Behind The Scenes: 3 Takeaways From Barry Harris Masterclass
On Monday, October 2nd, 2017 I had the privilege of participating in Barry Harris’ Masterclass at Manhattan School of Music as his ginny pig pianist. Barry is a bebop pioneer whose teaching has played an important part in the development of many jazz musicians. Here are 3 takeaways from what he showed me at this […]
SAQ: Why Do We Practice?
A common FAQ is “What Should I Practice?”. But a more important SAQ (“should ask question”) is “Why Do I Practice?”. Many have defined practicing as “the act of rehearsing a behavior over and over, or engaging in an activity again and again, for the purpose of improving or mastering it, as in the phrase […]
How To Command Your Left Hand Like Bill Evans
When playing in the trio setting, a jazz pianist’s left hand is often an afterthought, a purely supportive entity that acts out of reflex rather than thought. Too commonly, pianists spend hours at a time improving their right-handed lines without paying attention to their left-handed choices. There is a trend of simply falling back on […]
Early McCoy vs Late McCoy: How McCoy Tyner’s Playing Style Evolved Over Time
McCoy Tyner is unquestionably one of the most influential jazz pianists to date, with one of the most clearly recognizable sounds. But McCoy’s sound changed drastically – arguably more than any other jazz musician – as he evolved from a mainstream hard-bop player to an innovative post-bop player who defined a new approach to improvisation […]
How To Approach Incorporating Transcription Into Your Playing
-Guest Blog Post Written By Joey Lieber for Jazz Piano School. Joey Lieber is a pianist and piano / music teacher based in Westchester, NY. To follow Joey or for any questions, visit http://www.joeylieber.com A common question I’ve gotten from students is: “What is the best way to learn new vocabulary?” After all as musicians […]
Educational Perspectives of a Jazz Pianist by David Hazeltine
By David Hazeltine I was 11 years old when after 3 years of basic music instruction, I began my weekly lessons with Will Green, a very accomplished blind, Jazz pianist and organist. His style of teaching was completely hands on, meaning he taught me exactly how to play tunes with precise voicings and bass notes, […]
V7 Tritone (LOTW #31)
Enjoy this lick using the tritone of our V7 chord in the key of C. We are replacing the Db7 for the G7 and using our Db7 lydian scale, meaning #11, to solo over the tritone. This creates a very unique sound over a 2-5-1. I then added the lydian scale over the Cmaj7 as […]
5 Improvisation Upgrades For Any Level
I had a student that was a puzzle to me. It barely seemed like he cared, was always late, and never practiced. But…when I asked him to improvise over tunes, he would tear it up! I just couldn’t understand. I hadn’t even taught him much yet he was playing like a ten year vet. So […]
Fix: How To Never Rush Or Drag Your Solo Lines Again
I recently played a senior recital for a student at Sac State University. While hanging out before the performance, one of my friends who is also a student comes up and says “How the heck do you get you your lines to not drag?” When I’m asked this I usually give them a blank stare […]
Take Dead Aim With Your Solo Lines
Why do some solos sound crappy? What makes a solo not sound good? Obviously there a lot of reason. But the main reason people’s improv doesn’t sound good is because their melodic content is dead on with the harmonies. Let me explain. Chord Tones with your soloing Every chord you are playing over is made […]
