A jazz piano improvisation tutorial based on A Foggy Day (chord progression below!), by George Gershwin. In this tutorial I look at basic jazz piano...
A jazz piano improvisation tutorial based on A Foggy Day (chord progression below!), by George Gershwin. In this tutorial I look at basic jazz piano techniques such as creating complex chords, developing right hand runs and the different types of bass part and left hand you can use. My view of jazz piano and piano improvisation in general is that although it isn’t necessarily easy, it’s not some sort of God-given gift: you can learn the basics fairly easily, and after that it’s just a case of doing as much practice as you can to become fluent. It’s also really important to develop your own style: my approach to piano is quite blues oriented, and that’s really reflected in the way I play jazz, which is closer to mainstream and swing styles than to more contemporary “cool” styles. If you have any questions on this particular improvisation, or any other aspect of jazz piano, feel free to ask. By the way, here’s the chord progression so you can get straight to the keyboard and start improvising for yourself: F | Ebm | Gm7 | C | F | Abm7 | Gm7 | C | F | F7 | Bb | Bbm | F | D7 | Gm7 | C | F | Ebm | Gm7 | C | F | Abm7 | Gm7 | C | F | F7 | Bb | Bbm | F | Gm7 | F | Gm7 | Dm7 | G | Gm7 | C … One thing I don’t really mention in the video is that this is a pretty interesting chord progression to improvise on. There’s a reasonable amount of repetitition, and it’s in a reasonably easy key for pianists (F major). At the same time there are some really interesting chords that you can …
This is a piece of basic blues put together with the more popular riffs out there, melted together in one piece of music for you to learn. Use this as something basic and once you get the hang of it, try improvising on it, people!
Who Can I Turn To. Another song that was a favourite of Bill Evans. I have added comments again, and provided a clear piano view and also notation. It would be best to download a higher quality video if you want to look more closely at this, and be able to stop/start/loop at will – I have posted an easier to see video (as wmv file) and the midi file that was recorded at the same time, and a pdf file of the transcription at web.newsguy.com Ifyou have a fast connection and want to see this in high quality video to see the notes clearly (and improved audio), add the letters &fmt=18 straight after the existing internet address line above.
The MIDI file of my piano solo as well as a PDF notation file and the MP3 backing track are all available on my web site at: www.Lot2Learn.com Most of you know I am a huge fan of Eliane Elias. Her playing embodies that of many of the great jazz pianists yet retains her own unique style – a characteristic of a truly great musician. Her version of the classic Jazz piece “Blue In Green” is both laid-back and energetic, played with a very cool slow Bossa feel. I have used her version as inspiration for my performance here, using a few of her classic stylizations. Production Notes Performed on Roland FP-4 with a hint of Pianoteq 3.5 added for that full-bodied sound. On screen MIDI keyboard by MIDIKeyz available at www.MIDIKeyz.com Thanks for your continued support! – L2L
I have re-cast this same video with notation in HIGH DEFINITION mode at www.youtube.com This is much improved in quality. This is 3 play-throughs of this Gershwin song improvised from the basic leadsheet- played very straight, with a variety of harmonies, and styles. Unfortunately some of the comments are unreadable so for anyone interested, this video, with clearer text, and the midi file recorded as this was video-ed are at my homepage at web.newsguy.com Play the midi file in a suitable program (the free Vanbasco’s Karaoke player for example) to slow things down or see more clearly the notes being played on a keyboard.
This is a much improved re-working of an earlier video – in HD and widescreen. I have added additional annotations, scrolling notation, and clear keyboard view. As always, the video is free to download from my website – www.bushgrafts.com and on my DVD are a printable copy of the noataion. and also the bass and drums backing track to play along with. (details on my website)
This is a much improved re-working of an earlier video – in HD and widescreen. I have added additional annotations, scrolling notation, and clear keyboard view. As always, the video is free to download from my website – www.bushgrafts.com and on my DVD are a printable copy of the notation. (details on my website)
Again this is a video rendering of a midi file that I did some time ago – I have added a lot of annotations keyboard view, and scrolling notation as well as the leadsheet with chords and original melody. On my website, www.bushgrafts.com along with over 200 tutorial videos to download, you will also find over 300 live played jazz piano midi files http All can be downloaded for free!
On screen MIDI keyboard by MIDIKeyz available at www.MIDIKeyz.com Thanks for your continued support! – L2L