Boogie-Woogie
One of the great piano traditions is boogie-woogie. In this book, this style of playing will come up time and time again since its influence is enormous. Boogie had a strong hand in the development of jump blues, country and western, and rock-n-roll. It also greatly influenced the big bands of the swing era including those of Duke Ellington and Tommy Dorsey.
In the first quarter of the twentieth century, boogie was developed in the barrelhouses or rural shanties of the American South. There, poor black day laborers began experimenting with an up-tempo style of music that was fun to dance to. Soon boogie-woogie flourished in the honky-tonks or rowdy saloons of the southern states. Eventually, black musicians seeking a better life moved north, bringing this style of music to such cities as Chicago and New York. In 1938, pioneers of boogie-woogie were featured in a series of concerts at Carnegie Hall in Manhattan called “From Spirituals to Swing.” Because of these concerts, boogie-woogie reached a larger audience. By the 1940s, boogie would become a short-lived but significant national fad.
Boogie-woogie is largely a solo piano style of music. However, it was sometimes played by piano duos and trios. For example, the Meade “Lux” Lewis, Albert Ammons, and Pete Johnson trio was legendary. In the early 1940s, the Andrew Sisters' movie theme “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B” typified the boogie craze with white audiences.
Boogie is characterized by an “eight to the bar” left-hand ostinato. An
Since left-hand activity defines this style, you will want to learn some common boogie ostinatos. FIGURE 9-10 is a basic boogie pattern. Be careful of the fast tempo. Boogies require a certain amount of technical virtuosity. However, never sacrifice clean, articulate playing for speed. Start slowly and gradually increase your velocity. This figure outlines a C or I chord.
Now, try a more complex bass line. See FIGURE 9-11. This ostinato utilizes octaves in the lower register of the piano. Again, note the fingerings and tempo; this figure also outlines a C or I chord.
FIGURE 9-10: Boogie-Woogie Bass #1
FIGURE 9-11: Boogie-Woogie Bass #2
