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Technical Exercises for Jazz Piano
Rating: 4.9 out of 5(6 ratings)
71 students

Technical Exercises for Jazz Piano

Solidify your approach to jazz piano practice
Created byJosh Cook
Last updated 5/2024
English

What you'll learn

  • Explore various patterns for chord application (from rootless to quartal voicings)
  • Develop ii-V-I lineations
  • Various chromatic approaches to chords and melodic lines
  • Apply various fingering patterns to keep your dexterity sharp
  • Fine-tune your enclosures to connect harmonic lines

Explore related topics

Course content

1 section • 10 lectures • 49m total length

  • Chromatic Tops5:37

    Here's a fun way to lineate your minor 7th and dominant 7th chords.  This sound can be heard on some of the best jazz records of our time, and will continue to be a timeless phrase in our melodic arsenal.
    Be sure to check out the downloadable PDF.

  • ii-V-I Lineated4:14

    Let's take the most classic jazz chord progression and break up the harmony into a fun exercise.
    Be sure to check out the downloadable PDF.

  • Enclosures8:06

    Helping you hone in on the sound of bebop, this exercise will help teach you the language of enclosures.
    Be sure to check out the downloadable PDF.

  • Semitone Lead-ins4:17

    Semitone lead-ins (chromatic approach tones) are a great way to start any improvised or melodic phrase.
    Be sure to check out the downloadable PDF.

  • Zig-Zag Patterns4:36

    Here's one of my favorite ways to break up a simple chord shape in both hands.
    Be sure to check out the downloadable PDF.

  • Dominant 7 Inversions2:52

    Here's an exercise inspired by the progression III7-VI7-II7-V7.
    It's important to know the inversions of your 7th chords, and here's an exercise that can start to introduce you to playing these inversions.
    Be sure to check out the downloadable PDF.

  • Rootless with Omissions8:31

    It's not always about what you play, but sometimes what you DON'T play.  The most seasoned pianists will omit notes to help space our voicings or to cool down the colorizations of the haromic sound they're going for.
    Be sure to check out the downloadable PDF.

  • Harmonizing by 10ths3:46

    Whether you want to spice up your latin piano playing, or sound like Bill Evans, this exercise will introduce you to the beautiful sound of harmonizing by 10ths over various types of chords.
    Be sure to check out the downloadable PDF.

  • Rootless ii-V-I3:18

    Personally, I use rootless voicings a lot.  Whether I use them in a classic jazz setting, or within the harmonic content of hip-hop or EDM production, these voicings will instantly spice up your chords.
    Be sure to check out the downloadable PDF.

  • Quartal Harmony3:44

    Most chords are built by thirds, but quartal harmony explores the colorful sound of stacking 4ths.  Here's a few ways you can practice these voicings through clear and varied exercises.
    Be sure to check out the downloadable PDF.

Requirements

  • Students should know the notes of the piano, and basic 7th chord shapes
  • Students that can read notation will get the most out of the pdf's provided

Description

Whether you are hoping to improve your knowledge of jazz harmony, or simply want to learn how to wrap your fingers around more complex jazz lines, this course if for you!
This detailed course offers 10 varied jazz piano exercises and over 45 accompanying PDF files.  While the courses cover the exercises in practice, visually, the PDFs answer any questions students might have about fingerings and exercise variations.

What to expect:

- detailed instructional videos of each exercise

- notes/fingerings for all exercises

- varied studies to help students keep a wide technical breadth

- variations of exercises to further develop your approach

- complimentary video classes and pdf's to accomodate various types of learning styles and players at various levels



So many pianists that dive into studying jazz don't have a solid approach to practicing harmonic and melodic content.  These exercises are perfect to get you started with a practice routine, and are a great foundation to build off of.  Many jazz exercises are either too basic, or too complex.  Whereas the exercises in this course aim to help beginner-intermediate pianists explore technical approaches that can instantly be used within their improvisations and song-writing.

Our time at the instrument is limited, so we want to make the most of this valuable time.  Hence, having a strong and focused practice routine is the best way to make sure our time isn't wasted.  They say "practice makes perfect", but I'd venture to add that "PERFECT practice makes perfect".  For use to get our practice perfected, we need exercises that challenge us, exercise that are contrasting in nature, and exercises that are clear/concise with fingerings and approaches explained in detail.  That's what this course offers. 

These exercises are meant to be timeless, so you can always come back to practicing them to help you instill the fundamentals of jazz piano techniques.  Use these classes as a foundation that you can build off of, and you'll be quickly underway to improving your playing as a jazz pianist.


So, let's not bog you down with more words, and instead jump straight into your first exercise!


*Note: many of these exercises can also work for guitar and other instruments, but the primary instrument recommended is piano/keyboard.

Who this course is for:

  • Beginner-Intermediate Jazz Pianists
  • Intermediate level pianists looking to add some jazzy technical exercises
  • Jazz theorists

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