This is a great insight of how you compose these marvellous funky songs! Thanks so much for your time! =D and yeah we'd love to see more videos like this one =)
YASSS love this. Definitely using this as inspiration. Another technique I like to use is to grab a short melodic phrase from big band songs, use it as the top voice, and write a groove around it. Helps me introduce new changes and melodies that I never would've thought of!
Pretty fun to watch! I enjoyed the commentary while you were composing. I don’t know if anyone else is doing quite the same thing so it’s really refreshing to hear a funk centered pianist do this. I enjoyed it just as is and I’m sure you’ll learn what to tighten up as time goes on. Keep it up!
Hooow Man I almost didn't know English, but is a pleasure to find a channel like this, How much information, great man, Greetings from COLOMBIA and now you will have a new subscriber!
So glad your back Jonathon. I subscribed to your old channel and loved it. Now your back on Groovewindow. Awesome! You're one Bad Dude on the keys and so generous to share your experience and teach us all some of your skills. Looking forward to your videos. Thank You!
This is great. I like to compose but my theory/musical toolbox is pretty limited so I tend to mess about and search my way. Always interested to hear how people visualise the piano, particularly in terms of composition, various voicings/chord structures etc. Cheers! Dan
Man, this video is super cool! Thank you for sharing your process (awesome workstation, btw). Didn't have time to try out your new funk groove, but loved what I heard! This new format is pretty cool and maybe is something you can release more often, I believe that by doing so your videos will reach (and inspire) more people!
Thanks Jonathan that was real personal insight into how you would approach writing a groove! There’s lots to learn about chord progressions and tasty bass lines. Going forward it would be great to see how you add the percussion tracks via software as that seems a whole other ballgame. Even some pointers would great! Thanks again 😃
Loved this video! Your new format is excellent! Picked up a few ideas along the way. Would love to see more practical theory tools like your hinting at the major third example! Maybe something geared towards improvisational theory
It was very interesting for me because I think I have a very similar approach to find a tune, but at a much lower level. And no arrangement, I only play on the piano or my synths. Very interesting would be if you share some tricks in the process (and there are some, I know).
Love it great explanation .... people there’s a reason it’s called soul music ...... it’s because it comes from THE SOUL ! Keep on funkin bro I really feel your music 🔥
New to your channel and loving it! Would like perhaps a quick video of your video set up. What cameras do you use, what tripod set up do you have and what lighting and video/audio editing do you have going on?
Great stuff. Like the use of multi-cam and incorporation with your DAW. This is a really excellent format - - informative & inspirational. After nearly a 30 year absence from my own use of MIDI (early Cakewalk stuff) I am back at age 72 starting it all up again with the new Privia PX-S3000 and Ableton Live 10. Your videos will now be apart of my regular routine. And please keep doing it every MONDAY ! ! ruclips.net/user/notsereyus
Hi...what are you ultimately developing these ideas for? Are they solo piano pieces for your own enjoyment, or is there a commercial consideration. If not solo piano pieces, do you finally write out the specific parts for various instruments, or create a more general lead sheet?
Initially no specific purpose -- probably always "fun" to start with. If anything happens to pop out that I like, or which I think might be useful to others, I'll write out the sheet music and post it online. Most of these are pretty rough after the one working session you see in these videos, so again -- if there's something that might have merit - it might get more attention in the future and turn into a real "tutorial" with dedicated sheet music and a more complete arrangement. Certainly no intentions for anything commercial. I like to write music and if others are interested in playing it, I'd like for them to be able to get access to the sheet music, etc. for free. My intention is for it to always be that way. This is always just the start of the process, and I don't ever really know where it will end up :)
I have been trying similar things to this, but I am now struggling on how to end my improvisation... For example if I was playing around with Cm blues, me playing improvised is an infinite loop lol 😅 Any tips on how to make a conclusion part from my improvisation?
This is excellent Jonathan. Incredibly insightful, and again inspiring! Did you have any pre-conceived ideas at all before shooting, or was it all as it was coming out, so to speak?! Ive just about got Bombstep down, and I like how its making me think about my own style and ideas, as has today's video. I see you're using your Privia as a midi controller for bass/drums etc, but is the piano patch you're using its on-board sound, or a digital patch?
