David Story, Online Piano Lessons from Toronto
  • Homepage
  • Tips, Ideas, Stories, Free Lessons
  • Adult Lessons
  • Jazz Workshop #9 May 7, 2022
  • Contact form, fees, calendar, policies
  • Philosophy
  • Testimonials
  • My Story
  • Student awards and compositions
  • Recommended resources and Free Music
  • Classical downloads
  • Classical outline for beginners
  • Jazz downloads
  • Jazz outline for beginners
  • Video Library of Piano Techniques
  • Breakfast Piano Minute

Tips, free lessons, and inspiration

Four Approaches to learning Jazz Piano ranked

4/27/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
Mr. Earl
Picture
Mr. Santisi
The rankings follow the descriptions:
​
  1. The Traditional Berklee College of Music Method
    1. Ray Santisi and Dean Earl, my teachers. I loved those guys. The traditional Berklee method emphasised theory, pencils, and paper. An old-fashioned approach for an old-fashioned music. It works though and is available in the Berklee Jazz Piano Book.
  2. The Lenny Tristano Method:
    1. Singing solos by ear
    2. Comping approaches for left hand
    3. Repertoire
    4. Transposition of licks into many keys
  3. The Jamey Aebersold Method
    1. “the answers you seek are in the recordings” Jamey Aebersold. Then he’ll sell you another book.
    2. Emphasis is on chord scale relationships and melodic patterning.
  4. The Wynton Marsalis Method
    1. Learn your “damn instrument.”
    2. Learn the tradition.
    3. "It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing"

In my experience of teaching jazz, I would rank these traditional methods in the following order:

  1. Wynton. His emphasis on learning to play well is tough for casual players. Ten thousand hours of disciplined focused practice with great teachers is a near impossibility for most people. I’m a big fan though of his dictum to know the tradition. (I did have the opportunity to study with Ali Jackson, his drummer. It raised my standards immediately. And enlarged my idea what was possible for me as a jazz drummer. I  will reach 10,000 hours of focused, disciplined practice sometime in my 70s.)
  2. Lenny, a close second. He offers specific ideas that will help anyone progress including.
    1. Learning to sing all or part of a solo through repeated listening is brilliant and obvious.
    2. Second playing licks in 12 keys. (This was transformational in my development as a pianist.)
  3. Ray and Dino. As I’ve already stated, I loved these guys. They helped me connect with the greater jazz community as a teenager. They encouraged me to go for it. The Berklee book gives a general outline of the method but requires additional material from a teacher to really work well.
  4. Jamey. I attended his camp 4 times! What a blast. I learned so much for which I’m grateful including meeting other adults as deeply committed to learning to play jazz as I was. So much intensity, dedication, and passion were on display. On the downside? Too much theory too soon in a player’s development. Students were overwhelmed. Too much reading from dull fakebooks with a narrow repertoire. Not enough emphasis on listening and analysis. (Though I was told to go home and get my drumming hands together. So, I have.)

Jazz attracts adults of a certain type. Likely just like you. Professionally successful, academically trained, and determined to figure it out. The kind of person who sets goals, allocates resources, makes time, gathers intelligence from books and the internet, and then applies focus to solve a problem or pursue an opportunity.

Alas the kind of learning traditionally associated with professional success can lead a student off in the wrong direction when learning to play jazz. First, music is a manual skill which requires many years of practice to play at even a basic level of competence. Second, playing jazz is an aural skill. Manual skills and aural skills are not traditionally part of most people’s education. So, a mindset shift must occur. Those professional skills will come in handy though; I’ll just help enlarge them.

(Authors note I own more than 100 drum books, I’ve listened to hundreds of hours of podcasts on drumming, I’ve subscribed in the past to a Jazz education subscription service promising great masterclass from my jazz heroes, and I live on YouTube. Furthermore, I own too many drum sets, snare drums, and cymbals. So, I understand.)

What can I do for you?
  1. If needed I will help you learn to play the piano with more finesse.
  2. Work with you on your aural skills.
  3. Appropriately sequence the skills of jazz piano: repertoire, ear training, history, listening and analysis, theory, soloing, jamming skills and more.
  4. Teach you how to practice.

In short, I will present material to you in a logical fashion based on your specific circumstances and provide weekly feedback. Old fashioned teaching in a modern 21st c. multi-modal manner. 

Call me.
 
David
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    You've got to learn your instrument. Then, you practice, practice, practice. And then, when you finally get up there on the bandstand, forget all that and just wail.
    Charlie Parker

    Author

    I'm a professional pianist and music educator in West Toronto Ontario. I'm also a devoted percussionist and drum teacher. 

    Archives

    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012

    Categories

    All
    Adult Piano Lessons
    Breakfast Piano Minute
    Buying A Piano
    Children's Piano Lessons
    Classical Piano
    Ear Training
    Goal Setting
    Hobby Overload
    How To Practice Scales On The Piano
    Jazz Chops
    Jazz Piano
    Learning Classical Piano
    Learning Piano
    Learning Resources
    Motivation
    Music Practice
    Piano Exams
    Practice Organization
    Practicing Piano
    Starting Piano
    Stories
    Summer Piano Lessons
    Technique
    Theory
    Time Management
    Virtual Piano Lessons
    What Students Are Playing This Week

    RSS Feed

                                                ©2022 David Story
                         Contact           Home         Mystery Link
  • Homepage
  • Tips, Ideas, Stories, Free Lessons
  • Adult Lessons
  • Jazz Workshop #9 May 7, 2022
  • Contact form, fees, calendar, policies
  • Philosophy
  • Testimonials
  • My Story
  • Student awards and compositions
  • Recommended resources and Free Music
  • Classical downloads
  • Classical outline for beginners
  • Jazz downloads
  • Jazz outline for beginners
  • Video Library of Piano Techniques
  • Breakfast Piano Minute