My Romance Tutorial – Left Hand Voicings Study
My Romance is a popular jazz standard originally written in the key of C major. The tune is also often performed in the key Bb Major and you can find both of these versions in the Real Book.
My Romance follows a 32 measure A-B-A-C form and the tonality is primarily major. The tune can be played as both a ballad and at a medium swing tempo.
We’re going to start off by running through the form with left hand voicings which are suited to faster tempo arrangements or if you are playing in a band. We’ll then revisit the changes and add in some bigger two handed voicings that are suited to solo ballad performance.
I’m going to break down the steps I go through to create a full arrangement and also give guidance on how to create tune-specific introductions.
Related Lessons
In this lesson we are going to look at some alternative ways to voice minor 251s with our left hand. We introduce the -11b5 chord and its inversions.
251 progressions are essential components of the jazz language and so taking the time to memorise them will greatly benefit your playing.
Minor harmony is much more complex than major harmony and so the minor 251 progression takes much more time and patience to master.
Practice Tips
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If you are not yet comfortable with left hand voicings, check out the related lessons.
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By playing through a tune with left hand voicings, you will get a good grasp of the melody and harmony which will prepare you to explore 2 handed voicings.
Thanks for the lesson, Hayden. Would it be possible to have the transcription published at the same time as the lesson? This would save lots of time using the lead sheet and trying to append voicing and the subtle moves that you cover.
Many thanks for the effort that you put into the lessons.
Hi Brian, thanks for the message. Yes I would love to be able to publish both together. I have a first draft that I will send to you now. The problem is the time it takes to turn this draft into fully accurate notation. The notes and voicings are there, but the rhythm and timing takes a lot of fiddling around. I’ll email it to you now and get the finished version online ASAP.
I completely agree that publishing both in tandem would be ideal…. Leave it with me and I’ll try to find a system that allows me to do this. Cheers, Hayden
would you mind doing some bossa stuff
Hi Karren, `yes absolutely. There will be an ‘Intro To Bossa Nova’ lesson and also bossa nova jazz standard tutorials. Cheers, Hayden
Thanks but the million questions is when ..anyways hope it will be soon
I’m currently working through a list of lesson requests and should have a bossa tutorial complete in the next few weeks. Leave it with me Karren 🙂
Its just a suggestion hope you dont mind it sinced ure the one whos in control to whatever lessons you want to ..thanks
Not at all… I’m keen to deliver the topics that members are interested in so suggesstions are always welcome. Cheers, Hayden 🙂
Hi Brian, the lesson transcription is finished, you can find it on the Transcriptions page and also here’s a direct link: http://www.pianogroove.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/My-Romance.pdf Cheers, Hayden