Hi Glen! Thank you so much for your kind words :) - I didn't really have any pre-conceived ideas - this mostly came out as you saw it. Do note that I fiddled around for quite a bit longer than this and edited it down, so it didn't quite happen this fast! Think of it like those "speed drawing" videos you see on artist's channels. I love my Privia, and I do often just use the onboard sounds for sessions like this - but for recording they're a little thin. The piano you're hearing in this video is a software patch: The Steinway D from PianoTeq. I like it quite a bit - and enjoy their classic electronic pianos too. You may have noticed that I use Linux which limits my choices a bit - but overall, I find it to be more stable and performant. If I'm working on something with really fast sections - I'll often switch to the onboard Privia sounds because even the 8-9 milliseconds of lag to the software piano starts to drive me crazy. I'll play it on the onboard thinner sounds (but with a very snappy instantaneous response), then listen to the digital version later. When I look at my sequencer rolls, I can actually see where I compensate for the lag by consistently playing every note about 10ms early. Maddening. I highly recommend the Piano Teq piano - it has some little inconsistencies, but overall, its very playable and reasonably priced. Would love to see a link/recording once you feel like you've got Bombstep down -- So cool that you're learning it so quickly!
Thanks so much for taking the time to reply, so cool to have a conversation with you! It's amazing that all of that came out as we saw it, albeit edited, it must of been nerve wracking to do it all whilst the cameras were rolling. I've been considering a Privia for my studio, knowing they are well rated, but I did wonder about that patch in this video as it sounded so full and lush! - Which model of Privia is the best to get? The Steinway D sounds lurvely, and it certainly is amazing the quality of sound from plug-ins these days, but I do just wish there was no lag at all, as it must be frustrating having to compensate for it? I certainly will video & record Bombstep when I've got it down! Just a couple of areas to tighten up, and I'm going to tune up my acoustic piano to play it on that just for fun! Thank you again for producing these grooves, as soon as I heard it, there was no doubt about giving it a go. I've wanted to have a crack at Funk Groove #5 in Dm for ages, so will do that, and also possibly Lemon Drop too for my own personal development.
You’re writing reactivity ( pick a chord and build) Try one word to inspire you, then ask yourself questions about that word. Example The word will be.... Strut. Questions Fast or slow? Will say slow Male or Female? Will say female Happy or sad ? Will say feeling good Keep asking yourself questions about the 3/4 minuet journey you’re about to create before you know it you’re scoring the soundtrack of your imagination and not trying to right songs. Love your skill set.
Enjoy your compositions/teaching style. IMO, Overall your style of playing is more Jazz or Blues than Funk or Soul. On some of your songs the drum track is more syncopated, giving it a Jazz/Funk feel. But mostly you are in the range of either Blues/Rock or Soul/Jazz. ie early Ramsey Lewis or early Herbie (i’m talking early to mid 60s Soul/Jazz.) This is Not in any way a criticism, except to say that the songs in your lessons are not Funk in the traditional sense, although many are being labeled as such. In this video, the song sounds heavily influenced by Herbie Hancock in his ‘Maiden Voyage’ era (which isn’t a bad thing!) However, Neo-Soul takes its influence from a form of jazz/funk popularized by artists like Roy Ayers, and Donald Byrd, which features tones such as 11th chords, or ‘extended minor’ chords. very distinctive chord patterns which are distinguishable from contemporary jazz, and creative a specific vibe. ijs
This is a great insight of how you compose these marvellous funky songs! Thanks so much for your time! =D and yeah we'd love to see more videos like this one =)
Beatiful
Awesome! I'm looking forward to upcoming mondays :-)
YASSS love this. Definitely using this as inspiration.
Another technique I like to use is to grab a short melodic phrase from big band songs, use it as the top voice, and write a groove around it. Helps me introduce new changes and melodies that I never would've thought of!
Why would one feel the need to DO something when no actual ideea is pushing the action.We have far too much quantity of sounds around.
Excellent.. thank you. Always good to see the creative process when ideas come together. Sometimes theory gets in the way. Please keep it going.
Oh my...
So cool
I'm waiting for the next video.
Glad you're making more videos!
Pretty fun to watch! I enjoyed the commentary while you were composing. I don’t know if anyone else is doing quite the same thing so it’s really refreshing to hear a funk centered pianist do this. I enjoyed it just as is and I’m sure you’ll learn what to tighten up as time goes on. Keep it up!
