What is a "foxtrot"?

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The foxtrot is a ballroom dance named after Harry Fox, the vaudeville actor who invented it in the early 1900s. It's an altered version of the popular two-step but with two quicker steps (otherwise known as trots) figured in, making the dance pattern slow-slow-quick-quick. The wildly popular foxtrot eventually branched into two separate evolutions: the quickstep, which is a combination of the foxtrot and the charleston danced to much faster music, and the slowfox, the slower version of the foxtrot that retains most of its original qualities. Both are still danced today, though the quickstep seems to be the most common.


Though all music used to dance the foxtrot became known as foxtrot music, it was initially danced exclusively to ragtime. Foxtrot ragtime is a syncopated style of music characterized by a bass note on the first and third beats and short chords on the second and fourth; foxtrot ragtime (or ragtime in general) is also known for its use of the walking bass. It's a fairly upbeat, energetic style of music that fit surprisingly well with the happy foxtrot.

Ragtime music, in all of its many forms, eventually became so entwined with the foxtrot that all ragtime was considered by some to be merely foxtrot music. But it's important to note here that foxtrot ragtime, in all its popular glory, was a late, late version of the influential style of music. Prior to the foxtrot craze, ragtime was slightly less syncopated and of a slightly different dynamic. It was certainly a danceable style of music, but it didn't become exclusively associated with any one dance until the foxtrot was popularized in the early 1900s. Foxtrot ragtime, the late version that accompanied the dance, added a syncopated dotted-note beat to accommodate the foxtrot steps. The foxtrot, even as it lost some of its steam, eventually moved on to be danced to a variety of musical styles, but its earliest heyday will always be associated with the late era of foxtrot ragtime.



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What is "Disco"?

Disco is a funk-influenced style of music completely particular to the 1970s. It represents, quite possibly, one of the largest and most short-lived crazes of modern times; as quickly as it came rushing in, it came crashing down. Disco music itself, apart from the trend, is characterized by a solid bass driving the song (and often offering the only melody), guitar mired in wah-wah pedal, and very specific drumbeat: a steady kick drum hit on every 4/4 beat, snare on the second and fourth beats and an eight-beat hi-hat shuffle that opens at every snare. Sounds complicated, but this disco beat is shockingly familiar outside of the text.

Disco music at first was never intended for listening; it was simply the soundtrack to a dance phenomenon. The music, as well as the trend, reflected a sort of decadence that served as the anti-hippie; instead of fighting civil hatred with hugs and love, the disco era fought it with drugs and dancing, hedonism. But even as disco spawned out of fairly noble, political roots, its commercialization stripped it of any sort of social commentary. Disco remained largely underground until the movie "Saturday Night Fever" shed light on the trend. Suddenly, the music became listenable outside of the dance, and the dance was all anyone wanted to do. Record labels began releasing disco albums at warp speed, and even rock bands like Kiss hopped on the wagon by creating disco-driven singles.

This level of saturation was all the trend needed to come to a grinding halt. People began to loathe it as quickly as others had loved it, and the backlash against disco was one of the largest in music history. Disco albums were burned and clubs were abandoned; the commercialization that brought so many people so much money was suddenly seen as the downfall of modern musical society. Rock bands, specifically the influx of anti-disco punks, were the new saviors.

Ironically and strangely, disco has recently seen a revival within the very scene that once shunned it. New independent bands with an ear for the past have recently begun toying with the disco beat, creating something coined by critics as "disco punk." But, just like they did before, modern rock fans have grown tired of the disco revival, spawning a new backlash that shows no immediate signs of stopping. Disco is one area of music that makes a revival next to impossible.





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Piano Chord Symbols: Slash Chords

Slash chords are chords that look like this:

C/Bb or F/A or G7/F etc.

Improvising Piano Blues

Improvising the blues on the piano involves learning the structure of the blues as well as the blues scale.

How To Create A "Flowing River of Sound" on the Piano

Use open-voiced arpeggios in the left hand while playing broken chords in the right hand.

Half-Step Slides: Piano Chord Substitutions

One of the best ways to make an interesting chord substitution is to use 1/2 step slides. Substitute the chord that is 1/2 step above the target chord before you arrive at that chord.

How To Make a Piano Sound Like Bells & Chimes

You can make your piano sound like bells and chimes by learning two simple techniques -- one for bells and one for chimes.

What is a piano "Score"?

A piano score is a type of ensemble sheet music intended solely for the piano. Like all sheet music, it is a song's written notation; a piano score tells the musician what to play and how to play it. Unlike all sheet music, however, a piano score shows not only the piano part but nearly every other part in the ensemble as well. It can be a confusing piece of sheet music; the pianist must get used to following their part closely in conjunction with the other ensemble instruments. Traditionally, this is the job of the conductor. A normal conductor's score will notate every part of the ensemble in one large book of sheet music to aid the conductor in focusing on the various instruments. A piano score, however, is handled completely by the pianist. While it may mirror the score used by the conductor, it is rarely an exact replica; the notations, after all, are intended for an actual musician in the ensemble as opposed to the person directing it.

