1 1 00:00:00,210 --> 00:00:01,540 Ballad style. 2 2 00:00:01,540 --> 00:00:02,420 Getting the feel of it. 3 3 00:00:03,490 --> 00:00:07,890 Believe it or not, the easiest way to learn ballad style is to improvise first 4 4 00:00:07,890 --> 00:00:09,410 before you learn actual songs. 5 5 00:00:10,500 --> 00:00:14,700 You learn actual songs, you have to memorize exact notes. 6 6 00:00:14,700 --> 00:00:16,780 When you improvise, you got a bit more leeway. 7 7 00:00:16,780 --> 00:00:18,080 You can experiment. 8 8 00:00:18,080 --> 00:00:21,120 So we're going to approach ballad style with a certain process. 9 9 00:00:21,120 --> 00:00:25,419 First, we're going to learn a simple left hand pattern, it can be applied to any 10 10 00:00:25,419 --> 00:00:29,467 chord, and then we're going to put this pattern into sequence of chords and 11 11 00:00:29,467 --> 00:00:33,540 then we're going to learn how to play improvised melody lines over the top. 12 12 00:00:35,600 --> 00:00:36,600 So let's get started. 13 13 00:00:36,600 --> 00:00:38,770 Exercise one, getting the feel of it. 14 14 00:00:38,770 --> 00:00:41,870 Learning the basic simple left hand pattern. 15 15 00:00:42,910 --> 00:00:43,850 Let's start with C. 16 16 00:00:45,470 --> 00:00:47,930 So you're used to playing chords with the right hand. 17 17 00:00:47,930 --> 00:00:51,370 We're going to change this around now, we're going to the left hand. 18 18 00:00:51,370 --> 00:00:53,530 One octave down from middle C, find C chord. 19 19 00:00:53,530 --> 00:00:58,180 You're to leave out the third, so first and fifth. 20 20 00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:01,420 Put your second finger on the fifth, 21 21 00:01:01,420 --> 00:01:04,440 and go up one octave to the root of the note again. 22 22 00:01:04,440 --> 00:01:07,017 So Root, fifth, root. 23 23 00:01:07,017 --> 00:01:07,758 That's an octave. 24 24 00:01:07,758 --> 00:01:10,040 Two Cs with a fifth in the middle. 25 25 00:01:10,040 --> 00:01:14,638 We're taking out the third. 26 26 00:01:14,638 --> 00:01:17,015 Play that twice. 27 27 00:01:17,015 --> 00:01:22,360 Move everything down, so you're going from C down to A minor, leaving out the third. 28 28 00:01:22,360 --> 00:01:25,587 Root, fifth, back to the first again. 29 29 00:01:25,587 --> 00:01:31,235 [SOUND] And everything down to F. 30 30 00:01:31,235 --> 00:01:37,256 So first, fifth, leave out the third, back to the first again. 31 31 00:01:37,256 --> 00:01:38,928 [SOUND] And everything up one to G. 32 32 00:01:38,928 --> 00:01:43,743 [SOUND] Okay, now on the next page you can see what that 33 33 00:01:43,743 --> 00:01:48,681 looks like musical notation so look at the first bar. 34 34 00:01:48,681 --> 00:01:53,247 You're going to hold the pedal down over each bar, then lift it and put it back for 35 35 00:01:53,247 --> 00:01:57,628 the next bar, then lift it and put it back again so you'll get a nice sustain. 36 36 00:01:57,628 --> 00:01:58,927 So without the pedal. [MUSIC] 37 37 00:01:58,927 --> 00:02:01,751 It's quite dead. 38 38 00:02:01,751 --> 00:02:02,306 With the pedal. 39 39 00:02:02,306 --> 00:02:04,927 [MUSIC] 40 40 00:02:04,927 --> 00:02:08,659 Okay, so one and two and 41 41 00:02:08,659 --> 00:02:13,698 three and four and one and two and 42 42 00:02:13,698 --> 00:02:17,808 three and four, A minor. 43 43 00:02:17,808 --> 00:02:21,882 It seems a bit empty now but you're going to add melody in the right hand. 44 44 00:02:21,882 --> 00:02:25,214 Okay, you have the left hand, what about the right hand? 45 45 00:02:25,214 --> 00:02:27,832 Now, you're going to learn the easiest and 46 46 00:02:27,832 --> 00:02:31,461 most useful skill from all the five note pentatonic skills. 