This week irocku digs deep into its vault to bring you one of the most unique and influential piano players of all-time, Professor Longhair. Professor who, you might ask?
First of all, any cat they nickname ‘Professor’ is thought to be some kind of genius and in the case of Henry Roeland Byrd, the moniker of ‘Professor’ is a fitting representation of our featured artist. Born the month after World War I ended, Byrd moved to New Orleans as a youth and hustled dimes dancing on the street corners, teaching himself to play on broken down or discarded pianos with few workable keys. By the time of his death in 1980, the 62 year-old would go from total obscurity to becoming one of the most revered figures in rock and roll history, taking on an almost mythical status. His unique mix of boogie-woogie, samba, calypso, jazz and rhythm and blues was well ahead of its time when Professor Longhair first recorded in 1949, but his influence and style left an indelible imprint on the pioneers of rock and roll like; Fat’s Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard and Elvis.
Rediscovered in the Early 1970’s, Byrd would influence another generation of great musicians including; New Orleans’ legends, Dr. John and Allen Toussaint. Professor Longhair only left us a handful of recordings and a few electrifying concerts that catapulted him into both the Blues Hall of Fame in 1982 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. This week’s selection, Tipitina is a Longhair standard that represents not only his revolutionary piano style, but haunting vocals that were part of the total musical package of this true pioneer. Tipitina bounces along in a joyous celebration, the melody is bright and hopeful even though he sings a jealous lover’s lament to the woman he loves. It is a classic theme, found in almost every genre of music, and Professor Longhair’s, Tipitina, is magical in its expression of both the pain and pleasure of a woman’s love.
Professor Longhair’s rhythm lines define the New Orleans style, which can be found in every form of rock. Tipitina is on the list of top rock piano songs of all time and is another song that every rock keyboardist MUST have in their repertoire. You just can’t play rock without learning this stuff!
Written by Henry Roeland Byrd
Administered by Don Williams Group
All Rights Reserved Used by Permission
Learn how to play rock and blues piano from one of rock’s greatest. Chuck Leavell, legendary keyboardist for The Rolling Stones, The Allman Bros, Eric Clapton, John Mayer, and more.
Practice Schedule
Second Week: Add the Exercise and Improvisation to your practice. Tipitina lays down the foundation for more rock songs than any other song. Master this baby!
The above video is a preview from the lesson. Every lesson includes a groove chart that teaches how to play the song with a rock band, a rock theory and dexterity exercise, an improvisation, and a full arrangement of the song itself. All lessons include instructional videos as well as the sheet music.
Practice Schedule
Second Week: Add the Exercise and Improvisation to your practice. Tipitina lays down the foundation for more rock songs than any other song. Master this baby!
The above video is a preview from the lesson. Every lesson includes a groove chart that teaches how to play the song with a rock band, a rock theory and dexterity exercise, an improvisation, and a full arrangement of the song itself. All lessons include instructional videos as well as the sheet music.
Practice Schedule
Second Week: Add the Exercise and Improvisation to your practice. Tipitina lays down the foundation for more rock songs than any other song. Master this baby!
The above video is a preview from the lesson. Every lesson includes a groove chart that teaches how to play the song with a rock band, a rock theory and dexterity exercise, an improvisation, and a full arrangement of the song itself. All lessons include instructional videos as well as the sheet music.
Practice Schedule
Second Week: Add the Exercise and Improvisation to your practice. Tipitina lays down the foundation for more rock songs than any other song. Master this baby!
The above video is a preview from the lesson. Every lesson includes a groove chart that teaches how to play the song with a rock band, a rock theory and dexterity exercise, an improvisation, and a full arrangement of the song itself. All lessons include instructional videos as well as the sheet music.
Practice Schedule
Second Week: Add the Exercise and Improvisation to your practice. Tipitina lays down the foundation for more rock songs than any other song. Master this baby!
The above video is a preview from the lesson. Every lesson includes a groove chart that teaches how to play the song with a rock band, a rock theory and dexterity exercise, an improvisation, and a full arrangement of the song itself. All lessons include instructional videos as well as the sheet music.
Practice Schedule
Second Week: Add the Exercise and Improvisation to your practice. Tipitina lays down the foundation for more rock songs than any other song. Master this baby!
