Ornithology is a bebop head written by Bird (Charlie Parker), based on the famous jazz standard How High The Moon. There are many recorded versions of this bebop standard, and in this video, we chose to practice with a recording by Kenny Garrett and Brad Mehldau. (See the links below to Elodie’s channel and a few other notable jazz recordings of this exciting tune).
When it comes to the piano, fingering is the biggest issue when learning difficult passages such as the ones you may find in Ornithology. It takes years of experience and trial and error to hone that craft. If you have an experienced piano teacher, preferably with a classical background, they can certainly help you. In our piano lessons, I dedicate a significant portion of time to teaching students how to use fingering to gain fluid motion and maximum ease of passing within a lick and from one phrase to another.
You can find a version with the fingering I put together for anyone who wants to tackle this bebop head on the piano by visiting the resource library on our website. If you’d like to support the site by subscribing, you are invited to schedule a free consultation to teach you how to use resources. You will also receive two free follow-up lessons to evaluate your progress and set new musical goals to accomplish with the help of the resources.
See the blog post on Ornithology