I’m Beginning To See The Light: Journey Through The Real Book

[@markahearn1]

Yea! You really took us all over the place with this one. I particularly liked where you briefly put the melody in the left hand and did a little chromatic walk up with the right hand. Very cleaver.

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

Thanks Mark! I like to play the melody with my LH once in a while. It's a good technical exercise and also leads us to play different pianistic textures. Give it a try!

[@JonVonBonbon]

WOW! I watched this because I’m trying to figure out how I want to arrange this for a guitar / voice but listening to you talk about arrangements and different techniques for keyboard helped a lot and I really enjoyed watching this. Thanks so much for making these!!!

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

I'm glad this helped, Jon! Yes, learning various possibilities and how to "think about" the tune will enable you to create your own, personal version. Good luck!

[@HowardGoldman]

Watching the sun come up listening to Ron's Beginning To See The Light. Going to be a great day!

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

Yep, the sun's always rising somewhere!

[@JordanEvansMusic]

Love playing through the real book

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

Me too!

[@mongoharry]

I'm a guitar player and I really dug this video! My favorite version is by Al Jarreau, btw 🖤

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

I'm glad you liked this! Thanks for mentioning Jarreau's version, since I hadn't heard it before. It's amazing how his phrasing seems to emerge from the groove!

[@sarelfeniel1388]

Fantastic version and this is another tune I'm learning while going through your 30 day jazz classes. Absolutely a favourite of mine and the Ella/Duke version just swings so hard and I've danced to it numerous times.

[@argyle6674]

Excellent instruction! Thanks!

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

Thanks!!!

[@brendaboykin3281]

Congratulations on your noble creative project that you're sharing w us. Thank you, Ron. Enjoying/following this exploration. Learning a lot, MusicBrother.

[@brendaboykin3281]

Loved the bit w the lefthand melody! Would've been nice to hear it for a 2nd A section. Just learned a new arranging tech;thanx,Ron.(loyal Subbie).

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

@@brendaboykin3281 I'm glad you liked that LH bit, Brenda. I do that occasionally and in this case, I thought of it a nano-second before the beat. Then, I had to keep it going!

[@davidgerber9317]

I come here for "piano lessons", but I really appreciate the "music lessons" where you talk about arranging the tune. I generally prefer lots of harmonic motion, but you totally sold me on the static harmony for the first three bars here. Thanks for all you share with us, and I'm glad to see more and more people subscribing to your channel!

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

Hi David! I enjoy looking at the tunes from many angles, and it's nice to see that other people do too. We're building a strong community here!

[@randyknisely8979]

Thanks lots! Lotta stuff in there, loved the cloud analogy, going to have to listen lots of times to get it all...

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

Excellent, Randy - dig deep!

[@kateswadling]

Thank you - this was s helpful. And answered some questions between myself and another musician about the different changes we came across. Beautiful playing too.

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

I'm glad this helped, Kate! Once you know why the different changes are there, you can make an informed choice about which ones to play. Good luck :)

[@bajtucha]

Eagerly waiting for Night and Day and Foggy Day.

[@threee1298]

Love this, 30 mins ago I was thinking "man I need to get a piano teacher" but I think I might be set now.

[@rondrotos5285]

Thanks! I'm here when you need me :)

[@virginiahanley7745]

Of course a lot of what you said went right over my head, but not all of it. I’ve loved this tune for a long time, learning it from Readers’ Digest songbook Dan Fox’s arrangement which was almost attainable for me. Love to “swing” it.

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

Those Reader's Digest arrangements are wonderful!

[@larrysaidman1004]

Interstingly, while Ellington did stay on the same chord for those first 3 bars, the Real Book version isn't incorrect. The tune was apparently written by Ellington along with Harry James (and Johnny Hodges)---and the Harry James version seems pretty similar to those chord changes in The Real Book And that Harry James version (which was a 'hit' in 1945) was actually released before the Duke Ellington version (maybe only a few weeks earlier). They were both apparently released in December of 1944. So who knows which version is the 'right' version (for purists wanting to do the 'original').

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

Thanks for the info on Harry James, Larry - I'll check out his version!

[@vic6695]

Check out the music video by The Hall Sisters of this song... they make it fun and it's a great rendition.

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

Thanks Vic - fun video and great harmonies!