This is your first jazz piano lesson, where I teach you the basics of jazz. First we dive into chords, then the walking bass line, comping and I even show you how to play an improvised solo. A fantastic first start into your jazz journey!
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Get ready to play piano and accompany yourself!
Crash Course in Piano Skills for Singers is the worldwide phenomenon that has empowered singers from all backgrounds and walks of life to feel confident and secure at the piano. Founded in 2018, I wanted to create a series of courses to empower singers using the methods that I had been developing as a private teacher over two decades.
The primary philosophy behind the Piano Skills for Singers method is to get people playing the piano ASAP using a technique called “faking”. Rather than struggling through traditional piano method books full of scales and fully notated piano music, we focus our efforts on becoming fluent in chords and developing a repertoire of accompaniment strategies. Getting started takes weeks rather than years and students report confidence at the keyboard within a few lessons.
I am a big believer in “it’s better to play a bit of something than a lot of nothing.” Playing root position chords and plunking out a simple rhythm is a perfectly functional way of accompanying yourself and your students. Over time you will develop more sophisticated chording and accompaniment strategies which you will fold into your playing. You will be able to play a little something on day 1 and a lot more on day 100.
In this mini course, you will learn the fundamentals of piano accompaniment. We will do a quick chord review for major and minor triads and dive into augmented and diminished chords as well. I will show you a simple method to practice your chord inversions with a fingering strategy that is easy to remember. Next, we will move on to four note chords (“seventh” chords) where I will also show you some basic universal accompaniment patterns. Finally, I will explain all of the complex chords that you might find in Jazz and Music Theatre styles.
Take some time to work through the material and use the practice resources that I have included. If you are only able to tackle playing your major and minor triads, that is fine! You can add the other chord qualities over time.
You Can Play Piano Step #1: Major and Minor Triads
The first thing you need to be able to do is play root position triads. Having solid control over simple triads will greatly improve your ability to accompany yourself!
While a simple Blues only uses three chords, in your first jazz piano lesson Igive you slightly more dressed up version. Play the chord in the right hand and play the root of the chord in the left hand.
How to Build a Major Triad
I always teach this method to help people fully master their major triads. The first 5 notes of the major scale always follow this intervallic pattern:
Work through this pattern playing the first 5 notes of the major scale through the keys. Once you are able to play this pattern, then the 1-3-5 of that scale is the major triad! This is a simple way to learn and to TEACH how to play major chords.
How to Build a Minor Triad
As I show you in the video tutorial, a minor triad is just a major triad with a lowered 3rd. (The 3rd is the middle note of the chord). All you have to do is change that middle note one half step to the left and voila - it's minor!
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You Can Play Piano Step #2: Read a chord chart
Chord charts are sheets that contain the lyrics and chord symbols. There are numerous sites online where you can find them, including Ultimate Guitar. The chord symbol is written where it sounds with the lyrics. It’s very easy to pulse the chords along with a recording - just hit the chord on the right word!
Dive deeper into reading a chord chart with this video.
You Can Play Piano Step #3: Read a lead sheet
A lead sheet has more information than a chord chart does. It has the lyrics, chord symbols and the written melody line. You can buy a fake book, which is a collection of lead sheets, or you can find individual lead sheets on sites like www.sheetmusicdirect.com or www.musicnotes.com.
As I show you in the video, you can follow where the chords land in relation to the words. If you can read music a little, then you can follow along that way.
Dig deeper into how to read a lead sheet with this viral video.
Crash Course in Piano Skills for Singers is a gentle, no-fluff, let's-get-this-done piano course that has helped HUNDREDS of singers get their skills together in a HURRY.
You get:
- a 90 minute video workshop that shows you exactly what you need to know
- 25 page course book with exercises, practice tips and MORE
- a user friendly practice guide
- 45 day access to the course
- email support
- bonus cheat sheets and more!
Learn from master teacher Brenda Earle Stokes, who has helped hundreds of singers all over the world to build real skills in piano.
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