We're on to part 2 of our 2023 planning sessions. In this live stream lesson, I'll be covering the full solo piano blueprint and plan you need to make serious progress in 2023. If playing jazz solo piano is your goal, then you'll definitely want to take detailed notes on this episode. Don't forget to go to the link below to get our free planning guide because I'm referring directly to the steps in this free guide for solo piano. https://jazzpianoschool.com/2023planningbook
Dec 30, 2022•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 282
Jazz Piano Plan For 2023, Part 1
Dec 22, 2022•1 hr 22 min
Sus chords can be mysterious but with the 3 different types of sus chords I'm going to show you today, you'll know exactly where, when and how to use them. The first sus chord will be more of a general, space sound you can use over the majority of dominant chords in tunes. The second one will be more for ballads to pull at the heart strings. And the third will be more for a dirty, gritty, soulful sound like in the blues. Enjoy!
Nov 29, 2022•15 min•Ep. 280
So if improvisation is spontaneous...how do we practice the art of spontaneity? There are a couple key points that make improvisation sound good. No matter how many fancy tools you throw on top like the blues scale, pentatonics, half whole, scale, lydian augemented scale, the foundation still applies. In this podcast I'll show you the BEST improvisation exercise you can use through out your entire career no matter HOW good you get. I still use it to this day.
Nov 22, 2022•22 min•Ep. 279
The 3 jazz piano licks included in this lesson are important for a couple reasons. One, they contain both scalar motion and arpeggiated thirds. Most jazz piano improvisation contains both of these movements very frequently. Two, they contain chromatic motion. Chromatic motion is extremely important in bebop to slide into chord tones or move around them to create tension. Third, these three licks emphasize the thirds of each chord in this two-five-one progression. By emphasizing the thirds, of ch...
Nov 15, 2022•18 min•Ep. 278
These 5 improvisation strategies are continuations off the last tutorial on comping through a 3-6-2-5. Enjoy! To learn more about our secret Black Friday 2022 offer go to... https://jazzpianoschool.com/blackfriday2022
Nov 09, 2022•37 min•Ep. 277
Progressions in jazz can get extremely boring. Especially if you're playing them the same every time. A common one that you'll see in so many tunes is a 3-6-2-5. If you're bored of playing a 3-6-2-5 the same or need some new ideas, I got exactly what you need. In this podcast I'll show you 5 easy ways to play a 3-6-2-5 that will sound COMPLETELY different and extremely hip at the same time. Here we go!
Nov 02, 2022•23 min•Ep. 276
The metronome can either be your best friend or your worst enemy! Practicing with the metronome is an essential way to develop your own internal sense of time. In this podcast lesson, Sterling will show you some tips and tricks to use the metronome in creative ways to test your sense of time and make room for improvement while making friends with the metronome!
Oct 20, 2022•24 min•Ep. 275
Jazz doesn't always have to be hard. I swear. Sometimes one specific skill set can be broken down into 3 easy steps. I recently taught my special Accelerator Program students this easy 3 step process to thicken and fatten up their arrangements and they absolutely loved it! This process can be used over any tune and will serve you for the rest of your jazz piano career. It's well worth your time to learn. Enjoy!
Oct 05, 2022•22 min•Ep. 274
When learning new tunes, it can often be tricky to know which notes to play over chords that are unfamiliar. By finding the home key and practicing improvising over chord progressions, you can be ready to play over chords to any tune. Follow along as Sterling shows you how to do it in this podcast lesson.
Sep 28, 2022•30 min•Ep. 273
There are usually a handful of things in life that REALLY help you make some serious progress. This goes for almost everything in life. Golf, painting, riding a bike...literally anything. If you find the right drill or exercise you can unlock A LOT of doors. In improvisation, that one drill is this. And by this I mean the exercise that I give you in this podcast. Practice this a lot and I guarantee you'll drastically improve fast. Enjoy!
Aug 31, 2022•30 min•Ep. 272
It can be easy to get stuck using the same tired licks or sets of voicings. Here is a new way you can approach comping and improvising by incorporating the intervals of tenths and sixths. Sterling Cozza will show you in this lesson how to practice these intervals to seamlessly integrate them into your playing!
Aug 25, 2022•16 min•Ep. 271
Action creates reaction. If motivation and inspiration naturally found us, there would be millions of Monet's, da Vinci's and Oscar Peterson's in the world. Unfortunately, to spark creativity we need to do things that ignite it! In this podcast I'll show you 5 amazing ways to bring more creativity and exploration to your improvisation. Jazz Piano School's new small group Accelerator program is now open. Get exclusive teaching from Brenden, his staff, guest masterclass', private lessons, weekly p...
Aug 17, 2022•29 min•Ep. 270
There are just some things in jazz that are completely random and do not have a deep theory concept attached to them... but they sound freakin' great! And you want to know them. That's exactly what this episode will teach you in regards to comping. I'll show you 3 misc. comping textures that will instantly make your comping sound better. Check it out! Jazz Piano School's new small group Accelerator program is now open. Get exclusive teaching from Brenden, his staff, guest masterclass', private l...
