Jazz Piano School

A pedal point is when you keep the same note in the bass while changing the chords on top. Doing this for a series of measures creates a sense of both connection and tension. Using pedal points builds energy so that when the bass note finally changes, the harmonies of the tune seem to burst forth like a waterfall breaking through a dam. This lesson explores how to incorporate pedal points into your own playing.

This jazz piano podcast tutorial series will show you how to mix things up and keep your left hand voicings sounding fresh. In this episode, we discuss chords you can use with structures made from fourths and clusters. After this video, you will have the sounds of McCoy Tyner and Bill Evans in the palm of your (left) hand!

This jazz piano podcast tutorial series will show you how to work your left hand so your left hand can work for YOU! In this episode, we discuss which chords you can use in your LH voicings, first through exploring chord inversions. We will have your left hand sounding like the best of them all (Red Garland, Brad Mehldau, Keith Jarrett... ever heard of them??) by the end of this video!

Have you ever wanted to play bass lines on piano and improvise at the same time? Well, with this podcast that idea could become a reality! Follow along as we explore steps to build your own bass lines and work your way toward implementing right hand improvisation over your favorite jazz tunes.

When playing solo piano, it's helpful to design the flow of an arrangement. With no constraints, playing solo can quickly become boring to both the player and the listener. By developing concepts to shape your arrangements, you will achieve a greater sense of freedom in your playing and have confidence in performance.

Are you stuck inside left wondering what to practice? This week's podcast can help with that! We'll cover aspects of warmup routine, classical workouts, learning tunes, transcriptions and more! By the end, you are sure to have some ideas of new material and hopefully be inspired to find some new things to work on!

This piece of content is taken directly from inside our Jazz Piano School Members area. It’s called the “Improvisation Bootcamp Masterclass”. This is my 11 step improvisation blueprint that is meant to take a step back and show you all the steps you need to master in order to become the burnin’ improv player you want to be. This is juicy my friends. Now does each one of these steps take a lot of hard-work and time? Absolutely! But…if you follow this plan and move through these meticulously you’ll grow exponentially! Have fun!

Whenever we dedicate time to internalizing musical material, it is ideal to choose structures that are applicable to many common jazz situations. This lesson focuses on one such structure that I have affectionately labelled the crunch chord. There are two main reasons this voicing is so versatile. First, it contains 2 tritones, so it can be used on 4 different dominant chords. Second, it contains many different smaller chords within its overarching structure. The relationships between these chords within the voicing create a unique harmonic texture that is useful for harmonizing any melody of your choosing.

Continuing with last week's episode, this time we will be reviewing an advanced modal tune. Kenny Baron's "Voyage" has many twists and turns that will always leave the audience wanting more! Learn how to shred over this tune and more in this week's podcast.

Have you ever wanted to be able to shred over the modal solo sections in your favorite tune? Look no further, because in this week's podcast lesson, we will review the 3 scales you need to know to play over any modal tune. You will be shredding in no time!!

Jazz Composition: 5 Steps to Build Color Voicings (Ep:181)

Learning jazz comping can be a complicated process. You need rhythms, voicings, movements, registers and more. Even after all that, you have to go to an actual tune and start to implement the strategies you've learned. In this episode we show you some amazing comping strategies that you can easily use to sound great over the classic tune Airegin. You're sure to love these after you hear the fantastic textures and atmospheres they produce! Enjoy!

Playing solo jazz piano is hard. I'll admit it. Finding an EASY way to play solo jazz piano can be EVEN harder. But...thankfully I've created this very simple and clear, 3 step process to help you go about arranging tunes in a solo piano, 2 hand style that will sound beautiful and lush. And even if you're an advanced player, I'll show you how to take this easy process and tweak it to fit your advanced level. Enjoy!

In this podcast episode we show you an exercise you can use to both free up your existing jazz lines and discover new ones. Even the best improvisers repeat themselves now and then, but with this exercise you will find yourself playing phrases you've never played before! Follow along to discover this rhythmic device.

These 5 endings will give you what you need to end a tune with style. Learn these to leave the guesswork out of the equation when it comes time to thinking of a good ending to your next tune!

I wanted to give all the loyal followers something special in 2020. To find out what that is go ahead and listen to the podcast.

Our brand new Xmas specialty course called "Christmas Joy" is nearly here! We are releasing this fun new course on Black Friday 2019, November 29th @ 12am, and the great thing about this is that it's completely FREE with our Black Friday offer!

