Now blues riffs are just groups of notes that sound cool together on the piano. Like this:

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Let’s get started. So far, we’ve learned a blues riff that sounds like this… <<riff here>> Remember that? If you don’t, you can review any of the previous chapters at http://playpianotoday.com/blues

We’re going to move on now. We’re going to learn a new blues riff and call it “Blues Riff #2″. Here it is again, lower.

Watch the Video Version of this piano lesson (top of this page)

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Now here’s where it’s really begins to sound fantastic… when you alternate Riff #1 with Riff #2. Can you hear that?… Riff #1, Riff #2, Riff#1, followed by 2.

Yeah, just back and forth. It’s mighty fine. Alright.

Here’s some more now.

<<riff demo>>

Ok, let’s get started on this piano lesson.

Now at the end of that little piece, I played a long blues riff: <<sound>> that sounds like it’s probably pretty tough to play. But guess what, it’s not. It’s actually very simple. We’re going to learn something in this chapter, Chapter Six, that’s a component of that big, long, bluesy riff. And then, in Chapter 8, we’re going to put it all together and you’re going to be able to play exactly what I did. So get ready, there’s lots of stuff to dig into here.

To begin with, let’s learn how to play this new blues riff, Riff #2.

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Now, do you remember the very first right hand riff that I taught you?

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Now sometimes, I play this riff up high on the keyboard, and sometimes, down low – just depending on whatever chord I happen to be playing at that particular moment.

For instance, when I played this riff over the C Chord, I played it right here <<sound>> and then I played it higher for F, <<sound>> then I played it a little higher yet, for G <<sound>> … just depending whatever chord I happen to be playing at that particular moment.

Now this new riff, Blues Riff #2, is what’s called a static riff. That means it never moves. You always play it in the same spot on the keyboard.

Now I know you are wondering, how could that be possibly be interesting? Playing the same thing in the same spot. Here’s the secret, this new riff, it’s only played by the right hand. So it keeps hammering the same thing in exactly in the same spot. But the left hand keeps moving to a different chord in the blues and because the static riffs works with all those chords, you got a new flavor every time you play a new chord on the piano.

It’s incredible! Now the reason sounds so cool, and reason that it works overall, is because this static riff is based on the blues scale. Now that’s a super! super! important point. I’ll talk to you about it more in the upcoming chapters.

But for now, listen to a sample of the right hand playing the static riff in the exact same spot on the keyboard while the left hand moves through different chords of the blues. Here it is.

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Now, did you hear how the right hand kept hammering the same exact riff while the left hand playing different chords? That’s called a static riff. It doesn’t seam like it would have much interest because after all you always play it in the same spot.

However, when you couple together in the left hand, it can become a very, very powerful force in the blues. Now a bit of clarification: I did say that you play the static riff in exactly the same spot in the keyboard no matter what chord the left hand was playing – there’s one exemption. You can play it up an octave (or two octaves), or an octave lower, whatever the case is, that way it’s always the same notes but in different registers on the keyboard.

Now if it sounds I’m getting a bit technical on this point, you know what? I am! It’s time to dig in – there are great concepts here but it does take some technical, musical knowledge. Now if you play the piano, and if you’re really comfortable with these terms, let’s move on.

But if this is starting to sound like a foreign language, you really need to go through our course titled “Pattern Piano and Keyboard”. You can find that piano lessons course on the net at www.playpianotoday.com.

“Pattern Piano and Keyboard” starts with the very beginning foundations of music. It assumes that you have never played piano before, but then it quickly moves to college level techniques. But the real power of this piano lessons course is that it will enable you to learn to play piano by ear, quickly – using the revolutionary technique of rhythmic patterns!

This is so powerful! Using this tool of rhythmic patterns, piano students are quickly able to develop their own unique style and unique sound on the piano or the keyboard. They are able to create fantastic arrangements of any song by ear. Doesn’t that sound like fun? We literally have hundreds of thousands of students around the world who have gone through this course and they have found a new passion in music.

Now once you have gone through that course, come back here. Work your way through this online blues course. At that point, you’ll have a solid musical understanding which will allow you to become a creative musician – and this is a key to a life long love of music.

[Music fading]

Now we’re going to work on the individual notes of this right hand blues riff, the static riff, blues riff #2 frame by frame.

This has been part one of two from chapter 6, in the piano lesson series titled “Blues for Piano and Keyboard”. If you want to see more piano lessons, come on over to http://playpianotoday.com.

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In this website, there’s a wealth of online piano and keyboard lessons and you can dig in right away.

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Online demo c. Music Unlimited Inc., another Piano Lessons success story!