Hooow Man I almost didn't know English, but is a pleasure to find a channel like this, How much information, great man, Greetings from COLOMBIA and now you will have a new subscriber!
I love this....thank you for showing your creative process. :)
So glad your back Jonathon. I subscribed to your old channel and loved it. Now your back on Groovewindow. Awesome! You're one Bad Dude on the keys and so generous to share your experience and teach us all some of your skills. Looking forward to your videos. Thank You!
Absolutely love this groove 😀
This is great. I like to compose but my theory/musical toolbox is pretty limited so I tend to mess about and search my way. Always interested to hear how people visualise the piano, particularly in terms of composition, various voicings/chord structures etc. Cheers! Dan
That was so much fun! I asked if you'd record yourself sitting at the keyboard & improvising, and you delivered that and more. Thanks!
Wow, super cool! If you did detailed piano lessons in this style, you would make a lot of people happy :)
Man, this video is super cool! Thank you for sharing your process (awesome workstation, btw). Didn't have time to try out your new funk groove, but loved what I heard! This new format is pretty cool and maybe is something you can release more often, I believe that by doing so your videos will reach (and inspire) more people!
Yeah! Super cool. Loved when you showed your plugins and stuff.
Cool stuff man!
I love these chord changes! I hope to see more videos from you in the future! Keep it going :)
Great insight into your process! Thank you!
Really helpful Jonathan thank you very much :)
Looking forward to this new series !
It has something that reminds me a lot to Keith Jarret... very nice
Thanks Jonathan that was real personal insight into how you would approach writing a groove! There’s lots to learn about chord progressions and tasty bass lines. Going forward it would be great to see how you add the percussion tracks via software as that seems a whole other ballgame. Even some pointers would great! Thanks again 😃
Ah! Great feedback. I'll see if I can incorporate a bit more of the 'arranging' side of this too. Thanks for the comment!
Loved this video! Your new format is excellent! Picked up a few ideas along the way.
Would love to see more practical theory tools like your hinting at the major third example! Maybe something geared towards improvisational theory
Nice suggestion! I'll see what I can do. I can definitely talk more about the theory behind the improv stuff. Thank you!
It was very interesting for me because I think I have a very similar approach to find a tune, but at a much lower level. And no arrangement, I only play on the piano or my synths. Very interesting would be if you share some tricks in the process (and there are some, I know).
Love it great explanation .... people there’s a reason it’s called soul music ...... it’s because it comes from THE SOUL ! Keep on funkin bro I really feel your music 🔥
Loved it!
The whole video I was dying to hear your cluster chords with a silky Rhodes sound. Remix time!
LOVE IT !!!
New to your channel and loving it! Would like perhaps a quick video of your video set up. What cameras do you use, what tripod set up do you have and what lighting and video/audio editing do you have going on?
Not only do you compose ultra funky tunes, but you also produce and edit mean videos.
07:26 when you surprise yourself with a filthy chord
Roll on Monday’s lol brill
Great stuff. Like the use of multi-cam and incorporation with your DAW. This is a really excellent format - - informative & inspirational.
After nearly a 30 year absence from my own use of MIDI (early Cakewalk stuff) I am back at age 72 starting it all up again with the new Privia PX-S3000 and Ableton Live 10. Your videos will now be apart of my regular routine.
And please keep doing it every MONDAY ! !
ruclips.net/user/notsereyus
NotSereyus , About a 40 year absence for me. Been back at it for 3 years. Starting to write some tunes. This is very inspirational.
Hi...what are you ultimately developing these ideas for? Are they solo piano pieces for your own enjoyment, or is there a commercial consideration.
If not solo piano pieces, do you finally write out the specific parts for various instruments, or create a more general lead sheet?
Initially no specific purpose -- probably always "fun" to start with. If anything happens to pop out that I like, or which I think might be useful to others, I'll write out the sheet music and post it online. Most of these are pretty rough after the one working session you see in these videos, so again -- if there's something that might have merit - it might get more attention in the future and turn into a real "tutorial" with dedicated sheet music and a more complete arrangement. Certainly no intentions for anything commercial. I like to write music and if others are interested in playing it, I'd like for them to be able to get access to the sheet music, etc. for free. My intention is for it to always be that way. This is always just the start of the process, and I don't ever really know where it will end up :)
I have been trying similar things to this, but I am now struggling on how to end my improvisation... For example if I was playing around with Cm blues, me playing improvised is an infinite loop lol 😅
Any tips on how to make a conclusion part from my improvisation?
