The Piano in Pop, Rock, and Country
Up to this point in your piano career, you’ve probably studied classical music. With any luck, you’ve learned to read music and play your scales. You’ve learned some etudes, a sonatina or two, maybe Fur Elise. So far, so good.
But isn’t there some little part of you – maybe deep inside, maybe right out on the surface – that wants to play in a rock band? Or some other contemporary ensemble? Now how do you make that happen?
The fact is, you’re not going to walk up to a local jazz club, whip out your Scarlatti, and sit down and play a sonatina. Let’s just say, that’s not in keeping with the style expected by the patrons there.
Contemporary music – jazz, rock, pop, country, and so on – is a discipline all its own. It has its own rules, its own conventions. And to be an effective pianist in a contemporary ensemble, you’ll need to learn a few new tricks.
For example, you’ll need to learn to read lead sheets (discussed in my previous post), and how to play in the chord piano style – that is, where you play the chords while another member of the ensemble has the melody. At first you’ll just play the chords as written on your lead sheet. But soon you’ll learn how to build an effective “chord progression” – that is, changing from one chord to another, in support of the melody – out of your own musical imagination. And that will lead you straight to improv.
You see, chord piano, chord progressions, accompaniment, and improv are all related skills. And, they all build on the basic knowledge of keys, scales, chords, and theory. (That’s why your teacher wanted you to practice all that “boring” stuff!)
Now chord piano sounds fairly simple when I describe it here, or in my previous post. You just play the chords as you see them come up on the lead sheet. And it is simple to learn the basic principles. It’s one of those things where it’s simple to learn the basics, but it takes a lifetime to master. There are always more embellishments you can learn to add. And each contemporary style of music has its own favorite chords and chord progressions.
For example, blues uses “blue notes” in its scales and chords. The same is true of the many contemporary musical genres that grew out of the blues – R&B, jazz, swing, rock, and so on. Country has its own style and favored chord progressions. So chord piano is not something you learn once and then move on. There’s always something new to learn.
And, to play in a contemporary band of any sort, you’ll also need to learn good ensemble manners. You’ll need to learn when to lead, when to follow, and when to get out of the way – and perform equally well in each of these roles. Remember, in a contemporary band, it’s not so much about you. It’s about the whole group.
And chances are, it’s the vocalist who will be in the spotlight much of the time. You’ll need to learn how to be a good accompanist, because you’ll often be playing an accompanying role. Sometimes you’ll be accompanying the vocalist, and sometimes one of the other instruments will be playing a short solo.
So, to succeed as a pianist in contemporary music, you’ll need to be able to…
• Read lead sheets
• Play chord piano
• Fit into the ensemble
• Play an accompanying role
• Improvise
Anything else you’ll need?
Enthusiasm! Confidence! You’ll need to love the music you’re getting into, and let that joy come out in your playing. And once you can do that, the rest will fall into line.
Tags: blues, contemporary, contemporary music, country, country and western, country music, gospel, instrument, jazz, keyboards, learning piano, music, musical instruments, piano, piano lessons, piano students, pop, popular music, R&B, rhythm & blues, rhythm and blues, rock, rock music, studying piano