A piano score is used in a variety of different forms and genres; it knows no boundaries of style. The type of piano score used is often based solely on the type of music or ensemble. The pianist in a large ensemble, such as an accompanying orchestra to a theatrical performance, will often use a partial piano score. This type of piano score doesn't include every single instrument, just the parts vital to the pianist's understanding of the melody and rhythm; partial piano scores (despite being only partial) are still fairly detailed. A full piano score is usually only used by smaller ensembles, though even the small ensembles revert to a partial piano score at times. Jazz musicians particularly use a partial piano score even less detailed than a large orchestra's piano score. Due to the improvisatory nature of jazz music, detailed sheet music is rarely necessary; depending on the ensemble, the sheet music functions more as flexible notes than anything else. A piano score in jazz works in this manner. It gives the pianist vital reminders about the melody, rhythm or harmony, but allows for variations on the overall theme; a piano score here will only show what truly needs to be shown.







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What is a "Samba"?

Samba is a sort of carnival genre of music and dance. Rooted in Rio de Janeiro, it's the most popular and well-known genre to come out of the Afro-Brazilian culture, a culture created by the slave trade from Africa to Brazil. It's a very percussive, energetic form of music; as its roots are in carnival parades and celebrations, the samba's earliest forms has occasional similarities in dynamic to that of marching bands. But the similarities end there; samba is a full-fledged form intended for dancing, not marching. It's rhythmically unique and culturally vital to Rio de Janeiro and other parts of Brazil.

Like many music and dance genres, the samba is rooted in peasant culture. Groups of neighbors in poor Rio neighborhoods played the music together to sing and dance to and soon adapted the style to become part of their yearly carnival celebration. The samba quickly became an integral part of carnival; the celebratory music was played during carnival parades, and its inclusion made carnival samba a large production. Each samba school (a samba group named so because they often practiced in school yards) performing at carnival included singers, dancers, and an overwhelming drum section in addition to other instruments. The samba schools created large, colorful floats and the dancers' costumes were equally as intricate and bright. A samba school's preparations for carnival (which takes place early in the year) would often start as early as July with an incredible number of people working behind the scenes to create the aesthetic. Musicians, too, started this early, working to create an original composition to be used as the yearly parade piece.

Samba stayed largely within the Brazilian underground until 1917 when the first samba recordings appeared; "Pelo Telofone" is believed to be the first recording, though the composition has been attributed to a few different people. This recording and the others that followed brought samba out of the Rio underground and into the limelight; the irresistible energy found in samba quickly caught on in the United States where it became a music and dance phenomenon. The samba dance, a Brazilian tango-based 2/4 step taken directly from the carnival dancers, was altered as it shifted cultures, and soon became the ballroom samba that most Americans know today. The traditional samba is still danced in Brazilian carnival parades.

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How Long Do I Have To Keep Taking Lessons?

There comes a time in the life of every piano student when he asks the question "How long do I have to keep taking lessons?"

The answer is simple: Don't quit before you get to the "tipping point".

There is a "tipping point" in piano that when reached makes it easy to continue as a pianist even if lessons aren't taken. It's like a teeter totter -- once the weight gets on your side, things begin to happen and momentum takes over. Once people know you play well, you get asked to do things -- accompany someone, play at SS, at school, etc. and your skill brings with it some pride of achievement and satisfaction of participating.

As you may know, I took lessons from about 1st grade through 7th or so with no intention of doing anything with it, but because of that I was asked to do several things (let's see if I can remember):

1. When I was a freshman in Placer High the accompanyist for the school choir (which I sang in) was sick for a week, and Mr. Walker asked me to fill in. I was scared and didn't want to, but ended up doing it. I faked a lot of it, but got through.

2. The piano player for a school dance band had just graduated, and because I played a little and they didn't have any alternative, they asked me to play with them. They said I would have to know chords, and I didn't, so I learned a WHOLE bunch in a very few months simply out of fear of being embarrased. I didn't feel very comfortable playing with the group for a couple years, but I gradually got the hang of it.

3. Harry, the owner of the funeral parlor, saw me play at Sunday School at the Methodist church across the street, so asked me if I would fill in for the organist at the funeral home when she was gone. Again, I didn't want to do it, but it paid $15., and all I had to play was 2 or 3 songs.
 
    So one thing led to another and before long I was playing semi-professionally, and then professionally, and eventually played almost continuously for soloists, groups, quartets, trombone quartets, etc. etc. It was natural then to begin teaching privately part time, then full time, then having a studio of my own, then teaching by cassette long distance, then publishing my own piano books and cassettes and then videos and......
 
     The point of all this is: Get past the tipping point! Once you do, momentum will take over. If you like music, don't quit taking lessons until opportunities like this arise naturally -- and don't quit at all if you want to get really good. I continued to take lessons on and off while I was playing professionally, and it paid off big time!