This is excellent Jonathan. Incredibly insightful, and again inspiring! Did you have any pre-conceived ideas at all before shooting, or was it all as it was coming out, so to speak?! Ive just about got Bombstep down, and I like how its making me think about my own style and ideas, as has today's video. I see you're using your Privia as a midi controller for bass/drums etc, but is the piano patch you're using its on-board sound, or a digital patch?
Hi Glen! Thank you so much for your kind words :) - I didn't really have any pre-conceived ideas - this mostly came out as you saw it. Do note that I fiddled around for quite a bit longer than this and edited it down, so it didn't quite happen this fast! Think of it like those "speed drawing" videos you see on artist's channels. I love my Privia, and I do often just use the onboard sounds for sessions like this - but for recording they're a little thin. The piano you're hearing in this video is a software patch: The Steinway D from PianoTeq. I like it quite a bit - and enjoy their classic electronic pianos too. You may have noticed that I use Linux which limits my choices a bit - but overall, I find it to be more stable and performant.
If I'm working on something with really fast sections - I'll often switch to the onboard Privia sounds because even the 8-9 milliseconds of lag to the software piano starts to drive me crazy. I'll play it on the onboard thinner sounds (but with a very snappy instantaneous response), then listen to the digital version later. When I look at my sequencer rolls, I can actually see where I compensate for the lag by consistently playing every note about 10ms early. Maddening. I highly recommend the Piano Teq piano - it has some little inconsistencies, but overall, its very playable and reasonably priced.
Would love to see a link/recording once you feel like you've got Bombstep down -- So cool that you're learning it so quickly!
Thanks so much for taking the time to reply, so cool to have a conversation with you!
It's amazing that all of that came out as we saw it, albeit edited, it must of been nerve wracking to do it all whilst the cameras were rolling. I've been considering a Privia for my studio, knowing they are well rated, but I did wonder about that patch in this video as it sounded so full and lush! - Which model of Privia is the best to get? The Steinway D sounds lurvely, and it certainly is amazing the quality of sound from plug-ins these days, but I do just wish there was no lag at all, as it must be frustrating having to compensate for it?
I certainly will video & record Bombstep when I've got it down! Just a couple of areas to tighten up, and I'm going to tune up my acoustic piano to play it on that just for fun! Thank you again for producing these grooves, as soon as I heard it, there was no doubt about giving it a go. I've wanted to have a crack at Funk Groove #5 in Dm for ages, so will do that, and also possibly Lemon Drop too for my own personal development.
Sweeeet! (Probably to complicated for me.) :-D
You need Barry White now to lay down the smooth vocals lol
That’s Some great pornmusic!!! Lmao
You’re writing reactivity ( pick a chord and build) Try one word to inspire you, then ask yourself questions about that word. Example
The word will be.... Strut. Questions
Fast or slow? Will say slow
Male or Female? Will say female
Happy or sad ? Will say feeling good
Keep asking yourself questions about the 3/4 minuet journey you’re about to create before you know it you’re scoring the soundtrack of your imagination and not trying to right songs. Love your skill set.
Enjoy your compositions/teaching style.
IMO, Overall your style of playing is more Jazz or Blues than Funk or Soul. On some of your songs the drum track is more syncopated, giving it a Jazz/Funk feel. But mostly you are in the range of either Blues/Rock or Soul/Jazz. ie early Ramsey Lewis or early Herbie (i’m talking early to mid 60s Soul/Jazz.)
This is Not in any way a criticism, except to say that the songs in your lessons are not Funk in the traditional sense, although many are being labeled as such.
In this video, the song sounds heavily influenced by Herbie Hancock in his ‘Maiden Voyage’ era (which isn’t a bad thing!)
However, Neo-Soul takes its influence from a form of jazz/funk popularized by artists like Roy Ayers, and Donald Byrd, which features tones such as 11th chords, or ‘extended minor’ chords. very distinctive chord patterns which are distinguishable from contemporary jazz, and creative a specific vibe.
ijs