As you know, once you have purchased any video or eBook, you then have continued access to them and can re-download as many times as you wish.
During the last few weeks, I’ve been editing my three eBooks. Some changes are very minor, but in other areas I have sought to make certain topics clearer and have added new illustrations.
For those of you that have purchased these books, I would advise you to re-download these new, updated versions.
Just log in, click on ‘my account’ in the top menu bar, and you’ll see the ‘my pages’ box to the right that contains ‘access eBooks.’ This link will take you to the books that you’ve purchased.
If you don’t have these books yet, you can either buy all 3 at discount
Even if I had an answer, a better question might be: what was jazz? Whatever it was through the 20’s and 30’s, and how be-bop musicians like Charlie Parker changed it forever, no longer seems relevant. For better or worse, jazz has permeated into so many other genres that it no longer has a separate identity. As a teenager I was drawn to soul and R&B. My favorite singer then (and now) was Ray Charles. But was he also playing jazz? Or was it blues? His answer was that he was playing music. Were John Coltrane and Miles Davis still playing jazz by the end of their careers? Improvisation was their means of further exploration. Jimi Hendrix was doing the same thing.
Jazz or blues?
I have little interest in separating the two. In most cases, one is a part of the other. Some players such as Wynton Kelly are more influenced by the blues, others, like Bill Evans, are less so. Even the phrase 12 bar blues is misleading. It is a sequence in which to improvise: how bluesy or jazzy is up to you. In the end, my aim is not to play in a particular style but rather to express myself in the moment. It is a communication of how I feel.
Why all the theory?
If jazz musicians just play what they feel, why the need to learn scales, modes and all that stuff in the glossary? My simple answer is that any artist needs to acquire technique before discarding it. If you can play on instinct alone, you don’t need this book, but the rest of us require the tools that enable creativity.
Nice jazz/nasty jazz
I have a friend who will only listen to so-called traditional jazz. Anything from Charlie Parker onwards, to his ears, sounds discordant and incomprehensible. I have some sympathy with my friend. In fact I sometimes wonder why an audience of non-musicians would choose to listen to players improvising for hours. But at what point does nice turn to nasty? Is there some defining musical moment when a sound is perceived as discordant?
Take the blues: the blues scale does not stand up to analysis; it really shouldn’t work. The sound of a flat 3 being struck over a major triad would make Mozart turn in his grave. But my friend has no objection to this sound. It is at the root of Rock & Roll, the music he grew up with. The sound of a b9 within a dominant 7th chord will also go unnoticed. (If this means nothing to you, all will be explained. It works because the b9 is part of the diminished pattern that travels through a dominant 7th chord.) But play a sharp 9 and my friend will make his excuses and leave. What is happening? As we move further away from the home scale, the sound becomes increasingly discordant. This is called playing outside. By using these extensions and alterations, we are creating the spice and edginess that lies at the very heart of jazz (whatever jazz is). There is, however, a time and place to use a more discordant sound. I would not, for example, throw in complex harmony just for the sake of it when accompanying a vocalist.
The aim
By the end of this course, you will possess a total grasp of chord symbols and see how they relate to scales, modes, extensions and alterations. This will enable you to solo and comp through any jazz standard. You will also learn the various forms of a 12-bar blues sequence and gain an understanding of modal jazz.
Improvising jazz piano is a combination of instinct, creativity and learned knowledge.
Jazz piano tuition online would not be complete without Rhythm Changes
Well, I’m about to start work on lesson 20 and it will be called Rhythm Changes. This is based on the tune ‘I Got Rhythm’ by George Gershwin.
George Gershwin
Next to a 12-bar blues, Rhythm Changes is the most important chord sequence in jazz, but I’ll tell you more about this nearer the time. But I will say that this is an essential part of Jazz Piano tuition online.
Lessons 18 and 19 were all about mapping a sequence and then substituting the chords. I used All The Things You Are and Take The A Train to demonstrate how to interpret a song structure and then reharmonise it.
