Playing the Blues: Easy Blues Shuffle

Did I mention I also want to learn blues piano? To be honest, I'm feeling more of a pull from blues than from jazz. It was a little disturbing to realize this, as I've wanted to learn jazz for such a long time. But blues feels much more like my music, for some reason. Jazz feels ... like a person I don't know that well, and who might not like me all that much anyway. Blues, on the other hand, feels like family. In a good way.

Maybe it's because I spent so much of my life in Baton Rouge, going to those blues festivals every year, and hitting Tabby's Blues Box whenever I could in my early 20s. Maybe that's why blues feels like home.

But playing the blues has been a whole new thing for me. I might be at an early advanced classical level, but I'm a rank beginner when it comes to playing the blues. Here is a video of me playing something called an "easy blues shuffle" ... which I didn't find easy at all! It felt more natural with practice and repetition, though, and I finally have something to share after working on this a few days.

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Picking Up the Pieces: A Piano Practice Journal

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