Tag: blog

Understanding Jazz Theory (Part 1): 3 Most Important Jazz Theory Concepts For A Beginner

 4 Chords Families While these are not the only chord families, these 4 are the main families that make up the diatonic series: Major 7th Symbols: M7, Ma7, Maj7, Δ7 Dominant 7th Symbols: 7, dom7 Minor 7th Symbols: m7, mi7, min7, -7 Minor 7 Flat 5 or Half-Diminished  Symbols: m7(b5), min7(b5), ø7 Next, it is […]

Piano Voicings – Similar Sounds

By Sam Griffith It is very easy to get so involved with harmonic substitutions, we forget about simple things we can do to harmony. In many cases, a small adjustment such as leaving a specific note out, or changing the quality of a chord can completely change the sound of the song. Frequently these little […]

My Jazz Piano Freedom: What’s Helped & Hurt

I’ve always been fascinated by the education process of jazz piano. As many of you know, I had a hard time learning jazz piano. It wasn’t until later in my career that I found out that most people actually have a hard time learning jazz piano. The typical student would follow the same path- or […]

10 Disastrous Mistakes I’ve Made Learning Jazz Piano

Alright, so I went over all the good stuff in the last post. The stuff that got me results, the things that helped me improve and achieve jazz piano freedom. If you want to read Part 1 of this 3-part Series, click here to read “My Jazz Piano Freedom:What’s Helped & Hurt.” That post covers […]

8 YouTube Channels That Will Take Your Playing To the Next Level

8 YouTube Channels That Will Take Your Playing To the Next Level Stop. I mean, stop clicking random YouTube videos and losing your precious practice time, because here we have a solution that will instantly save you time and lead you to best places to learn about jazz and see it performed by the greats. […]

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 […]

Problem/Solution: What & How To Practice

Last time we examined why we practice – which is to slow down the process, extract your internal information, and achieve a high level of control in order to best equip yourself to spontaneously create. Today I am going to offer solutions to the common questions: what and how should I practice? HOW TO PRACTICE […]

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 […]