This Masquerade Jazz Piano Tutorial
In this lesson we look at the tune ‘This Masquerade’ by Leon Russell. Released in 1972, This Masquerade is quite a modern tune compared to most of the jazz standards we have covered on PianoGroove. We start off the lesson by having a quick look over the lead sheet to talk about the form and the structure of the tune.
Then we play through with left hand voicings and the melody. Remember that whenever you are trying to learn a new tune, always play through first with left hand voicings so that you get a good grasp of the harmony and the melody.
We then add in some bigger two handed voicings and look at ways we can voice the vamp which is an intro and outro to the tune.
Related Lessons
In this lesson we discuss some general improvisation concepts for This Masquerade and also any other jazz standards you are working on.
In this lesson we explore how you can navigate over the minor line cliché using bass lines, two-handed chords and left hand voicings.
Upper structure triads are complex sounding altered dominant chords. They will add texture and sophistication to your playing.
Practice Tips
-
Play just the melody of the tune with a metronome until you can play it accurately and up to tempo.
-
Next play the melody with left hand voicings to get a good understanding of the harmony.
-
Also make sure you listen to a few vocal arrangements of the tune, which will help you with phrasing the melody and also give you some insight into the meaning of the lyrics which you can then try to convey in your playing.
Grea presentation and excellent tutorial. Thanks Hayden for this one.
Hi George, thanks for the comment… glad you enjoyed the lesson!
This song is included in the iReal Pro App if you download the 1300 jazz standard pack. Here’s the link if you’re using the desktop version: http://www.irealb.com/forums/showthread.php?12753-Jazz-1300-Standards – otherwise if your using a iPhone or iPad you can click on the ‘forum’ option within the app, search for ‘1300 jazz’ and then 1 click and you have all of the backing tracks downloaded.
Playing along with the backing tracks is great for practicing improv. With improv, I find it useful to practice with play along tracks and really stick to one tune for many hours at a moderate tempo. The idea is to create flow in an organic way, while developing each motif to its fullest capacity. Also practice leaving space! This applies to any tune.
Cheers,
Hayden
Ditto. I had just been watching YouTube videos of this tune a couple days before you posted this lesson. It’s like you read my mind! Thanks!
What a coincidence Mark! Hope you enjoy the tutorials on this tune 🙂 All the best, Hayden