In the previous few lessons, I told you about the importance of bass notes and what ‘optional’ notes arise by using the bass to define the harmony. In this particular lesson, using the famous keyboard groove of Stevie Wonder I Wish

Now, as many of you know, I like to approach the ‘theory’ part of learning how to play Pop-Piano (what notes are usable) by tackling harmonies and their structures: scales and our beloved chords.

Knowing your options, however, is just the first part of the equation. How to play them, is the (other) real key to success. This is where patterns, come into play.

Patterns, rhythms, grooves and the timing that is everything.

Just playing notes or chords, however sophisticated or complex they might be, ‘randomly’ in time, just doesn’t work. As I already told you many ‘a times before, songs (or ‘music’ in general, for that matter), consist of more than just the factor of the ‘right notes’.

The melody + harmony just don’t work when they’re not played in the right rhythm.
In fact, a melody isn’t even the desired melody, without it’s rhythmic information added (played).

In stead of getting into words to much, let me clarify with a small example that will make sense immediately:

Let’s, for the sake of everybody actually knowing the song, take a look at the melody of the christmas carol ‘Silent Night’.

Simple melody, simple chords (C, G), right?

Now look at this next video, where I use the exact same notes:

Whaaat?! Now what in the name of sweet baby Bono happened there?

Right! I changed the rhythm and got me a totally different song!
Very, very cool, right? And illustrative, I hope. (video’s do say more than a thousand words..).

Ok, so the first part of my point is made.

Timing is indeed everything.

Now, let’s step away from boring Christmas carols, and get back to pop-music again.

This week, another one of the greatest of greatest is on the menu. One of my personal favourites of all time: Stevie Wonder.

The song ‘I wish’, is one that many of you know, the ones that don’t, or think this is a song by Will Smith, go shame yourself and buy ‘Songs in the key of life’, one of the greatest albums ever made. (not my first advice on buying music right? Take it.).

‘I Wish’ is also very suited for exemplifying my point(s) of rhythm, timing, bass lines and using patterns to get it all right, and therefore sort of a logical follow-up to the Billy Jean lessons.

As also was the case in these previous few lessons, the focus will be on the bass and left hand lines, but this time we’ll add in some alternating patterns, using some juicy, dressed-up chords with the right hand to create this sweet sweet groove, that perfectly supports the melody and it’s rhythmic information.

Take a look at the end result first :

The second point that I want to make regarding the importance of timing in general, apart from the above point made (that rhythmic information is absolutely vital for a melody (or song for that matter) to be that specific and desired melody), is that most music just doesn’t work if it’s not played in a steady tempo. 

See what I mean? Let Stevie sing over that one… Even one of his caliber would lose track there and the end result, although the exact right notes are hit all the time, would sound terrible.

Actionable plan derived from this lesson to directly implement in your daily practice routine:

Practice EVERYTHING that you practice, in a steady tempo. DO NOT go to fast. In other words, don’t go for a tempo that is high in such a way that you have to STOP or HESITATE ANYWHERE.
For instance: What I see a lot of students do, is play a certain part in the ‘original’ tempo of the song flawlessly, but then stop or hesitate when they go to the next part. This is just a no-go.

• Practice in a STEADY tempo (a tempo that is consistent and never speeds up or slows down) that challenges you, but, when you really put some effort in, you NEVER have to STOP or HESITATE! Never means: not anywhere in the song. If you do have to stop or hesitate, play the whole song a tad slower. 

Today’s golden tip: 

• Errors (as in: ‘wrong’ notes) are much less critical then stops or hesitation (to the contrary of what most people think). 

Try to shift focus while playing, to keeping on playing in the same tempo in stead of over-focussing on playing the correct notes flawlessly all the time.
FOCUS ON THE TIMING.
When you do make a mistake, don’t sweat it and just try and keep on playing as if nothing happened: pick up where the song would have been if you hadn’t made the error! PLAY ON!

• Try and make more errors, but KEEPING A STEADY PACE. 

Implementing the above advice in your playing will immediately lift you up to the next level.

STEVIE WONDER | I WISH

 

This song, just like Billy Jean, is carried by a steady ‘walking bass line’, played on all eight notes.

When tackling this song, practice this left hand part first.

For the majority of the song it supports the harmony switching between Ebm7 and Ab7, by pretty much ‘walking’ over the whole Ebm (dorian) scale (leaving out the 2, and, when the harmony is Ab7, adding the major 6 (‘c’), which is derived from the Ab7, being a dominant (major) chord and thus having the ‘c’ as a third, which makes the Ebm scale used here a ‘dorian’ scale: a minor scale with a major 6).

When you can dream it, play it while talking about flower arranging and knock on heavens door with your free right hand simultaneously, you’re good to go for the next part.

Adding the right hand.

The right hand plays a killer ‘counter groove’ that partly both follows and harmonises the melody as we’ve seen happen before. This is a great way to form a piano part using the optional notes that arise from the chords / scales and combining them with patterns! Listen to what happens in the melody and take either rhythmic, or melodic (top-note) phrases (or both) and intertwine them in your playing. This is exactly what Stevie did here.

Let’s take a look at what happens:

“Looking back on when I”

On “looking back”, the harmony is Ebm7(sus4).

This chord is ‘split up’ and played in ‘quarter voicings’ with the melody on top alternating between ‘db’ (the 7th) + ‘gb’ (the 3rd) and ‘eb’ (the 1) + ‘ab’ (the 4th).

The groove of “..when I” is followed with the accents played on the words, the harmony switching to Ab7 and using a voicing with -again- the melody note on top (‘eb’) resulting in:

Pre-Chorus

This part is pretty difficult to play.
In stead of explaining the bollocks out of it in technical terms, I’ll just say this: keep on walking in eight’ notes with your left hand (using the notes as in the picture below) and try to either find accents that you like (creating your own patterns) for your right hand to play, or follow as I do.

Also either find your own way of playing the chords as dressed up as you like, or watch the video and chord pictures closely and follow my example. I use a lot of extensional notes in this version: Bb79, C79, Fm7, Abm13, Bbalt, but feel free to remove added notes to your own taste or skill, stripping it down to either adding in some 7’s or plain triads Bb, C, Fm, Abm, Bb, which would remove a bit of the ‘jazzy’-flavour, but would work just fine as well.

Chorus = verse.

The chorus that follows is built on the same harmony as the verse: Ebm7 and Ab7.

Exercise:
Try to create your own piano-part for this song, by either using some of the techniques I taught you in the last few lessons or using skills learnt from the course.

Show me what you’ve come up with by filming your version, uploading it to youtube and embedding it in the comments (SIMPLY TYPE THE URL TO YOUR VIDEO IN THE COMMENT BOX)!

Don’t forget to ‘share’ this article with your friends and foo’s, please hit ‘like’ on the video lesson for ‘I wish’ and: 

Please leave a comment below!

That’s it for now, happy playing! Next time …. oh next time. That’ll be something.

See ya!

Cheers, Coen.