Rhythm in the hands
Two things the left hand does that have nothing to do with the tune. First, it plays a pattern: the same short rhythm over each chord, the way a Latin pianist or a bass player does. Second, it plays against the right hand: three notes against two, four against three, five against four. Both are Independence with the rhythm turned up.
How to use them
Every exercise has three buttons. Learn the left hand alone, then the right hand alone, then both. Start at 50. All of it is in C, over the same four chords as Independence (C, G, Am, F), so the notes are easy and the rhythm is the lesson. Before you play a pattern, clap it on your knees and say the count. If you cannot say it, you cannot play it.
Eight steps
Ready when
- You can play the cinquillo in the left hand for four bars, with the right hand holding a note that never restarts.
- You can play the bossa pattern for four bars at 70 without looking at the table.
- You can play three against two for a minute at 50 without saying the sentence out loud, then swap the hands.
These patterns have other homes too. The bass version is on Bass · Tresillo and clave, the drum version is in Drums · Timelines and Drums · Two at once, and the guitar version is Guitar · Bossa nova and Latin comping.