Eighth Note Rhythms
The next example shows a popular left hand pattern which originally comes from Boogie piano playing. It uses a rhythm of constant eighth notes.
Once you have control of the pattern, try playing a C minor chord over it with the right hand. Notice how effective it sounds to play chords against only some of the notes of the left hand part rather than playing on every eighth note.
Here is a variation which makes use of ties. (For an introduction to ties, see Progressive Keyboard Technique). This is another example of leaving space for the other instruments.
When playing parts based on any type of note, whether it be quarter notes, eighth notes, 16th notes or whatever, it is important to have control of where in the bar you play and where you don’t play. The following examples consist of the left hand Boogie pattern with chords played over it in various parts of the bar, each chord coinciding with one of the eighth notes. These examples should help you gain control of where you want to play and where you don’t.
Once you are comfortable with the previous examples, try expanding them out to two bars as shown here. Don’t forget to experiment with accents and ties to achieve more dynamics and variety in your keyboard parts.
This one uses a Blues scale riff over the left hand pattern.
Many keyboard parts are made up of a combination of riffs and chords as shown here.
