I'm the proud teacher of Eric Liang. He is a hard-working musician now playing around Toronto.
The tried-and-true method for learning to play Jazz piano, Blues Piano, Country Piano,
and other American music forms.
- Listen to the music.
- Learn to play your instrument.
- Learn with others.
- Learn tunes.
It is my thesis that you don’t need to be a virtuoso who knows the fanciest musical moves, you just need to be a musician who knows the repertoire, has “great time” and “feel,” and doesn’t get lost. Also, if you want to play on stage with other people, you will also need thick skin, the appropriate gear, adhere to the dress code, be sober, and be easy to work with. In short, you will need to be employable.
The Method.
- Listen to the music. You will need to become a student of the genre with an keen interest and advanced knowledge of the important players, composers, repertoire, and eras. This is especially true if you wish to be a competent amateur.
- Learn to play your instrument by following a proven curriculum. Here is a personal story. For the past 15 years I’ve been a drum student is following the ideas on this list. I listen everyday. I’ve learned to play the drums; I now play in groups that I’m proud to acknowledge and invite students to. I’ve transcribed and learned countless pieces of music. I’ve have played drums in Polish jazz clubs, marched in New Orleans parades, and played under the stars in Rome Italy and performed gospel music in Toronto cathedrals. I practice 1-2 hours everyday. But, not all my teachers, and that includes some famous ones, had a curriculum. More than one seemed to wing it. So, though I got to bask in the glow of their fame, I didn’t learn as much as I could have. My current drum teacher uses proven methods that he adapts to my situation. I’ve made enormous progress in the past year.
- Learn to practice effectively. For Americana, this means playing along with recordings most of the time.
- Learn the mechanics of musical style, theory, and reading.
- Listen, study, and play through the history of the musical style you study. Which for Americana is the 20th c. popular music.
- Master the appropriate musical rudiments and theory. The Royal Conservatory of Music Advanced Rudiments or its equivelent, will give you a foundation to build on.
- American music is an aural tradition, therefore, work on your aural skills. (Modern teaching methods, however, will shorten the learning curve.)
- I encourage my students to attend jazz camps and participate in our jazz workshops in Toronto. This has 2 important aspects, 1) you meet other adults on a similar journey with whom you can compare notes and experiences, 2) you can interact with professional musicians in a safe environment.
- Learn lots of tunes because it a musical truism that those who know the most tunes win. If you are a beginner, these will be simple tunes, but tunes, nonetheless.
You may be asking; with what authority do I make these claims?
- I have many former students who are now professional musicians in different musical fields. I prepared them for post-secondary music education. A few went directly into the business. But more importantly, I’ve many students who now play well for their own musical satisfaction.
- I’ve been trained, both as a musician and a teacher. I have won awards in both. I continue to train with world class teachers.
- I’ve been successfully employed as a musician for over 50 years.
- My curriculum is not idiosyncratic. I follow proven methods that are embodied in conservatory curriculum and jazz college outlines.
- I won't over claim.
If I can help you, call me.
David
Jazz Curriculum for Beginners
photo by Yuske Frutate at Array Studio 2017
A partial listing of tunes that students are currently playing
"Go deeper on fewer pieces" Aaron Goldberg, Poland 2018
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Tip#1: memorize the tune and chords before you try to improvise. David Story 2022
General Outline of my Jazz Curriculum
Mastering jazz necessitates a strong base in various skills. I have segmented the prerequisites for proficient play into distinct units. We will tackle multiple units simultaneously. The precise sequence will be tailored to your individual circumstances.
Unit 1: Introduction to Jazz Piano
• Brief history of jazz music and jazz piano
• Overview of the elements of jazz music (rhythm, harmony, melody, improvisation)
• Introduction to the 12-bar blues form and licks through studying tunes like C jam blues
Unit 2: Developing Technique
• Hand positioning and finger independence exercises to keep the hands strong and ready to improvise.
• Scales and arpeggios in all keys
• Basic chord voicings (root position, inversions, the 60 jazz 7th chords, Bebop shells)
Unit 3: Rhythm and Time
• Understanding swing feel and syncopation
• Basic rhythmic patterns of jazz (2-feel, 3-feel, 4-feel)
• Using a metronome to develop timing and precision
Unit 4: Harmony and Chord Progressions
• Review of major and minor scales and chord types
• Introduction to diatonic harmony and chord progressions
• Learning and analyzing common jazz chord progressions (ii-V-I, iii-VI-ii-V)
Unit 5: Improvisation
• Introduction to improvisation through messing with the melody. This advice comes from Louis Armstrong. "Learn the tune, mess with the tune, mess with the mess."
• Ear training exercises and transcribing simple melodies by ear
• Basic improvisation techniques (chord tones, scales, approach notes)
Unit 6: Jazz Standards
• Introduction to playing jazz standards
• Learning to read lead sheets and chord symbols from a fakebook
• Applying improvisation techniques to jazz standards
Unit 7: Advanced Chord Voicings
• Introduction to advanced chord voicings (rootless voicings, drop 2, drop 3, quartal voicings)
• Applying advanced chord voicings to jazz standards and chord progressions
Unit 8: Developing Your Own Style
• Finding your own voice as a jazz pianist through exploring jazz history and other genres
• Exploring different styles within the jazz genre (traditional, swing, bebop, modal, fusion, etc.)
