Jazz Piano

For my essay question I'm going to be looking into and researching the techniques and common features of jazz piano playing. This will help with my two group pieces for the 1920s and 1930s show because this is the style that I will be required to play the piano for these pieces. The first being an original composition called 'When I' and the second being our arrangement of 'Well did you Evah' from the musical High Society.

Some common features of jazz piano are:

• Swing of jazz in right hand
• Bass left hand pattern
• Angular melodies with sevenths

(Teach-Me-Piano 2009)

Using this knowledge of different features of jazz piano in the era I can use these too adapt one of our group pieces that I composed, to make it sound more like jazz rather than straight up Musical Theatre. Jazz was influence from Blues and that's why I've based my left hand pattern on the walking bass  and made the right hand more chordal based to reflect the piece. When playing it into Protools I'll add another right hand thematically melody for the piano so that it makes the piano part more interesting and keeps it engaging and fresh, especially during the tap break although keeping this simple enough to not confuse the dancers.