Nord User Forum

Hello chaps,

The bass player in one of the bands I perform with wishes to play 'Hang up your hang-ups' by Herbie Hancock.

Some nice wah-wah Clavi (or is it a Rhodes?) throughout the tune, however I'm struggling a bit with the piano solo towards the end.
This kind of late 70's fusion isn't really my preferred type of music, but I'm promised the guy I'll try and give it my best shot.

My question is, what is key (keys?) is the piano solo in?! Try as I might, I don't think I'm even playing the correct chords in the right hand!
Any pointers would be gratefully appreciated!

[youtube][/youtube]

The piano solo starts from around 5m:20s.

Thanks in advance!

James
x

There are two chords being played a G11 for one bar then an F11 for 3 bars. The simplest way to voice these is Fmaj7/G and Ebmaj7/F.
Herbie's solo is another matter. It's very chromatic going inside and out of the tonalities. As a starting point try a D dorian mode (all white keys) for the G11
and a C dorian (Eb and Bb) for the F11. When your comfortable with these try mixing some chromatic notes to create tension. Good Luck...Mitch

mdlieb, thank you very much - that's a great help!

Listening to the original recording, it doesn't sound like Herbie is playing the bass G and F in those two chords, so am I correct in thinking he's just playing the Fmaj7 and Ebmaj7 only? Hmm...there seem to be a few variations in there that he appears to drop in at random.

I've had a go at soloing using the scales you suggest. It kinda works okay, but feels a little unfamiliar. I'll keep at it, and see if the groove gradually becomes more natural. I'm also thinking about playing this using an EP sound as the acoustic pianos often sound rather brittle and harsh in the treble region when played with speakers/PA. We will be performing this outdoors, so that's also worth bearing in mind.

Thanks again for the useful input. If you have any more tips, please do not hesitate to post them!

Cheers,
James
x