“I Didn’t Know What Time It Was” Tutorial
Welcome to this jazz standard tutorial on tune “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was”. This is a somewhat unusual tune due to a number of reasons:
Firstly we are following an A1-A2-B-A2 form but we have a 4 bar extension at the end which makes the form 36 bars long. Jazz standards most commonly follow a 32 bar form and so it’s important not to forget about those additional 4 bars – particularly if you are playing the tune with other musicians!
The only other tune that we’ve covered on PianoGroove that has a 4 bar extension is “The Nearness Of You” which I’ve referenced below in the Related Lessons. It’s a good idea to group tunes together by their similarities – particularly as your repertoire expands.
Another unusual feature of the tune is the ambiguous tonality. The tune wanders through G Major and E Minor without ever firmly establishing and sticking to a key center. Finally, the tune ends on a complete 251 in G major to bring the song to a close.
Creating an Interesting Arrangement
We start by playing through with some simple voicings outlining the roots, 3rds and 7ths with the melody on top. We’ll then add in extensions, alterations and embellishments to add interest to the repetitive chord changes.
The A section repeats 3 times, and so being able to arrange those 8 bars in a number of different ways will help you create a more versatile and interesting arrangement.
We start by with an abstract melody, similar to Barry Harris’ introduction to the tune in his arrangement. Then we explore inner voice movement fo the 2nd A section. Finally, we utilise the higher registers of the keyboard for the final A section.
Related Lessons
We start with simple two-handed voicings and then create interest by adding in upper structure triads, block chords & chord substitutions.
We start the lesson by recapping the basic theory behind sus chords and then explore them in context of major and minor 251s
Tritone Substitution is a useful reharmonisation technique that can be used to add harmonic interest and variety to a chord progression.
Practice Tips
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In creating this arrangement, I’ve drawn influence from a number of records posted in this PianoGroove forum thread. The Barry Harris recording was of particular significance.
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Remember that listening is essential for your development as a jazz piano player.
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Make sure you’re spending adequate time to listen to jazz... both live and off records. It will do wonders for your playing in the longer terms!
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If you have a few favourite records, artists, albums etc... then don't hesitate to share them with the PianoGroove Community. For new players and new PianoGroove students, this insight from is invaluable!
