Blue Bossa, Harmonic Analysis

Dr. Bob Lawrence (00:33.1)
Welcome to Jazz Piano Skills. I'm Dr. Bob Lawrence. It's time to discover, learn, and play jazz piano. Well, before we get started today, I want to take a minute to thank everyone for all of the emails, the voicemails, the speakpipes, the text messages that I received this past week congratulating me on the 300th episode of Jazz Piano Skills. And I must say, I was...

overwhelmed by all the kind words, well wishes and support that I received. And it's been my pleasure, absolutely my pleasure over the years to help all of us discover, learn and play jazz piano. More importantly, it has been a thrill to get to personally know many of you and become friends. You know, as much as I love music, as much as I love jazz,

I value and love relationships so much more. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you to all of you fabulous listeners of Jazz Piano Skills. I cannot adequately express how much of a pleasure it has been to bring to you Jazz Piano Skills every week. And the best part, we're just getting started. So here we are again, the start of a new

month. And as all of you regular Jazz Panel Skills listeners know, the start of a new month means we begin studying a new tune. But as I always like to say, a new tune, but the same familiar and comfortable approach. An approach that's thorough, it's organized, it's very structured, it's logical, and most importantly, it's skill-centric, which it absolutely needs to be.

if we are going to study and learn a tune correctly. Skill-centric is the key. Why? Because that is exactly what tunes expect us to be. Those of you listening that have been through our monthly process can attest to the fact that it doesn't take very long when trying to learn a new tune, the Jazz Piano Skills way that is, to discover the skills needing more attention to successfully play a tune.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (02:55.981)
tunes always have a funny way, right, of exposing our weaknesses very quickly. So what are the essential skills needed to play tunes? It's a question that we all should be asking, and all of you jazz panel skills listeners should be able to answer by now. You should have absolutely no problem answering the question because we answer it every month as we execute our three week tune study. And not only do we

answer this all important question, we organize our answer into three camps. And what are these camps? Camp one harmony, which is our ability to to determine form harmonic function, common harmonic movement. And of course, our ability to play the sounds of music using various voicing approaches, blocks, shells, contemporary traditional and contemporary shells, as well as two handed structures.

Camp number two, melody, our ability to hear, determine, and properly articulate melodies and phrases using various treatments, which of course requires some technical skills. And then camp number three, improvisation, our ability to formulate and explore rhythmic and melodic patterns in time based on proper chord scale relationships. Harmony, melody, improvisation.

Makes no difference what tune you want to play. If you're incapable of executing the essential jazz piano skills found within each of these camps, you will have a difficult time playing tunes. That is why at Jazz Piano Skills, we use tunes to illuminate and validate the skills needed to play jazz piano. And then we attack those skills. We start with a new tune every month simply to gain a new perspective.

on the Essential Jazz Piano Skills. Different tunes, same skills, new perspective. These three distinct camps allow us to organize methodically practice all of our Essential Jazz Skills. And that is the key, right? How to practice these skills. We need to know how to properly practice these skills if we hope to obtain the results that we're looking for. Proper practicing begins with a proper

Dr. Bob Lawrence (05:23.008)
conceptual understanding of music. And there is no way you can have a proper understanding of music until you can, with confidence, verbally articulate what music is the study of. And this is precisely why I stress over and over and over and over and over again, the seven facts of music, the seven facts of music give us a very clear understanding of what

music is the study of. So what are the seven facts of music? Number one, music is the production of sound and silence. Fact number two, sound being major dominant minor half diminished and diminished is produced harmonically and melodically. Fact number three, harmonic shapes are chords or what we call voicings. Fact number four, melodic shapes

are arpeggios and scales, or what we like to refer to as melodies. Fact number five, when playing arpeggios and scales, we can only move in one of two directions, up or down. In fact number six, we camouflage or redecorate our arpeggios and scales with tension, notes outside of the key, chromaticism. And then finally, fact number seven, to make all of this

interesting facts one through six. To make facts one through six interesting, we add rhythm. Everything we do should be viewed through the lens of the seven facts of music. I have stressed, I think in just about every episode since the beginning of the year, that if you are an unable to see the essential jazz piano skills framed by the seven facts of music,