The piano has 88 keys! But rarely do students and even intermediate players playing gigs utilize the ENTIRE piano when they play. If you're not...then you should be! But what exactly should you be playing in each area? In this episode I'll teach you exactly what to do in each register of the piano. Enjoy!

Harmonizing melodies with chords can be tricky...especially if you're trying to make it actually sound good! How do we know what chords to play with the melody note? What makes it sound good? All these questions and more popup and it can become very frustrating. In this podcast, our brand new JPS staff educator will address those questions and provide you with an amazing strategy to harmonize melodies with ANY chord you want! Enjoy!

This simple chord trick involves using your own voicings to your advantage in a way that will instantly improve your playing. Bill Evans used this technique throughout his career, most notably on the classic album "Portrait in Jazz." You can use it too, find out how in this week's podcast!

Arpeggios can be reallllyyy boring...or they can be used to add some burnin movements into your improvisation! I'll be talking about the latter. These 3 different ways to add arpeggios in your improvisation are sure to help you add some flying, fast movements up and down the piano for an amazing texture you're going to love! Enjoy!

Knowing what kind of style, what kind of approach you should take on a tune can be tough? How do you go at it? Old school? Modern? Flowy? Hard swing? In this episode I'll give you 5 quick tips that will allow you to easily understand the approach you should take when playing a tune. I also go over specific approaches at the end. Enjoy!

I give you all the details you need to know about our amazing 2.0 launch coming October 7th @ 7am est. Here is the link to video 1 in the brand new workshop I'm releasing as well! https://jazzpianoschool.com/launch-video-workshop-video-1/

Jazz Piano School 2.0 is set to launch October 7th @ 7am EST. Complete with new designs, new features like flash cards, practice workouts, new navigation and so much more. One of the coolest things will be our brand new 6 Stage success path. Our success path will allow you to start in a place that's right for YOU, and continue forward with learning that is CORRECT for the place that you're in. Get our Success Path Workbook in this podcast. I say the link inside. Enjoy!

Music is very powerful. Like...very...very...powerful. I mean you know right?! Why do you think you're on this journey? Music has the power to heal, transform, inspire, calm, soothe, and about a billion other things. In this episode I talk about what music means to me, how it changed my life, and how my mission to teach you jazz piano will help you change lives as well. Here we go!

What the heck is a backdoor ii-V? Find out in this week's podcast! Once you master this short but common progression, you will be seeing it all over the place!

What do Autumn Leaves, All the Things You Are, and Johann Sebastian Bach all have in common? They all use the diatonic circle of 5ths! This progression has been used for centuries, and in this week's podcast lesson we will discuss how to use it seamlessly to improvise chords and melodies.

Improvising over ballads is usually more difficult than improvisation over medium or fast tunes. Why is that? Because you're EXPOSED. Everything is movving sooooo slowwwww. What do you do? How do you spice things up and creating interesting lines? In this episode I'm going to show you 3 strategies I use every-time I improvise over ballads that you absolutely have to integrate into your toolbox. Enjoy!

If you have never encountered the Lady Bird turnaround or are looking for some new strategies with which to improvise over this device, search no further! In this podcast lesson, we'll go over how Tadd Dameron came up with this trademark chord progression and how you can play over it with style and ease.

What do you do when you are jamming out on 2 chords?...or even 1 CHORD?! Does your mind start freezing up? Well don't worry, in this podcast, I use my electric rhodes sound on my keyboard and give you 12 strategies that you can use to improvise when you're jamming out on 1 or 2 chord harmonies. I demonstrate in a funk style manner but these can also be used in any jazz tunes as well. Enjoy!

For the second installment of this series, we'll be talking about one of the most important aspects of music: TIME. When it comes to practicing, time can be a factor that makes or breaks the efficacy of your practice session. Find out how you can optimize your practicing through good use of time!

In this podcast series, we will be talking about how to optimize your routine to get the most out of your practice time. In this lesson, we're talking about what it means to really practice vs. "just playing." Follow along to find out how!

Give a person a fish and they eat for a day...teach a person to fish and they eat for a lifetime. This is exactly my approach with all student within Jazz Piano School. Learning jazz piano for a lifetime and NOT a day is about learning jazz piano tools and improving those tools within all the different categories. From there we can start to combine them to create amazing sounding atmospheres and textures. Check out this podcast for an overall plan and approach to learning jazz piano for a lifetime!

