I've filtered down my education A LOT recently due to my Accelerator and Mastermind programs that are now open for enrollment until Sept 5th, 2023. 99% of all jazz piano students want one, a combination, or all of just 3 goals. Here they are ranked in order from easiest to hardest. #1 - Play in a band or accompany a vocalist, or instrumentalist. (Comping) #2 - Play solo piano jazz standards on their own without reading transcriptions of other pianists. #3 - Learn how to improvise lines in the RH...
Aug 22, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 312
I've filtered down my education A LOT recently due to my Accelerator and Mastermind programs that are now open for enrollment until Sept 5th, 2023. 99% of all jazz piano students want one, a combination, or all of just 3 goals. Here they are ranked in order from easiest to hardest. #1 - Play in a band or accompany a vocalist, or instrumentalist. (Comping) #2 - Play solo piano jazz standards on their own without reading transcriptions of other pianists. #3 - Learn how to improvise lines in the RH...
Aug 18, 2023•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 311
It's one thing to be taught one part of the puzzle...but what about the whole puzzle? In this fun lesson, I'll show you my 11 step improvisation road map and start at the very beginning. I'll demonstrate step one over the tune Autumn Leaves, then continue to add on layers one at a time. You'll be able to hear the complete transformation each individual step will make to your improvisation so that you can gain a full and complete picture into how to become a jazz improvisation master! https://jaz...
Aug 08, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 310
Follow along as Sterling shows you a diminished voicing that is sure to turn some heads. These crunchy chords work over diminished tonalities, and can also be applied to dominant chords in various jazz standards. These chords always bring the "wow" factor!! https://jazzpianoschool.com/smallgroup There are a limited number of spots so if you're interested, definitely enroll sooner rather than later.
Jul 26, 2023•26 min•Ep. 309
Taking private lessons can seen never ending. In fact, most of the time, it IS never ending. You never really know if you're getting better because the teacher doesn't give you any goals, benchmarks or assessments. You'll definitely want to save this lesson and download it. With the benchmarks and assessments I show you in this video, your practice will be more efficient, you'll be more motivated and inspired, and you'll without a sliver of doubt KNOW if you're getting better. This is a FANTASTI...
Jul 18, 2023•30 min•Ep. 308
Doing anything in life over and over and over again is boring. Being in the same room for 5 hours is boring. Listening to single note eighth note lines over and over again is boring. We need contrast. We need change. That's why this call and response improvisation method is such an amazing texture to integrate into your solos. It's interesting. It's easy to use, and it's fun!! Check it out! By the way...I just opened up my 3-month private Accelerator program. This is a 3-month program that allow...
Jul 11, 2023•27 min•Ep. 307
One of the most successful jazz piano education things I've ever done to date has been my private Accelerator program. This gives students a chance to work me, get custom lesson plans, group lesson, guest masterclass', open mic nights and so much more. This September I'll be running another one of those PLUS a brand new Inner Circle Mastermind for students that want more education than just 3 months. How many months? 9 months to be exact!
Jun 28, 2023•38 min•Ep. 306
It's one thing to play jazz standards like Autumn Leaves and Fly Me To The Moon, it's a whole other thing to actually make them swing. Did you just clench up? Don't worry because it only takes just one, simple, thing to make your jazz standards start to swing like you want! --- If you want more in depth knowledge on following an easy, step-by-step plan, to learn how to play jazz piano register for my free masterclass at the link below. https://jazzpianoschool.com/system In this free masterclass,...
Jun 20, 2023•17 min•Ep. 305
I remember always asking my teachers how they were able to keep track of the time and not get lost while improvising. Do you know what their response was most of the time? "I don't know, I just feel it." Unfortunately to most students out there, this type of response does not help you WHATSOEVER. So, in this video I'm going to deliver some actionable exercises you can work on to actually help you NOT get lost while improvising. I promise if you work on these, you'll know exactly where you are th...
