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Same problem here with the ragtimes... how to stop playing the few you already "master" (and enjoy so much) in order to sit and work seriously ?

Hi pbluesman...MaverickPaino ...I think most of us have that problem playing a repertoire that is hard to move away from...may be it just the enjoyment of being able to play something through without having to concentrate to much..I play a couple of Rags and find them challenging to play .. make mistakes in them and never in the same place...as for practice sessions I never take it to serious..MaverickPiano..just dont over do the boogie or you will injure you wrist..I've been playing again for a year after a 55 year silence....Doug

Hi Tim Richards IBS students.....I was learning a jazz piece recently and it had two alternate bass lines that could be played ...one was a walking bassline.....which I am rather partial to..this brought me back the to the T.R IBS book for a referance..and on page 182 Medium Jump has a walking bass for the complete piece...its comping chords on the right hand and walking on the left hand....breaking into melody into the 2 nd chorus....the walking bass uses scale notes from the chords with some chromatic spacer notes on the 4th beat..I find playing a walking bass super smooth and give a great tone to a piece ..have fun playing Doug

Well, I guess it is time to "throw my hat in the ring", so to speak. I have been working with the Frank Caruso improvising book, which is quite good. However, it does not develop the left hand beyond block chording. I feel that its real strength is attention to the kinds of details one would normally get from a live teacher, especially its discussion of theory in context of improvising and real attention being paid to fingering. In fact, that is the book's primary goal - to develop muscle memory as the basis for being able to freely improvise. It is a very good book that I would certainly recommend along with the Jimmie Amadie books on harmony and improvising. But these do not develop the left hand independence as the Tim Richards books seem to.

I have the three Tim Richards books, the blues book being discussed here and the two jazz piano books, all with CDs. I ordered them when I read some of this thread some time ago, but then set them on the shelf as other things in my life took priority (my wife's health issues). Then, today, I saw this thread again and started reading through it. I looked through the blues book and saw that all the things I like about the Frank Caruso book are well attended to in the Tim Richards book - along with decent development of the left hand for independently playing the patterns that are idiomatic to blues and related styles. On top of that, having a support thread specifically for the study of this book - who could ask for more, especially for self-study.

My keyboard is a Yamaha Motif XS8 (Motif XS with 88 keys). It has 88 piano-action weighted keys, some decent piano sounds, a sequencer, and a sampler with a bunch of very nice large piano sample libraries (Steinway, Bosendorfer, Yamaha C7, etc) that I can load when I want a really good piano sound to play with. The Motif XS is a "sampler/workstation" keyboard that doubles very nicely as a full digital piano. Since I did not grow up playing piano, I don't really have an attachment to having a real acoustic and am perfectly happy with my Motif XS. Since I live in a condo, being able to use headphones is a real benefit.

My first instrument has been guitar for many years. I play some jazz and some fingerstyle on acoustic and have played electric in bands. I have dabbled with piano/keyboard off and on in the past, especially with the Sudnow method, from which I learned a lot. I think that was good preparation for working on books like these Tim Richards books. I can read music (unusual for a guitar player, I know...), understand theory, and have some facility on the keyboard through the Sudnow method and later, the Frank Caruso book.

I ripped the CDs for the three books onto my little Tascam DR-05 handheld recorder that also serves as an MP3 player so I can slow down the tracks without changing pitch and loop parts of them as I need to. This is a really inexpensive device that is a sort of "Swiss Army knife" for recording and learning. I don't really like using a computer for music-making (probably because I work with them all day), so the little DR-05 is perfect for working with the CD material. I can hear it and my keyboard together through my headphones as well as being able to record directly to it from my keyboard.

In Minnesota, the winters are long and fall is a good time to pick a project for the winter. I think this blues piano book and the follow-on jazz piano books are perfect to take me through the winter and well beyond for years to come.

