode

nor the complete melodic, but good video none the less

Jesus I don't like that left hand at all!! Sorry Bill!!😂

@BillHilton

5 жыл бұрын

I can't win everytime!

Nice socks

*harmonic not melodic