Stars Fell on Alabama, Melodic Analysis

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Dr. Bob Lawrence (00:33.058)
Welcome to Jazz Piano Skills. I'm Dr. Bob Lawrence. It's time to discover, learn, and play jazz piano. Here we are, week two of the month, which means, as week two always means, it's a melodic analysis week. Last week, we kicked off the new year with the popular jazz standard, Stars Fell on Alabama.

course, we did our standard harmonic analysis, examining the form, traditional changes, harmonic function, common harmonic movement, and of course, our voicings, our block voicings, our traditional shells, contemporary shells, as well as our two handed structures, which means today, week two of the month, we follow our harmonic analysis with a melodic analysis to discover, learn and play the melody.

fingering, phrases, and of course, various standard treatments, ballad, bossa, swing. How comforting. We have a sequential educational process that we unfold every month, regardless of the tune that we are tackling. As my dad would say, we have a method to our madness. Every month, we take a tune and study it harmonically, melodically, improvisationally, and now, new this year,

We've added an additional week of study that focuses on solo piano interpretation. These are areas of study that every aspiring jazz musician, especially pianist, must gain a functional, conceptual, and physical command of if they hope to play. And to be perfectly clear, when I speak about one's ability to play, I'm speaking about everyone

at any level from simplistic playing to advanced playing. And simplistic playing does not mean beginner. In fact, the professional jazz musicians that I know are always trying to find ways to simplify their playing, not complicated. So I ask this question every month, how do we accomplish our desire to become an accomplished jazz musician? Not only do I ask the same question every

Dr. Bob Lawrence (03:00.908)
I also give the same answer every month. It begins with establishing a well thought out and constructed practice approach, a practice strategy, a practice agenda. I'm fine with any of those labels. This well thought out practice approach begins with a proper conceptual understanding of music. In other words, think about music incorrectly and your host. You're doomed before you get started.

And unfortunately, this is the case for so many people studying jazz. It is so important that music becomes conceptually easy for you. That is if you hope to develop physical skills. The formula is actually quite simple. Music conceptually easy equals musical success physically or

Music complicated conceptually equals musical struggle, failure physically. Simple. I say it all the time. If your musical thought process is skewed in any way, any shape, any form, you have no shot of having success with it physically. It's that simple. So I want to make sure that you

that everyone listening thinks of music in the most simplistic and accurate way possible so that you can begin successfully developing your jazz chops. And that is precisely why I stressed all of last year and will continue to stress all of this year, the seven facts of music. These seven facts have

govern the thinking of every successful musician from the beginning of time to the current day. I'm not kidding. From Beethoven, Bach and Mozart to Ellington, Peterson in Korea, and everyone in between. So let's recite these seven facts of music together. Number one, music is the production of sound. The primary sounds of music, of course, being major, dominant, minor,

Dr. Bob Lawrence (05:29.836)
half diminished and diminished. It's also the production of silence. So fact number one, it's the production of sound and silence. Fact number two, sound is produced harmonically and melodically. We have harmonic shapes, we have melodic shapes. Fact number three, when sound is produced harmonically, we're playing chords, or what we often refer to as voicings.

Fact number four, when sound is produced melodically, we are playing arpeggios and or scales. Fact number five, when playing arpeggios and scales, we are moving in one of two direction. Up or down, that's it. In fact, number six, we camouflage intentionally camouflage or decorate those arpeggios and scales with tension or what is oftentimes referred to as chromaticism.

And then finally, fact number seven, to make Musical Facts 136 interesting, we add rhythm, the seven facts of music. I have to admit, it's pretty cool to know these facts and to be able to recite these seven musical facts on a daily basis. So listen to this very carefully. This is very important. Seeing music as the production of harmonic and melodic

shapes that go up and down the piano using arpeggio and scale motion decorated with chromaticism with tension and expressed rhythmically is the key to becoming a musician. Because once you understand that music is the production of harmonic and melodic shapes that go up and down the piano using arpeggio and scale motion decorated with chromaticism tension and expressed rhythmically

you then begin to assemble a practice approach, practice strategies that reflect that actually reflect this understanding this musical truth. And when you understand that music is the production of harmonic and melodic shapes, they go up and down the piano using arpeggio and scale motion decorated with chromaticism, tension and expressed rhythmically. And when you then begin

Dr. Bob Lawrence (07:55.81)
to assemble a practice approach, a practice strategy that reflects this understanding, then and only then you will begin to develop the essential and legitimate musical skills needed to become the accomplished jazz musician that you're wanting to become. Now, until then...

