{"id":82,"date":"2018-03-23T13:30:00","date_gmt":"2018-03-23T20:30:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2023-01-10T09:42:12","modified_gmt":"2023-01-10T17:42:12","slug":"improvising-in-odd-keys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/improvising-in-odd-keys\/","title":{"rendered":"A Crazy Trick To Get You Improvising In Odd Keys"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Hey Jordan here, and I want to share this weird trick I use to make complicated keys&nbsp;<em>really<\/em> simple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the unique&nbsp;aspects of how the keyboard is laid out is that the FEELING of different scales and keys can be drastically different, depending on what key you&#8217;re playing in. For example, <strong>C major<\/strong> uses all white keys (easy enough) but if you move just one key up from <strong>C<\/strong> to <strong>C#<\/strong>, you need to play EVERY black key in order to play a <strong>C#<\/strong> major scale. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> It\u2019s crazy how scales so different from each other can be found so close together!<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<center><div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:#a7a7a7;font-size:11px;width:100%;max-width:594px;\"><div style=\"padding:0;margin:0;text-align:left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.ca\/detail\/494270430\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;\" rel=\"noopener\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div><div style=\"overflow:hidden;position:relative;height:0;padding:66.498314% 0 0 0;width:100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/494270430?et=CrLxBt24Sq5kywleB6mTzA&amp;tld=ca&amp;sig=4eh2EwjM47M0aVoFcunV59qReWviMcdNyrzAnYPMxyQ=&amp;caption=true&amp;ver=1\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"594\" height=\"395\" style=\"display:inline-block;position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;margin:0;\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/center>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><em> Lubomyr Melnyk is considered the fastest playing classical pianist. Known for a lot of pieces using the black keys.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For this lesson, I thought I\u2019d share with you how I go about making some of those odd feeling key signatures feel a little more at home&#8230;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The first key we\u2019ll look at is the key of<\/span><strong> Eb minor<\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or <\/span><strong>Gb major<\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. &nbsp;This scale is made up of 7 notes, <\/span><strong>Eb, F, Gb, Ab, Bb, Cb<\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (looks like a <\/span><strong>B<\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on the keyboard), <\/span><strong>Db<\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and then the scale tops off with <\/span><strong>Eb<\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> again. &nbsp;Just reading those letter names out sounds like a lot to remember, so here\u2019s how I think of working with complex key signatures like this. &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Instead of going through the hassle of remembering all those black notes, I simply take for granted that I\u2019ve got to play <\/span><strong>every one <\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and then focus on what specific <\/span><strong>white notes<\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> I have to play instead! &nbsp;It can make all the difference&#8230;instead of having to keep track of 5 black keys, you now only have to keep track of 2 white ones, <\/span><strong>F <\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and <\/span><strong>B. &nbsp;<\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s a quick and fun little shortcut that\u2019ll make you feel at home in those weird keys in no time. &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<center><div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:#a7a7a7;font-size:11px;width:100%;max-width:594px;\"><div style=\"padding:0;margin:0;text-align:left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.ca\/detail\/166072840\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;\" rel=\"noopener\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div><div style=\"overflow:hidden;position:relative;height:0;padding:74.915825% 0 0 0;width:100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/166072840?et=dckuJBedRhFZnFamjaFGRA&amp;tld=ca&amp;sig=YQaPgxt6lK21xoHX_ICZLFWGA6NCjB_yUHfxblSL-MQ=&amp;caption=true&amp;ver=1\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"594\" height=\"445\" style=\"display:inline-block;position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;margin:0;\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/center>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><em>Stevie Wonder&#8217;s &#8216;Superstition&#8217; was written in Eb minor, a great key for playing percussive funk riffs<\/em>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you want to test this theory out, you can take another key like <\/span><strong>Bb minor. <\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This key uses everyone&nbsp;black key as well in its minor scale, with two white notes to keep track of: &nbsp;<\/span><strong>C <\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and <\/span><strong>F. <\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Don\u2019t let those black keys scare you! When you\u2019ve got a weird key that needs a lot of sharps and flats, you can <\/span><strong>reorganize your thoughts<\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> so that you see the <\/span><strong>white keys <\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">as the weird ones, not the black keys!<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<center><div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:#a7a7a7;font-size:11px;width:100%;max-width:594px;\"><div style=\"padding:0;margin:0;text-align:left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.ca\/detail\/84047228\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;\" rel=\"noopener\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div><div style=\"overflow:hidden;position:relative;height:0;padding:72.72727% 0 0 0;width:100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/84047228?et=G98ka3uXRito0cjpIoIzfw&amp;tld=ca&amp;sig=jrUpDcRi0tODqbuBLlApPcr-kZ0SdFEjM6wEuthgbDU=&amp;caption=true&amp;ver=1\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"594\" height=\"432\" style=\"display:inline-block;position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;margin:0;\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/center>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dave Brubeck&#8217;s jazz standard &#8216;Take Five&#8217; also uses the key of Eb minor.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019m a firm believer that each and every key of the piano should be explored. Every one of them has their own characteristics, not only in their sound but also in how they feel on the keyboard! So get to your keyboard and get exploring! <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jordan<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<iframe class=\"email-form-include-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/weekly-email\" frameborder=\"none\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The black keys don&#8217;t look so scary anymore&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":703,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1110,1108],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-82","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-improvisation-musicianship","category-musicianship"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10491,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82\/revisions\/10491"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/703"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}