Playing “I Love You” with a playalong

Let’s play our standard “I Love You” with a playalong.

This is volume 112 “Cole Porter” in terms of the Aebersold playalong. Let’s start by looking at the second line, because is in some sense that’s easier. So we’re going to a II-V-I in F major. Our first chord in G minor7, so we play third inversion. Our second chord is C7, so we play the ninth voicing and our third chord is F major7, so we play the third inversion. The first chord and the last chord are all 4 note chords, whereas the intermediate one is a 3 note chord.

Let’s make it a 4 note chord so that we keep the thickness of the left hand the same throughout - you don’t have to - but let’s just do it anyway by including the sixth or the thirteenth - including the note A. When you come to play the first 2 voicings you play G minor7 third inversion and all you do is you move the bottom finger - the little finger - down to E and then you move the top 3 fingers - well the top chord - down to F triad sitting over the major seventh of F major7.

If we look at the first line, then it’s exactly the same except that we’ve got a flattened fifth in the first chord, so we have a D flat and that stays the same when we come to the flattened 9th for C7. Then we have our F major7. Third line the same - this time though II-V-I going to A major, so B minor7 third inversion, E7 - ninth with the thickening note in, to A major7 third inversion. That position rather than the lower one because it’s probably a bit too low. If I do it an octave higher then that’s too high.

I want to really play the tune in the middle of the piano because I think it sounds stronger there, but if you have problems then just separate the hands out. Where have we got up to? The fourth line A major, II-V-I. Then the fifth line II-V-I to F major. The sixth line Am7 flat 5, D7 flat 9 exactly the same as what we had in the first line but up a tone. So Am7 with flat 5, D7 with flat 9, G7 we’ll play the 13th shape but we’ll add the 9th to give it a thickening note so that it’s all 4 note voicings. That A stays constant when we get down to our 4 note voicings for C7.

All the rest we’ve had before: the penultimate line, the last line.

When we play the tune, then we have to move our thumb out of the way because - when I play the tune in the middle of the piano - because the tune has to win. Then in the second bar if I hold that note down we can only get some of those notes of C7 flat 9 in because the tune has to win.

This time we can only get a couple of the notes in for C7 if we are going to play it like that. Let’s now try it then with our playalong. As I say this is volume 112.