Without this musical understanding, this musical truth, conceptually solidified, you are simply wandering around collecting information. You're collecting jazz information, hoping that something sticks. You're flying on a wing in a prayer. It's not a good plan. I remind students all the time that without

musical truth conceptually understood, then the odds of developing accomplished jazz skills, jazz musicianship, those odds are worse than being struck by lightning or winning the lottery. It's not going to happen. I'm not being hard or not being mean. I just being truthful. So with

With our musical compass in hand, our seven musical facts, we tackle a new tune every month harmonically, melodically, improvisationally, and now interpretationally, which are the four musical camps, the four musical pillars that are entrenched in the seven musical facts. So all of this to say that today we are doing a melodic

analysis. Today, you are going to melodically discover Stars Fell on Alabama. You're going to learn the melody, the phrases, the target notes found within Stars Fell on Alabama. And you're going to play the melody of Stars Fell on Alabama, supported by our voicings from our harmonic study last week, using three standard jazz treatments. So as I always like to say, regardless of where you are in your jazz journey, a beginner,

Dr. Bob Lawrence (10:14.88)
an intermediate player, an advanced player, or even if you are a seasoned and experienced professional. You're gonna find this Jazz Panel Skills Podcast Lesson Exploring Stars fell on Alabama to be very beneficial. But before we get started, I want to, as I always do, welcome all of you first-time listeners to Jazz Panel Skills. If you're new to, new listener, if you're new to the Jazz Panel Skills Podcast, or you're new to Jazz Panel Skills,

I invite you to become a Jazz Panel Skills member. Your membership grants you many perks. Number one, as a member, you receive premium podcast content, which means you get to listen to the entire podcast episode. Now the first half of every episode is free for everyone. I deal with the question of the week, the educational agenda, the lesson rationale. The second half of the podcast for members only, lesson content, demonstrations,

We look at the podcast packets, the illustrations, the lead sheets, the play alongs that I design and develop for every weekly podcast episode. These are invaluable educational tools that you want in your hands when listening to the episode. And of course, you want sitting on your piano or music stand when practicing at home. As a Jazz Piano Skills member, you also have access to the online courses. These are comprehensive.

sound-based, self-paced and sequential courses focusing on harmonic, melodic and improvisation development. As Jazz Panel Skills member, you have a reserved seat in the weekly Masterclass that I host every Thursday evening, 8 p.m. Central Time. Now I know it's not the best time for everyone. However, the Masterclasses are recorded and you can watch the video of the Masterclass at your convenience and as often as you wish.

As a Jazz Panel Skills member, you also have access to the our online private Jazz Piano Skills community, which hosts a variety of forums. There are episode specific forums, general jazz forums, a killer listening list is posted every week as well. It's a great place to receive member feedback and assistance. And finally, as a Jazz Panel Skills member, you have educational support, private, personal and professional support.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (12:36.116)
you know what? All of these amazing privileges are waiting to help you discover, learn and play Jazz Panel. So check it all out at JazzPanelsKills.com. And of course, become a member. If you have any questions, once you get to the site, by all means, feel free to reach out to me. I'm happy to spend some time with you and answer any questions that you may have. I also want to take just a few minutes to encourage everyone to subscribe to the Jazz Panel Skills YouTube channel and begin receiving

the educational videos that I publish on a weekly basis. So it's pretty easy. Just visit the channel, hit the subscribe button, and then the educational content that I release the videos every week, you will be notified and I think you'll find them to be very beneficial for your jazz growth. And again, I'm populating these playlists every week with new videos. So be sure to subscribe so that you don't miss a single one. And finally,

If you are not receiving the Jazz Piano Skills blog that I post every Saturday morning, please take the time to visit Jazz Piano Skills, enter your name and email address there on the email list, and then you're good to go. Every Saturday then you will be notified when I release the blog that summarizes the podcast episode in writing. It's a quick four minute read, definitely worth checking out to help keep you on track conceptually and

physically. Okay, so let's get after this. Question of the Week. It's a great question this week. It comes from Wade Nelson living right here in Dallas, Texas, in the great state of Texas. And Wade writes, I hope my question is not ridiculous or silly. Because I am being very sincere when I ask, how do professional jazz musicians

sound so expressive and relaxed when playing melodies. Honestly, this is my goal. Even more so than improvising is to be able to play melodies expressively. Thanks for taking my questions seriously and providing me with some guidance and hope. Wow. All right, Wade, your question

Dr. Bob Lawrence (15:02.978)
first of all, your question is not ridiculous or silly at all. In fact, I think it's the question. I think it's the question that everyone, if they are serious about learning how to play jazz, thinks about on a daily basis. Now, we may not have the courage to ask the question, but we all think about it all the time, because your question gets right to the heart of it all.

our ability to play a melody with expression and in a relaxed and pleasing manner for you as well as for listeners. So let me begin by saying that

most people believe or assume that expressiveness comes from complexity. Right? Expressiveness comes from complexity, more notes, more harmony, more complex harmony, more technique, more complex technique. This is exactly why 99 % of all YouTube videos

being produced by professional musicians or YouTube teachers focus on developing very advanced skills. Have you ever noticed that? Skills that honestly most people will never develop and quite honestly do not need in order to achieve their musical goals. It's that simple.

