Tag: students

Hanon 61 For Piano

Although i am just a lowly jazz saxophonist, it is important for all of us musicians to have a working knowledge of piano. So i found an excellent teacher, Dawn Martin, who is really excellent at helping undo my bad habits which cause muscle strain. Two areas that particularly stymie me are:

Skips of an octave or a major seventh
Quickly returning the five fingers into the new position after a large skip

The 60 Hanon exercises are awesome, as is working through the 12 major scales, two hands, three octaves. I wrote the exercise below to help with the problems described above. For lack of a better name, i call it “Hanon 61.” Maybe it will help you as well. (Press “CONTINUE READING” below to see the chart.)

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Fats Waller & Arpeggios

FATS WALLER Mastering arpeggios gives you yet another tool to use (in moderation) in your improv solos.

Have you ever tried playing Fats Waller’s great tune “The Jitterbug Waltz”? Find it on Rahsaan Roland Kirk’s “Bright Moments” album. Mastering arpeggios will make that tune much easier to play.

Here’s a challenging and interesting way to master arpeggios. The idea for this exercise was suggested to me by a warm-up my talented friend Al Thompson often uses.