The Secret to Playing Donna Lee and Other Fast Bebop Melodies

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Jazz Pianist Jeremy Siskind discusses "clustering," the art of using hand positions to learn difficult passages. This tip is perfect for learning Donna Lee, Ornithology, Bouncin' with Bud, and any other fast bebop melody.
00:00 Overview
00:42 Clusters: Fred Hersch, Abby Whiteside, Sophia Rosoff
01:10 Clusters on C Major Scale
1:48 Repetition
2:43 Shaping
3:00 Clusters: Donna Lee
4:31 Think up
5:28 First Improv Lesson
7:10 Demonstration on How High the Moon
7:47 Summary

[@twinturbohenry]

Best channel on KZbin! Thank you so much Jeremy!

[@twinturbohenry]

I just keep coming back to this amazing lesson! Thanks Jeremy. Best channel on YT!!

[@Dakotanoxon]

You are one of the best teachers I've ever had. Thank for taking your time to share your knowledge so expertly!

[@JeremySiskind]

This warms my heart! Miss you, Dakota!!!

[@mattwitek]

Wow this is so enlightening! Love it

[@sueromanick8631]

Great practical ideas to help with practicing and improvising - thanks !

[@mitchelledels9762]

Jeremy - Great video . I will take lessons with you , but I have a question about bass lines and hearing them so that you can play by ear. Sometimes you can not hear the bass in a tune. Thank you

[@ranblake3165]

Yes I’m Ran I find that my attempts at variety of styles ,inform by film noir playing I admire your videos

[@JeremySiskind]

I’m a fan of your music! And I used to have lessons with Sophia after you on occasion.

[@PIANOSTYLE100]

Unique way of teaching. The best. Have to work on this. I have about 30 measures of Donna Lee down at about 90 percent accuracy on right hand. Chords on the left hand are ehh.. Lately finally figured out how Ireal pro works. Years ago I did the melody with Maestro and Score creator..used S.C. with trumpet voice. That sounds really authentic. I am sure that Maestro is capable of accuracy. Ireal Pro has a cool band feel. The best.

[@JeremySiskind]

90 percent accuracy in the right hand sounds pretty good to me! Keep up the good work!

[@PIANOSTYLE100]

@@JeremySiskind Thanks Jeremy. I just programed Donna Lee right hand with score creator. I originally programmed it at 100 bpm. That is way too 🐌 slow. I'm thinking about getting the chords down and then go from there. I believe I did it a while back...with both, but it is a work in progress.

[@sergiomeza9854]

Thank you so much my bro.

[@kareemakhtar6691]

Enlightening

[@JeremySiskind]

Glad you dug it, Kareem! Thanks!

[@luvzrsvpsheets9713]

Such a good idea

[@olebirgerpedersen]

Even you can't play closters on a saxophone it's very instructive.

[@JeremySiskind]

I'm glad it helped you out, Ole!

[@garymukalay2]

Very beautiful..i love it !

[@JeremySiskind]

Thanks, Gary!

[@dagadbm]

how do you handle lines that go over an octave and you need to change hands? while improvising! what happens to me is that i dont have enough fingers and my mind and music is going so fast that all my technique goes to hell. and i end up making pretty stupid finger movements like going from the 5th finger to the 3rd (but going up! not down)

[@JeremySiskind]

Just get used to doing a *lot* of crossing over/under. That's what's going to create the largest amount of flexibility in your fingering as an improviser.

[@dylanaraica6]

Master!

[@JeremySiskind]

You're too kind!

[@sheilamacdougal4874]

Jeremy, have you ever seen DOMI play it? (DOMI - Donna Lee) on yt.

[@JeremySiskind]

I haven't. Thanks for the tip, Sheila!

[@drakestube]

This is brilliant. But it seems to me the fingering you demonstrate for the uber-tricky descending b-flat-a-c sequence in the first phrase when clustered harmonically (2-5-1) (3:19-20) is different than when you play the separate clusters melodically (3-4-1) (3:15) which (as far as I can tell) is different from when you play it up to speed (3-2-1) (e.g., 4:58). As you say, a lot of different ways to finger it. But it's interesting that even though you practice the clustering technique one way, up to speed you naturally seem to modify it in the moment.

[@cursedswordsman]

great observation

[@martinlehfeldt6916]

Typewriter speed, casually looking into the camera. Lol I'm going to work on this. Makes a lot of sense. Thx

[@JeremySiskind]

Great! I'm glad it was helpful for you, Martin!

[@JLamont45]

Do you have a pdf for these clusters?

[@williamsanchez1240]

Hi Jeremy, how are you? I would love for you to share the Abby Whiteside video link with me please. Thanks in advance.

[@JeremySiskind]

Hi William! Hmmm, I’m happy to help, but I’m not too sure what you’re talking about. Can you be more specific?

[@williamsanchez1240]

@@JeremySiskind You comment on in your video the principle of grouping of Abby Whiteside and Sophia Rosoff and you talk about a video about it, that's what I mean because I wanted to look on your channel to see if that video was there and well I thought that maybe you had a link from youtube to deepen about it.

[@ranblake3165]

I would love to see video of Abby .i had three lessons with Sophia before she passed ...

[@thubathabethe]

Whaaaaat!!!!

[@JeremySiskind]

I dunnnnnnnnnnoooooooo 😜 😆

[@pianotubeleonbricht9635]

Which piano do you play on?

[@JeremySiskind]

I'm a Yamaha artist, but I'm working on a Mason & Hamlin 5'8" grand at home.

[@mariostoumbas6531]

@@JeremySiskind love Mason and Hamlins, we had them at New England Conservatory and I liked them better than the Steinways! Great videos Jeremy!

[@JeremySiskind]

@@mariostoumbas6531 Thanks, Marios! Miss you, buddy!

[@dagadbm]

btw you play different fingering every time.. im trying to transcribe your fingering but its always different (at least in minute 2-3) i believe you have a fingering you think you have learned and then when you actually play it changes, depending on the speed of it.

[@daveramsaysmith1635]

Really Helpful Jeremy ! Please get a Better Microphone ... & Talk and Play more SLOWLY !!!

[@JeremySiskind]

Thanks for the advice, Dave!

[@twinturbohenry]

@@JeremySiskind nooooooooo, faster please! :)