F Blues Performance & Breakdown
In this lesson Robert gives a demonstration and performance of the jazz blues in F. We incorporate all of the theory and material covered in the prior lessons in this course and we analyse each aspect of the performance.
Drawbar Registrations & Organ Settings
We start the performance with the ‘Jimmy Smith’ registration on the upper manual. Later in the performance we switch off the percussion circuit to access the ‘Groove Holmes’ sound and we also incorporate the fast Leslie setting as the energy builds in our solo.
Blues Licks & Riffs
Robert demonstrates a variety of blues licks and how they can be applied during performance. We start with a blues lick in the final 2 bars of the head which acts as a springboard into our solo.
We also explore licks where we repeat the same phrase for multiple measures or even through the whole form. This is a common device in blues improvisation and is an effective way to build and release tension.
Leaving Space In Our Solos
It’s important to leave space in our solo to give our audience time to digest our melodic ideas and phrases. We can break up long sections of improvised melody with short sections of comping voicings. This is particularly effective during the turnaround in the last 2 bars of the form.
Lesson Downloads
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Performance Notation: Licks & Riffs File Type: pdf
Related Lessons
In this 5 minute masterclass Tuomo demonstrates 3 common blues lines that can be played over a 251 cadence in the key of F.
We explore Wynton Kelly’s bluesy yet modern approach with his solo on ‘Pfrancing’ from the Miles Davis album ‘Someday My Prince Will Come’.
You can use the specific bassline demonstrated for playing solo piano, learning different blues heads, and for practising improvised solos.
Practice Tips
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When playing the head multiple times, experiment with different voicings to add interest to the repeated sections of the performance.
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Practice switching between drawbar registrations during your performance to build a sense of progression and climax in your solos.
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Analyse Robert's use of blues licks and how this material is balanced with tones from outside the F blues scale.
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Experiment with repeating blues licks to build tension and then release it as your solo moves into a new melodic direction.
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Build tension with chord stabs outlining the underlying harmony. We can add alterations to our voicings to add colour and dissonance.
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Transcribe material from your favourite jazz organ recordings and incorporate this material into your solos and improvisations.
Thanks so much for this course. I’ve always played piano but recently bought a Yamaha YC88 that has really exciting organ sounds which I’m trying to explore and incorporate into my playlist. I practice the walking bass every day and can fairly-competently manage the organ solo PDF at about 105 BPM. You’re playing here at 200. Whew!
Hi, I’m having some trouble matching the correct time markers for the ‘F Blues Improvising Lesson: Opening Demo’ NOTATION with your video performance ? if you can help please that I’d be really grateful
Hi Niall,
Yes the “improvisation opening demo” performance can be found at the start of this lesson: https://www.pianogroove.com/blues-piano-lessons/hammond-improvisation-soloing/ and the related PDF download is called “Improvised Solo Transcription”.
Please let me know if I can help further.
Cheers,
Hayden