And then there is a very high probability that you are running in place when practicing. It's a high probability then that you have a very skewed perspective of music. And if you have a skewed perspective of music,

Dr. Bob Lawrence (07:35.926)
then your practice is skewed. And if your practice is skewed, then you are not accomplishing what you think you're accomplishing when practicing. That's a bummer. Here at Jazz Piano Skills, we prevent that from happening. We take essential skills, we examine them harmonically and melodically, then use them to develop our improvisation abilities through the study of rhythmic and melodic patterns.

pretty cool. With all that being said, today we continue our journey. Today we continue our study of essential jazz skills organized into three camps, harmony, melody, improvisation, using another classic jazz standard. And as always, we will begin today with a harmonic analysis. So today you're going to discover the 1963 standard by Kenny Durham, Blue Basin.

You're going to learn the form, chord changes, and harmonic function for Blue Bossa. And you are going to play Blue Bossa using my suggested voicings, plus common harmonic progressions for your training development. So, as I always like to say, regardless of where you are in your jazz journey, a beginner, an intermediate player, an advanced player, or even if you are a seasoned and experienced professional, you're going to find this Jazz Panel Skills podcast lesson exploring Blue Bossa.

to be very beneficial. But before we dig in, before we get started, I want to, as I always do, welcome all of you first-time listeners to Jazz Piano Skills. And if you are a new listener to the podcast, if you're new to Jazz Piano Skills, welcome. I would like to, and I want to, invite you to become a Jazz Piano Skills member. Your membership grants you many perks. Very quickly, number one.

As a member, get access to premium podcast content, which means you get to listen to the entire podcast episode. The first half of every episode is free for everyone to enjoy. I deal with the question of the week, the educational agenda, lesson rationale, the second half of the podcast, always for members only, lesson content and demonstrations. Members also have access to all of the podcast packets, past, current, and of course, future.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (10:05.407)
These are the educational materials that I design and develop for every weekly podcast episode, illustrations, lead sheets, and play alongs. Invaluable materials to have in your hands when listening to the podcast to get the most out of it. And of course, to have sitting on your piano or music stand when practicing at home as well. Jazz Piano Skills members have access to the courses. These are online courses that are comprehensive, sound-based, self-paced, and sequential.

focusing on harmonic, melodic, and improvisation development. Jazz Panel Skills members also have a reserved seat in my weekly masterclass, which is held every Thursday evening at 8 p.m. Central Time. And I realize that this is not a great time for everyone around the world. That is why the podcast, that is why the masterclasses are recorded. And you can watch and re-watch the video of the class at your convenience as often as you wish.

As a Jazz Panel Skills member, you also have access to the private online Jazz Panel Skills community, which hosts a variety of educational forums. There are episode specific forums as well as general jazz forums. It's a great place to meet new folks, provide feedback and assistance for other jazz students, as well as receive feedback and assistance. And then finally, as a Jazz Panel Skills member, you have educational support.

private, personal, and professional support. So, you know, all of these amazing privileges are waiting to help you discover, learn, and play jazz piano. So check it all out at JazzPanelsSkills.com. And of course, become a member to enjoy the premium podcast content plus all of the other privileges that I just mentioned. Of course, once you get to the website and you're poking around, if you have any questions, please contact me. I'm always happy to spend some time with you and answer any questions that you may have.

I also want to encourage you to subscribe to my YouTube channel. I'm producing educational content videos that I think you'll find to be beneficial for your jazz growth. And I currently have several playlists that you can check out. I have weekly challenges and quick tips as well as jazz talks. And again, I'm populating these playlists with new videos every week. So be sure to subscribe so you are notified when a new Jazz Panel Skills video is

Dr. Bob Lawrence (12:31.733)
released. Okay, on to the question of the week. Okay, this week's question comes from James Schaefer, living in Virginia Beach, Virginia. James writes, I am 78 years old, and I've been playing the piano for many years. I took lessons as a child and learned how to read music, which is how I primarily play to this day. I became a Jazz Piano Skills member last year.

and have been relentlessly practicing the chords so that I can begin playing from lead sheets. Great plan. I love jazz and listening to great players improvise, but my personal goal is not so much to improvise, but rather to simply embellish the melodies of tunes. Are there specific exercises or drills that will help me learn how to spice up melodies? No rush answering my question.

