These practice guides will help you organize your practice of Rhythm, Scales and Accompaniments more effectively.
In this lesson we will expand our bassline by adding chromaticism.
In this lesson we will expand our bassline to all quarter notes and add triplets to our rhythms.
In this lesson we will cover the 4-note minor pentatonic scale and a new accompaniment.
In exercise #2 we learn the 5-finger blues scale and a new rhythm.
In this first The Confident Improviser lesson we will learn a simple minor bassline with improvisation.
Learn more about how The Confident Improviser program works, its benefits, structure and goals.
This is a "summary" DVD of the first 3 DVDs making it easy to see how the lessons work together. This is also a 'quick-start' for advanced players. The music for DVD504 is found on DVD501-503.
You'll learn the New Orleans, Gene Harris and Fat's Domino grooves on this DVD. I'll also teach you the Boogie in octaves plus a bunch of licks, turnarounds and endings! Sheet music is included along with DVD502
This DVD picks up where DVD501 left off and teaches you more advanced Blues techniques. You'll learn the "common" shuffle and Jimmy Yancey grooves. I'll also explain the triplet feel and how it is written.
This is the place to start if you want to learn the basics of Blues & Boogie piano playing. I'll teach you the "basic" shuffle groove and show you some licks to play over it. You'll also learn about sliding and crushing notes. Neighbor chords and suspensions.
In this last lesson of this course you will be learning another original piece, "Chicken Pox Blues" which we will use to learn more about the blues and improvisation.
In this lesson you'll learn a bunch of licks that you can use to solo over the bassline and progression we learned in the previous lesson.
The blues is an extremely important form to learn. In this lesson I'll show you the entire blues in C along with a great bassline.
Learn how to vocalize rhythms to make your rhythmic playing stronger. Using my song "Do'h Blues" you'll also learn how to create 7th chords, chord shells and how to create basslines from shells.
In this lesson you'll learn a really cool minor chord progression and how to play it with two-handed chord voicings and an easy bassline.
In this lesson you'll learn my popular song, Kimmy's So Cool. You'll learn the song along with improvisation and I'll show you exactly what you need to practice. This is an important song for Beginning Improvisation!
In this lesson you'll learn how to comp chords and improvise over a simple minor-key bassline. We will discuss how to create longer phrases and add rests to your improvisation.
In this first lesson we will be covering the basics of improvisation like rhythm, fingering, relaxing, phrasing and more. I'll also show you how to get started improvising in 6 steps.
Learn important practice concepts to get the most out of your improvisation.
This lesson will show you how to create and weave your own solo using chord tones and enclosures. We will use the song “It Could Happen To You” to create our solo.
Using different scales like pentatonic, modes, blues and other scales, the techniques in this lesson will show you how to elongate your improvisation lines to create a more interesting solo.
Learn Dorian and Phrygian modal improvisation in this lesson. You’ll also learn how to improvise over a latin tumbao bass pattern. I will also show you how NOT to use your modes and a better way of thinking about and practicing modes.
When it comes to playing the piano, you can play…Right Hand Alone, Left Hand Alone, or Hands Together. Don’t think of your hands being independent, think instead of the cooperation between them! Having an understanding of your chordal options, for the style you are working with, will help guide you in your rhythmic choices and how your hands cooperate with one another.
In this improvisation lesson, we will be covering different approaches to improvisation like chord-tone improvisation and chord-to-scale relationships. I’ll also show you how to create scale “cells” to enhance your improvisation lines. Other Chapters in this Piano Lesson: 7 Days of Improvisation – Day 2 Requirements: 1. knowledge of triads 2. knowledge of seventh chords 3. must be able to create and spell notes of chords 4. must know how to create chord shells (R3, R7)
We will be going over the 5 elements needed to effectively improvise.
10 examples in a variety of styles to help you learn your chords, comping, styles and rhythms in the key of G
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 D
10 examples in a variety of styles to help you learn your chords, comping, styles and rhythms in the key of Bb
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 C.
Some tips on how to use Chord Essentials.
A quick lesson on how to create a walking bassline.
In part 2 of Blues, Basslines, Re-harm, Chords & Comping, we will cover 3 new blues variations. These new variations allow you to create numerous blues progressions of your own! These new variations will include tritone substitutions and other re-harmonization techniques. I will also cover the bassline fingering in detail.
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 lesson you'll learn different variations you can use in your left hand, how to create your own licks and riffs and different intros and endings.
If you've never played boogie-woogie before, this is a great place to start! We will break down all of the licks and riffs and you'll learn how to play them over a boogie bassline,
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.
A Mid-Summer Session: Learn a Bluesy, Gospel-flavor song while also learning new techniques, licks and “walk ups”. I will explain how to play “A Mid-Summer Session” note for note on the piano. Also I’m going to go through all of the techniques and chords I am using for this arrangement. By learning how to play“A Mid-Summer Session” you will learn to get these techniques under your fingertips. After learning the arrangement, you will also get to see how I came up with the chords I’m using in this song.
You will learn how to re-harmonize the song and play the arrangement. However, we will also cover improvisation and I left room for a "followup" chapter to answer students questions about the lesson!
In this lesson we will discover the style of James Booker. Born in New Orleans, Booker was a New Orleans rhythm and blues keyboardist. Booker's unique style combined rhythm and blues with jazz standards.
In this high energy lesson, we will be working through some rocking, gospel-flavor Gene Harris licks. I’ll show you some pretty advanced licks that will bump up the intensity level of your solos. I’ll also show you how to prevent hurting yourself while performing these intense licks.
In this lesson we are going to use my re-worked version of Last Date to get inside of Floyd Cramer’s style. We will cover bass lines, licks and I’ll show you how to create your own Cramer-style song.
Using Johnny Rivers 1972 classic, “Rockin Pneumonia & the Boogie Woogie Flu”, you’ll learn 5 different breaks/fills, a simple and advanced chordal groove, how to combine licks from past songs along with some of Larry Knechtel’s piano solo as well! This lesson is jam-packed with a lot of real slick blues piano!
Learn some really cool Otis Spann licks, chords and bass lines. I will also teach you how to put together the licks to create a ‘song’. Otis Spann (March 21, 1924 or 1930 – April 24, 1970) was an American blues musician, whom many consider to be the leading postwar Chicago blues pianist.
In this lesson I show you some really cool Dr. John licks. You'll also learn more about New Orleans bass patterns and how to break apart these licks to create your own.
Get ready for some rocking piano! This lesson will show you how to create the exciting piano style of Jerry Lee Lewis. We will use the progression of Great Balls of Fire to create a blues arrangement with many of Jerry's classic licks. I'll also show you some of Jerry's keyboard "stunts" and teach you how to not hurt yourself while rocking heavy on the piano. Grab your cup of coffee for this lesson...it's intense!
In this advanced lesson, I am going to show you some interesting ways of breaking up, and practicing, your pentatonic scales. We will also cover some McCoy Tyner like left hand voicings to add to these pentatonic patterns. With practice, these patterns will become fluid to you and change your soloing!
