Learning Jazz Piano

GETTING STARTED
To get started in jazz its helpful to have a bit of background playing the piano: classical/rock playing.
Unfortunately or fortunately depending on your attitude, learning the hardest way , usually pays dividends in the end regarding learning jazz. That means learning all one's scales, and important progressions like the 2-5-1.

If you are classically trained you want to start with some real classical Jazz:
Listen to Gershwin - esp the piece "Rhapsody in Blue and Summertime"
also check out Irvin Berlin

If you are a rocker, check out Pat Metheny and Chic Corea. As they have experimented in rock, heavy metal and jazz-fusion, this will help you understand the transition from rock over to fusion rock/jazz to pure jazz.


GETTING WITH THE JAZZ CATS
check your local library for a jazz standards book - get out some quarters and do some photocopying.

check out these sites for music scores/sheet music:
http://nfo.net/charts/index.html

here is the mother of all links: http://www.freesheetmusic.net/Jazz1.html

do a google for "Jazz Standards" books - every jazz cat does these. Also do a google search on jazz lounge bands/acts, and look at their playlist

Now go to a mp3 site such as mp3.com, napster.com just to browse and preview jazz albums - look for compilation albums that have ie the best of lounge jazz. These sites are very good reference because they contains complete albums, all songs are previewable so if you like a version of a song ie Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue you can compare and search other versions

Last but not least, go into a jazz lounge and in between sets, talk with the jazz cats.


WEENING OFF PIANO BOOKS AND UNTO FAKE BOOKS/JAZZ CHARTS

If you want to get really brave and try something beyond simple, you would do wise to learn jazz chords. Sometimes they are printed within a jazz book - also called a fake book. But if you want to be a professional jazz player you have to ween yourself off of piano books and move on to fake/chart/chords books - the next level !

The New Real Book series is a good place to start 


THEORY
Pick a the only book there really is Mark Levine's "Jazz Theory Book" and also get yourself a jazz scales book which shows you all the jazz scales - half diminished, whole tone, etc. and practice them in each key.

After that get some popular music jazz charts (sheet music with the abbreviated notations - ie eb Alt, g m7,maj) You will find these in what are called "Jazz Fake" books.

Work through some easier standards (old popular jazz songs) like "Girl from Ipanema", "Day in the life of a fool" and or "Fly me to the moon". This is the bread and butter learning of jazz.



IMPROVISING
Once you know your chords , such a s the 7th chords, try to improvise within the songs by using all the notes from that 7th chords on the top hand while playing that ie 7th chord in the bottom hand.


to find the scale of a minor its best to find the root, the root of a minor is one tone down.
so if in e minor, the major scale is played in D



VERTICAL VS HORIZONTAL CHORD - LEED IMPROVISATION/SOLO-ING

Vertical is playing based leed lines on chord tones and horizontal is a scale based approach.  


The Vertical Approach -  The vertical approach is where your improvisation leed notes are dictated by the chord you are playing. For example, playing vertically is accomplished by following through the chord(played on left hand) that is paying attention to the exact notes in the chord (and the root of the chord). Thus you are following the chord changes.

The Horizontal Approach - This approach is where your leed lines are not dictated by the chords, but the notes of the key that the song is in. Thus you have a less-strigent and horizontal (across the scale) approach to the leed line.
 



THE FLAVOUR OF CHORDS AND SCALES:
how chords and scales have been used by the composer to effect different moods, feelings and changes in a person or audience.

ie

sus chord - triumphant or reflecting, "aha moment" feelings

alt chord - weird feeling, strange feeling - ie Love Reborn - uses an alt chord within the lyrics ("you kissed me" - never felt like this before) to convey the strangeness of that kiss

minor scale - sad feel

half diminished scale- creates a sort of unknowing, uneasy feeling

whole tone scale - a very far out, trippy space out feel - used a lot in the original Star Trek show to convey the weirdness of a place or situation the star trek crew were in.

+~+~+~+

All chords and scales throughout jazz have been chosen purposefully by the masters to evoke feelings, to emulate, to effect or complement visual themes.

...it was no mistake the composers chose these scales and chords.
:)


SOLO-ING
As long as you know the structure of the solo , you fill in the notes like a connect the dots scenario.

As long as you know about the dynamic of a solo - start slow and un-assuming and gradually build up the tension/excitement and then at the end the big cressendo, the summit and peek of your solo.


CONTRAFACTING
In the realm of jazz, contrafact means that you borrow the structure - chord changes - of one song and graft it into a new song. Then you create a totally new melody over the grafted chord changes/structure. 



IMPORTANT JAZZ MUSICIANS:
Here are some marquee artists that play with respect to the their instrument and the "soft sound"

guitarists:
Pat Metheny
George Benson
Lee Ritenour
John Scofield

vibraphonists:
Peter Appleyard
Tito Puente

steel drums:
Ray Holman

flutists:
Finn Peters
Joe Farrell

horn:
Chuck Mangione

electric piano:
Chic Corea
Herbie Hancock
Joe Zawinul
Bob James

B3 Organ:
Joey DeFrancesco
Booker T Jones



SOME STANDARDS TO LEARN
Ain’t Misbehaving - Louis Armstrong
April in Paris- the "DUKE" = Ella
As Time Goes H. Hupfeld = Peggy Lee
At Last - Harry Warren = Judy Akin
Autumn Leaves – Joseph Kosma
Basin Street Blues - Spencer Williams = Ella
Blame it on my Youth - Oscar Levant
Blue Skies – Irving Berlin
Brazil - (Aquarelo Do Brasil) - Ary Barroso
By All Means - M Montana
Fever = Peggy Lee
Fly Me To the Moon(M) – Bart Howard
Hey big spender – Cy Coleman/ Peggy Lee
How Insensitive – Jobim
I’ve got Rhythym - Gershwins
Is you is or is you ain't my baby
It Ain’t Necessarily So – Gershwin
Mack The Knife- Kurt Weill = Ella
Mahna De Carnaval (a day in the life of a fool)
Misty - John Warrington
Mood Indigo - Duke Ellington = Nina Simone
My Attornie Bernie - Dave Frishberg
On the Sunny Side of the Street – J. McHugh = Diana Krall
Perdido - Duke Ellington
S' Wonderful - Gershwin = Ella
Solitude - The "Duke" - Duke Ellington = Ella
Stompin' At the Savoy - Benny Goodman
Summertime - Gershwins = Ella
Take 5 – Paul Desmond
Take the "A" Train - Billy Strayhorn = Ella
That Old Black Magic - = Sarah Vaughn
Triste - Antonio Jobim – Sarah Vaughan
Unforgettable - Irving Gordon
Why Don’t You Do Right = Peggy Lee
How Insensitive -
I've Got You Under My Skin - Frank Sinatra
At Last - Etta James
Girl From Ipanema - Astrid Gilberto
Honeysuckle Rose - Jane Monheit
In a Sentimental Mood - Sarah Vaughan
One Note Samba
Nature Boy
Dindi
Corcovado - Astrid Gilberto
Bewitched - Ella Fitzgerald

 

 
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