Jazz Piano Improv Tricks
Have you ever wondered how jazz musicians are able to articulate their improvised thoughts so quickly and with such conviction?
Whether you’re hoping to solve this mystery, or simply add some more chops to your arsenal, these lessons offer an assortment of timeless jazz improvisation techniques that will surely keep your audience intrigued.
This course breaks down 13 timeless jazz improv techniques that will give you flexibility at your instrument. These lessons break down each concept individually so that you can combine them in unique ways and pinpoint your playing style.
If you stick to these concepts and really study them thoroughly your playing will improv drastically over the next year. Sure some of these lessons can be absorbed quickly, but improvisation is a game of internalization, not memorization. So take advantage of the included lifetime access to the course and get the most out of each lesson.
I’ve taught these concepts to my students for over 10 years. So what you’re getting is a decade of refinement, laid out in 13 courses for the price of 1. This course would be my gift to myself 10 years ago…if it was available. Alas, it wasn’t, so instead I hope it’s of great use to you and your future as an improvisor!
Introduction
It's time to figure out the who/what/when/where/why of this course.
Before we get into anything technical, let's first discuss the course from a bird's-eye view.
This lesson breaks down the structuring and intent behind the course so that new students can better understand how the content is going to be broken down.
Basics
Let's break things down.
This class outlines the main jazz theory needed to follow through this course.
Although intended for beginner students, it's recommended that students of all levels watch this course to be sure that their understanding of jazz theory is lined up with what's expected in the following videos.
Lessons
Here's some fun ways to take some classic pentatonic scales and displace, permutate and variate them.
What once was simple safe notes, are now colourful note selections.
'Don't play the butter notes' - Miles Davis
Why pick the stable predictable notes when you can inject your sound with colour.
Harmony built off of 4ths. It's wild, it's whacky, it's wicked. Check it out.
When you're looking to really condense the spacing of your melodic lines, fill tones are a great sound to turn to.
Learn to slip onto the right note with grace. The chromatic and percussive technique is the perfect spice to an already tasty improv.
These magical scales provide a safe starting point to any improvisors collection of techniques.
Let's get creative with how we extract tones and semitones from a scale.
There's a lot you can do with this simple approach.
A quick go-to harmonic approach for improvisors.
While this technique works best for pianists, anyone can practice these chord voicings to their advantage.
Augment your improv with this mysterious and spacious sound.
These unique scales have a lot of theoretical application baked into them, so buckle up.
If you like the clarity of a rules-based system then these scales are for you.
These scales are about to offer you a sort of "paint-by-numbers" approach to improvising over your minor ii-V-i chord progressions.
Here's a fun rhythmic trick that's easily combined with many of the other tricks offered in this course.
This class outlines the concept of comping patterns at the piano.
After reviewing this lesson you will better understand some options for your left hand, so that both hands are working more cohesively with one another.
Enlcosures are a big part of what make up the language of bebop. While used in many styles of jazz, the chromaticism of these enclosures is a fundamental part of a lot of jazz improvisation.
Final Notes
These final notes are here to help you have a solid approach to your practicing of the material covered in this course.
Outro
A big ol' "thanks for watching" and how to keep posted on future material.
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