• Transcribing and analyzing the playing of your favorite jazz pianists
Unit 9: Ensemble Playing
• Playing with other musicians in a jazz ensemble
• Learning to comp for other soloists
• Playing in a rhythm section and interacting with bass and drums
Unit 10: Performance Preparation
• Preparing for a solo performance or recital
• Choosing repertoire and preparing a set list
• Developing stage presence and overcoming performance anxiety
Unit 1: Introduction to Jazz Piano
• Brief history of jazz music and jazz piano
• Overview of the elements of jazz music (rhythm, harmony, melody, improvisation)
• Introduction to the 12-bar blues form and licks through studying tunes like C jam blues
Unit 2: Developing Technique
• Hand positioning and finger independence exercises to keep the hands strong and ready to improvise.
• Scales and arpeggios in all keys
• Basic chord voicings (root position, inversions, the 60 jazz 7th chords, Bebop shells)
Unit 3: Rhythm and Time
• Understanding swing feel and syncopation
• Basic rhythmic patterns of jazz (2-feel, 3-feel, 4-feel)
• Using a metronome to develop timing and precision
Unit 4: Harmony and Chord Progressions
• Review of major and minor scales and chord types
• Introduction to diatonic harmony and chord progressions
• Learning and analyzing common jazz chord progressions (ii-V-I, iii-VI-ii-V)
Unit 5: Improvisation
• Introduction to improvisation through messing with the melody. This advice comes from Louis Armstrong. "Learn the tune, mess with the tune, mess with the mess."
• Ear training exercises and transcribing simple melodies by ear
• Basic improvisation techniques (chord tones, scales, approach notes)
Unit 6: Jazz Standards
• Introduction to playing jazz standards
• Learning to read lead sheets and chord symbols from a fakebook
• Applying improvisation techniques to jazz standards
Unit 7: Advanced Chord Voicings
• Introduction to advanced chord voicings (rootless voicings, drop 2, drop 3, quartal voicings)
• Applying advanced chord voicings to jazz standards and chord progressions
Unit 8: Developing Your Own Style
• Finding your own voice as a jazz pianist through exploring jazz history and other genres
• Exploring different styles within the jazz genre (traditional, swing, bebop, modal, fusion, etc.)
• Transcribing and analyzing the playing of your favorite jazz pianists
Unit 9: Ensemble Playing
• Playing with other musicians in a jazz ensemble
• Learning to comp for other soloists
• Playing in a rhythm section and interacting with bass and drums
Unit 10: Performance Preparation
• Preparing for a solo performance or recital
• Choosing repertoire and preparing a set list
• Developing stage presence and overcoming performance anxiety
"Sing the bass lines" Aaron Goldberg, Poland 2018
A sample jazz lesson from December 2020
Goal: Memorize and perform Mack the Knife
John is a retired executive with a lifelong interest in jazz and decades of experience playing the piano.
John's first step is to listen to the tune over and over until he knows it as well as happy birthday.
John's second step is figuring out the melody by ear. Then he transposes the melody into various keys. Below are some recordings he started with.
(Bill McBirnie, a jazz flutist of note, plays the melodies along with different recordings. This is a clever idea for practicing as he gets to explore different keys, tempos, and rhythmic feels.)
John then sang the bass line along with Mr. Sonny Bass. It is printed below.
John is a retired executive with a lifelong interest in jazz and decades of experience playing the piano.
John's first step is to listen to the tune over and over until he knows it as well as happy birthday.
John's second step is figuring out the melody by ear. Then he transposes the melody into various keys. Below are some recordings he started with.
- https://youtu.be/cKNUFvETG4I Clarke Terry
- (9) Paul "Tchan Tchou" Vidal - Mack the Knife - Guitar Transcription - YouTube
- https://youtu.be/6vXAtVbZbkI Ella loses the words, a classic version
(Bill McBirnie, a jazz flutist of note, plays the melodies along with different recordings. This is a clever idea for practicing as he gets to explore different keys, tempos, and rhythmic feels.)
John then sang the bass line along with Mr. Sonny Bass. It is printed below.
- Mr. Sonny Bass plays the melody in multiple keys https://youtu.be/wwzTRc0GKZ0 2 keys starting in F https://youtu.be/03mIqhyuSw8 6 keys starting G
John next prepared to improvise by working on the basic building blocks of improvisation technique.
John is now ready.
- Broken chords
- Broken chords with chromatic approach
- Enclosures
- Scales, including the bebop scale on the dominant
- A Blues lick on the ii-V
- Then we took a lick from a transcription found on the Clarke Terry Transcription above.
- The we transposed out simple lick into different keys
John is now ready.
What and how to practice jazz piano as an intermediate pianist
Your overall goal is to work on your time, piano tone, improvisation, and repertoire.
Materials needed:
Materials needed:
- metronome
- audio recording
- play along software
- YouTube
- Fakebook
- Warmup by playing written music. This will preserve the skills you have acquired over the years as jazz piano is notorious for weakening the left hand of classically trained pianists. I usually play Classical piano to keep my hands sharp. You could play fully written jazz arrangements.
- Review your memorized repertoire of blues, ballads, a standard or two, and Bossa Nova tunes. Recording yourself is an excellent way to self-analyze your playing.
- Practice by playing your repertoire along with the great recordings.
- Acquiring simple licks from the recordings and transposing them into the keys of your memorized repertoire.
How To Practice For Four Hours Click here.
