Lessons - Jazzedge Academy

This week's Friday Game Plan is about one thing: what Academy Premier actually gives you, and whether it is worth it for where you are right now.

I'll be inside the Academy, live, showing you the four parts that do the work. Sending me a video of your playing and getting written feedback back from me. The practice paths and practice actions that decide what you work on next, so you are not building your own curriculum at eleven at night. The live classes — PianoLab with Paul every week, The Confident Improviser with me every other week. And the intensives: six weeks of structured work on one subject, included.

Not slides about it. The real thing, on screen, in about 40 minutes.

Then the last 15–20 minutes are yours. Ask what you should be working on next and I'll give you specific lessons on the spot. Or ask me straight out whether Premier is right for you — and if it isn't, I'll tell you that too.

Open to everyone, member or not. If you don't have an Academy account yet, grab the free one before we start so you can follow along. Can't make it live? The replay posts the same day.

Sailing (Christopher Cross) – Part 1 · The Yacht Rock StandardThe definitive yacht rock tune. Paul breaks down the lush chords, the built-in tension and the slash chords that give Sailing its floating sound, and shows how to translate the record's piano, string and guitar parts into voicings that work at the keyboard.

Friday Game Plan is a live, weekly walkthrough of the Academy with Willie. Each Friday he takes one part of the site — building a practice list, finding the right lessons, using Jazzedge AI — and shows you exactly how to use it, live, in about 40 minutes. The last 15–20 minutes are yours: ask what to work on next and get specific lesson suggestions on the spot. Open to everyone. If you don't have an Academy account yet, grab the free one before we start so you can follow along. Can't make it live? The replay posts the same day.

A live, guided-practice class where Paul helps you strengthen your piano skills, work through musical concepts, and turn what you’ve learned into confident playing.

A live, guided-practice class focused on helping you improvise with greater confidence. Willie leads you through practical exercises that develop your musical vocabulary, creativity, and ability to create at the piano in real time.

The Academy has been rebuilt — not a coat of paint, the whole thing. On this call I'll walk you through it live: where everything moved, what's new, and how to get the most out of it. In this session I will ask you to turn your camera off so you can follow along with me in your own browser. This is an interactive session for members only.

A live, guided-practice class where Paul helps you strengthen your piano skills, work through musical concepts, and turn what you’ve learned into confident playing.

Come join me for an engaging live coaching experience unlike any other. In this dynamic new format, I'll be calling on each student individually to discuss what they've been working on, share their progress, and get personalized guidance on their biggest challenges.
This isn't a passive session where you sit back and listen – it's an interactive coaching session designed to keep everyone engaged and accountable. Each participant will have the opportunity to be in the hot seat, receiving direct feedback and actionable advice tailored to their specific situation and goals.

In this lesson we will learn blues turns.

In this lesson we will learn improvisation springboards.

In this lesson we will learn the coupling exercise.

In this lesson we will learn play/rest and space.

In this lesson we will learn 3 scales for improvisation.

In this first lesson we will learn the song C-Jam Blues with a left-hand accompaniment.

Chord Play will show you how to get the most music out of even the simplest chord progressions. You’ll learn how to take a basic two-chord loop and turn it into something rich, colorful, and full of movement. Step by step, we’ll explore different ways to “arrive” at a chord, how to break apart and re-build progressions, and how to combine the chords you already know with new ones borrowed from other keys for fresh, exciting sounds.
You’ll also discover how different chords create different moods—and how you can use those moods to spark your improvisation. By the end of the course, you’ll have a set of practical tools to make your playing more interesting, your arrangements more engaging, and your improvisations more expressive, all while deepening your understanding of harmony in a fun, hands-on way.

Al Green's song "Let’s Stay Together" serves as a valuable resource for a tutorial on how to play the piece. This tutorial may include ear-training exercises to help musicians develop their listening skills. Additionally, the use of Roman numeral chords can be emphasized, as they are important for understanding the harmonic structure of the song. The tutorial will also highlight the significance of hearing the bass line, which is crucial for grasping the overall feel and rhythm of the music.

Learn why chord shells are such a powerful foundation for jazz, blues, pop, and cocktail piano. In this first lesson, Willie shows you how to read chord symbols, identify roots and chord qualities, use the Shell Finder System, and start building root–seventh and root–sixth shells with better time, movement, technique, and register control.

Learn how to build root–third, root–tenth, and root–third–seventh chord shells. Willie shows you how to find major and minor thirds quickly, use tenths safely without strain, and combine thirds with sevenths to create a stronger foundation for richer jazz chord sounds.

Expand your shell vocabulary with root–fifth chord shapes. In this lesson, Willie shows you how to use root–5–root, root–5–7, and root–5–10 shells to create bigger, fuller accompaniment patterns for jazz, pop, and rock while developing stronger left-hand movement and richer chord textures.

Learn how thirds and sevenths define the sound of your chords. In this lesson, Willie shows you how to build major, minor, and dominant guide tones, connect them with smooth voice leading, and use them as the foundation for richer, more modern jazz harmony and future rootless chord work.

Bring your chord shells together with practical jazz progressions. In this lesson, Willie shows you how to move smoothly between shell types, use guide fingers to play with less looking, and apply shells to essential progressions like 2–5–1, 1–6–2–5, and powerful chromatic/substitution patterns.

Finish the program by learning how to turn chord shells into music. In this lesson, Willie shows you how to add comping rhythms, practice shells with randomized chord progressions, apply them to real standards, and choose your next steps for continued growth.

Advanced turnaround options include the “iii-vi-ii-V” progression. Additionally, utilizing a mode of the harmonic minor scale can enhance improvisation techniques.

1. The fundamentals of boogie woogie music, including its rhythmic patterns and characteristic elements.
2. Common reharmonizations for the jazz standard "Blue Bossa," focusing on variations in chord progressions.
3. Various options for turnaround harmonies that can be used in different musical contexts.

In this lesson we will learn how to create improvisation lines.

In this lesson we will learn the first half of the song.

In this lesson we will learn the second half of the song.

In this lesson we will learn three scales for improvisation.

1. Twinkle Twinkle Reharm is a collection of student submissions that explore different harmonic interpretations of the traditional children's song "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star."
2. "Short People" is a song by Randy Newman that addresses themes of social perception and prejudice based on height.
3. The Dominant 7sus4 flat-9 chord is a specific type of seventh chord used in music, characterized by its suspended fourth and a flattened ninth, which creates a unique harmonic tension.

Improvisation ideas.

Today’s topics include a chord assignment for Randy Newman's song "Short People" and a harmonization exercise for the lullaby "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."

We will finish the entire song in this lesson.

Topics for the April 23 Chord Play session include the following: a review of "Isn’t She Lovely" with student submissions, a reharmonization of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star," and a discussion on the differences between functional and non-functional harmony.