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Time & Feel

Let F arrive early

Change only the right-hand F chord on the and of 4 while the left hand keeps C steady.

15 minintermediatehalf-beat anticipation / right-hand comping / steady left-hand roots

Today's Thing

Play a C to F vamp with the right hand early and the left hand still marking time.

15-Minute Map

  1. 1Play the square change
  2. 2Move only the right hand
  3. 3Keep F light
  4. 4Loop the C to F vamp
  5. 5Carry it through four chords
RH changes on & of 41 &2 &3 &4&RH C E GF A CLH C root1RH FLH F
Right hand changes on & of 4
  1. 13 min

    Play the square change

    Play C major in the right hand on beat 1, then F major on beat 1 of the next bar. Keep the left hand on low C for beats 1 and 3, and count 1-and-2-and-3-and-4-and aloud.

    Repeat the two-bar change eight times without fills. The test is simple: the left-hand C roots stay even, and your voice does not blur when the right hand prepares for F.

  2. 23 min

    Move only the right hand

    Keep the same C bar, but play the right-hand F chord on the and of 4 before the F bar begins. The left hand still plays C on beats 1 and 3, so the bass does not lean forward.

    Count the whole bar and say “F” exactly where the chord lands: 1-and-2-and-3-and-4-and. Let the next beat 1 arrive normally; do not treat the early F as a new barline.

  3. 33 min

    Keep F light

    Play the early F softer than the C chord on beat 1. Let it feel like a pickup into the next bar, not a new downbeat competing with the left hand.

    Alternate four bars with a heavy early F and four bars with a light early F. Keep the version where the count feels wider, the left hand stays settled, and beat 1 does not get punched again.

  4. 43 min

    Loop the C to F vamp

    Play four bars of the vamp with one rule: right hand C on beat 1, right hand F on the and of 4, left hand C roots on beats 1 and 3.

    Use one slow tempo, about a relaxed walking pace. If the left hand starts moving early with the right hand, stop and rebuild the bar from the spoken count.

  5. 53 min

    Carry it through four chords

    Play one bar each of C, Am, F, and G. Change every right-hand chord on the and of 4 before its bar, while the left hand plays C, A, F, and G roots on beats 1 and 3.

    Before each early chord, say its name on the and of 4, then play it there. If one change rushes, isolate that two-bar spot and loop it four times.

Stop Here

The right hand can arrive early, but the left hand has to prove the tempo stayed put.

After playing

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