Ballad Series – Part 2 (LOTW #42)
Don’t let the rhythms fool you in this one. The tempo is so slow the 32nd notes are simply ornamental trills. The main idea in this one like lick 41 i that we land on an extension over the G7 chord. This happens to be the b9 in this lick. Landing on extensions in ballads […]
Jazz Piano School Ep 28 : Why You Need Diatonic Harmony
We have to be able to understand how to put the puzzle pieces together in jazz. How can you expect to do this without understanding where they go? Well, you can’t! This is why Diatonic Harmony is so important. Diatonic Harmony is the road map to explain how chords and progressions fit together. Without learning this you will be completely lost as we continue to progress. Diatonic Harmony is the relationship of chords to a scale and certain key. Pretty easy once you get into it! Leave your questions in the comments section and I’ll be happy to help.
Ballad Series – Part 1 (LOTW #41)
This is a tasty little lick with a small grace note that makes all the difference. Feel free to phrase this however you want. You can pull or push on the time depending how you are feeling. Also the chromatic half steps going to the b13 of the G7 sound beautiful as it resolves to […]
Jazz Piano School, Ep 27 : Connecting Chord Changes In Your Solo
To make our solo’s sound good we need to be able to connect the chord changes smoothly in our right hand. This means hitting chord tones on down beats without having to think about it. The ability to play these chord tones on down beats as the chords are changing will allow our solos to reflect the harmonies perfectly. We want to practice this very slowly at first until we build up our spontaneous flow. This is not something you will be able to go fast with. If you do you will hinder your learning of this skill set.
Jazz Piano Schools 10 Step Guide To Learning Jazz Piano
I love writing posts such as these because jazz seems so mystical from an outside observer. It is as if jazz is like a magic show, with tricks and illusions. The reality is learning jazz and how to play jazz piano can be broken down like a blueprint. Sorry to burst your bubble. Obviously to […]
I Maj7 to IV 7 Turnaround (LOTW #40)
This is a nice lick for this slightly on common turnaround. You won’t find in too many places. One of them being “The Song Is You”. Very diatonic but the addition of the sixteenth note approach back down on the F-7 chord adds just enough flavor to make this lick sound good. Enjoy!
1-4-3-6-2 Turnaround (LOTW #39)
What I love about this lick is the chord tone pattern in measure 2 that moves down a half step. The first measure starts with a nice chromatic triplet approach which moves us in to the F7 mixolydian scale then we come down and land on the 5th of our E-7. Here we start our […]
Bluesy Oscar Peterson Lick (LOTW #38)
This lick is definitely more advanced technically than some of the others. Practice the consistent triplets very slowly at first until you get the hang of it. This lick was based of an Oscar Peterson intro I was working on with my student over “On A Slow Boat To China”. In this lick we are […]
Minor 1-6-2-5 Lick (LOTW #37)
Minor turnaround can sometimes throw people off. We take on the same principle I’ve taught before. Target the chord tones on downbeats. It’s tricky knowing how to connect the harmonies. We start on the third of our C- then make our way down to the third of the A7 chord. Notice the ornamental triplet we […]
Pentatonic Turnaround (LOTW #36)
This lick is based on the turnaround from Lady Bird. All we are doing in this one is stringing together some pentatonic patterns over the maj7th chords. The consistency of the major 7th chords makes it nice for us to play pattern like material over the harmonies. Enjoy!
