“Body & Soul” Full Walk Through
Welcome to the final lesson in our module on the jazz standard “Body & Soul” for beginners. In this concluding session, we bring together everything we’ve learned, playing through the entire song while discussing key insights into how to approach the tune as both a performer and arranger.
Playing Through the Entire Song
This lesson begins with a full play through of “Body & Soul”. As we progress through the piece, Hayden shares his thought process on the chord progressions, transitions between sections, and the overall structure of the tune.
This will help you understand how to think about the music from the perspective of a jazz pianist and not simply in terms of the notes on the page.
Chord Voicings & Modulations
As we move through the tune, several important concepts are emphasised:
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Voicing Choices: How the melody and underlying harmony often dictate the type of voicings we can use.
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Chord Progressions: Special focus on the 2-5-1 progressions, which are essential in jazz harmony, and how to navigate them smoothly.
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Handling Modulations: The tune’s modulations from Db major to D major and then to C major present unique challenges. We discuss how to make these modulations sound seamless and natural.
Reflecting On Your Jazz Piano Journey
In the 2nd part of the lesson, we delve into how to view jazz standards like “Body and Soul” as part of your broader jazz piano education. We discuss how our jazz standard arrangements should be seen as fluid, evolving works. The arrangement you learn today will grow and change as you progress in your studies, incorporating more advanced techniques and theory over time.
Demonstrating Advanced Techniques
We briefly touch upon some advanced arranging techniques covered in our “Elegant Stride Piano” course which focuses on “Body & Soul”. This sneak peek into more sophisticated voicings and stride techniques shows how the foundational skills you’re developing now will pave the way for more complex and expressive playing in the future.
By the end of this lesson, you’ll not only have the tools to play “Body and Soul” confidently but also the mindset to continue evolving your interpretation of this classic jazz standard as you advance in your jazz piano journey.
Related Lessons
A course dedicated to elegant stride for jazz ballads. We use the harmonically rich tune “Body & Soul” to explore stride, melodic embellishment, fills, runs, and improvisation.
Lead sheets are a useful tool when starting out with jazz, but by learning tunes by memory, it will benefit your playing in a number of ways.
Extended chords create a richer and more complex sound than triads and 7th chords and are used to create more interesting progressions.
Practice Tips
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Focus on Continuity: When playing through the entire piece, prioritise keeping the flow of the music, even if you make small mistakes, don't stop playing.
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Master the Modulations: Pay particular attention to the song's key changes. Practice transitioning smoothly from Db major, to D major, and C major to ensure a seamless performance.
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Reinforce 2-5-1 Progressions: These progressions are central to the song’s structure. Work on voicing them in different registers to add variety and depth to your playing.
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Evolution: Remember that our interpretation of "Body & Soul" should evolve over time. As you learn more advanced techniques, revisit the song and apply new concepts to continually enhance your arrangement.
I am really loving this course and your beautiful arrangement…keep up the good work 🙂
Thanks Michael – I’m really happy to hear your feedback.
If you’re ready to take this tune to the next level, check out the course “Body & Soul – Elegant Stride Piano” which you can find here:
https://www.pianogroove.com/jazz-piano-lessons/elegant-stride-improvisation/
This is more advanced and it’s everything I know from playing this tune for many years, so don’t be put off if you find the concepts challenging to start with.
The nice thing is that we can always ‘fall back’ to this simple arrangement which still sounds truly beautiful – particularly with melodic embellishment to add a little more character to the melody.
Likewise keep up the great work and talk soon! 🙂
Best,
Hayden