David Story, Online Piano Lessons from Toronto
  • Homepage
  • Tips, Ideas, Stories, Free Lessons
  • Contact form, fees, calendar, policies
  • Adult Lessons
  • About Me
  • Children Lessons
  • Jazz and Blues Workshops 2024 2025
  • Philosophy
  • Testimonials
  • Student awards and compositions
  • Classical downloads
  • Classical outline for beginners
  • Jazz and Blues Downloads
  • Jazz outline for beginners
  • Children's Piano Recital
  • Video Library of Piano Techniques
  • Breakfast Piano Minute
  • Books, Apps, Websites, Music
  • Ear Training and Sight Singing Resources
  • My YouTube channel
  • Chord Voicings for Jazz Standards
  • Long and McQuade Teacher Workshop 2024

Tips, free lessons, and inspiration

Practicing away from the instrument

4/16/2025

0 Comments

 
    Last week we were staging our home for sale. (Yes, we are moving to new area of Toronto and while the house was staged and sold, we stayed with my folks in Bracebridge.)

    I was able to practice the piano in Bracebridge, but I was unable to practice the drums, my primary hobby instrument. What did I do? I transcribed drum parts, starting with “Thumbs” by Sabrina Carpenter. The results are below. What fun that was. What did I learn? I was reminded that modern popular music has a very simple drum parts. And that the part was played or created by someone skilled in creating beats through the clever use of dynamics, articulations, and phrasing.  
Picture
     What could you the piano student do away from the instrument?

​    Transcribe the dynamics, tempo changes, and articulations from a professional recording. If you are a classical student, mark up your score. If you are a jazz student mark up your fakebook. This is the "secret sauce" that makes musical magic. Listen to Valentina Lisitsa perform the Moonlight Sonata. I've marked up a 1st edition copy. The melody at B is marked pianissimo, she plays forte. Her use of ritardando is not marked either, nor is her addition of the occasional accent in the bass. 

Have fun.
David
Book a lesson today
Picture
0 Comments

Sightsinging, Aural Skills (aka ear training), Sight reading, Memorisation, and Musical Competency

12/11/2023

0 Comments

 
There is a relationship between sight singing, aural skills, sight reading, theory, memorization, theory, music history, and musical competency. For hundreds of years undergraduate musical programs have strengthened these skills and demonstrated the clear relationship between them and musical competency. 

Clearly, studying with a music teacher such as I will not take the place of undergraduate study. Nor, will spending endless hours on YouTube. However, I can prepare the student for those studies. And more importantly however, I can help strengthen those skills in my adult hobbyist musicians. To that end, I teach programs such as the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM), Trintiy College, and other programs that systmatically tackle these areas with their well thought out curriculums.  

If I can help you, call me. 

​David
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
0 Comments

How to play piano beautifully: 10 Tips to get started

11/2/2023

0 Comments

 
Tips for playing piano beautifully.
 
Concert artists have dedicated years learning to play the piano beautifully. They have studied and mastered all the elements of their craft: repertoire, technique, aural skills, sightreading, performance practice, historical awareness, idiomatic knowledge, and more. However, they all had to start somewhere. So here is a starting point for beginners and intermediate pianists looking to elevate their interpretive skills.
  1. Playing the score accurately is the obvious first step.
  2. Observe the dynamic markings from your first reading of the work.
  3. Where the melody rises in pitch, play a gentle crescendo.
  4. Where the melody falls play in pitch, a gentle diminuendo.
  5. Locate any tempo changes.
  6. Take a breath at a repeat sign.
  7. Generally, the last note under a slur is played softer, unless the score indicates otherwise.
  8. Practice with a metronome with pieces that are based on dances like minuets, gigue etc. Many contemporary pieces written in the last few decades work as well with metronome practice. However, most Romantic era music does not. Therefore, this excludes most of Chopin, Liszt, and Debussy.
  9. Translate directly into the score any text you find in languages you don’t understand. These terms will always tell you how to play the piece.
  10. Most of these points can be overridden by markings in the score. 
 
