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Jonathon likes:
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Jonathon likes:
… and he writes about those things here. |
22 Responses to “About”
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The YouTube snowflakes (bottom bar) improve this video of a lullaby I wrote for my wife: http://t.co/VRgylQQlMy wife cannot be in a bad mood when the Dr. Horrible soundtrack is on. #secretweaponTons of fun last night looping over sampled funk drum grooves with my FCB-1010. #playingforthefunofit
10. May 2008 at 17:19
Thanks so much for the riff and tutorials!
Much appreciated. Keep them coming please – I’ve just joined a funk band and need all the help I can get :)
( http://www.myspace.com/drjonesuk )
I’m not the keyboard player on these tracks – he left and I replaced him. He was a legend. I am not..
Cheers
Gav
(Scotland)
11. May 2008 at 08:40
Hey Gav,
Thanks for the comment. That Dr. Jones stuff is cool! There will be another funk series coming soon… (I just need to find a free weekend to film it)
13. May 2008 at 00:02
Hi Jonathan,
Thanks for the blues licks. It’s nice to have some more vocabulary. They are rooted throughout many styles. You can even hear the great Oscar Peterson playing them.
I saw a previous posting of someone asking for a transposed version of them. I can do it by the numbers, but it could be rather tedious. Is there another technical way of doing it? I am not too savvy with the tech stuff. Ultimately my ear will guide me, but we often learn visually too.
thanks for the time,
Stephen Page
http://www.stephencpage.com
13. May 2008 at 07:19
Stephen,
Nice playing! I really like the voice-leading in your comping hand on Alone Together. Very tasty. Do you listen to much Bill Evans?
Oscar is one of my faves, along with the lesser known Gene Harris. It’s pretty easy for me to do a simple ‘transpose all’ for the blues licks. Just tell me what key you want them in and I can send you a PDF.
13. May 2008 at 17:38
Hey again Jonathon,
Thanks for the transpositions. I don’t know if this is the best way to reach you or not.
I replied to your other email you sent me. You can check out my response there.
Taker easy,
-Stephen
13. May 2008 at 20:37
Transpositions of the blues licks are available now on the site at http://www.groovewindow.com/2008/05/13/transposed-blues-licks-and-an-h4-piano-demo/
I didn’t do the really outside keys, but I certainly can if you really want ‘em… Word of warning — I didn’t look too closely at these, and there may be printing anomolies…
19. May 2008 at 22:41
I’ve been playing drums for about ten years, and always wanted to take up piano. Your tutorials are by far the most comprehensive instruction I’ve found and have really motivated me to start playing. I really appreciate it. Also, fantastic playing, do you have a cd?
- Charlie
20. May 2008 at 06:57
Thanks, Charlie!
To be honest, I only do this in my spare time. I’m a computer programmer by day, and just squeeze these in when I can find the time to film them. I’m afraid that also means that I don’t have any CDs or DVDs — just free online videos :)
21. September 2008 at 07:16
Hi there Jonathon,
I thought I’d let you know that your videos also made it to France. I’m in Paris, trying (very hard) to play the Funk Groove and loving it. Thank you so much for putting these together. You should definitely consider recording a DVD – I’d be sure to buy one copy. And let me know if you need translations into French :)
Thanks again – and please post more!!!
21. September 2008 at 10:45
Cool! I continue to be amazed by the number of comments and visitors I get from other parts of the world. That’s awesome!
I just may take you up on the translaton tip! It’s been many years since I studied French in high school… :)
21. September 2008 at 15:28
Yeah I’d be happy to contribute. Hey, I’ve been wondering: where did you learn all of this? I mean did you study jazz harmonies etc etc? Or do you just play by ear?
