Here’s a fun 2-chord piano improv exercise to try today. It starts simply and gets hards and more expansive as you challenge yourself with more and more styles of music. And it will (hopefully) inspire you to get going and learn as many of these musical styles as you can.
Start by playing these 2 chords:
Em/F (E minor and F major)
The idea is to improvise with them, any way you can, in each of the following musical styles. If you don’t know a particular genre, consider this an invitation to learn it. They’re all fun, and besides, even The Rolling Stones could play a jazz waltz if a song called for it. (Successful musicians are usually much more versatile than they might appear to be.)
Each chord can be played for 2, 3, 4 beats or longer, depending on the style and how you choose to play it.
Here are the genres:
Pop/Rock Ballad
Medium-tempo Pop
New Wave
Traditional Waltz
Classic Rock
New Age
Disco
Hip Hop or Funk
Jazz Waltz
Swing
Jazz Ballad
Bossa Nova
Alternative Rock
Progressive Rock
Progressive Jazz (a la McCoy Tyner)
This may take you an afternoon, or it may take you a year. Either way, have fun and challenge yourself!
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