Gospel School: Left Hand Rocking Octaves (Straight Feel)

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Rocking octaves in the left hand are a simple, but effective way to establish a deep groove in Gospel Piano…

Here is a slow, straight time application to a four-bar chorus in the key of C…

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Study-Practice Notes

  • Form: Think and feel this as a 4-bar phrase with two two-bar sub-phrases.
  • Interpretation: Play all the downbeats with a full sound, but play all the upbeats a bit more subdued. Also, allow the chromatic pickup to build momentum into the top of the next repeat.
  • Technique: Never allow your hands and wrists to become rigid. Play with “sticky pinkies”, full arm rotation, and keep your hand and wrist moving in a continuous circle from left to right and in and out an low to high and back again.

learn more… Gospel School: Left Hand Rocking Octaves (Swing Feel)