Jazz Tempos: The Best Slow, Medium, and Fast Tunes
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Music Style
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Something that is bound to happen on your first gig:
You play every tune you know, jam a little bit, and then check the clock…
You’ve still got over an hour left!!
It didn’t help that the owner asked you to make your playing “spicier,” so that eliminates anything you know at a slower tempo.
(real story by the way👆)
So the only option is to play the same material again.
Hopefully no one notices…
That’s when you realize:
You don’t just need to learn more tunes—you need to build catalogs of specific types of tunes.
And honestly, the same is true if you’re not a gigging musician.
I remember when I was young, I was playing some upbeat ragtime at a family reunion for fun, and my grandparents asked me if I could play something they could slow dance to.
It had just been their anniversary, and I really wanted to do something special for them.
But… my mind drew a blank.
Sure, I could fake something—but I couldn’t think of a beautiful, slow song that really fit the moment.
That’s when I realized something had to change.
How to fix it?
To always be ready in any musical situation, you need to build a personal catalog of songs across a variety of:
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Tempos
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Styles
-
Keys
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Time periods
That way, you’re always ready for whatever the moment calls for.
That’s how the pros always seem to know just the right tune to play.
In this week’s Quick Tip, John Proulx shares some of the best songs to know in every tempo—including slow, medium, and fast!
Afterwards, you can add them to your own catalog of songs!
Just remember that no matter where you are now, you can be a pianist who is confident in any situation.
We’ve all been there, and it’s ok to mess up along the way or just not know something in the moment.
These are the moments that guide us to know what is next on our journey.Â
So take notes when things go wrong, and keep practicing and moving forward.
Before you know it, people will be blown away by everything you can play and how “easy” you make it look!
Jonny
P.S. While pros want to know a library of songs and how they are usually played, they aren’t bound by it. Check out our courses like this to see how any song can be played even in the most unexpected of styles!
Writer
Daine Jordan
Daine is a diverse and award-winning pianist, composer, and producer. Trained from a young age on classical piano, Daine has since ventured into nearly all avenues of music. He began to play professionally starting at age 16. Daine has composed for and performed with nearly every type of ensemble, from...
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