This is a starting point for expressive playing. To develop a more sophisticated understanding one must transcribe the performance practice of professionals from different eras performing your pieces and compare the results. For example, when comparing performances of the first 8 measures of Scarlatti’s Sonata in E K380 over decades of recordings you will discover the diverse ways the musicians interpret the trills.  Most start above the principle note, but not everyone. The intensity, tempi, and dynamics vary as well.
If I can help you further, call me.
 
David
0 Comments

Learning to play with a metronome

10/10/2023

0 Comments

 
Tips.

1. Count aloud throughout.
2. Count one measure before you begin.
3. Practice counting and clapping first.
4. Record yourself clapping and listen back to evaluate your success or lack thereof.
5. Play one hand and count aloud. Record yourself playing and listen back to evaluate your success or lack thereof.
6. Play two hands and count aloud. Record yourself playing and listen back to evaluate your success or lack thereof.
7. Do this and similar exercises for the rest of your piano career.

If I can help you, call me. 

David
Picture
Free no question asked Download of the exercise
0 Comments

Ear Training Help

9/15/2023

0 Comments

 
I wish these apps had been available when I started playing piano as I was not a gifted ear player. In fact, I struggled. On top of this my teachers didn't stress aural development either because they were readers first. So, my development was glacial. Thankfully, things have changed. 

How did I develop my aural skills? In college I was given proper ear training. Later, I took up the drums, learned countless tunes by ear, and wrote them down. For the last decade I've been teaching online where I don't always see students' hands clearly. My ear has learned to hear individual notes out of place. 

If I can help you, call me. 

​David
revised 2024
Picture
RCM Ear training link
Picture
perfect ear app
0 Comments

Canon in D by Johann Pachelbel Study Guide

7/7/2023

0 Comments

 
Picture
This is a perennial favorite of music students. Let's look at a few key terms and concepts. 

Canon is a melody that accompanies itself at a staggered interval. Row, row, row your boat is a well-known example. In this canon the melody, played by the violinists, follows itself in two measure intervals. 
Ground Bass is the violoncello melody that repeats its 8 note pattern throughout the piece.
Cembalo or continuo is the chordal accompaniment that is improvised behind the violins. In this video it is played by the organ and the lute. Notice that the cembalo left hand outlines the ground bass. 

Other notable orchestral canons can be found in J.S. Bach’s Musical Offering. The canons in that suite of pieces feature 2 violins chasing each other around accompanied by the continuo.

Have Fun. 

David
Original Score
Modern Score
1/4 Tempo chord track for practice
0 Comments

Blue Bossa Jazz Piano Lesson

6/10/2023

0 Comments

 
This is a lesson given to a student this week.

Louis Armstrong, on the topic of how to improvise, said something to the effect, "memorize the melody, mess with the melody, and then mess with the mess." For beginners, this is the best advice I've ever come across. It is truly the shortest distance between A and B. Or jazz newbie to intermediate jazz student and beyond. 

Prerequisites:
The student can already play. Therefore, it is a question of what to play and less of how to play it.  
Warmup:
Two octave scales: C, F, Db, Bb, Eb
Four note broken chords: C, F, Db, Bb, Eb 
Two octave arpeggios: C, F, Bb, Db, Eb
Please use a metronome and practice different tempi, dynamics, and articulations.

Etude
Being able to play the broken chords is an important starting point in improvisation. 
Picture
Free Blue Bossa Broken Chords
Repertoire
  1. Listen and copy the interpretations of the melody from the recordings below. Pay attention to articulations and rhythmic variations.
  2. Add the left-hand chords to the melody and mimic what you can recall. 
  3. Now, from memory, play along with the recordings. When the solos begin, keep your left hand playing until the melody returns. Then add the melody back in. 
  4. Start “stealing” cool licks you hear the soloists playing. 
  5. Next, practice the melody from memory with a play along track. Then practice the broken chords over the left-hand chords.  Then experiment with the new licks you’ve discovered.
Picture
Blues Bossa broken chords as licks
0 Comments

