Technique
Like its forebear, ragtime piano, stride piano is highly rhythmic and somewhat percussive in nature because of the "oom-pah" (alternating bass note / chord) action of the left hand. In the left hand, the pianist usually plays a single bass note, or a bass octave or tenth, followed by a chord, while the right hand plays syncopated melody lines with characteristically blues-based embellishments and fill patterns. However, there are differences between stride and ragtime. Unlike ragtime pianists, stride players were not concerned with ragtime form and did not avoid playing pop songs of the day. Also, while the original ragtime music was composed, many stride pianists possessed impressive improvisational skills. Lastly, stride is in general a more intense style than ragtime, played at faster tempos and with more drive
James P. Johnson (1891–1955), known as the "Father of Stride", created this unique style of jazz piano along with fellow pianists Willie "The Lion" Smith (1893-1973), Thomas "Fats" Waller (1904–1943) and Luckey Roberts (1893-1968). Johnson's greatest contribution was to recast the "straight" feeling of ragtime with a more modern, swinging beat. He discovered and employed the tenth or "broken tenth" interval to introduce more swing in his left hand. This can be heard in his famous composition "Carolina Shout". The pianist could not only substitute tenths for single bass notes, but could also play broken (staggered) tenths up and down the keyboard in scale fashion—an innovation that subsequently inspired boogie-woogie and the eventual transition to modern four-beat jazz.
Stride pianist Art Tatum (1909–1956) introduced more complex harmonies into his playing. Tatum was awarded a posthumous Grammy for his contributions to jazz in 1974.
Stride pianists practiced a full jazz piano style that utilized highly creative, often flamboyant devices such as arpeggios, black note slide-offs, trills and flourishes. They often engaged in marathon cutting contests to show off their skills.
Read more about this topic: Stride (music)
Famous quotes containing the word technique:
“Technique is the test of sincerity. If a thing isn’t worth getting the technique to say, it is of inferior value.”
—Ezra Pound (1885–1972)
“The moment a man begins to talk about technique that’s proof that he is fresh out of ideas.”
—Raymond Chandler (1888–1959)
“I cannot think that espionage can be recommended as a technique for building an impressive civilisation. It’s a lout’s game.”
—Rebecca West (1892–1983)