Jason Lyon Music

Tag: piano

  • The Gig Went Down Brilliantly

    —

    by

    Jason
    in

    For all that the internet is full of crap (here too), sometimes you’re reminded what it’s really for. Soak this up folks. There’s so much that could be said about this and so much to learn from it, but ultimately for me the big takeaway is the urge to entertain – Victor Borge must have…

  • Camels and Robots

    —

    by

    Jason
    in , ,

    Or putting rhythm sections out of business… Nah, of course, I’d never do such a thing. There’s no substitute for the real deal. But then practising isn’t the real deal either and I was asked a while ago about how I practise. Sorry the reply comes so late, MH. Sad truth is that at the…

  • Tacet

    —

    by

    Jason
    in

    I recently heard the tail end of a radio interview with actor Simon Russell Beale. The discussion was about a new theatre production he’s doing which involves him actually playing the piano – yes, actually playing. Debussy, I think it was. It emerged that he is one of those actors who has grade whatever piano…

  • Right, Said Fred

    —

    by

    Jason
    in

    I’ve been working with a student recently who’s concerned about getting more out of her piano soloing. And my suggestion has been to commit piano heresy – practise with the right hand alone. Before the ghosts of generations of piano teachers break free from the special circle of hell reserved for them to torment me,…

  • Circling the Square

    —

    by

    Jason
    in ,

    I’ve been asked to post something on piano fingerings for jazz. I’ll do my usual – half-answer the question and then talk about something I think is far more important. With precomposed music, you work out a fingering in advance but it’s largely based on standardised ways of working with scales and arpeggios. With improvised…

  • Frankly My Dear… He Gives a Damn

    —

    by

    Jason
    in

    If you haven’t heard of pianist Dave Frank, this is your lucky day. He’s a formidable, eclectic performer; a former Piano Prof at Berkelee, before he founded his own school in NYC; author of two books and a DVD (published by Hal Leonard); and a genial, incredibly generous and prolific video educator. Check out his stuff…

  • Drop 2 More

    —

    by

    Jason
    in ,

    I wrote about Drop 2 last year here and I’ve had some feedback (a few people really loved the picture of the Golden Retriever with four tennis balls in her mouth – so here she is for a well-deserved encore). In particular, I’ve been asked variations on the following question: “All very well, mate, and…

  • The Silver Bullet

    —

    by

    Jason
    in , ,

    Adios then, Señor Blues. We did a couple of numbers as tributes to Horace Silver on the gig last Monday. Didn’t even know someone had written lyrics to Nica’s Dream. Cool though. Horace came up in the bebop era, but really hit his stride in the aftermath. Hard bop – the more accessible, downhome, bluesy,…

  • A Rose by Any Other Name…

    —

    by

    Jason
    in ,

    …would smell as sweet. (That’s yer actual Shakespeare, folks.) But sometimes the rose isn’t what it seems. So when is a rose not a rose? When is a fifth a fourth (or eleventh) and a third not a third? Having possibly thoroughly confused you already, I’ll get to the point. This post is a response to someone…

  • Marian Reforms

    —

    by

    Jason
    in ,

    Marius “Butch” Nordal probably needs no introduction from me, but if you haven’t heard of him I strongly advise you to check him out. He’s got a lot of stuff on YouTube – his nom de toob is radiokid2, but the main website is here: http://mariusnordal.com. He’s my kind of musician and writer – tells…