21. September 2008 at 16:14
Well, I grew up playing. I started normal old classical piano when I was 4, but I got a little bored with it around 10, until my mom (a piano teacher as well) taught me the blues scale. From there, I kept up my classical studies all the way through college, but I didn’t ever practice as much as I should have… I kept wasting my time on the blues/jazz side. Mostly started by picking up pop tunes (“Jump” by Van Halen and “Axel F” from the Miami Vice soundtrack stick out) from the radio and showing off to the girls at school :) I continued learning jazz, playing with the jazz bands all the way through college, and getting to play with some really great people at festivals, etc. I also wrote quite a bit and learned a good chunk of both classical and jazz theory and harmonies through college and my own studying. I played in bar bands after college until I got married and found a real job ;) — From there, it’s just been a continual process of wanting to play something… and figuring out how… and then figuring out “why” it sounds the way it does. Always keep learning… you’re never done!
22. September 2008 at 02:26
Ok now I get it… :) Well… thanks for taking the time to teach this to us.
Your tutorials are great for several reasons:
1) They are easy to understand
2) Having the notes/score really helps
3) But most importantly they are the only (good) funk tutorials I have seen so far… Most tutorials are either 100% about blues (like super old school) or 100% jazzy and thus waaay to difficult for me. I love your funk groove because it sits somewhere in the middle: Easy enough to play (like many blues tutorials) but it sounds very cool because of the more advanced jazzy harmonies and crazy rythm…
Anyway – thanks – I’ve spent 3 hours on the funk groove last night. Almost getting there. My wife is going nuts but my 2 year old son seems to love it :)
31. May 2009 at 04:35
Hi Jonathon, I’m Italian then excuse me for my bad english…
I have a question… I’m studing Jazz but I want to learn how to play funk then there is a method that you recommend for start?
Thanks a lot for your web lesson!!
Bye!!
16. June 2009 at 16:48
Hi Jonathon!!!
First I need to say that I really like all of your lessons, but since I am trying to play this “Funk Piano Thing” with this Chameleon Bassline, I am totally stuck by comping the bassline and the simple right hand…
so for that reason could you please please please post another video where you show the right and left hand comp much slowlier than in your comping video….
I really would appreciate that!!!
take care
28. January 2010 at 20:37
Jonathan,
I must preface this is by saying that I wrote the note below BEFORE I found your website so now I know that you are the same guy on those tasty must have blues piano licks. Excellent!!!
Are you the guy that plays piano on the 30 must have Blues Piano Licks? I love this style that you are playing (funk, jazz) but wonder if you do other styles equally well. Do you do any gospel piano? Do you play organ at all or mainly piano. One other question is if you have a midi keyboard and would be willing to play a couple of these funk/jazz tunes on it and send a midi file of it to me – even for a fee?
Thanks in advance for any help you may be able to give.
Dave Wasmundt
2. February 2010 at 00:21
howdy. drop me an email if you are interested in playing out w/a group, etc… or even.. (gasp!) making some coin on your most excellent lessons, etc..
19. February 2010 at 07:12
hi, jonathon,
thank you very much for your work!
appreciate this very much!!!
(came by cause of a friends/students hint and we’ve already spent some time working on your lessons …);
if you someday plan to visit vienna/austria please give me a call or send me a mail in advance …
with kind regards
andreas plank
http://www.andreasplank.com
3. October 2011 at 06:57
Hi Jonathan,
Was curious, what did you use to create the music score showing your licks in your video above the keyboard?
Dave Roberts
3. October 2011 at 08:43
Hey Robert (@zenon4) – I use scoring program called “Lilypond” to generate my music. For the videos, I make a special score which has all of the music on a single line. I export this as a graphic, and then overlay it manually during video editing (which I do in a program called “Blender”). Hope this helps…
2. January 2012 at 18:54
Hello Jonathan,
I’ve been playing the piano for many years–originally started with classical music and found my way out. Now, I compose music of various styles. I’ve been searching for teachers of the New Orleans blues style, but unfortunately haven’t found any in the greater NYC area.
Do you know of any people who can teach this style?
I understand that many are performers and not teachers. But I can learn fast. I will travel around the United States if I have to, to learn this style, since it is my passion.
(I can’t learn through videos)
Thank You and Happy New Year,
Matthew
27. January 2012 at 04:58
Hi Jonathan,
I have just begun improvising and started a blog about it.
You may want to check it out at
http://improvisingpiano.blogspot.com/
Keep up the good work! Andreas