The promotion of more notes, more harmony, more technique is simply feeding into the misconception students have regarding the development of expressive jazz skills. So Wade, what I am hearing in your question is that when you listen to great jazz musicians, what often strikes you is how effortless and natural they sound.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (17:14.922)
even when the melody itself is very simple. For example, the melody of our tune of the month stars fell in Alabama. So the real question becomes, I think the real question becomes what are they doing differently from me? Okay, so let me try to answer that.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (17:38.978)
I think professional jazz musicians, well, I know professional jazz musicians don't play melodies as a string of notes.

they just don't. They play them as a series of musical phrases, statements, and do so with intention. They understand where the melody is going. They know which notes matter most inside each phrase, what we call target notes or guide tones. And because they're aware of the underlying harmony, they're able to support the melody with with the voicings.

and enhance it rather than compete with it. Right? That's why they're playing sounds relaxed. It's they're not guessing. They're not they're not reacting. They're responding musically. In other words, expression comes from clarity, not complexity from clarity. And that's why we do every month, we do a harmonic analysis, melodic analysis, improvisation development. Now we're going to be doing solo piano interpretation, all in the effort

to all in an effort and search for clarity, as opposed to complexity. Okay, now all of that sounds wonderful. However, there's something even, even deeper happening that I think we need to talk about.

Professional jazz musicians are almost always aware, and this is so important, are always aware of the story behind the tune, especially when the standard has lyrics, right? The emphasis, so I don't want to, here's another misconception. You hear jazz musicians talk about this or people talk about this all the time, lyrics are so important. Yes, lyrics are so important because

Dr. Bob Lawrence (19:39.222)
you learn the story. You learn the story. It's not that the lyrics that you're trying to retain the lyrics. Jazz musicians are not retaining lyrics. They're retaining the story, right? They know what the song is about. They know the emotional arc of the lyrics, where the tension lives, where the release happens. So when they play the melody, they're not just playing notes. They are telling

A A phrase isn't just a phrase. It's a thought. It's a sentence. It's a moment of emotion. And that's why a melody can sound tender, reflective, hopeful, playful, longing, because the musician is communicating meaning, not a pitch.

a musician is communicating meaning, not a pitch. Now here's the beautiful part. Even when a tune doesn't have lyrics or or when a musician doesn't consciously know the lyrics, great musicians still hear a story. They create one. They imagine a mood, a scene, a conversation, a journey, a question and answer.

And once that story exists internally, they're phrasing changes. They're touch changes, they're time field changes, their use of space changes. Because they're now speaking, they're now telling a story through their instrument. See, and this is why expressive playing feels so elusive to students.

Because if you are thinking about what note comes next, if you're thinking about what scale do I use, if you're thinking about what voicing is correct, I have really bad news for you. You are in survival mode when playing and you do not want to play in survival mode. But when you know the phrases of the melody, if you know where they're heading, you know what notes matter most.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (22:06.018)
what harmony supports the emotion and what story you want to tell, then you relax. Your hands slow down, your sound opens up, and you're playing breathe.

just remember way jazz musicians don't play melodies like math problems. They play them like language. You know, I always tell the story when I was a young boy around 14, 15 years old, 16, somewhere in there. And I sat in on a jam session. And I thought I played pretty good. I played a lot of notes. Right? I mean, I played a lot of notes that night. And I was up and down the piano a lot.

And when I was getting off the bandstand and the house jazz pianist was stepping back onto the bandstand, he grabbed me by my arm and he pulled me towards him and he whispered in my ear, he said, sooner or later, you have to say something.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (23:12.246)
In other words, there was no story. There was no, I was playing math. I was playing math problems. Right? So that's why the melody of a tune like stars fell on Alabama. When played, right, when you know the phrases and the important target notes and you know how to use silence and shape lines like spoken, spoken sentences.

That's why the melody of a tune like Stars on Alabama can feel so personal and expressive, even though the notes themselves are just simple little notes. So Wade, the big takeaway today is this, that expressiveness, that the expressiveness that you're hearing and that you're longing for, that you're wanting to develop in your own playing doesn't come from more notes. It doesn't come from fancier harmony.

