Jerry Coker's Jazz Keyboard book part 2

**fep** · 11-19-2021, 03:38 PM

Part 1 is here: Jerry Coker's Keyboard book, Interested in a Study Group

Starting this new thread by popular request

, starting on page 25.

Adding the 9ths and 13ths... page 25. Still not that many voicings but enough to where I'm getting lost...

**fep** · 11-20-2021, 03:45 PM

Pg 25 chords over Exercise 4

My brain is working hard trying to remember and follow all these chords. Hopefully, this will eventually become automatic.

Next, I'll try to bring these chords into a jazz standard or two.

**fep** · 11-22-2021, 01:47 PM

Page 26 Progression 5

So I recognized this tune and decided to add bass and the melody. I wish I could have done a walking bass for the 2nd 16 m. but it turned out to be too hard for me at this point. I'm figuring I can move on with the book and I'll get this stuff better over time with review.

**2bornot2bop** · 11-23-2021, 05:26 PM

Love the Shepherd! Give yourself time. Try LH Voicings in the center of the keyboard first before trying to tackle left hand bass line. That’s a year away. You’re coming along greatly. Soon these voicings will be automatically programmed into your hands and you’ll create them by shapes.

**fep** · 11-24-2021, 11:39 AM

Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop

Love the Shepherd! Give yourself time. Try LH Voicings in the center of the keyboard first before trying to tackle left hand bass line. That’s a year away. You’re coming along greatly. Soon these voicings will be automatically programmed into your hands and you’ll create them by shapes.

Thanks, I love that Shepherd and the young Golden even though Golden has so much energy and can be a trouble maker. The Shepherd helps keep him in line.

Stella Blue, the Shepherd, likes to guard the house and has a really loud bark which has interrupted many musical recording takes.

I'm about one page from the start of the rootless voicings, maybe today.

**Clint 55** · 11-25-2021, 11:34 PM

Good job on your piano progress. I thought your guitar work was enjoyable to listen to. I like blues or rock touches mixed in with jazz which is uncommon for some reason.

**fep** · 12-01-2021, 11:40 PM

This is Progression 11 from page 28, Horace Silvers Peace.

I wanted an acoustic bass and the acoustic basses as part of the XPand!2 sound module weren't sounding right to me so I tweaked the settings for the first time. All I did was reduce the "Decay" and it sound less synthy. So I played bass on the keyboard but no video of that.

**2bornot2bop** · 12-19-2021, 03:06 PM

No keyboard playing lately, or just not recording?

**fep** · 12-19-2021, 07:13 PM

Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop

No keyboard playing lately, or just not recording?

Thanks for checking in. I haven't been it at as much lately though I still touch the keys and run the chords through the cycle enough to not lose what I obtained.

I collaborate with a friend and he has kept me busy. But, I need to start using a to-do list and get more productive on these other things.

The book did throw a curveball. Page 30 shows some rootless left-hand voicings over the blues and then... he says to improvise with the right hand over that. This seems out of left field as we have only done chord work, there is pretty much no instruction on how to improvise, and I thought playing chords was what this book was about. So I suppose I'll need to cross this next hurdle.

**2bornot2bop** · 12-31-2021, 06:28 PM

Originally Posted by fep

Thanks for checking in. I haven't been it at as much lately though I still touch the keys and run the chords through the cycle enough to not lose what I obtained.

I collaborate with a friend and he has kept me busy. But, I need to start using a to-do list and get more productive on these other things.

The book did throw a curveball. Page 30 shows some rootless left-hand voicings over the blues and then... he says to improvise with the right hand over that. This seems out of left field as we have only done chord work, there is pretty much no instruction on how to improvise, and I thought playing chords was what this book was about. So I suppose I'll need to cross this next hurdle.

Coker wrote so many improvisation books long before this one. Perhaps he assumed people had read those before creating the piano book. But yes, the idea is to comp for yourself as you improvise. But you knew that. But now?

**fep** · 01-02-2022, 07:26 PM

Okay 2bornot2... be careful what you wish for.

Coker's book said "improvise" and that seems to have thrown my progress on the back burner. That wasn't my intention or purpose of going thru the book, and was a bit more than I bargained for. But in the spirit of embarrassing myself...

**AlsoRan** · 01-02-2022, 07:47 PM

Ha!, ha!. Well done, Fep.

It is so much easier getting those notes on the piano to ring out when you improvise. Also, the notes are laid out for you. The downside is trying to comp at the same time that you play those notes, as you already have said.