I’ve finally completed lesson 19 of jazz improvisation, so you can now download it.
This new 30 minute video shows you how to reharmonise a lead sheet and employ substitute chords to make for a more creative solo. This will take your jazz improvisation to the next level.
Following on from lesson 18, I’ve taken All The Things You Are and substituted many of the chords. I also show you how to do the same with Take The A Train.
All The Things You Are
Once you see how it’s done, you can do this for yourself with any jazz standard. The most common way to reharmonise a chord is by substituting a dominant 7 with its tritone. This works well when the dominant 7 is about to resolve to its tonic. For example, instead of G7 resolving to Cmaj7 we substitute a Db7, which is three whole steps (or tones) from the original chord.
I’ve called lesson 17 ‘Putting It Together’ because we’ve now reached the stage when all previous knowledge can be put to practical use. This new lesson combines your knowledge of rootless voicings (lesson 15) and tritone substitution (lesson 16). We also throw the whole tone, diminished and altered scales into the mix.
3 new scales
I show you how to use all these techniques with II-V-I and I-VI-II-V (turnaround) sequences. Then we put all this to work using the chord chart of Fly Me To The Moon.
As always, this learn jazz piano video comes with 4 downloadable backing tracks, sheet music and a quiz. Learn to play jazz piano the easy way.
Jazz piano lesson 16 now available: tritone substitution
Jazz piano lesson 16 of my online video course, Learn Jazz Piano, is all about tritone substitution.
I start by showing you how diminished scales weave through dominant 7th chords and how you can solo over 8 chords using just 1 diminished scale.This leads us to tritone substitution: replacing one 7th chord with another.
The tritone, also known as the devil’s interval, is the key to unlocking a new and more advanced way of soloing.
As I’ve now completed 15 jazz piano lessons, I’ve bundled these 5 lessons: 11: Autumn Leaves part 2 12: The Blues, part 1 13: The Blues, part 2 14: Bebop Blues 15: Rootless voicing
You can still purchase the lessons individually. The most recent, lesson 15
takes you through rootless voicing.
The video shows you how to voice rootless chords in your left hand. This is a more modern approach that Bill Evans used when playing in his trio. It not only leaves more room for the bass player; these voicings will also inspire your right hand to play far more interesting solos.
Here are some rootless voicings in a II-V-I sequence in Bb.
Rootless voicings
Besides the 30 minute video, I provide you with 4 downloadable backing tracks, sheet music and a quiz. Here’s the link.
Learn how to voice rootless chords in your left hand
Lesson 15 of my online video course ‘Learn Jazz Piano Online’ is now available. The lesson teaches you how to voice rootless chords in your left hand. This is a more modern approach that Bill Evans used when playing in his trio. It not only leaves more room for the bass player; these voicings will also inspire your right hand to play far more interesting solos.
Here are some rootless voicings in a II-V-I sequence in Bb.
Rootless voicings
Besides the 30 minute video, I provide you with 4 downloadable backing tracks, sheet music and a quiz. Here’s the link.
For a jazz pianist, chord voicing is an essential skill.
I’m now in the process of preparing lesson 15 of my video course Learn Jazz Piano Online. This 15th lesson of Learn Jazz Piano Online will be all about chord voicing, particularly how to voice left hand rootless chords. Playing these chords will achieve two things: the bass player will have more space and your own solos will sounds so much better.
We began, in lesson 12, with a basic 3-chord 12 bar, a sequence that will get you through just about any rock & roll tune and 1000’s of blues songs. Then, in lesson 13, we added a few chord changes to make for a more interesting solo.
Now, in lesson 14, I’m teaching you the changes that Bebop players like Charlie Parker and Bud Powell played in the 40’s. No longer can your rely on the blues scale, because this sequence is packed full of II-Vs that twist and turn through an array of key centres.
Bud Powell
If you can play a basic blues and up for the challenge to learn bebop jazz, the link below will take you to the ‘buy lessons’ page. From there, scroll down till you get to lesson 14.