The above video is a preview from the lesson. Every lesson includes a groove chart that teaches how to play the song with a rock band, a rock theory and dexterity exercise, an improvisation, and a full arrangement of the song itself. All lessons include instructional videos as well as the sheet music.
Practice Schedule
Second Week: Add the Exercise and Improvisation to your practice. Tipitina lays down the foundation for more rock songs than any other song. Master this baby!
The above video is a preview from the lesson. Every lesson includes a groove chart that teaches how to play the song with a rock band, a rock theory and dexterity exercise, an improvisation, and a full arrangement of the song itself. All lessons include instructional videos as well as the sheet music.
Thanks for sharing. Love the lyrics!!!
Personally, I think it’s a good thing that every note or lick isn’t described in perfect detail. At the end of the day, we are learning to improvise. If everything was spoon fed to us, it would defeat the object of the lesson. Leaving stuff out helps us to think for ourselves. This is a great lesson with applications that can be applied to various other blues songs. My favourite so far….
We totally agree. Our goal is to provide you with the tools to get off the page. We try to provide just enough detail for our students to learn the songs and licks but also leave room for their own interpretation. Chuck’s goal is for students to get off the page to make the songs their own. Keep rockin!
I wanted to know about fingering on the twiddley bits-1/16th note runs. Fingering on sheet music is 3-5-3-1. Is it acceptable to use index (2) rather than middle finger (3). I seem to have greater control with the 2 and 3-5 is abit dodgey and smoothness is a problem. Is there further reasoning using the fingering that might be used in a more advanced version. I am currently at level 6.
Thank you
Hi,
I have seen the video “Tipitina level 7 – preview” and I liked it very well. After I loaded down the Sheet Music on my PC, I had to realize that there is much more on the Video “Titptina level 7 – preview” than in the Sheet Music.
Best Regards
wira1954
The IROCKU level 7 previews all come from the material provided in the level 7 Lessons, Improvisations, Exercises, and Groove Charts, as well as the scales and chords listed in the Lesson Schedules. The improvisation section of the preview uses techniques shown in these lesson videos but the performer mixes them up to his liking. The improvisation on the “Tipitina” preview is from the Improvisation Lesson that we provided but the rhythmic pattern is slightly modified. There are also some additional octave riffs going up and down the blues scale. When we designed the IROCKU lessons Chuck stressed the importance of getting people ‘off the page’. Unlike classical players, only 10% of all rockers can read music and Chuck himself isn’t much of a reader. Rockers piece together songs by listening, and learning the progressions, the grooves, and then filling in with melody and riffs. We try to provide the tools for our students to expand beyond the written page, which is why we provide the Groove Charts, Exercises, and Improvs along with the Lessons. When we designed the lessons Dr. John insisted that we teach our students to play in different keys. Which is why you will find the exercises and improvisations in multiple keys. In fact, Dr John says that he often changes the key of a song based on the musicians he’s playing with, the nature of the gig, etc. He wants our students to be able to do that as well. We provide written improvisation examples to get you started but it’s best if you experiment and explore on your own. The groove charts are intentionally designed to force you off the page and are a great way to begin getting away from the written notes. Don’t worry about playing the notes exactly as they are played in the videos. Get the groove down and supplement it with chord inversions and licks of your own. You’ll find that after working through a half a dozen of our songs (including groove, lesson, exercise, and improv) that things will start falling into place and picking up songs and improvisations will become easier for you. If you work your way up to our level 7s and master the content (i.e.songs, improvs, groove, and exercises) you should be capable of learning any rock song or riff. Chuck would prefer to see you come up with your own version of the songs rather than learning ours. Our goal is to provide you with the tools to do that.
Give it a try. Keep rockin!
Me playing Tipitina, lesson level VI irocku, 11-20-14
You people are Saints! I wish I could forward all the money I’ve spent trying to learn Tipitina from other web sites to you; you’ve more than earned those hundreds of dollars. Your prices are ridiculously modest and your lessons are so rewarding, rich, and complete that you’ve earned sainthood many times over.
We’re glad you are enjoying the lessons. Keep rockin!