Arranging Techniques

If you can't reach those big stretches, this lesson will help you 'fix' arrangements so you can play them more easily.

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.

In this 10 tips lesson, we are going to focus on the left hand. Using the first four-measures of Night And Day, I’ve created 10 different left-hand accompaniment examples that you can add to your arrangements. This will give you 10 different options when approaching a lead sheet.

Learn how to play the locked-hand style like Barry Harris and other jazz pianists. This advanced technique adds some beautiful harmony to the melody and is great to have in your 'tool box.'

In this lesson I cover several different modulation techniques that you can use to move between keys. I use the songs Amazing Grace and What A Friend We Have in Jesus as examples. You’ll learn about pivot chords, diminished sequences and other common and not-so-common modulation tricks!

In this original composition, I will show you how I organized this song for a gig that I had later that night. I will show you the techniques that I used to create the composition and how to solo over it. If you are interested in writing your own original compositions, you will find many useful techniques and "tricks" that you can apply from this lesson to your own songs.

In this lesson we will be covering how to use the pedal and some stride piano techniques. Both of these techniques take time to master, but using the examples laid out in the lesson, you'll be up and running a lot faster.

In this lesson we are going to cover the analysis of I Can't Get Started, learn the groove for Bill Wither's Use Me, play some Reggae grooves and learn a basic stride piano exercise. Yeah, we got a lot to cover!

Learn how I go about transposing patterns into new keys.