so very helpful! thanks! I took a piano intensive here in Berkeley CA and the great jazz educator Susan Muscarella PhD who founded the local jazz school and the California Jazz Conservatory, and took us through voice leading very thoroughly. I practice it routinely now and have found memorizing tunes has become much much easier because of the logical motion most tunes follow. And I think I sound a bit better too!
Way Cool lesson. I remember the first time I heard someone reharm' Giant Steps I was blown away. It was Kenny Werner, but it was on a CD and no explanation what he was thinking about. Good voice leading just about anything can go to anything. Thanks for these lessons great food for thought.
It's interesting how voice leading is built into some instructional techniques and not others. I never studied piano, but I took organ lessons as a child, and we were taught from the very beginning to use chord shapes with voice leading patterns (although never under that kind of terminology). So when I first learned the C and F chords it was using exactly the inversions you demonstrate here, C-E-G and C-F-A. I suspect that most piano instruction teaches root position chord shapes at first, which can make the concept of voice leading something that must be learned later - but it was something that just fell in naturally with the method that I was taught under.
Great teaching, one question I always have is from 1 chord to voice leading to the next we we have 2 options to get to a set of notes closest, either up or move down, can you comment on your preference and reason behinds, thanks
Truong Hai Yes, and you can even see me in the video stuck between those two options at one point. How do I pick one? I look at each one of the voices in each one of the 2 options. I examine how large a “leap” each one of the voices has to make in each of the 2 options. Then I usually opt for the option in which each voice has the smallest “leap”.. the smaller the leaps each voice has to make - the better the option.Or maybe one voice makes a larger leap but the two other voices make small leaps, or maybe one note doesn’t even move - that’s a good option too. In short - the smaller the leaps the better the option. And sometimes the two options are equal, and neither has smaller or bigger leaps for the voices. In that case, I’ll just go with personal preference and choose the option my ear likes better.
Ruslan Sirota thanks for so quick reply! To accompany a singer should we choose a chord on right hand to have highest note the melody note? I self learn Yamaha ranger keyboard and very interested in learning to accompany singer, better play my right hand. Do you have any suggestions.. thanks again, I like the way you teach, grasping the principles first!
Truong Hai That is a huge topic. Generally speaking try to stay out of the singers range, try to create slow, melodic lines in your top voice. Lines that rhythmically don’t clash with the singer’s melody. I’ll make a video on this soon
Even if you voice-lead, however, don't forget the original melody of the piece: no one will recognize what you are doing unless they hear the Giant Steps melody somewhere. So try voice leading while playing the melody Ruslan was humming, or even better, mix voice leading and not voicleading that would be truly interesting and beautiful.
Agustin Rosales Chase like every other video I make, it’s just a tool. A real work involves 82 tools at the same time, each applied at the exact necessary moment. I have other videos where I teach Reharmonization. The playing in those videos is some of the least musical playing I’ve ever done. But again - it was to in order to show how to use a particular tool. Same here. If anything, much of the notes in this video rub badly against the melody and, because of that, I would never play these notes in real life. I used Giant Steps here because I was trying to take something as harmonically complex as most people can understand, and show that EVEN THAT KIND OF COMPLEX HARMONY is something you can voice-lead, let alone simpler harmony.
BAwesomeDesign in most of my videos I show TOOLS, DEVICES. When I teach about a hammer - I only show how to work with a hammer. When I teach about a screwdriver - I only show how to work with screws. In real life, I would have MULTIPLE TOOLS, and apply them in sensible ways. While I do try to make these exercises as musical as I can, please do not judge them for lack of musicality. A finished, balanced, tasteful musical piece is never the AIM of a musical example like the one in this video. Rather, the aim is to teach how to use ONE TOOL, so that you can add that tool to your tool kit and use it in MUSICAL, well-timed ways in real life.
What software are you using to display the chords on the screen? Strange how it tracks (e.g. B major at 9:40) using # for the F in the bass staff and b in Eb as D# in the treble... I'd expect it to use the same enharmonics everywhere...
