Dr John – “Such A Night” Tutorial
In this lesson we will use the tune “Such A Night” to explore the playing style of Dr John. We will examine Dr John’s voicing techniques, bass lines, blues licks, turnarounds, and his signature endings.
2-Beat Feel & Anticipation
Dr John plays the tune “Such A Night” with a 2-beat feel and often anticipates the chord changes on the up-beat. This anticipation is similar to the style of James Booker that we covered in the earlier lessons of this course.
In addition to the chord anticipation, the end of each 2 bar phrase is embellished with a lead-in to the start of the next phrase. This is usually an embellishment in the left hand bass line.
The Form & Solo Section
Josh breaks down the form of the tune and some right hand voicings commonly used by Dr John. We then explore the improvised solo section which revolves around a vamp between F7 and Gb7 and extensive use of the F blues scale to create the improvised solo.
The improvised section is then followed by a cycle of 4ths which takes us back to F7 to start the final section A section of the tune.
Dr John Piano Licks
We explore a number of characteristic licks used by Dr John including the “Barber Pole Lick” which is aptly named after the spinning barber pole which appears to spin downwards indefinitely.
The Barber Pole Lick creates a cyclical ‘never-ending’ lick through clever manipulation of the inner voices in the turnaround phrase.
Dr John used this device extensively at the end of his performances.
Lesson Downloads
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The Barber Pole Lick File Type: pdf
Related Lessons
In this lesson Jon explores on the turnaround chord progression found at the end of the blues form and shows us ways ...
Jon demonstrates some signature right hand licks and phrases when playing the 12 bar blues. We discuss the theory and...
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Practice Tips
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Pay attention to the subtle left hand bass line embellishments which are used to add emphasis to the up-beat and propel the music forwards.
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Study the blues licks demonstrated by Josh in the solo section and apply these over the 2 chord vamp of F7 to Gb7.
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Learn "The Barber Pole Lick" in the key of F and then transpose to a few different keys. To use in the common 'blues keys' transpose to the keys of C and G.
I absolutely love this lesson. One of my favourite songs and Dr John was my favourite pianist. Always wanted to be able to play this song and the great piano parts although had no idea what he was playing and it sounded too complex, but with a lot of rewatching and repetition I’m getting there with it. The solo section and the barber pole lick are a lot of fun to play.
Hi Dean,
Thanks for your comment.
Yes you’re exactly right with “lots of repetition”. The chord voicing shapes and melodic contours of New Orleans blues can be quite challenging at first; slow practice, repetition, and patience is the key!
Really glad to hear you’re enjoying these lessons.
Talk soon, cheers,
Hayden
I agree with Dean – this is a fantastic lesson which really dives deep into how to play Such a Night! Also I’ve never come across the barber pole lick which is super cool although some of those tenths can be a stretch!
Hayden – special request to get Josh Paxton back for another tutorial?! Maybe he could teach ‘Qualified’ by Dr John (based on ‘Pinetop Boogie’ or ‘Classified’ by James Booker)?
Thanks,
Rich.
Hi Rich,
Thanks for the comment. I agree it’s an awesome lesson and a great tune to work on. Jon Cleary also covered it in this live seminar: pianogroove.com/live-seminars/new-orleans-piano-masterclass/ (see from around 18 minutes in)
I’m also a fan of the barber pole lick although I haven’t found the time to study and internalise it yet. Likewise most of the 10th intervals are a stretch for me… Josh has huge hands and makes it look easy! :–)
Yes I think it’s a great idea to create some more lessons with Josh – I’m sure he’d be interested. You’re probably aware that I’m a big fan of New Orleans Piano and I’d love to get some more courses on the site.
I think some live seminars with Josh would also be great. I’d like to do a trip to New Orleans and I can coordinate a live stream with Josh where the students can submit song requests to cover etc…
I will keep you posted with updates.
Cheers,
Hayden
That sounds great Hayden and thank you for replying! I hope to finally get to New Orleans myself in 2026. Exciting times ahead!