47 47 00:02:31,461 --> 00:02:33,340 This scale's been around for a long time. 48 48 00:02:33,340 --> 00:02:36,855 It sounds great over a wide variety of chord changes, but 49 49 00:02:36,855 --> 00:02:38,842 it has to be in the relevant key. 50 50 00:02:38,842 --> 00:02:42,025 If you learn the particular scale for the relevant key, and 51 51 00:02:42,025 --> 00:02:45,540 then that scale will work over various chord changes in that key. 52 52 00:02:47,270 --> 00:02:49,308 Construction is simple, and 53 53 00:02:49,308 --> 00:02:53,311 I've put some markers on the piano to make it even easier. 54 54 00:02:53,311 --> 00:02:55,220 You can try that yourself. 55 55 00:02:55,220 --> 00:03:00,410 So in C, you're going to play the first, second, 56 56 00:03:00,410 --> 00:03:04,890 third, fifth and sixth of the major scale. 57 57 00:03:04,890 --> 00:03:07,370 You're leaving out the fourth and the seventh. 58 58 00:03:08,650 --> 00:03:10,035 Okay. So you just play. 59 59 00:03:10,035 --> 00:03:16,563 [SOUND] That's over two octaves. 60 60 00:03:16,563 --> 00:03:18,992 So, in the following page, exercise three, 61 61 00:03:18,992 --> 00:03:23,250 you're going to play the same left hand chord changes as you've played before. 62 62 00:03:23,250 --> 00:03:27,340 But this time, you're going to play any notes of the C pentatonic scale 63 63 00:03:27,340 --> 00:03:30,190 in the second half of each bar. 64 64 00:03:30,190 --> 00:03:34,422 So the reason for that is you keep both hands separate that means you're not 65 65 00:03:34,422 --> 00:03:38,451 having to think too much, and what you're going to also do is to give you 66 66 00:03:38,451 --> 00:03:41,744 more time to experiment with the right hand, you only have 67 67 00:03:41,744 --> 00:03:45,810 to play each chord change once but hold it for two bars so instead of going 68 68 00:03:45,810 --> 00:03:46,974 [MUSIC] 69 69 00:03:46,974 --> 00:03:48,346 And three and four and. 70 70 00:03:48,346 --> 00:03:49,717 [MUSIC] 71 71 00:03:49,717 --> 00:03:51,210 And three and and four and. 72 72 00:03:51,210 --> 00:03:52,720 You can just play over two bars. 73 73 00:03:52,720 --> 00:03:57,682 We just play one and two and three and four and one and 74 74 00:03:57,682 --> 00:04:00,806 two and three and four and so on. 75 75 00:04:00,806 --> 00:04:03,600 And that gives you more time to experiment with the right hand. 76 76 00:04:03,600 --> 00:04:06,030 So let's try it. 77 77 00:04:06,030 --> 00:04:11,065 Start with the left hand, and then you're going to add in some melody notes there. 78 78 00:04:11,065 --> 00:04:15,007 Okay so you don't add it in while you're playing the left hand. 79 79 00:04:15,007 --> 00:04:21,213 [MUSIC] 80 80 00:04:21,213 --> 00:04:27,322 Okay, you can see 81 81 00:04:27,322 --> 00:04:33,432 I was just playing 82 82 00:04:33,432 --> 00:04:39,550 anything there. 83 83 00:04:39,550 --> 00:04:40,954 I wasn't trying to structure it in any way just to show you 84 84 00:04:40,954 --> 00:04:42,580 that no matter what you play, it'll feel some reasonably okay. 85 85 00:04:47,780 --> 00:04:50,671 And I was playing it just with one finger so you can see it clearly. 86 86 00:04:50,671 --> 00:04:56,086 [MUSIC] 87 87 00:04:56,086 --> 00:04:59,517 Okay? But you can also just start using 88 88 00:04:59,517 --> 00:05:03,346 different fingers to make the patterns. 89 89 00:05:03,346 --> 00:05:04,256 There's various ways to do this. 90 90 00:05:04,256 --> 00:05:06,380 You can add the C groups. 91 91 00:05:06,380 --> 00:05:14,005 So. [MUSIC] 92 92 00:05:14,005 --> 00:05:16,972 Okay or you can just branch up if you want. 93 93 00:05:16,972 --> 00:05:19,349 You can see that you can move up your thumb, 94 94 00:05:19,349 --> 00:05:21,543 cuz you're going to move up the piano. 95 95 00:05:21,543 --> 00:05:23,595 [MUSIC] 96 96 00:05:23,595 --> 00:05:24,418 Okay. 97 97 00:05:24,418 --> 00:05:27,838 So give that a try and just keep experimenting. 98 98 00:05:27,838 --> 00:05:30,597 Just even just stick with just the C for now. 99 99 00:05:30,597 --> 00:05:31,883 You don't even have to do the chord change. 100 100 00:05:31,883 --> 00:05:32,383 So just. 101 101 00:05:32,383 --> 00:05:43,054 [MUSIC] 102 102 00:05:43,054 --> 00:05:43,554 Okay and have fun.