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Blues Piano Licks #1 and #2 from “A Study in Blues Piano — Focusing on 12 Licks”

Hello there, students of blues, jazz and rock!

Blues Piano Lick #1 is available to all visitors:

Blues Piano Lick #2 is available to supporting members (Premium "All Access" members).  If you see the content below, then you are a logged in member. Thank you for your support!

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The Blues Piano Crash Course – Lesson #6: More practice & help with two-handed coordination

From The Blues Piano Crash Course

Lesson Six (video) "Put Your Hands Together - Again..."

More tips and practice on two-handed coordination for piano, using notes from the blues.

The remaining content of this post is for supporting members. Your monthly membership is extremely affordable, and makes it possible for us to work full-time on the task of creating  FREE educational content, plus additional premium content, for members like you. This is a fast-growing site, and we really need your support as an "All Access" premium member   to keep this site alive.  (After signing up, you may need to refresh this page to open all the content.)

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Chord Voicings for Jazz Piano (rootless, left-hand, Type B)

"Type B" Rootless Chord Voicings for Piano

"Rootless voicings" on piano (especially for left-hand support) are great for handling big jazz chords that normally can't be covered by one hand alone. This video tutorial  shows you how to play a rich sounding II-V-I in the left hand, while allowing the bass player (or you, on another beat) to cover the root.

This is Part Two of a pair of lessons, covering "Type B" voicings.  The first lesson,  covering "Type A"  shows another way of executing the same idea, only with the notes in a different arrangement.

VIDEO LESSON:

The remaining content of this post is for supporting members. Your monthly membership is extremely affordable, and makes it possible for us to work full-time on the task of creating  FREE educational content, plus additional premium content, for members like you. This is a fast-growing site, and we really need your support as an "All Access" premium member   to keep this site alive.  (After signing up, you may need to refresh this page to open all the content.)

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The Blues Piano Crash Course – Lesson #5 “Put Your Hands Together”

The Blues Piano Crash Course

Lesson Five (video) "Put Your Hands Together"

Tips and practice on two-handed coordination for piano, using notes from the blues!

The remaining content of this post is for supporting members. Your monthly membership is extremely affordable, and makes it possible for us to work full-time on the task of creating  FREE educational content, plus additional premium content, for members like you. This is a fast-growing site, and we really need your support as an "All Access" premium member   to keep this site alive.  (After signing up, you may need to refresh this page to open all the content.)

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Today’s Date in Jazz History: The passing of Bill Evans (1929 -1980)

Hello from Kent,

If I were asked to pick one person as my “jazz idol,” I would not hesitate to say Bill Evans.  In fact, I have been asked this, and that’s always my answer.

Today marks the anniversary of the death of this hugely influential jazz pianist, who passed away on this date in 1980.

Today I’m sharing two articles about  Bill Evans, in honor of his memory.  Thank you, Mr. Evans, for all that you have taught me (and still do), through your music, your life, and your legacy!

The Musical Genius of Bill Evans

Wikipedia Article on Bill Evans

 

 

 

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“The Blues Piano Crash Course” Lesson #3: “Five must-know Riffing Devices”

piano with kent

The Blues Piano tradition is full of tried-and-true "stock" licks, as well as many devices for creating endless original solos. In this lecture, you will learn to use five such "must-know" riffing devices.

PREMIUM CONTENT VIDEO LESSON:

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Piano Improv Lesson: “Sixteenth Note Triplet” licks

Good morning!

2:50 a.m. here in California, working musician's hours as usual!

Today I'm sharing some tips on using a "continuous flow of lickety-split  triplets " for a very nice effect on keyboards.

Enjoy!

Here's the lesson video:

The remaining content of this post is for supporting members. Your monthly membership is extremely affordable, and makes it possible for us to work full-time on the task of creating  FREE educational content, plus additional premium content, for members like you. This is a fast-growing site, and we really need your support as an "All Access" premium member   to keep this site alive.  (After signing up, you may need to refresh this page to open all the content.)

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“The Blues Piano Crash Course” Lesson #2: “A Left-hand Groove”

If you're going to play solo piano Blues, or you want to add a strong supporting groove to a band, then this lecture is for you. Learn to use your left hand to play a dance-able, foot-tapping chord rhythm, while freeing up your right hand to fire off licks and lay down supporting chords. (Later in this course, you'll master the art of putting both hands together as a dynamic duo.)

PREMIUM CONTENT VIDEO LESSON:

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“The Blues Piano Crash Course” Lesson #1 – The Blues Scale

In this first of eleven Blues Piano lessons, discover how a simple six-note scale -- the famous "Blues Scale" -- is a musician's gold mine for creating original blues sounds. Immediately after this lecture, you can sit down at your piano and start creating bluesy licks and melodies that are all your own.

You may find it interesting to learn that a piano player who knows how to make nice licks, using only this C Blues Scale (the one introduced here), could technically sit in on a blues  jam session in the key of C.

Here's the video lesson:

The remaining content of this post is for supporting members. Your monthly membership is extremely affordable, and makes it possible for us to work full-time on the task of creating  FREE educational content, plus additional premium content, for members like you. This is a fast-growing site, and we really need your support as an "All Access" premium member   to keep this site alive.  (After signing up, you may need to refresh this page to open all the content.)

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“Basic Professional” system for voicing chords with a melody

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Audience: This lesson is for anyone studying the use of chords on piano.  In particular, pianists and keyboard players who work from song charts, fakebooks, lead sheets, and the like.

Today's video lesson presents a straightforward system for choosing an underlying support structure that uses both hands, providing a nice "default" approach when playing a melody with supporting chords.

Enjoy!

The remaining content of this post is for supporting members. Your monthly membership is extremely affordable, and makes it possible for us to work full-time on the task of creating  FREE educational content, plus additional premium content, for members like you. This is a fast-growing site, and we really need your support as an "All Access" premium member   to keep this site alive.  (After signing up, you may need to refresh this page to open all the content.)