Jun 13, 2023•15 min•Ep. 304
Moanin' is a classic jazz tune for a number of reasons. The soulful, blues, and gospel sound that the tune expresses and the amazing solo Bobby Timmons takes utilizing the octave trick that I'm about to show you in this video. EVERYONEEEEE should have this quick little octave improvisation trick in their tool bag. It may not be easy to execute right off the bat but it's VERYYY easy to learn, and I can teach it to you in less than 10 minutes. Here we go!
Jun 06, 2023•9 min•Ep. 303
Most of the time you hear single note eighth note lines when listening to jazz. When you start to integrate diads into those lines you'll get some really spicy flavors that go great with the blues and really any other standard. In this lesson I'll show you the diads I like to use and how to start practicing them so that you can spice up your single note improvisation lines.
May 30, 2023•24 min•Ep. 302
Have you ever heard a pianist with a beautifully sensitive touch and wondered, "how do they do that?" In this podcast lesson, Sterling will give you some practice tips on how you can improve your piano touch to enhance your expression at the keyboard.
May 24, 2023•16 min•Ep. 301
You know you've been doing a podcast for a long time when you hit 300 episodes. Yes, I've been recording a podcast for jazz piano school for a little over 8 years now. In this live celebration you'll see a live zoom Q & A hosted by the Jazz Piano School educators and I. The students had some amazing questions that we demonstrate and teach on. I know this will be well worth your time if you watch all the way through. Enjoy!
May 16, 2023•1 hr 54 min•Ep. 300
Jazz is obviously awesome with all it's 7th chords but sometimes just using plain old simple triads can create beautiful music. By using these 3 different passing chord movements that step from gospel and church playing you can write and play gorgeous sounding music through simple experimentation. You'll be surprised how easy it is to use these and integrate them into your playing. Enjoy! If you want more in depth knowledge on following an easy, step-by-step plan, to learn how to play jazz piano...
May 09, 2023•18 min•Ep. 299
Do you find yourself struggling to play in certain keys, or get stuck moving between them? Watch as Sterling Cozza shows you how to master playing in all 12 keys with this simple exercise! By practicing chords and scales using this approach, you will find ways of implementing them to be able to play and improvise more freely. Enjoy! If you want more in depth knowledge on following an easy, step-by-step plan, to learn how to play jazz piano register for my free masterclass at the link below. http...
May 04, 2023•47 min•Ep. 298
Learn how to easily create #9 voicings fast in this free lesson. Even a complete beginner can do it, and even if you're a more intermediate or advanced player, I'll show you how to turn them into advanced #9 voicings as well. If you want more in depth knowledge on following an easy, step-by-step plan, to learn how to play jazz piano register for my free masterclass at the link below. https://jazzpianoschool.com/system In this free masterclass, I'll teach you 6 of the most important jazz piano ha...
Apr 25, 2023•14 min•Ep. 297
Using extensions to improvise with is usually very overwhelming. How do we use them? When do we use them? Where do we use them? I never got much clear education on this but I'm about to change that for you. In this lesson I'll show you 3 clear strategies you can use to integrate extensions. Specifically the b9 in this episode. In the upcoming weeks, I'll go through the other extensions and show you those as well. If you want to master your improvisation, be sure to register for my free mastercla...
Apr 18, 2023•23 min•Ep. 296
The 6 tips I teach in this lesson will drastically and instantly make your playing sound like and intermediate or advanced player. They are the bedrock to creating a more advanced sound and every beginner players should work to implement them today. They will change your life. If you're a beginner and want to develop a rock solid foundation and learn the fundamental principles you need for solo piano, voicings, and improv register for my free masterclass by going to the link below. https://jazzp...
Apr 11, 2023•28 min•Ep. 295
The voicing I get asked the most about in jazz piano is the drop 2 voicing. Why? Because it's a pro voicing. But trying to learn them the traditional way with two notes in each hand is difficult. How do I know? Because I tried it. With my 3 step system you'll easily learn drop 2's and you'll also set yourself up for bigger spread voicings, comping methods, and so much more. If you want to learn more about my systems register for my free masterclass by going to the link below. https://jazzpianosc...
