Block Chords

[gambaytheunspoken]

George Shearing is a master of this technique. Essential to what is known as the "Shearing sound." Perhaps my favourite pianist. Anyhow, the most straight forwward illusration of this technique is by the one and only Dick Hyman, pianist and teacher extraordinaire. He also has an instructional cdrom that is very good as well. See here:

Hope it helps.

Ciao!

[psenior]

That is where you and I differ.

I think we are not so different.

Everything is harmony to me. When I play a melody it is in context with the harmony. Melodic content is not scalar repetition.

I would say the exact same thing. We are in complete agreement.

When you were a child you may have practiced your abc's. Do you attempt to discuss things by reciting your abc's? Does reciting them really really fast make you look more inteligent or convey the emotive and intelectual ideals in your head?

You are assuming that I use scales in the manner you described. I agree with you that just zipping up and down the notes of a scale as fast as you can is often overdone.

Would you agree with me that just sitting on a given chord for the prescribed length of time is also overdone? Most chords can be found to naturally occur in one or more scales. In order to get away from just playing static chords it's very common to move to some of the other chords found in the scale. You can generate many simple or sophisticated, harmonic or melodic ideas using this method.