It doesn't come from playing faster. It comes from clarity. It comes from intent. It comes from the story and the meaning of the story.

The reality is this when you know what you're wanting to say, you don't need to say much. Great musicians don't play melodies. They tell stories. And once you understand this, it changes how you listen to music. It changes how you practice music, which ultimately then changes how you play music. Wow. I just felt like I just

I feel like I just gave a Sunday homily. A preacher. Wade, I hope this helps. There's a lot to digest for sure, right? So let me know if further clarification is needed. You're asking not only a great question, you're like I stated at the beginning, you're asking the question.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (25:22.858)
And because you're asking the question, I can say with certainty, you are on the right track. You are on the correct path. Keep thinking, keep practicing, you'll succeed. All right, it's time to discover, learn and play jazz piano. Let's discover, learn and play Stars Fell on Alabama. All right. I go through this outline every week because it's very important.

When studying tunes, we have a process. We approach it the same way. Again, genre makes no difference. It doesn't matter whether it's a jazz tune, rock tune, pop tune, country tune, folk tune, R &B makes no difference. We have a process. Number one, we listen. This is why we have a killer listening list every week to check out in our community. Right? And we listen to various artists. Lisa does a great job with this. Various artists, professional,

amateur makes no difference vocalist instrumentalist pianist. If somebody's performing stars fell on Alabama, we want to check it out. Listen, this helps with our storytelling. Number two, we do a harmonic analysis, we check out the form the changes function common movement harmonic movement voicings. After harmonic analysis, melodic analysis, we transcribe the melody to the best of our ability, we learn it by ear.

not from a lead sheet. We poke it out, right, as I like to say, and we then look at those phrases, target notes within those phrases, guide tones. We explore various treatments of playing that melody in a ballad style, a bossa style, swing style. And then we follow that up with the next week, the improvisation development, we look at chord scale relationships.

pedion scale movement, motif development, sound, you know, tension, chromaticism, that kind of stuff to help us with our improv skills. And then, you know, we're going to add week four, our solo piano interpretation. But this is the process that we use to learn tunes. It's thorough. And it's a very, very complete approach. You know, so this month,

Dr. Bob Lawrence (27:43.724)
we've already completed our harmonic analysis last week of Stars Fell on Alabama. Today is our melodic analysis. And then next week, we'll do some improvisation development and a week after that some solo piano talk. So all that to say that today's educational agenda. Number one, we are going to listen to definitive recordings of Stars Fell on Alabama. Number two, we're going to learn or we're going to transcribe the melody.

for Stars Fell in Alabama. Number three, we're going to look at my suggested fingerings. I have a lead sheet of fingerings to help guide you in learning this tune. And then we will, number four, we will identify the melodic phrases found within the melody and critical target notes or guide tones to be aware of. And then five, we will apply the voicings. Our voicings from last week's harmonic analysis are blocked

voicings, our shell voicings, we'll apply those voicings to the melody of Stars Fell on Alabama. And then finally, we will take those voicings in that melody. And we will experiment telling the story of Stars Fell on Alabama as a ballad, as a bossa and as a swing. So if you are a Jazz Piano Skills member, I want you to hit the pause button and take a few minutes right now to access download.

and print your podcast packets, the illustrations, the lead sheets, and the play alongs. And again, your membership grants you access to this material, so be sure to take advantage of it. Okay. I mentioned it every week that you should have these packets in your hands when listening to this episode to get the most out of the podcast episode. And of course, you should have them sitting on your piano when practicing throughout the week as well.

Okay, so now that you have your podcast packets, I want you to grab your lead sheets. We'll talk about the illustrations and the play alongs at the end of the podcast episode. But we start with our lead sheets. And you should have seven lead sheets in your packet. Number one is our Fill in the Blank template that we use to help us transcribe the melody of Stars Fell in Alabama. Number two is our Melodic Lead Sheet. That is our answer key.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (30:05.61)
if you will, that helps us assess how well we did with our transcribing. Lead Sheet 3 has the fingerings that I have notated to help you learn the melody, play it. Number 4, Lead Sheet 4, is the identification of our phrases. Lead Sheet 5 identifies the target notes within those phrases. Lead Sheet 6, our left hand block voicings are now played with the melody.

And then lead sheet seven, our left hand shell voicings are played with the melody of Stars Fell on Alabama. What a great packet. We're going to walk through all of those lead sheets here shortly. So grab lead sheet one, always a good place to start. And let's take a look at how we are going to approach transcribing the melody of Stars Fell on Alabama.

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