Time is Tight

[Rayblewit]

Wow! Imagine my excitement when I saw at the local op shop Booker T.'s sheet music from 1968 . "TIME IS TIGHT" Just $1.00. So i bought it and now I have the challenge to play it. .
It is in key of c . That is the easy part. It starts off with the first note g under middle c. Then the third bar we drop down an octave to e which is located where my left hand is playing my accompniament chords. So now I am stuffed! What should I do to play this low octave e?
I am thinking to move the whole song up one octave and transpose into the negative. Would that work?
I really don't want change my kb settings unles it can be done and undone quickly.

I love this tune. I would dearly love to play it.

 

[Fred Coulter]

Any chance you could scan the section in question? (Not the whole piece, just the couple of measures you're having issues with. As far as I can tell, that's a perfect example of "fair use.")

 

[CowboyNQ]

 

[Rayblewit]

Hi Fred,
The last bar on the second stave is my problem.
Anyway, looking at Cowboys vid, it looks like the right hand has moved up one octave.

 

[CowboyNQ]

Hi Ray,

I'm wondering if you know how to read bass clef? That was not intended to be insulting in any way, but it seems the most likely explanation for your confusion.

Reading that sheet your hands should not be getting in the way of each other.

Feel free to put me back in my box if I've missed something fundamental.

Cheers!

 

[Rayblewit]

Hi cowboy.
I can't do bass.
I play the chords with my left hand. The kb does the bass and drums for me. So the problem is where the split is f# and the e note is on the wrong side of the split.
Make sense?

 

[CowboyNQ]

Yes it does. You could try one of the following:

1. Play the melody higher on the keyboard (an octave, a tone, a third, a fifth, whatever), but transpose the right hand split down to compensate, so your hand moves out of the way but what you hear is in the original key.

2. Change the KB split point (not sure if that's possible on your 'board), and/or play the left hand chords in a lower inversion as necessary to get your left hand out of the way of your right hand.

3. Have a crack at teaching yourself the bass in the left hand.

 

[Rayblewit]

Thanks cowboy.
I am all good now. I moved up an octave with the melody and it works a treat. Exactly like the above video. That is the way he is doing it. So the sheet music is really only perfect for playing bass and playing treble like you would on a piano.

Anyway, changing the split is possible and playing lower inversion chords would work but too technical for me.

And as for learning to play bass
NASA would employ me to fly their rocket to Mars and back before I look on that task. I am having too much fun playing with accompiaments as a one man band. time is tight; if I may use that pun.

 

[Rayblewit]

Disregard my previous flippant comment about not learning bass.
I am always the one encouraging others to learn music.
Honestly I should actually take the time and study the bass stave.
Thanks to all here at this forum, I am inspired.
Cheers.