Aug 09, 2022•12 min•Ep. 269
"Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" is a jazz standard written by pianist Joe Zawinul and made famous by Cannonball Adderly's Quintet. In this tutorial, you will learn how to play the tune using authentic gospel voicings which have a variety of applications. Enjoy! Have you been trying to learn jazz piano with youtube videos, dvds, teachers but feel like you're still constantly guessing, can't play any tunes without copying what someone else has played, and don't know how to connect all the tid bits you've le...
Aug 03, 2022•10 min•Ep. 268
Learning jazz takes you on MANY different paths. Trust me. I know from experience. It's like using a GPS, sometimes maps will take you 50 miles out of your way, where as if you had taken a diffferent route, it would have taken you 5 miles. This is happens all the time in jazz. In this episode when you follow MY drop 2 path, you'll not only learn your drop 2 voicings faster, you'll understand them better, learn multiple variations, and where and how to use them. Now if that doesn't sound good, I ...
Jul 26, 2022•18 min•Ep. 267
The word itself can be cause a lot of resistance among students. This happened to me for years. Just hearing the word...MODE...cause me to freeze up and not want to learn jazz piano. But in this podcast I'll give you a COMPLETELY different spin on how to use modes. I'll actually compose music and atmospheres on the spot with different modes. I even tell little stories that I hear as I'm compsing the music. Check it out! You'll never think of modes again. I promise. Jazz Piano School's new small ...
Jul 12, 2022•30 min•Ep. 266
This podcast lesson is based on the education I taught for my brand new Accelerator program. It breaks down the piano into 3 different registers when playing solo piano and will tell you exactly what to do and play in each of them. This information is a MUST have for anyone looking to excel solo piano performance. Jazz Piano School's new small group Accelerator program is now open. Get exclusive teaching from Brenden, his staff, guest masterclass', private lessons, weekly playing assignments and...
Jun 29, 2022•28 min•Ep. 265
This podcast lesson will show you how you can use to improve your improvisation over any tune in any key using this one simple exercise. By practicing improvising over 3-6-2-5 chord progressions in this manner, you will improve how quickly and fluently you can come up with lines over standard jazz chord changes. You'll be playing great lines in no time! Have you been trying to learn jazz piano with youtube videos, dvds, teachers but feel like you're still constantly guessing, can't play any tune...
Jun 21, 2022•14 min•Ep. 264
The #1 Solo Piano Mistake Happening Right Now
Jun 15, 2022•24 min•Ep. 263
No matter how much you know, making simple improvisation sound great continues to be the name of the game. If you blow 8th notes for days, it's not music. It's an exercise. Making music is about development, texture, musicality and more. Learn all about making simple improvisation sound great in this podcast. Jazz Piano School's new small group Accelerator program is now open. Get exclusive teaching from Brenden, his staff, guest masterclass', private lessons, weekly playing assignments and more...
Jun 08, 2022•30 min•Ep. 262
If you want to sound like Bill Evans, you have treat the “classical” end of the spectrum with equal respect and time as the jazz process. When you do this, You can learn to play from the same basic framework as Bill yet sound completely individual.
May 18, 20220•Ep. 261
The last live stream I did went so well that I had to turn it into a podcast. These 3 solo piano steps are an absolute must practice in order to play solo piano well. I also talk about the critical 2 categories you should group tunes into in order to confidently know how to approach all tunes. Enjoy!
May 11, 2022•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 260
When it comes to jazz piano, there is a myriad of techniques, voicings, and approaches which one can study. This doesn't mean that not everyone can play jazz piano! In this podcast, we've boiled it down to 3 functional techniques which you can use to play jazz piano. Follow along to find out what they are!
May 04, 2022•12 min•Ep. 259
Bud Powell was one of the kings of bebop at the piano. In this podcast you'll learn 3 easy take aways for improvisation that Bud uses that you can implement TODAY to drastically elevate the sound of your improv. This will conclude my LONG series on bebop and bebop approaches. If you haven't checked out the previous episodes I highly recommend you go back to listen to the series in it's entirety. Enjoy!
Apr 28, 2022•18 min•Ep. 258
What does it mean when people talk about "finding your own voice," and how are you supposed to do it? Here is one idea for you which Sterling will teach in this week's podcast. In this lesson, he'll show you how to add a daily warmup to your practice routine to explore your own creativity through "drone improvisation." By playing whatever comes to mind over a single note drone, you can explore infinite possibilities and develop your own sound!
Apr 20, 2022•14 min•Ep. 257
Bud Powell was a bebop genius and in this podcast I analyze a part of his solo and explain the simple elements he's using over and over and over again. After learning these elements, I guarantee you'll have a much better understanding of how to play bebop, and will be able to play it yourself with a lot more ease.
Apr 14, 2022•23 min•Ep. 256
There comes a time for exercises and a time to transform exercises into music. But what is the process? How do we go from bebop approach note improvisation exercises to USING bebop approaches in an actual musical solo? Find out in this episode!
Apr 06, 2022•50 min•Ep. 255
Learning you bebop approaches is one thing...connecting them through 2-5-1's is the next step. That's exactly what I'll be showing you in this episode as well as how to spontaneously improvise with them as well.
Mar 30, 2022•29 min•Ep. 254
If you feel like your LH has been fighting you while improvising or just want to improve your LH approach, this video is for you! Follow along with these 3 easy steps to improve your left hand comping.
Mar 23, 2022•20 min•Ep. 253
