Jazz Piano Archives - Page 5 of 9

JPS Ep:150 – This Chord Will Instantly Make You Sound Like 70’s Herbie!

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.”

JPS Ep:147 – How to Play “Block Chords” (pt. 2)

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!

How to Play “Block Chords” Like George Shearing

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.

JPS Ep:140 – The 8th Note Exercise: The Key to Smoother Lines for Jazz Piano

This exercise is a trade secret I learned to make my improvised lines smoother. After working with this exercise, you will make it through the changes of tunes you used to find challenging with style and grace! In this podcast lesson, well be looking at the notorious jazz standard, “Cherokee” and I’ll be showing you different ways to approach working on your eighth notes flows through this exercise. Let’s go!

JPS Ep:136 – Playing in 7/4 Meter with Claves

Playing in 7/4 meter can be a fun way to explore new rhythmic possibilities and comes with its own set of challenges. In this podcast lesson, we will explore ways of practicing 7/4 by using rhythmic claves to make it feel as natural as possible. Come along and feel the beat!

JPS Ep:135 – Learn Jazz Piano – Our 4 Step System

Learning jazz piano isn’t a guessing game, even that’s how I approached it for 15+ years. It’s a system. The majority of students, including myself start by learning tunes.This should be the LAST step we do. Before that we need jazz piano TOOLS. Would you try and read and write without learning the Alphabet? No of course not. Jazz Piano is the exact same way. In this 15 minute podcast I’m going to break down the 4 step system we use that is has successfully taught thousands of students jazz piano so you can use it too.

JPS Ep:134 – Pentatonic Voicings Tutorial Part 2

Here we look at how to create more 4 and 5 note voicings in a modal setting. Today’s session explores a more flexible approach in D dorian by transposing shapes through the mode. To take it further, we look at a technique of chromatic transposition used by Herbie Hancock.