Ruslan I really like your stuff! I came here from your video "how to solo over changes", and I can't wait to check out your other vides. My question is: since John Coltrane, as a master of harmony and a very sophisticated musician,, certainly knew how to do voice leading -- why did he voice his composition the way he did?
kzim229 John Coltrane did not “voice” the composition any which way. He simply gave us the chord changes B D G Bb Ebmaj etc... to the best of my knowledge he did not voice anything in any particular way beyond merely giving us the “changes” to the tune. It was up to (poor) tommy flanagan to deal with those revolutionary chord changes at the recording session. While I do not envy his lot in life, In having to sight read giant steps on the session, it sounds like he did a good job dealing with it. If I’m not mistaken, Flanagan utilized mostly close voicings in his accompaniment, which were naturally voice lead at least in part, since good piano players always do at least SOME voice leading even without trying.
Apperciate you time and effort a lot ruslan u became the best teacher for me here really , but i was just wondering what about melody notes in giant steps !? Is it ignored when using voice leading ? Or the voice leading is just for accompniment or it deals with chords it self only , not the melody ? I hope you got my confusing area .
Melvin Harris Because it’s all about massive exposure. Not necessarily quality. The videos and channels that rise to the top are not necessarily the highest quality. Sometimes they are. But sometimes they’re not. It’s all about releasing releasing releasing. Posting posting posting posting. Flooding the internet with your content so that your videos come up in searches more and more. Optimizing the SEO on all the videos. Optimizing hashtags, optimizing title, thumbnail. Aaaallll that.
Your videos are the best! You never desappoint me!
so very helpful! thanks! I took a piano intensive here in Berkeley CA and the great jazz educator Susan Muscarella PhD who founded the local jazz school and the California Jazz Conservatory, and took us through voice leading very thoroughly. I practice it routinely now and have found memorizing tunes has become much much easier because of the logical motion most tunes follow. And I think I sound a bit better too!
Another awesome vid from Ruslan thanks !
You are an Master 🔥
You are amazing! Thanks!
Like this Ruslan!
YAY GIANT STEPS! PERFECTly what I wanted!
I didn't know about open chords! Very clear teaching Ruslan. Thank you!
Video of your hands and piano is flipped on the beginning. :) Everything else is perfect!
Way Cool lesson. I remember the first time I heard someone reharm' Giant Steps I was blown away. It was Kenny Werner, but it was on a CD and no explanation what he was thinking about. Good voice leading just about anything can go to anything. Thanks for these lessons great food for thought.
Thanks! This tip adds lots of variety to my simple Cm7 to Dm7 practice groove. Much more mature & sophisticated...
Ron I’m happy to hear!! :)
Excellent useful teaching.Thanks.
Actually beautiful stuff. Parts of it sound like taken right out of the harmony of the Enigma variations of Edward Elgar.
It's interesting how voice leading is built into some instructional techniques and not others. I never studied piano, but I took organ lessons as a child, and we were taught from the very beginning to use chord shapes with voice leading patterns (although never under that kind of terminology). So when I first learned the C and F chords it was using exactly the inversions you demonstrate here, C-E-G and C-F-A. I suspect that most piano instruction teaches root position chord shapes at first, which can make the concept of voice leading something that must be learned later - but it was something that just fell in naturally with the method that I was taught under.
Sky Onosson very cool! Yes wish we were all that lucky! :)
Besides, this is a really great exercise, thank you Ruslan!
Another great video. Thanks.
Great teaching, one question I always have is from 1 chord to voice leading to the next we we have 2 options to get to a set of notes closest, either up or move down, can you comment on your preference and reason behinds, thanks
Truong Hai Yes, and you can even see me in the video stuck between those two options at one point. How do I pick one? I look at each one of the voices in each one of the 2 options. I examine how large a “leap” each one of the voices has to make in each of the 2 options. Then I usually opt for the option in which each voice has the smallest “leap”.. the smaller the leaps each voice has to make - the better the option.Or maybe one voice makes a larger leap but the two other voices make small leaps, or maybe one note doesn’t even move - that’s a good option too. In short - the smaller the leaps the better the option. And sometimes the two options are equal, and neither has smaller or bigger leaps for the voices. In that case, I’ll just go with personal preference and choose the option my ear likes better.
Ruslan Sirota thanks for so quick reply! To accompany a singer should we choose a chord on right hand to have highest note the melody note? I self learn Yamaha ranger keyboard and very interested in learning to accompany singer, better play my right hand. Do you have any suggestions.. thanks again, I like the way you teach, grasping the principles first!
Truong Hai That is a huge topic. Generally speaking try to stay out of the singers range, try to create slow, melodic lines in your top voice. Lines that rhythmically don’t clash with the singer’s melody. I’ll make a video on this soon
Ruslan Sirota Thanks ... I am looking foreword to
Even if you voice-lead, however, don't forget the original melody of the piece: no one will recognize what you are doing unless they hear the Giant Steps melody somewhere. So try voice leading while playing the melody Ruslan was humming, or even better, mix voice leading and not voicleading that would be truly interesting and beautiful.