In this podcast lesson we take a closer look at the chord which characterized Joe Henderson during the most impactful time of his career. This chord appears again and again in Joe's well known compositions from the 1960's, such as "Inner Urge," "Punjab," "Gazelle," and more! Follow along as we explore the chord within the context of the infamous jazz standard "Inner Urge" and investigate how to use it to our advantage when improvising.

Let's face it...it's SCARY to improvise. It's a very vulnerable thing because you're opening up yourself to the world. You're expressing your true self and true emotions. Now besides all that inner stuff...there is also the fear of simply making mistakes. BUT...enough about the negative...let's get in the positive and I'll show you 3 amazing ways to get stomp on your fears today!

As jazz pianists, we often get caught up in complex chord progressions and substitutions. The question is: What happens when the chips are down, and you have to improvise over only ONE chord? Here are some secret strategies to work on what to play over one-chord vamps.

Comping can be difficult. It's hard to know what to play to create a solid, lush, supportive sound for your accompaniment comping. If you only learn one comping setup this is IT! Hands down this will deliver the MOST supportive and effective jazz comping sound you need while playing in any group. Duo, Trio, Quartet...anything! Have fun!

Have you been looking for some new ways to harmonize with jazz chords? This one trick will help you reharmonize melodies like a pro! In this lesson, we will explore some new ways to move chromatically through the keyboard just like some of the greatest piano stylists!

Everyone tells us to learn shell voicings but back when I was younger I never knew why...I also never knew how to USE them! This was very frustrating to me since everyone was saying how important they are. In this episode, I'll break shell voicings down for you so you know exactly why they're important AND how to use them. Here we go!

Most of the time improv will sound bland not because of the notes...but because of the RHYTHMS! I had this little epiphany back in my earlier days, and it completely transformed my soloing. In this episode, you will learn how you can add ornaments to your improv lines so they sound 100x times better. Here we go!

Do you ever feel like you're playing the same stuff over and over again? I know I've certainly been in that position before. It could be a simple problem of playing songs at similar tempos! In this podcast lesson, we examine the benefits of trying tunes at different tempos than we might be used to playing in our regular circles. Watch as we unlock new creative possibilities through playing the "In-Between Tempos!"

Here is a quick way to achieve a 70's funk sound, straight out of Herbie Hancock's Head Hunters record! Follow along as we explore the use of this chord from "Watermelon Man."

We continue our rhythm changes series and approach these refreshing new ways to improvise over the 4 dominant chords in the bridge of rhythm changes. If you thought the bridge didn't provide much harmonic content to improvise over...think again! Let's get to it!

Rhythm changes can seriously screw you up. Once you attempted and failed, you probably don't want to try again. BUT...with these 4 secrets that will allow you to easily improvise over rhythm changes, you'll be loving this form and itching to play it as much as possible! Here we go!

In this lesson we'll continue learning how to play "block chord" voicings in the style of George Shearing. We will be working on minor voicings in the key of F, specifically with the tune "Lullaby of Birdland." George Shearing often played this tune with these very voicings, so it is a great model from which to start!

In this lesson we'll learn how to play "block chord" voicings in a jazz style. This technique was made famous by George Shearing, and used by other pianists such as Oscar Peterson and Bill Evans. You can use it to harmonize melodies and achieve a fuller soloistic sound when playing in a group.

I've heard extremely technically proficient and knowledable improvisers completely fail at telling a story with their solo. When this happens it stinks! None of us want to be in that position. Here's 9 ways for you to be a GREAT story teller when soloing. Let's get it!

This quick tool will give you a new way to think about improvising in a modal jazz setting that can take your playing to the next level! In this podcast lesson, we look at how to use the "Coltrane Scale" to improvise in a variety of harmonic settings that will give you access to a sound you may have heard, but never thought would come out of your own hands!

Sometimes people ask me, 'what do you put in your warmup routine?' Here is a quick exercise you can do every time you sit down to play the piano that will get your hands warm, and work to build facility and ease into your technique. The more you do it, the easier it gets! Try out "The Rachmaninoff Exercise" and see how you like it!

It's hard to be honest with ourselves. What do we know, and what do we NEED to know? What do we NOT know...we don't know! Confusing...I know...but hopefully these 12 CRUCIAL ingredients to jazz piano success will allow you to have a clear picture of everything you need in order to become a successful jazz pianist. I shouldn't say everything you need, but at least the most important things you need. Let's just say...without these 12 ingredients, you will not be able to reach the level you're hoping for. So with that being said...let's start learning!