Transcriptions #2: Skating In Central Park Bill Evans Solo

less than 1 minute read

This song was performed by Bill Evans and Jim Hall. I transcribed Bill Evan’s first piano solo in this song between 1:36 and 2:23. I really like the relaxed vibe of this song, and the vibe of the album Undercurrent as a whole.

skating-in-central-park-bill-evans.pdf

Besides the solo, I think the rhythm in this song is really interesting. The song is in 3/4 time. This means that the downbeat of each measure is on the first beat. However, if you listen to the beginning of the song, you see that while Bill Evans is doing his thing on the piano, Jim Hall is targeting the second beat—the upbeat—of each measure. This drives the feeling of the song forward. This rhythmic artifact comes and goes throughout the entire song.

I also like the sound of the scale Bill plays on measure 20. He goes up the C major triad, but approaches each chord tone by a half-step below.

Written on May 30th, 2020 by Chris Cheung