And congrats on the 300th episode of Jazz Piano Skills. Wow, James, a fabulous question. And I love how you're thinking and I love that you've been playing the piano for your entire life. You know, obviously playing brings you great joy. And that is precisely why we all should be studying and playing piano because it brings us joy.

So congrats. Now, to address your question, the first thing I want to say is that the ability to embellish melodies is actually where improvisation begins. In fact, I had a teacher that would remind me over and over and over again that if you cannot interpret a melody,

with a jazz articulation, then you should not even be attempting to go any further with your improvisation efforts. You know, at the time that sounded a little harsh to me, you know, but now a whole lot of years later, I agree 100%. And in your case, James, if you do

Dr. Bob Lawrence (14:53.823)
gain the ability to embellish melodies using a jazz articulation, you can indeed stay put and decide to explore improvisation no further. But I would be shocked if you weren't compelled to do so. Just saying, just saying. Nevertheless, let's take a few minutes to explore your question. Are there specific exercises or drills

that will help you learn how to spice up melodies. First and foremost, if you are wanting to play the piano at a level that is musically enjoyable for you and listeners, then you have to obtain a certain level of technical proficiency at the instrument. We call this technique. So

Yes, you will still need to consistently practice chords, voicings for harmonic development. You're going to have to consistently practice scales and arpeggios for melodic development. And you're going to have to continue practicing rhythm for articulation development. So there's no escaping harmony melody rhythm, no way around it. But

As you are practicing your harmony, melody, and rhythm skills, you can begin exploring and experimenting with the embellishment of melodies, which of course is improvisation. I would recommend beginning with the rhythmic alteration of the melody only. In other words, do not worry about adding notes around the melody.

other than an occasional grace note, or what is oftentimes referred to as crush tones. Play the melody rhythmically different than the lead sheet. That's it. Nothing more. For example, we just finished our tune study, the beautiful standard, that's all. And I would take, I would suggest taking say the first eight measures only.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (17:17.609)
and begin manipulating the melody rhythmically. And again, with some occasional grace notes, let me demonstrate. And again, I'm just going to take the first eight measures. I'm going to play the melody the first time through as typically notated on a lead sheet. And then I'll play about three choruses or three. I'll repeat the first eight measures three times, manipulating the melody each time. And then I'll finish up with

the melody again as typically notated in a lead sheet. Okay, check this out.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (20:25.991)
Okay, so listen, I think it's important to point out that you can develop this skill by practicing eight measures only. You do not, listen carefully, James, listen carefully. You do not have to play all 32 measures of tune to practice the skill of embellishing a melody or to spice it up as you like to say, right? In fact, you'll experience faster results by focusing on fragments of tune.

So for now, James, I think the best way to improve your ability to spice up melodies is to continue practicing harmony, melody, and rhythm skills and focus on rhythmically altering the melody only and adding maybe some occasional grace notes. That's it. That's it. It sounds pretty straightforward, but it's more challenging than initially thought to be.

And one final tip I I would recommend highly recommend using your phone and record yourself practicing the eight measures of a standard and then spend time listening to your recordings away from the instrument. So important to hear what you are actually doing compared to what you think you are doing when playing. You know what and when comfortable send me a few recordings and I'll give you I'll give you some feedback.

a great question, James. Keep me posted, please. Keep me posted with your progress. All right, let's discover, learn, and play jazz piano. Let's discover, learn, and play blue bassa. I want to remind everyone, as I do every week, that it's so important, right, to have a process to learning a tune.

