The Meters- Hey Pocky Away
In honor of the late Art Neville we are featuring “Hey Pocky A-Way” by The Meters as the current lesson. Click below for the piano lesson and sheet music:“Hey Pocky A-Way” piano lesson
“Hey Pocky A-Way” was written by Art Neville along with the other members of The Meters – Leo Nocentelli, George Porter, and Joseph Modeliste. Neville’s musical legacy stands tall among the great New Orleans keyboardists of his generation; Professor Longhair, Dr. John, Allen Toussaint, Fats Domino, and James Booker. Neville’s particular contribution to New Orleans piano playing are the funky rhythms he explored with his bands, The Meters, The Neville Brothers and The Funky Meters.
“Hey Pocky A-Way” introduces you to the New Orleans ‘second-line’ groove which is a killer to learn but a blast to play. Master the first two bars of the verse of this New Orleans classic and you will be rockin’ Nawlin’s style. With the New Orleans groove, the bass line and melody are implying two different rhythms so the left and right hands don’t always land on the same beat. There is a constant syncopation between the hands. Take it slow and break it down into individual beats until the groove flows naturally. In the exercise and the improvisation we introduce additional patterns that embody the New Orleans style; 3 over 4 cross-rhythms and varying triplet, eighth, and sixteenth-note patterns over a syncopated bass line.
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