I asked my friend Bart Kuebler to teach me because he's been working as a military pianist for close to twenty years, he's a great teacher and he's a wonderfully nice guy.
We got to the piano, and he asked: "Can you reach the interval of a 10th with your left hand?"
Can I reach a 10th? Me? My little 5.1 ft me? Uh...
I tried to play a 10th (miracles happen I hear).
Miracles didn't happen. Bart said "That's too bad. So much of that jazz sound comes from the 10th in the left hand. Because then when you play it sounds like you have three hands with that tenor voice in the middle."
"I always thought that that was the reason why there weren't more women jazz piano players out there. Because they can't play a 10th in their left hand."
I've always been discouraged by the amount of time and practiced that would be involved
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