Apr 05, 2023•24 min•Ep. 294
Most of the time beginner and intermediate students have a hard time creating a thick and lush sound while playing solo piano. And I don't blame them. It took me FOREVER to figure this out. But with these 3 tips you'll be able to create a large orchestral sound from your solo piano playing in no time. They're easy to learn and easy to integrate. If you want more in depth knowledge on following an easy, step-by-step plan, to learn how to play jazz piano register for my free masterclass at the lin...
Mar 29, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 293
Most of the time beginner and intermediate students have a hard time creating a thick and lush sound while playing solo piano. And I don't blame them. It took me FOREVER to figure this out. But with these 3 tips you'll be able to create a large orchestral sound from your solo piano playing in no time. They're easy to learn and easy to integrate. If you're interested in learning more about my solo piano system and how it can help you quickly and easily change your solo piano performance go to the...
Mar 21, 2023•23 min•Ep. 292
This tip that I will teach you in literally one minute has the power to drastically change your solo piano sound instantly. Don't believe me? Well there is only one thing I have left to say...try it. It isn't for everyone because you might be well beyond this, but if you're playing LH root position chords with RH single note melody lines...then you absolutely need to watch this. Even if you think you're an intermediate or advanced player, try to do this with some tunes. If you can't...it might b...
Mar 14, 2023•12 min•Ep. 291
Daily Jazz Piano Practice: A 4 Step System
Mar 08, 2023•43 min•Ep. 290
here is way more to improvising over the blues then just using the traditional blues scale. When I learned these other two blues scales, and combined them with the traditional blues scale, my playing changed forever. In this lesson, I'll teach you each blues scale, demonstrate how to use them, and then combine them so you can hear what the improvisation potential is when using these three blues improv tools. If you're looking to learn more about improvisation and want to learn my 5 most importan...
Mar 01, 2023•24 min•Ep. 289
A fellow musician who is learning how to play jazz piano mentioned that all the voicings he uses sound to thin. I asked him what voicings he was using. He said he was using a lot of drop 2's and rootless voicings in the high register of the piano. BOOM. There is the issue. The number 1 issue in fact that students have when comping jazz on piano. Most videos, blogs, even teachers, teach about rootless voicings, or upper structure voicings that are all up high. Most students should actually begin ...
Feb 15, 2023•29 min•Ep. 288
Learning how to improvise can be extremely overwhelming. Most of the time you'll get very vague advice. In this lesson, I'll teach you the 2 most important fundamental steps to learning improv. These 2 steps will help you build a rock solid foundation and allow you to layer on more advanced concepts with ease. If you're interested in checking out my free improvisation masterclass with even more in-depth education go to the link below. https://jazzpianoschool.com/improvmasterclass
Feb 08, 2023•21 min•Ep. 287
WP & YT Summary: Most jazz piano students have no control over their left hand while improvising. This can drastically take away from your improvisation sound. Most students also don't even know HOW to fix this or what to do. In this video I'll show you 4 very easy patterns and methods your LH can use while you improvise to ensure you sound like a pro. 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 t...
Feb 01, 2023•14 min•Ep. 286
Red Garland was one of the greatest jazz pianists to ever live. This transcription analysis covers the tune, "A Foggy Day", and is off the album, "A Garland of Red". This analysis is taken from directly inside my brand new Improvisation Mastery Specialty course which is now available for purchase at a discount by going to the link below. Click the link below for more info. https://jazzpianoschool.com/improv
Jan 18, 2023•31 min•Ep. 285
In this free lesson I'm going to walk you through how to improvise over the tune Like Someone In Love. This is taken directly from a live lesson that I gave to all the JPS members during the Tune of The Month Series that we do. If you're interested in learning more about improvisation, go check out my new specialty course that's being released called, Improvisation Mastery. Click the link below for more info. https://jazzpianoschool.com/improv
Jan 11, 2023•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 284
Summary: In part 3 of the 2023 planning series I'll be covering a full spectrum plan to crush all the jazz piano voicings you could possibly need in 2023. Voicings are necessary for all parts of jazz. Solo piano, improvisation, comping and so much more. When you have a solid plan to improve your voicings you will be making progress across the board which is fantastic. This will translate to everything you do. Don't forget to grab the planning book below as I refer to the steps inside when teachi...
Jan 05, 2023•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 283
