Reharmonization means you are changing the chords, sometimes adding new chords, sometimes changing the existing chords. This gives you the ability to create dozens of variations on the blues to improvise over.

In this lesson you'll learn how to use upper structures in your chords to create rich sounding turnarounds!

Are you interested in writing or arranging music? Are you interested in understanding why certain chords “work” and sound so cool? Then this is the lesson for you. In this lesson, we will show you 7 different ways to resolve to a C major chord, a particularly valuable skill for anyone who wants to take command of the music they’re playing and unlock all of the creative possibilities. In fact, with all the different variations we will show you, you will learn more than 10 different chord progressions, all of which will bring you to C major.

This course focuses on bringing the standard 12-bar blues form into a more advanced and diverse chord structure by demonstrating some specific places where alternate chord changes are commonly used. Altered extensions can also be used on particular chords in order to create motion from one chord to the next.

In this lesson you are going to be using chord substitutions in a 12 bar blues form to create a full blues "song" with bassline.

10 examples in a variety of styles to help you learn your chords, comping, styles and rhythms in the key of A

10 examples in a variety of styles to help you learn your chords, comping, styles and rhythms in the key of Ab

10 examples in a variety of styles to help you learn your chords, comping, styles and rhythms in the key of B

10 examples in a variety of styles to help you learn your chords, comping, styles and rhythms in the key of D

10 examples in a variety of styles to help you learn your chords, comping, styles and rhythms in the key of Db

10 examples in a variety of styles to help you learn your chords, comping, styles and rhythms in the key of E

10 examples in a variety of styles to help you learn your chords, comping, styles and rhythms in the key of Eb

10 examples in a variety of styles to help you learn your chords, comping, styles and rhythms in the key of F

10 examples in a variety of styles to help you learn your chords, comping, styles and rhythms in the key of F#

Day 21-30 of the 30-Day Piano Playbook. These lessons will be more difficult than days 1-20 by design to help you find your playing level.

Learn different ways to create an arrangement for a Christmas song.

In this lesson we focus on how to "activate" our left-hand and make it part of our improvisation.

In step 2 I am going to show you how to re-harmonize the song using some simple concepts at first, then moving into more advanced techniques. The first part of the lesson (part 1) is great for beginner - intermediate level students. Part 2 is perfect for those intermediate and advanced students who want a few more "tools" for their arranging toolbox.

In part 2 we are going to finish up creating 3 options for lines 5-8 for the song. We will also cover some "options within the options" like tri-tone substitutions and other 'goodies'. Finally, we will discuss different endings. This is a definite 'must-do' lesson if you are interested in cocktail piano playing.

A quick story, years ago when I was first learning improvisation, I was always confused and frustrated with those chord/scale charts. You know the ones that tell you which scale you should play with which chord. It seemed impossible to learn all those scales and so limiting. In this lesson, I'm going to show you a technique that I use in my improvisation everyday to quickly improvise over chords without "over thinking" the scale that I am playing. Using this technique, it is easy to improvise over chords even if you don't know which scale to use!

In part 1, I am going to cover some of the most common requests that I have gotten from students. We will learn more about creating a walking bassline, how to form rootless chords and comp chords over that bassline. This approach makes it easier to learn many concepts over a form that you'll use again and again. In addition, you'll learn a new harmonization for the blues!

In this Dorian-based song, I'll show you how to play the song solo or with a group. You'll learn the melody as well as improvisation. We will break down some of Ray Manzarek's licks and talk about bringing in some advanced techniques like tritone-substitutions into the arrangement.

I've been wanting to do this song for a while! Take 5 was written by Paul Desmond and performed by The Dave Brubeck Quartet on their 1959 album Time Out. In this lesson I'll break down the arrangement but we will also cover a bunch of improvisation and reharmonization ideas to make the song "your own."

In this traditional spiritual, I have created an advanced arrangement which includes a change of rhythm, tritone substitutions and some really fat-sounding chords. The gospel sounds created here are similar and complementary to those you learned in the Richard Tee Tribute lesson while also teaching more about how to create an advanced arrangement of a traditional song. Improvisation will be covered in depth in part 2 of the lesson.

In this lesson we are going to cover 8 variations of the classic chord progression Rhythm Changes. This progression is an important 'right of passage' for any jazz musician. It is also a great progression to work through re-harmonization and improvisation. We will learn the various chord progressions and basslines.

A question I get asked a lot is “How do you create an arrangement for a song?” Or, “How do I ‘modernize’ this song and give it new life?” In this lesson I am going to share with you some of the techniques that I use to create arrangements and “contemporize” a song. Some of these techniques are common, yet some are ones that I have come across over the years and developed my own personal style. We will use the song "Wade in The Water" as an example.

Learn how to create and extend your chord progressions. Have you ever been asked to just "wing it" and create a chord progression? Well, now you'll have some techniques to create your own progressions on-the-fly. You can also incorporate these techniques into existing songs to extend the progression.

This classic song covers how to re-harmonize the song and improvise over it. I’ll also teach the arrangement note-for-note. Some of the concepts we will cover is more re-harm techniques like dominant motion, related ii’s and tritone substitutions.

Georgia on My Mind was written in 1930 by Hoagy Carmichael (music) and Stuart Gorrell (lyrics). I’ll teach you how to re-harmonize and play my arrangement. Soloing tips will also be available.

I cover a lot of really neat reharmonization techniques in this lesson, including dominant motion, related ii-V’s, dominant motion and much more. Best of all, you get to learn a beautiful ballad arrangement of the song.

Learn the Erroll Garner classic, “Misty”. This three-step (Standards in 3) series will teach you how to re-harmonize the lead sheet, how to play the arrangement and put in fills and runs.