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Boogie Woogie, Part I

© Jana Cole

Boogie woogie is one of the most fun ways to improvise on the piano. It has few "rules", and really allows you to express yourself as a piano player. Plus, it is a lot of fun to play! On the technical side, it develops your ears, your sense of rhythm and tempo, independence of the hands, hand strength and probably other things I haven't thought of. Through a series of articles, I would like to show some easy ways to play in this style. You don't even have to read music for this!

The key to making boogie woogie groove is the left hand, so let's start there. We are going to play a basic left hand. Find middle C, then go to the C below it. Play that note with your pinky. At the same time, with your thumb, play G. Then move your thumb to A and play the two notes again. Finally, move your thumb back to G and play the two notes again. In other words, your thumb moves back and forth between G and A, and your pinky stays on C:

Thumb: G A G A G A G A
Pinky: C C C C C C C C

This is a perfectly acceptable boogie woogie pattern. It is not a "simplified" pattern. The secret is you have to make it groove. You have to keep it moving, energetic, bouncy. So, don't lean too heavily on the notes. And, you must keep the tempo unwaveringly steady. Accent the C-G a little more than C-A. Turn on a metronome, if you like, to help you with your tempo.

If you don't like the metronome, try this well-known rhyme. It works very well. Say it in rhythm and it might help you keep a steady beat. The bold shows where the rhytmic accents should be, that is, where you should be playing C-G. On the unaccented beats, you should be playing C-A:

Ten little monkeys jumpin' on the bed
One fell off and broke its head
Mamma called the doctor, the doctor said:
"No more monkeys jumpin' on the bed!"

Nine little monkeys jumpin' on the bed, etc.

Work with this for a while until the tempo, the accents and the notes become second nature. You need to be able to play this left hand in your sleep, grooving, with a steady tempo. Play it for a few minutes at a time, then leave it and come back to it a few hours later. Don't be concerned that it doesn't sound fancy. Just work on getting comfortable with it.