Tresillo Rhythm in Jazz

5/25/2023

0 Comments

 
Picture
This African rhythm permeates the popular music across the Americas, often utilized within a jazz framework. It features in the introductions of Scott Joplin's "The Entertainer," Green Hill's "The Charleston," and Teddy Wilson's "Chinatown." Jelly Roll Morton referred to it as the "Spanish tinge," audible in his piece "The Crave." Additionally, it's known as the Habanera Rhythm, as showcased in the introduction of "St. Louis Blues."This rhythm continues to resonate today, blaring from the vehicles of the youth. 
The crave sheet music
Picture
St. Louis Blues Piano Score
0 Comments

Eleven Jazz Pieces to Learn by Ear

5/25/2023

0 Comments

 
Mastering the melodies of jazz standards can greatly reduce time and frustration. The principle is simple: you'll be able to play with the correct rhythm and articulation right from the start. As your understanding of jazz theory deepens, having these tunes memorized provides a practical framework for application, since grappling with theoretical concepts is challenging when also struggling with the piece itself.

David
0 Comments

Learning to Jam with others. How do I go about it?

4/5/2023

0 Comments

 
A student writes, “Hey David, I wanted to check my learning strategy with you. My goal right now is to play better at the jams I attend. Most of them are funky with someone creating a groove, and everyone jumping in.
I noticed the keys players are all very good at hearing the bass and figuring out the progression— or finding a groove within a set progression. At my level, I’m usually asking others what key we’re in (although it doesn’t always work since it changes) and then playing the root chord and inversions of it. I’ll sometimes create groove lines from the respective blues scale, but that’s about it for my understanding.
Taken together, I’m thinking the number one thing I need to work on is: Ear training.
For that, I’m thinking I focus on training my ear to understand:
  • Major ii, V, I in every key
  • Major I, vi, ii, V, I in every key
  • I, IV, V in every key
Does this sound like a good start to being able to jam with others in the scenario described above?
Thanks!

My response.
Yes, this is a good start. Here are some more ideas to consider.
  1. Ear training consists of the following elements: chord and interval recognition, identifying chord progressions, learning tunes by ear, learning licks by ear. Furthermore, practicing your scales, chords, and other keyboard techniques using a metronome will be immensely helpful in learning to play with other musicians’ time feel. This is another aspect of ear training—staying in place.
  2. Keyboard skills. Always be working on basic piano skills separately.
  3. Repertoire knowledge. There is an old say that goes, “they that know the most tunes wins.” Practice jamming with songs that have less than four chords in them. Here are some searches to get you started. You can approach these tunes in several ways. For one chord tunes, just look up the title without looking at the key. See if you can figure out the key, ditto with the 2 chord pieces. The list below was created from the first link. I can't guarantee that each piece has only one chord, they came from the internet afterall, but it's a start. 
​
  • pop songs with one chord - Search (bing.com)
  • pop songs with two chords or less - Search (bing.com)
  • pop songs with three chords or less - Search (bing.com)
  • pop songs with four chords or less - Search (bing.com)
Have fun.
 
David

One Chord Songs

  1. Locker - 35007 
  2. Drifter's Escape - Bob Dylan
  3. Helen Wheels - Paul McCartney & Wings
  4. There Is a Mountain - Donovan
  5. Stupidly Happy - XTC
  6. Electric Avenue - Eddy Grant
  7. Joy - Lucinda Williams
  8. Mississippi Boll Weevil - Charley Patton
  9. Exodus - Bob Marley
  10. Panadero Ensoñado - Pescado Rabioso
  11. The Enchanted Gypsy - Donovan
  12. Con Altura - Rosalía, J Balvin
  13. Papa Was a Rolling Stone - The Temptations
  14. Crosseyed & Painless - Talking Heads
  15. Watussi - Harmonia
  16. Get the Party Started - Pink
  17. Nevermind - Leonard Cohen
  18. The Hustle - Bars of Gold
  19. Tomorrow Never Knows - The Beatles
  20. Ever So Lonely - Monsoon 
  21. Coconut - Harry Nilsson 
  22. American Woman - Lenny Kravitz
  23. Get Up, Stand Up - Bob Marley
  24. Chain of Fools - Aretha Franklin
  25. Fire- Ohio Players
  26. Who Knows? - Jimi Hendrix
  27. Careful with That Axe, Eugene - Pink Floyd
  28. Loser - Beck
  29. Church of Anthrax - John Cale & Terry Rile
  30. Jump Into The Fire - Harry Nilsson
  31. One Chord Song - Stoney LaRue
  32. The National Anthem - Radiohead
  33. Jimmy Bell - William "Cat Iron" Carradine
  34. Sloppy Drunk Again - Walter Davis
  35. LazyBones - Soul Coughing
  36. Push Upstairs - Underworld
  37. Showbiz Kids - Steely Dan
  38. Machine Gun - Jimi Hendrix
  39. Daydreamer - Menswear
  40. Voyage Automatique - 35007
  41. Run Through The Jungle - Creedence Clearwater Revival 
  42. Wang Dang Doodle - Willie Dixon
  43. Deeper Well - Emmylou Harris
  44. Bullet the Blue Sky - U2 
  45. The Story of One Chord - Mojo Nixon & Skid Roper
  46. Moanin' at Midnight - Howlin' Wolf 
  47. Radar Eyes - The Godz
  48. Spoonful - Cream
  49. Mondo in Mi 7a - Adriano Celentano
  50. Whole Lotta Love - Zepplin 
  51. Walking in Your Footsteps - The Police
  52. Keep On Chooglin' - Creedence Clearwater Revival
  53. Seeds - Bruce Springsteen 
  54. DNA - Kendrick Lamar
  55. Snake Farm - Ray Wylie Hubbard
  56. Price - Super Furry Animals
  57. E minor or Em7 (playable with E or E7 also)
  58. Smokestack LIghtnin' - Howlin' Wolf 
  59. I'm Bad Like Jesse James - John Lee Hooker
  60. Thank You - Sly & the Family Stone
  61. I Asked for Water - Howlin' Wolf
  62. What Are Their Names? - David Crosby
  63. Know - Nick Drake
  64. Pablo Picasso - Modern Lovers
  65. Hallo Gallo - Neu!
  66. Relax - Frankie Goes to Hollywood 
  67. Alta Suciedad - Andrés Calamaro
  68. Powertruth - 35007
  69. Bodak Yellow (Money Moves) - Cardi B
  70. Mi Gente - J Balvin, Willy William, Beyonce
  71. DNA - Kendrick Lamar
  72. Mañana en el Abasto - Sumo
  73. Send Me Your Pillow - John Lee Hooker
  74. The Story of Bo Diddley - The Animals
  75. Peter Gunn - Henry Mancini
  76. Which Way Do Red River Run? - Mance Lipscomb
  77. John Henry - Buster Brown
  78. The Beat Goes On - Sonny & Cher
  79. Ding Dang - The Beach Boys
  80. See My Jumper Hanging On the Line - R.L. Burnside
  81. Shanty Blues - Henry Thomas
  82. Mona - The Rolling Stones
  83. Run On for a Long Time- Bill Landford
  84. Paradise - Sade
  85. Peter Gunn - Henry Mancini
  86. Losing Face - I Am Snow Angel 
  87. Political World - Bob Dylan
  88. One Chord Song - Keith Urban
  89. Bo Diddley - Bo Diddley
  90. Dance to the Music - Sly & the Family Stone
  91. My Jack Don't Drink No Water - Shortstuff Macon
  92. Everyday People - Sly & the Family Stone
  93. Low Rider - War
  94. It's a Rainy Day Sunshine Girl - Faust
  95. Bad to The Bone - George Thorogood
  96. U.S. 41 - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
  97. Catfish Blues - Robert Petway
  98. Spike Driver Blues - Mississippi John Hurt
  99. Shotgun - Jr. Walker & the All-Stars
  100. Rubberband Girl - Kate Bush
  101. Magic Bus - The Who
  102. Boring Girls - Pissed Jean
  103. The Bogus Man - Roxy Music
  104. Know Your Rights - The Clash
  105. Who's He And What Is He To You?- Bill Withers
  106. Space for the Papa - Jeff Beck
0 Comments

Learning to hear the 60 Jazz chords

3/6/2023

0 Comments

 
There are sixty jazz chords that you will need to recognize by ear. The ability to hear them, sing them, and play them will form the cornerstone of your jazz improvisation and aural recognition of jazz chord progressions. 

They are:

1. Major 7th
2. Dominant 7th
3. Minor 7th
4. Minor 7th b5
5. Diminished 7th

Five types, 12 keys = 60 chords. 

These exercises will help you get there.  If I can help you, call me. 

David
Free download of the singing exercises
Picture
0 Comments

How to recognise jazz chords by ear

2/25/2023

0 Comments

 

Sing them!

Picture
FYI: Page two contains the diminished 7th chord.
Free download of the image above
0 Comments

Improving Aural Skills in Music according to ChatGPT

2/3/2023

0 Comments

 
Question: What are the elements I need to consider, as a musician, to improve my aural skills?

Answer: To improve your aural skills as a musician, you should consider the following elements:
  1. Pitch recognition: the ability to identify and match the correct pitch
  2. Rhythm: the ability to accurately identify and reproduce rhythms, including meter, tempo, and note values
  3. Intervals: the ability to identify and recognize different distances between two pitches
  4. Chords: the ability to identify and recognize different chord progressions and chord qualities
  5. Melody: the ability to recognize and remember melodic lines
  6. Timbre: the ability to identify different instrument sounds and voice qualities
  7. Harmony: the ability to recognize and understand chord progressions and harmonies
  8. Form: the ability to recognize and understand musical structures, such as verse-chorus form and sonata form.
Practicing regularly, engaging in listening exercises, and taking lessons from a qualified teacher can all help to improve your aural skills.

------------------------------------
Sounds like the Royal Conservatory of Music curriculum to me. 

​David
0 Comments

How I'm practicing Jazz Vibraphone in 2023

1/14/2023

0 Comments

 
Picture
​The teacher practices Jazz
 
Last weekend I went to my first jazz jam with my Vibraphone aka my Malletkat GS Grand. We were a quartet of Tenor Sax/Flute, Vibes, Bass, and Drums. I survived with my dignity intact, but I’ve a few discoveries and confessions to share.
  1. My skills on the piano are not necessarily transferable to the vibes.
  2. My four-mallet chord playing will need further work.
  3. I was unable to execute the solo lines I could hear in my head.

On the plus side, I knew all the tunes from years of playing and teaching jazz piano plus my jazz time and feel is strong.

Here is the practice regime I began to follow to improve my jazz experience.

Tune: Satin Doll by Ellington/Strayhorn
  1. I practiced the melody, by ear, with the original recordings on YouTube. I discovered that after 45 years, that I’m dragging some notes. They are now corrected; I’m locked into the sax melody.  
  2. I reviewed the piano licks played on the head by Duke Ellington.
  3. I figured out bits of his piano solo.
  4. I practiced all the broken chords like I instruct my students and I quickly discovered that this took a lot longer than I anticipated.
  5. I practiced what I’ve learned by playing along on YouTube. 
  6. I’m ready for another piece next week.  My goal is to learn a tune a week for 52 weeks. 
  7. I'm continuing with my mallet study books to develop my manual skills. 

If I can help you with your jazz piano journey, call me. 

David

BTW: In the era of Ai content generation, a human wrote this blog. 
Picture
0 Comments

Comparative Study of Mozart's Sonata in C K425

12/12/2022

0 Comments

 
What to listen for.
  1. Tempo
  2. The constant dynamic shaping of the melody.
  3. The varying articulations of legato, staccato, and detached playing. 
  4. For pauses at the end of sections. 
  5. The starting dynamic level at the beginning of each section.
Questions.
  1. Does the artist return to the original tempo when the music returns to the theme of the first section?
  2. Can you mark in any notes that they accent or linger on?
  3. Can you mark in tempo changes?
  4. Do they pedal?

Activity.
  1. ​Learn the first 8 measures of each section by ear.

Follow-up.

Yesterday my student and I listened to the first two measures of each recording. What a revelation. The differences in the performances became more obvious with each listening and these differences were large. I invite you to try the same. 

Have fun, 

​David
0 Comments

The problem with YouTube Jazz Education Videos

11/30/2022

0 Comments

 
Super video demonstration but...

Let's consider the assumptions he is making about you the student/listener. 

  1. You can play your instrument.
  2. You have experience playing music in multiple keys. Though jazz is mostly in C, F, Bb, Eb, and Ab and related minor keys, he goes farther afield.
  3. You can play jazz.
  4. You can play by ear.
  5. You are familiar with the seminal recordings he references.
  6. You are familiar with the songs he is playing.
  7. You understand musical rudiments, including key signatures, intervals, time signatures, transposition, cadences and much more. 
  8. You have advanced solfege and piano skills so you can play bass lines and sing the melody over it.
  9. You understand harmonic theory and are able execute chord progressions in time, with a beat, and use the appropriate jazz facial expressions.
  10. You know of Ray Brown and his significance.
  11. You understand following terms and their musical significance: melody, bass lines, transposition, diatonic, tonic, major 7th intervals, root-7 root-6 movement, Bebop shells 3rd and 7th, the tritone, 5ths, half-steps, interval inversions, 5 in the key of G, lineage of the tune (?), perfect 4ths, non-diatonic ii-Vs, half diminished, 3 of a key, original "changes", "Miles, " Ab7#11 chords, keys, closely related keys, major 3rds, major scales, circle of 5ths, root movements, ii-V of IV, bridge, "key of music."
  12. In Peter’s defense, he offers practice suggestions around 9 minutes mark. 
  13. On the other hand, as all Vloggers do, he downplays the complexity of what he is doing. Sigh.

What is my job?

I prepare students to understand and execute what he is talking about. The first thing we will do is assess your situation and then we'll draw up a logical plan. 

  1. If needed, I will teach you to play your instrument. We will work through a solid canon of piano works that explore multiple keys. 
  2. I will teach you to play jazz.
  3. I will teach you to play by ear. Can you play jingle bells by ear? If so, great you are on your way. If not, I will help you get started. 
  4. The most important jazz recordings. I will introduce you to 100+ years of jazz recordings. If your knowledge is a bit spotty, start here: The 100 Jazz Albums That Shook The World | Jazzwise and Double Time Top 100 Historically Significant Recordings article @ All About Jazz. It is important to note the absence of early jazz recordings on these listings. Jazz has a history spanning 3 centuries, but jazz education seems stuck in, at best, a 30-year period from 1945 to 65. The first list has a number a modern recordings from the last 40 years. 
  5. I will help you get your theory together.
  6. We will do solfege together. I use both moveable doh system and the number system. Solfege is widely taught in Europe, but unfortunately not so much in North America. 
  7. We will study jazz harmony when you've got your theory together.
  8. Ray Brown is an important bassist.
  9. Working on steps one through nine will answer all the questions you may have from step 11 above.
  10. I will teach you how to practice.
  11. I will encourage you to get outside feedback and advice from other sources. 

Call me, 

David

BTW: in 2017, I studied with Peter Martin in Rome Italy at the ROMA Jazz Workshop. I was in Rome studying jazz drumming with Greg Hutchinson. Greg played in Ray Brown’s last group. ​Peter is a great guy and a very skilled musician. When I grow up, I want to play piano like him. 

Updated 2024
0 Comments

Sight Singing Week 2

11/25/2022

0 Comments

 
If you are curious about this, click here. 
Picture
Score
0 Comments

Creating a "Roadmap"

11/25/2022

0 Comments

 
Creating a "roadmap" gives you a visual representation of the form or structure of a performance. You will discover the: who, what, when, and how much in the recording. This is valuable information. You will learn to count, recognize the instrumentation and more. You will begin to develop an awareness of how musicians organize their performances and recordings. 

First Steps. 

1. Pick a favorite piece
2. With a pop song listen for the following sections and their order; introduction, verse, chorus, bridge, ending (tag). With a jazz piece, notice how many times they play the "head" or main melody and then note the order of solos. How many times do they play the head after the solos? 

Second Steps.
1. Make a note on your "map" of dynamics.
2. In a jazz piece, count how many times each musician solos on the form. 
3. Do they trade "fours" with the drummer? If you are unsure what this means, click here.

Third Step.

1. Make a note on your "map" of anything interesting you pick up or hear. 

Have fun. 

David
Picture
Here is a more detailed roadmap that includes a guide to my drum part. 
Picture
Picture
Picture
Long Tall Sally Chord Map
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
My Percussion Roadmaps
0 Comments

Sight Singing Week 2: Do and Sol in Beethoven's 5th Symphony

11/18/2022

2 Comments

 
Sight singing is fun when we sing along with something great like the fifth symphony of Beethoven. We might call this tympani karaoke. 

Trivia question: What does C jam blues and the Tympani part for Beethoven's 5th symphony have in common?
Picture
Tympani Score Download
2 Comments

First steps to sight singing in 2022

11/12/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
score
0 Comments

Clementi Sonatina in C: 4 interpretations

10/20/2022

0 Comments

 

First Edition 1798-99

Picture
Tempo:
  1. Lang Lang: Half note =112
  2. Wuja Wang: Half note =100
  3. Cory Hall: Half note =113
  4. Qi Zhang: Half note =110

None of the artists played with a completely steady beat, in other words, the tempo varied both from section to section and within sections. 

0 Comments

Bag's Groove Seminal Recordings

10/13/2022

0 Comments

 
There is much to learn from listening to each of these recordings, especially the counter-lines played by John Lewis. I would encourage you to learn, by ear, the diverse ways musicians approach the simple blues melody. 

​David
0 Comments

Seminal recordings of Manhã de Carnaval (Black Orpheus)

10/10/2022

0 Comments

 
When learning to play Brazilian jazz it is best to go to the primary sources, the original and other seminal recordings recorded in Brazil, both past and present. At the end of this sample of Brazilian recordings is a fine recording by Kenny Barron, who it must be said, has listened to the original recordings.

Practice routine?

Spend an afternoon playing the melody with the recordings, mimicking as much as possible what you hear. Then add the chords.

​David
0 Comments

Learning to sing the intervals within a five note major or minor pentascale

10/6/2022

0 Comments

 
The following is a series of exercises to help you "experience" intervals, taking them out of the theoretical and into the practical. I recommend that you transpose these passages as you learn new patterns. 

David
Download PDF
0 Comments

Getting Started with Intervals

10/6/2022

0 Comments

 
The Major 3rd, Minor 3rd, and Perfect 5th is just theory until we hear them, experience them, and then apply this understanding to our playing. The following exercise is one way to "experience" these intervals. 
Picture
Download pdf
0 Comments
<<Previous
    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

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    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
    Blues Piano
    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

                                                ©2025 David Story
  • Homepage
  • Tips, Ideas, Stories, Free Lessons
  • Contact form, fees, calendar, policies
  • Adult Lessons
  • About Me
  • Children Lessons
  • Jazz and Blues Workshops 2024 2025
  • Philosophy
  • Testimonials
  • Student awards and compositions
  • Classical downloads
  • Classical outline for beginners
  • Jazz and Blues Downloads
  • Jazz outline for beginners
  • Children's Piano Recital
  • Video Library of Piano Techniques
  • Breakfast Piano Minute
  • Books, Apps, Websites, Music
  • Ear Training and Sight Singing Resources
  • My YouTube channel
  • Chord Voicings for Jazz Standards
  • Long and McQuade Teacher Workshop 2024