Chords for How To Play a Piano Montuno over any chord

[N] _ [Am] _ _ _ _ _ _ [E] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [Dm] _ _
_ _ _ _ [Em] _ _ _ _
Thanks for joining [Am] me.
I'm Mike Hartigan, and today, [E] as part of our series on reading
chord changes like you know [Eb] what you're doing, [Dm] we're going to look at some Latin rhythms
on [Am] the piano.
_ [Bb] Over the past [Dm] few weeks, we've been looking at this chart, [Gm] which we got from [C] the band
leader Steve Snappypants, [B] and we examined how we [E] might play keyboards if it were a pop,
country, or [Am] blues tune.
_ _ _ Today we'll look at what you [C] might do if Steve has a Latin [F] band.
_ _ [B] There are so many
varieties of Latin music, all with their distinct rhythms and patterns, _ [Db] that I could
make a year's worth of videos [E] and not come close [F] to covering everything, and I certainly
don't pretend to be an expert in all these styles.
[Dm] So for this video, [D] _ _ _ _ _ _ [Db] _
I'm going to focus on a groove [Bb] that's kind of a generic salsa.
_ _ [Ab] Just
knowing this basic figure will give you some excellent tools [A] to sound really authentic
if you find yourself in a situation where you [Ab] need to play some Latin music.
_ For many [Bb] salsa styles, [E] the piano plays a [Db] two-measure ostinato figure known as a montuno.
[N] _ _ _
Once you
know the basic rhythms, you [C] can play your montuno pattern _ [Bb] over any written [F] chord changes.
_ [D] The [Ab] rhythm is a quarter note followed by an eighth note, and then a series of [B] quarter
notes [G] tied over the bar line up until the end of the second measure with one [Bb] last eighth
note [B] to fill in the extra space, like this.
_ [Fm] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ [D]
Some songs have [C] specific melodies written for their montunos, but if you're just reading
chord changes, the basic pattern is, for the first note, [Am] play the bottom [D] note with
your thumb. _
[Bb] For the next note, play the upper notes with [C] your fingers, [Eb]
and keep [C] alternating _ _ _ _ _
_ [E] until [Ab] the end of the pattern, where you'll play [Cm] the bottom note [Bb] twice in a row, once
at the end and once at [A] the beginning of the next [C] measure.
_ [Gm] Double [F] this [Ab] with your left hand an octave [Fm] below, [C] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[Bb] _ and double your [Cm] right thumb with your
pinky.
_ [C] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ Use the same pattern for any inversion of the chord. _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [Ab] Now that we have the basics, [C] let's play it with the band.
_ _ [Gm] _ _ [C] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [G] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [F] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [C] _
So we're [Eb] playing the piano montuno on [Cm] these chords, and [C] it's sounding pretty good.
_ [G] But
there are a few variations [D] we can use to [G] make it even more [D] interesting.
_ One [C] rhythmic variation
to try is arpeggiating the [Db] first three [C] notes of the pattern as eighth notes, like [G] this.
_ [C] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [G] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [F] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [C] _ _ _
_ _ _ There are also some good harmonic [G] variations.
_ [C] Just [Dm] like the two [Gm] is _ [Dm] commonplace in _ [C] pop and
country, the sixth is a common added note in Latin music.
_ [Gm] In second inversion, try
[C] alternating the five and six as your bass notes.
_ [G] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [F] _ _ _
_ _ [Dm] _ _ [F] _ _ [C] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ Line cliches work well in montunos as well, with the bass notes [Gm] playing walking lines
through [Dm] the pattern while the [Cm] upper notes stay put.
[F] _ This descending [Cm] pattern is heard
quite [G] a lot, _ _ [C] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [G] _ _ _
and so is this chromatic one.
[F] _ _ _
_ [Dm] _ _ [Db] _ _ [Cm] _ _
Minor keys are common in Latin music, so let's
switch our progression to minor.
_ _ _ _ [G] _ _ _
_ _ The same [F] variations and line [Fm] cliches work just as
[C] well in minor [Fm] keys.
_ [Cm] _ _
_ Let's look at the descending one, _ _
[Eb] _ _ _ _ _ [G] _ _ _
_ _ and the one from the [F] fives to the six. _
[Bb] _ _ _ _ [Fm] _ _ _ _
[Cm] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Being able [C] to improvise a good montuno, [G] _
having just the chord changes, _ is a valuable skill
[Fm] to have, [Cm] and you never know when [C] it might come in handy. _
If you've [Gm] played in any Latin
bands [Cm] and have any tips on patterns or rhythms for the piano, let me know in the [G] comment
section.
And if you're here for the first [F] time, I'd love for you to subscribe and [C] follow
along as we continue going through different styles of music on the keyboard [G] every Tuesday.
_ Next [Cm] week, we'll look at playing organ for reggae.
[D] I make these [G] videos because I believe
that [D] it's quite possible to have a good career playing keyboards, and I [F] want you to have
the tools to be impressive and professional in any situation you [Cm] might step into, so you'll
get the call [Gm] next time a keyboard [D] player is needed.
[G] _ Have a great day, [C] and thanks for watching.
[Fm] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _