Then, when you play, let it all come out naturally. Check out Count Basie's Southwest swing piano riffs, the 'horizontal' melodic improvisations of Lester Young, the bebop intricacies of Charlie Parker and Bud Powell, the reharmonizations of Art Tatum, along with the abstractions of Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea. Learn 'Rhythm Changes' in the various historical styles of jazzĭon't limit yourself to bebop. And yes, the more I practice slowly, the faster I can ultimately play.ģ.
I'll often practice improvising at a tempo of 40 bpm, in order to clearly 'hear' each individual note. Billy pointed out that bebop melodies, for example, contained all the melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic elements of bebop soloing, in a readily accessible form.Ĭhick Corea once stated in an interview that the way to become able to play fast is to practice slowly.
'Lester Leaps In,' 'Cottontail,' and Anthropology' are just a tunes that use 'Rhythm Changes.' MY jazz piano teacher Billy Taylor advised me to learn and analyze melodies as a way to learn individual jazz styles. Learn many melodies that use this chord progression. Here are 5 tips to help you become comfortable playing 'Rhythm Changes.'ġ. The chords are based on George Gershwin's song 'I Got Rhythm,' and hundreds if not thousands of jazz tunes over the years have been based on them. 'Rhythm Changes' are a huge part of the jazz legacy, but can be a bit tricky to learn well.
