Left Hand Piano Techniques

Let's start nice and simple.  You can start using this technique right away and you will get plenty of use from it.
Perhaps one of the most used left hand patterns for piano, and a standard place for any pianist to start.

This technique is great for various types of chord progressions, within different styles, and at different speeds.  It truly is the swiss army knife of left hand patterns.  You can use it if you're not sure what to play in the left hand, and it has use in all types of musical situations.  Also, it will combine well with some of the other techniques found within this course.

Smoothly transitioning between chords in the left hand allows pianists to keep more attention on their right hand or even keeping their eyes focused towards their audience.  Not only does it generally sound better when we use appropriate inversions, it can also make our life easier as a performer.  So let's talk about how we can hone in this left hand skill.

While this approach is quite simple, when paired with a complimentary right hand part this left hand technique can sound quite advanced.  Even though we are working with 2 note left hand shapes, we can still outline harmony, and this is addressed within the class.  From a disco bass pattern, to classical or cinematic piano parts, this technique can get lots of milage from performers/composers.

Lets add to the last class with 3 note lineations.  Where as before we'd alternate between 2 notes, now we can outline full chords in the left hand.  This is a great way to get the fingers moving and get us out of our habits of playing our chords blocked.

Now our lineations can extrapolate up to 4 note shapes.  These shapes offer the opportunity to outline chords with more colors, such as 7th chords and 9th chords.  With more permutations available in 4 note shapes, you can expect plenty of left hand patterns to try out.

Low chords on the piano, when blocked, can sound very muddy.  Open-voiced chords are the remedy to this!  Now you can play full chords, down low, and really open up the range of the left hand.  There are lots of variations to these types of voicings, so let's break things down in this class!

Yet another popular way to break up chords in the left hand.  This pattern is a classic amongst baroque, classical, and romantic pianists.  Once you learn this left hand part with some right hand melodies it eventually goes onto auto-pilot, so get practicing and have some fun with this popular pattern.

Half blocked, half broken, this pattern is a great compromise if you're not sure how you'd like to structure your left hand.  It's simple, and very effective, so get this pattern under your belt and be sure to use it in your own music.

Get that classic saloon sound with this tough yet rewarding left hand part.  Stride piano relies quite a bit on feel, rather than sight, so get practicing it soon if you'd like to develop it, as muscle memory will be a big part of what helps you improve this skill.  This class will cover the full versions of stride, but also a more simple version that you can get started with right away.

Perhaps the most popular 3/4 left hand pattern, knowing how to play a Waltz left hand part is a staple in any pianists bag-o-tricks.  With plenty of variations to work with, you'll have plenty to practice after reviewing this class.

Perhaps the most "French" sound in this course, this left hand pattern is used frequently in Romantic music.  While it's simple to play on it's own, it poses some rhythmic challenges when paired with the right hand.  Have fun learning this pattern as you can get a lot of use out of it. 

Let's get jazzy and talk about how to walk a bassline.  It's a simple concept with a LOT of possible variations.  In this class, we'll dive into these variations, so buckle up!

As a bonus class, let's talk about how we can make that left hand funky!  What makes this a bonus class?  Well, in this class the left and right really have to work together, but the approach of the left hand is fundamentally important to this playing style.  So, let's get funky and learn how we can apply clave patterns in a way that can make our chord progressions groovy.