Agustin Rosales Chase like every other video I make, it’s just a tool. A real work involves 82 tools at the same time, each applied at the exact necessary moment. I have other videos where I teach Reharmonization. The playing in those videos is some of the least musical playing I’ve ever done. But again - it was to in order to show how to use a particular tool. Same here. If anything, much of the notes in this video rub badly against the melody and, because of that, I would never play these notes in real life. I used Giant Steps here because I was trying to take something as harmonically complex as most people can understand, and show that EVEN THAT KIND OF COMPLEX HARMONY is something you can voice-lead, let alone simpler harmony.
But he does sing the entire melody at the end right around the 19 minute mark. Then it all sounds like it falls into place and becomes recognizable.
BAwesomeDesign in most of my videos I show TOOLS, DEVICES. When I teach about a hammer - I only show how to work with a hammer. When I teach about a screwdriver - I only show how to work with screws. In real life, I would have MULTIPLE TOOLS, and apply them in sensible ways.
While I do try to make these exercises as musical as I can, please do not judge them for lack of musicality. A finished, balanced, tasteful musical piece is never the AIM of a musical example like the one in this video. Rather, the aim is to teach how to use ONE TOOL, so that you can add that tool to your tool kit and use it in MUSICAL, well-timed ways in real life.
What software are you using to display the chords on the screen?
Strange how it tracks (e.g. B major at 9:40) using # for the F in the bass staff and b in Eb as D# in the treble... I'd expect it to use the same enharmonics everywhere...
Enrico Dell'Aquila it’s called Chordie
Ruslan I really like your stuff! I came here from your video "how to solo over changes", and I can't wait to check out your other vides. My question is: since John Coltrane, as a master of harmony and a very sophisticated musician,, certainly knew how to do voice leading -- why did he voice his composition the way he did?
kzim229 John Coltrane did not “voice” the composition any which way. He simply gave us the chord changes B D G Bb Ebmaj etc... to the best of my knowledge he did not voice anything in any particular way beyond merely giving us the “changes” to the tune. It was up to (poor) tommy flanagan to deal with those revolutionary chord changes at the recording session. While I do not envy his lot in life, In having to sight read giant steps on the session, it sounds like he did a good job dealing with it. If I’m not mistaken, Flanagan utilized mostly close voicings in his accompaniment, which were naturally voice lead at least in part, since good piano players always do at least SOME voice leading even without trying.
@@ruslanpiano thank you!
Great
Apperciate you time and effort a lot ruslan u became the best teacher for me here really , but i was just wondering what about melody notes in giant steps !? Is it ignored when using voice leading ? Or the voice leading is just for accompniment or it deals with chords it self only , not the melody ? I hope you got my confusing area .
You can lay melody over it, sure! You even hear me do it at the end there, humming the melody (badly) over the voice-lead comping that im playing.
Hey are u from Russia?
I don't know why, but beginning reminds me of Pat Metheny. Is it the open chords, maybe?
I'm going to sit down and figure out the intervals for different voice leadings and then I can play in any key.
damn, your voice sounds just like the great raven from Hilda, animated netflix series
Certainly sounds more gentle when your melody isn't a bunch of augmented triads.
Remember to speed up video before viewing
He was a little fast wasn't he.
The same principle for major 7 chords?
Toussaint Gohore Yup... same principle for any one set of notes moving into the next. Any set of chords.
Coltrane vs. Satie ;-)
Colonel Petrov's Good Judgement heheh yup!
Ruslan Sirota Hey dude, it's me, Sebastian.
Colonel Petrov's Good Judgement yooo!!! :)
Why TF are billions of people not here learning... smh!
Melvin Harris Because it’s all about massive exposure. Not necessarily quality. The videos and channels that rise to the top are not necessarily the highest quality. Sometimes they are. But sometimes they’re not. It’s all about releasing releasing releasing. Posting posting posting posting. Flooding the internet with your content so that your videos come up in searches more and more. Optimizing the SEO on all the videos. Optimizing hashtags, optimizing title, thumbnail. Aaaallll that.
7:20 F
For Skype Lessons, write me on Instagram (@ruslanpiano), or write under this comment and I'll reach out to you.
Yep; voice leading.