I Got Rhythm, piano arrangement

George Gershwin · Level 4 (Intermediate) · jazz and blues · Piano

The song from the musical Girl Crazy (1930) whose chord progression, the “rhythm changes”, became one of the foundations of jazz. A piece by George Gershwin, the American composer between jazz and classical music. B♭ major, 4/4, 28 bars (about one minute), complete score.

▶ Play this piece with the interactive score

How to practise it

• Listen first: the site plays it while the score scrolls.
• Wait mode: the score waits for you at every note, at your own pace.
• Tempo challenge: play in time, with a score and a map of the bars you got right.
• Keep a relaxed swing: the melody’s syncopations land just before the beat. The left hand marks the pulse without heaviness. One hand sometimes plays two voices: hold the long notes for their full value and let the main line sing louder than the accompaniment. For chords, shape the hand in the air before landing, all notes together. Start hands separately in Wait mode, then put hands together at a slow tempo before speeding up gradually.

More pieces by George Gershwin

• Swanee, piano arrangement

Source : PDMX / MuseScore · CC0 1.0