My piano interest are blues, jazz, and new age piano - all solo (i.e. I love to listen to these styles and want to learn to play them reasonably well). I am not interested in memorizing and playing what other people composed (except as steps to developing my own musical vocabulary) and would much rather come up with my own music, so I think these books are perfect for where I want to go musically.

Reading through this thread, it seems there is a good mix of playing levels represented and a lot of really good support and advice for working through this book. I hope to become a contributor as I progress.

Thanks,

Tony

Hi Tony ... Welcome to the Tim Richards forum...no doubt you can contribute to the quest all blues players who aspire to playing there their own improvised pieces..I use it as a reference book and have the two jazz books as well..it is cleverly thought out as each piece has homework on improvision..I think there is a lot of people read this forum but are reluctant to post because they cant play very well and would feel intimidated asking simple questions ..Doug

Thanks Doug. I don't play very well, but then I have not really been focused on doing so. I think this book and group can help change that.

Tony

Hi Tony .. It dosent matter how well you play .... long as you
are enjoying what you are doing...improvement comes with practice and the amount of effort you want to put into it..just have fun......Doug

Well, this seems to happen whenever I get going on keyboard...something comes up that gets in the way. Usually, it is something involving my wife's health issues, but right now, it is some involvement with the guitar that I need to prepare for. The guitar is my primary instrument and from time to time, some opportunity to play or learn will come up. So I need to focus on that for the next three weeks or so before getting back to keyboard. It is all music, so I don't mind.

Tony

Just had to share this with you! It's my student playing "Rockaboogie" from Tim Richards Improvising Blues Piano! This kid would learn a piece in a week! This was recorded not long after he learned it. Little over pedaling, & some adjustments, but he played this for kids at his school, & they loved it!

Hi Diane..Welcome and thanks for for posting your student..there are some people that have great enthusiasm and this makes learning easy and usually can remember music without site reading..you probally look forward to having this student for lessons every week...certianly makes your job easy ...no doubt you will get his technique under control and he will have a bright future in blues and boogie piano...Stephanie Trick also comes to mind ,read her bio...Rockaboogie.is a favorite of mine..it has the classic blues moves ..if you can get this down pat you will move along fairly quickly to other good feel pieces..took me about 2 weeks before I could play it smoothly..Doug

What a great kid! Does he also swing ACDC?

Hi Tim Richards IBS students..I was looking for a simple turnaround pickup on some of my boogie pieces...they get a bit stale playing the same old thing...found a good one on P 68 A Pete Johnson style..Its used in the Blues with pick-ups P 66 ..Having a new lick is like learning a new piece.......Doug

Hi... Tim Richards IBS students...there are some good work outs in slow blues using a walking bass line..the easy way is to use chord notes and what I like is the using scale lines...you need a little knowlege of scales major and minor...have a look at Medium Jump #57 p.182 and Bags Groove #51 p.153 have fun......Doug

Got to admire your tenacity Doug. I admit i lost interest in the book before finishing it.

Hi T.L.thumbs...I dont play blues every day ...but there is different types of blues and boogie...I like all types of music...there are a lot of novice blues players that need a little push along to learn some thing different..there are a lot of people try blues and boogie and can never play it and just drop it..its simple 12 bar blues... sometimes not that easy....its a sense of rhythm and syncopation..so if I post every few weeks maybe a few will open the book and have a try and might find something that they can get through......Doug

Hi... Tim Richards IBS students...I wish every one that follows this thread a Merry Christmas....Doug

Now don't go having a blue Christmas! D

Hi... Tim Richards IBS students...Happy New Year....This will be your year to learn 5 new riffs for your improvisation 12 bar blues bash.....Doug

Hi... Tim Richards IBS students.....Wow!!!!! I cant believe this thread has had 40000 hits...there are a lot who must like playing blues and boogie ..dont be shy..tell us how your progessing and ask some questions.....Doug

Dear Tim Richards fans,

if you are interested in improvising to Tim Richards' bass lines, join me on my project on http://improvisingpiano.blogspot.com/ .
It would be great to share our ideas!

Andreas