Poseur to Composer

The 2-5-1 chords I laboured over like algebra yesterday don't harmonize nicely. That's the acid test. Do the chords actually sound good? Perhaps I should experiment by inverting them into rootless chord voicings. It's a practice exercise for another day.

Another alternative for left-hand comping are shells (or shell voicings). They are simple two note chords comprised of the root and the 3rd or 7th of the chord. My first exposure to them were in Learn to Play Piano in Six Weeks or Less and was reminded of them in Peter Martin's emailer this morning (recommended!). Thing is I don't particularly like shell voicings. They sound too minimalist. They are good for right hands that have a lot of interesting things to say, but mine don't yet. I'd rather comp with lush Bill Evans-esque chords.

As an aside, I saw the Miles Davis documentary film last night. I enjoyed it, but there were no new insights for me... except one regarding the award-winning, fast selling experimental Bitches Brew. Apparently, Miles was surprised at the wild success of the album, and when he received his first royalty check from its sales he said it felt dishonest to take the money. I'm under the impression Miles didn't think much of Bitches Brew.

I don't think much of the album either, but at least it escapes the sameness of most Jazz out there.

Meditation Time bookstanding today: 0 minutes... I'll be back on track tomorrow. Quality of meditation (out of 10): 0

Practice Minutes on the keyboard today (out of 40): 3 minutes Quality of practice (out of 10): 5 (rounded up)

Thinking aloud here...

I'm trying to apply the 2-5-1 chord progression to the Cm Pentatonic Blues scale (the notes are the exact same as Peter shows in his informative video How to Play Jazz With One Easy Scale). I want to use the 2-5-1 chords for left hand comping instead of the chords Peter Martin uses. As I said yesterday, the chords Peter makes with his left hand are too much of a stretch for my hands.

The notes of the Cm Pentatonic Blues scale are C (root), Eb (minor third), F (fourth), F# (flattened fifth), G (fifth), Bb (dominant seventh) and C (root). Peter says to add in a major 3rd. That would be E. So the revised "secret version" is C, Eb, E, F, F#, G, Bb and C.

Back to the 2-5-1 chord progression. The 2 of the 2-5-1 is the second note of the secret version (and the first chord of the chord progression – a Minor Seventh chord). In this case it's Fb or E because Fb and E are the same. With that second note I'm to make a Minor Seventh chord. The formula for the a Minor Seventh chord is 1 (root) – b3 – 5 – b7.

The first chord of the 2-5-1 chord progression is Eb, E, G, Cb. Amirite?

The 5 of 2-5-1 is the fifth note of the secret version Pentatonic Blues scale in Cm: F#. This chord is a Dominant Seventh and the formula is 1- 3 – 5 – b7. So the second chord of the 2-5-1 chord progression is F#, Bb, Eb, Fb.

The 1 in the 2-5-1 is, you guessed it, the first note of the scale: C. We make a Major Seventh chord out of that C, so the third chord is C, E, F#, Bb.

That's all I have time to figure out today. Hope it's not just psychobabble and I've lost my marbles like John Nash of A Beautiful Mind.

Meditation Time bookstanding today: 0 minutes... yes, again Quality of meditation (out of 10): 0

Practice Minutes on the keyboard today (out of 40): 10 minutes Quality of practice (out of 10): 3... Totally consumed by this 2-5-1 thing

Jazz master Peter Martin's left-hand comping has opened up a pandora box of rabbit holes.

First, his left-hand "voicings" – I'm not 100 percent confident I'm using the term correctly here – require tenth interval hand stretches. My hands, while not small by most definitions, cannot play these chords. I need alternatives. The book Adaptive Strategies for Small-Handed Pianists should help.

Also, I don't know the name of the chords he's playing. Are they rootless 2-5-1 chord progressions (a technique I've had some exposure to) or something else?

I'll look into that tomorrow.

Meditation Time bookstanding today: 0 minutes Quality of meditation (out of 10): 0

Practice Minutes on the keyboard today (out of 40): 20 minutes Quality of practice (out of 10): 4