I have a process. I approach it the same way every single time. And again, genre makes no difference to me. I don't care whether it's a jazz tune or a rock tune or country or pop or folk or R &B, whatever, it makes no difference. Here's how I go about learning the tune. Number one, most importantly, listen. I listen to everyone I can possibly listen to.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (22:53.115)
performing the tune that I want to learn. And again, it makes no difference the genre. I don't care if it's a jazz artist or a pop artist or whatever, right? I want to absorb as much of that, as much as that song, interpretations of that song as I possibly can. So I'll listen to vocalist, instrumentalist, and of course pianist. After I listen, I dig in and I do a harmonic analysis first, just like we're going to do today.

I'll study the form, the chord changes, harmonic function, the common harmonic movement in the tune, and of course I'll experiment with my voicings, my block voicings, my traditional shells, my contemporary shells, and two-handed structures. Then I'll turn my attention to a melodic analysis of the tune, just like we're going to do next week. I'll transcribe the melody, I'll break that melody apart into phrases, I'll look at

exploring various treatments of the tunes, typically the three standard treatments in jazz, you know, the ballad, the bossa, the swing groove. And then finally, I'll turn my attention to improvisation development. I'll study chord scale relationships, arpeggio scale movement through the sounds, and of course tension. So I go through this, this four step process of listening, harmonic analysis, melodic analysis, improvisation development.

every single tune. So again, this week harmonic analysis for Blue Bossam will have us listening, will determine the form, will learn the chord changes, harmonic function, and explore the voicings. And then next week we'll turn our attention to a melodic analysis, and then in two weeks improvisation. So the educational agenda for today is as follows. Number one, we are going to listen to definitive recordings of Blue Bossam.

Number two, will discuss the form of Blue Bossa. Number three, we will discover, learn, and play the chord changes for Blue Bossa. Number four, we will discover, learn, play the harmonic function of Blue Bossa. And number five, we will discover, learn, and play my suggested voicings for Blue Bossa, my block voicings, my left-hand shell voicings, and my two-handed structures. If you are a Jazz Piano Skills member, I want you to take a few minutes right now.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (25:17.787)
hit pause button to download and print your podcast packets, the illustrations, the lead sheets and the play alongs. Again, your membership grants you access to this material for every weekly podcast episode. you should absolutely have this material in your hands when listening to this episode to get the most out of it. Okay, so now that you have your podcast packets in your hands, I want you to grab the lead sheets and you should have

eight of them in your lead sheets packet. I want to just talk through them very quickly. Number one, lead sheet one diagrams the form of Blue Bossa. Lead sheet two identifies unique chord changes found within Blue Bossa. Lead sheet three, you'll see just gives you a really clean, simple lead sheet to play from for Blue Bossa, the chord changes. And then number four provides you with the harmonic function of Blue Bossa.

Lead Sheet 5 highlights common progressions that we will use for ear training development. And then Lead Sheets 6, 7, and 8 are all voicings. Lead Sheet 6 deals with the black voicings. Lead Sheet 7, I'm using left-handed shells, all traditional shells on this lead sheet. I typically do a lot of chordal voicings, and Blue Bossa sounds great using chordal voicings, but I thought I would

switch things up a little bit this this month and demonstrate using traditional shell voicings on Blue Bossa. And then finally lead sheet eight, contemporary two handed voicings for the chord changes of Blue Bossa. So we have a ton to dissect today. We got a ton to get through. So let's get busy. Now, you know, the very first thing we do is listen to definitive recordings of our tune. So I want you to

head on over to the community, Jazz Piano Skills Community, where we have an outstanding, again, another outstanding list put together by Lisa for us to enjoy. And so again, we moved all the listening to the community because I wanted to be able to have more suggested listening renditions of each tune other than just one.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (27:43.621)
And again, I wanted to preserve as much time in the podcast episode for education. So again, head on over to the community, spend some time listening to the list that Lisa has put together for us. And then once you have listened to the recommended recordings, grab your lead sheets, grab lead sheet one. And let's take a look at the form of Blue Bossa. Okay, here we go. So what is the form?

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