Educational Resources
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
Over the last couple of years, Hal Leonard have been expanding their hugely popular First 50 series of bumper songbooks for easy piano to include some interesting educational titles that fill a particular niche. The first of these titles that I reviewed was Alistair Watson’s First 50 Chords, about which I wrote,
“I have no doubt that this book will find significant popularity, and deservedly so. I am sent plenty of educational material to evaluate; this particular book is a real “keeper”, and one which I anticipate making plenty of use of in the years to come.”
That said, I also mentioned a few caveats, questioning whether the publication offered sufficient material to help players effectively realise lead sheets in practice::
“Learning to vamp using the given chord patterns is likely to be the key that unlocks real enjoyment of the material, but many learners particularly struggle at this point”
Few things sound as unpleasant on the piano as bashing out root-position triads at the lower end of the keyboard. So for pianists who want to play from chord notation or create vamp accompaniments, learning stylistically appropriate left-hand patterns is an essential skill to prioritise, but one for which there are too few methods or manuals.
Happily, Watson’s latest book in the series, First 50 Left-Hand Patterns is a brilliant sequel to his previous outing, and aims to address this point…
Essential Patterns
The new title appears in the usual glossy house style for the First 50 series, but like First 50 Chords it is a slimmer book (with 56 pages printed on white paper) with staple binding. The cover bears the following subtitle, which nicely captures the comprehensive musical aims of the publication:
“A unique collection of essential piano left-hand patterns used in pop, rock, blues, soul, folk, and classical music.”
Within, the author’s Introduction helpfully explains that,
“You will need to be able to read a little music for this book and there are piano keyboard diagrams showing you where the principal notes are. You’ll also notice numbers on the music and diagrams, suggesting possible fingering you could use.”
Watson goes on to suggest a few basics for playing the piano safely and comfortably, and it’s clear that he is aiming for players with little previous formal education. That said, I would argue that this book might suit a larger audience, as I will explain later.
The Contents page lists the patterns which follow, and each of the 50 is then afforded its own single page. These have a consistent presentation:
- Pattern Number and Style
- Pattern Tip boxout, giving musical context and playing advice
- LH keyboard chart outlining suitable fingering
- The Basic Pattern presented in its simplest form
- Performance Style: an exercise in which the Pattern appears in an appropriate musical context.
In most cases the Performance Style exercises range from 8-12 bars in length, and are full of appropriate musical character.
As for being able to “read a little music” (and aside from their brevity) many of the Performance Style exercises would, in my estimation, be comfortable territory for players around UK Grade 3–4 level. They include syncopated and swing rhythms, a wide range of the keyboard (and music stave) and chord shapes that require fully grown hands.
Musical Variety
Most of the Performance Style exercises are an excerpt or pastiche of a well-known piece or stylistic trope, adding to both their appeal and accessibility.
And here are the 50 musical approaches which the book showcases. The headings here are those that appear in the book, with my additional clarifications in brackets::
- Semibreves (simply playing one bass note per bar)
- Crotchets (bass note with added rhythmic interest)
- Bare Fifths
- Bare Fifth Extension
- Bare Fifths with Bass Pulse
- Basic Triad (closed, root position)
- Block Chord with Movement (repeated root position triads)
- Scale (simple walking bass)
- Descending Bass (minims)
- Dotted Rhythm (single bass notes with added rhythm)
- Dotted Block Chord (given a Latin rhythm)
- Bare Fifths in Quavers
- Broken Chord (root position triads)
- Arpeggio Shell (crotchet movement using 1 and 5)
- Arpeggio (ascending and descending, one octave)
- Arpeggio Variation (ascending repeatedly)
- Alberti Bass
- Arpeggio with Held Bass
- Bouncy Crotchets
- Waltz
- Waltz Variation
- Advanced Waltz
- Boom-Chuck
- Arpeggio to the Tenth
- Rolling Quavers (Einaudi-esque)
- Rolling to the Tenth
- Bass and Texture
- Dotted Bass and Texture
- Extended Moving Quavers (“Comptine d’un autre été”)
- Rock & Pop Bass-Chord
- Bass-Chord in Three
- Rock Octaves
- Rocking Octaves
- Walking Bass
- Walking to the Seventh (12-bar blues)
- Blues Swing
- Blues Boogie
- Stride
- Blues Shuffle
- Straight Boogie
- Barrelhouse
- Seventh Chord
- Seventh Shell
- Blues Walking Bass
- Mambo
- Dotted Latin
- Montuno
- Dotted Neapolitan (“O sole mio”)
- Boogie Octaves
- Motown Octaves
Notice that LH vamping has as much to do with adding rhythmic groove and musicality as it does to do with understanding chords and harmony. And it’s particularly impressive that Watson has packed so many different musical styles into such a small volume. I think this is one of the things which makes this such an incredibly useful book for players of all levels.
That said, my one criticism of the book is that Watson doesn’t include chord symbols, as these would have further added to the valuable learning the publication offers, and link it more effectively to his previous book (and to the rest of the First 50 songbook series). I feel their omission represents a missed opportunity to connect chord knowledge with accompaniment patterns.
Closing thoughts
Alistair Watson’s First 50 Left-Hand Patterns offers an excellent introduction to teaching, learning, and applying essential LH vamping techniques across a variety of musical styles. With its user-friendly format, clear explanations, and well-structured exercises, the book is a valuable resource for anyone looking to expand their skills across different genres.
Some of the early Patterns included in the book are admittedly more useful as learning steps than they are as musical devices, but learners who commit to working through the whole book are likely to absorb a significant amount of practical know-how, and develop skills which will give them a strong foundation for playing rock, pop, blues, and related styles.
Meanwhile, for the more advanced classical player who wants to learn how to vamp in a range of other musical styles, this publication is easily a front runner for consideration, and could lead to many “light-bulb” moments of discovery.
Very highly recommended!
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