Learn one tune each from Group 1 and Group 2 (starting with either group). These groups include the keys that pianists usually learn first, as they have more straightforward fingering (i.e., RH starts on the thumb, etc.) Once you have learned these two tunes and the six keys through which they move, you can learn one of the pairs of tunes in Group 3 and one of the pairs in Group 4. The tunes in these later groups begin in the more basic keys introduced by the first two groups and modulate into keys with more challenging fingerings and \u2018keyboard topography\u2019. When you finish the group of six tunes, you will have learned the major ii-V-I progression in all twelve keys.<\/p>\n
Group 1 \u2013 keys of G, F, Eb (keys shown in exercise) – choose one of three tunes: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Laura (not in Real Book Volume One), Ornithology or How High the Moon<\/p>\n
Group 2 \u2013 keys of D, C, Bb \u2013 one tune \u2013 learn Tune Up<\/p>\n
Group 3 – Db, B, A\u2013 learn\u00a0 Solar (includes ii-V-I in Db) and \u2028Cherokee (includes ii-V-I in B and A; if root position voicing is used, some larger shifts in LH voicings are required, so rootless voicings can be helpful with this tune.)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 alternate pair: One Note Samba (includes ii-V-I in Db and B) and I Love You (includes ii-V-I in A)<\/p>\n
Group 4 \u2013 keys of Ab, Gb, E \u2013 learn I\u2019ll Remember April\u2028 (key of G) and Broadway (key of Eb). \u00a0 For a more challenging pair, try All The Things You Are and Recordame.<\/p>\n
When learning any jazz tune, it is crucial to have access not just to a chart but to a recorded version by a jazz player or singer that demonstrates how to interpret the melody with both rhythmic creativity (i.e. using a swing or Latin rhythmic approach) and melodic creativity (i.e. adding melodic ornaments and fills), as well as how to incorporate improvisation (through improvised sections of various lengths, from fills between melody phrases to half or full chorus solos.) With the tunes on this list in particular, it is helpful to\u00a0practice chordal comping with one or two hands and without playing the melody, along with a recorded version in the \u2018book key\u2019 at a moderate tempo.\u00a0 Below are some suggestions of recordings of this type to use.\u00a0 Not only do the tempos of these versions make them well suited for practicing, but the soloists on them model how to give a jazz interpretation to a relatively simple melody\u00a0(with the exception of Sonny Rollins, who solos on ‘All The Things’ with only tangential references to the head.)<\/p>\n
How High The Moon<\/a> \u2013 Chet Baker from \u2018Chet\u2019 album<\/p>\n I Love You<\/a> – Mick Hucknall (from soundtrack to the Cole Porter bio-pic ‘De-Lovely’) – not a jazz version, but it uses the same changes as the Real Book, and has a good practice tempo.<\/p>\n Laura<\/a> \u2013 Charlie Parker with Strings (on this version, there is a five-and-a-half-bar orchestral introduction; Bird enters with the melody at :23.)<\/p>\n Tune Up <\/a>\u2013 Miles Davis version from \u2018Blue Haze\u2019 album<\/p>\n All The Things You Are<\/a> \u2013 Sonny Rollins version from \u2018A Night At The Village Vanguard\u2019 (on this piano-less record, Rollins begins, after a two-bar count off, by improvising on the changes rather than stating the melody, so this is a great recording to use for practicing changes)<\/p>\n Broadway<\/a> \u2013 Art Pepper and Ted Brown featuring Warne Marsh<\/p>\n Recordame<\/a> \u2013 Bobby Hutcherson<\/p>\n One Note Samba<\/a> \u2013 Coleman Hawkins (from Desafinado<\/em>) – this version uses a different progression (just the Dm7, Db7, Cm7, B7 changes sped up to two beats each) on bar 13 and 14 of the form, but otherwise uses the same changes as the Real Book.<\/p>\n Cherokee<\/a> \u2013 Modern Jazz Quartet with Wynton Marsalis<\/p>\n I\u2019ll Remember April<\/a> \u2013 Chet Baker (1956 version)<\/p>\n Along with learning a tune or pair of tunes in each group, determine where the ii-V, V-I and ii-V-I progressions are.\u00a0 For an explanation of the ii-V-I progression and one way of practicing ii-V-I voicings with RH major scales, see my blog post Join The ii-V-I Club<\/a>.<\/p>\n Another way of practicing scales and ii-V-I progressions is the \u00a0 \u2018Doubles and Combinations\u2019 exercise below.\u00a0 This exercise takes hands-together scales and chords and two handed combinations of chords and scales through a series of three keys descending by whole steps.\u00a0 The keys shown in this exercise are the major keys in How High The Moon. \u00a0 HHTM also includes G minor; to practice a and ii-V-i progression this key, flat the 3rd and 6th of the G major scale to make it the G harmonic minor scale, and flat the third of the Gmaj7 chord to make it a G minor seventh chord. \u00a0 (For Groups 2, 3 and 4 you will need to transpose the exercise below; for group 3, transpose a half step up; for Groups 2 and 4, transpose down to the keys indicated.) Although root position voicings are useful for building basic knowledge of jazz harmony and making simple arrangements, and are used at times by a number of great players in jazz piano history, they can also (like the \u2018blues scale\u2019) become a trap if used exclusively. In addition to learning root position voicings for the ii-V-I progression in each key, it is also important to learn various rootless voicings for it in each key, particularly the most common which are sometimes referred to as \u2018off the 7th\u2019 and \u2018off the 3rd\u2019.\u00a0 More information on rootless voicings is available in my series of blog posts called ‘Harmonic Moss’, which starts with\u00a0 this post.<\/a>\u00a0 There are a number of books which offer a ‘dictionary’ of rootless voicings; I most often use Jazz Keyboard Harmony by Phil deGreg<\/a> as I find it has the most straightforward layout, but there are also similar and helpful books by Dan Haerle and Michele Weir.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This post is in response to questions often asked by my students.\u00a0 \u2018What tunes should I practice during my summer break from lessons?\u2019, they ask. Or: \u2018How can I get better at learning tunes from a fake book chart (i.e., … Continue reading ![\"ii-V-I](\"http:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/tgcleary\/files\/2016\/06\/ii-V-I-in-three-keys-Doubles-and-Combinations-791x1024.jpg\")
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