Cry Me A River Part 2
In part 1 we covered the first 2 A sections of the tune and now we are going to study the bridge and the final A section. We start by applying a stride style in the left hand with some bluesy licks in the right hand.
The bridge is more challenging harmonically and offers a nice contrast to the first half of the tune. We continue with the stride style and increase the complexity of the chords that we chose to play.
There is an interesting example of quartal pentatonic voicings in the bridge over the Eb Major chord which build a sense of climax into the final A section.
The last 8 bars feature more minor blues vocabulary and we use block chords and a #11 voicing to bring to tune to a close.
Related Lessons
In this lesson I explain what drop 2 voicings are, how to construct them and how to practice drop 2 so that you are familiar with them in all 12 keys.
Passing chords are temporary stepping stones between chords, adding variety and making your playing sound more interesting & dynamic.
Block chords are used for harmonising a melody line by moving the notes of the chord in parallel, following the same rhythm as the melody.
Practice Tips
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It's important to accentuate the inner voice movement in the A Section, this is a characteristic feature of the tune.
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Stick within the notes of the minor blues scale and the minor pentatonic scale for melodic fills.
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Avoid the major blues scale - it clashes with the underlying minor harmony.
- Strive to play the tremolos phrases as evenly as possible. It's a good exercise to practice this quietly and then slowly increasing the volume and then back down. This will help you gain more control over the dynamics.
