What are some books or educational DVD's for learning rock, blues and jazz piano and Hammond B-3 soloing and licks

June 19, 2009 9:28 PM

What are some good books or educational DVD's, besides Jamie Abersol, for learning rock, blues and jazz piano and Hammond B-3 soloing and licks.

I am a very competent keyboardist. I can play by ear, chord chart and written music. I am a good band musician. I can comp and sound great. But I can't solo for the life of me. I have a good digital piano and Micro B mark II. I don't really have any good licks. Where can I go to learn this stuff?

posted by doppler68 to media & arts (3 answers total)

Jerry Bergonzi's materials might help. Very complete and thorough, if you are interested in spending the time. Not licks. Teaches you how to improvise over changes.
posted by sully75 at 4:56 AM on June 20, 2009

Here's my two cents -- take it or leave it.

It's not really about developing "licks". If you learn licks and play licks you will just sound like a guy playing licks. I would practice by singing along to recordings -- do it in the car or the shower so no one can hear you -- and develop melodic ideas that way. Become comfortable "soloing" this way and your developed aural skills will easily transfer to keyboard (or any other instrument that you're proficient at).

Another thing would be to find a soloist you like -- doesn't have to be a B3 player, but it doesn't hurt -- and learn his/her solos. Jazz musicians like to start out with Miles' solo on "So What"; it's simple, but melodic and very rhythmic. Don't worry about writing it down, but be able to play it completely, with and without the recording.

This is probably going to be a better way of becoming comfortable playing in front of a band than learning licks from books and DVDs.
posted by rossination at 12:04 PM on June 20, 2009

P.S. I am not a jazz musician. I am a classical musician who played some jazz in high school, and I've developed enough skills to fake my way through a blues. Still, this is how I learned how to do it, and if I wanted to get better at it, this is how I'd be spending my time.
posted by rossination at 12:05 PM on June 20, 2009