Hey Improvisers! I love the musical intersection where the neighborhoods of blues, jazz, and R&B join together. Many of the great pianists grew up at this intersection, including Wynton Kelly, Johnnie Johnson, Chuck Leavell, Herbie Hancock, and Ray Manzarek. Other instrumentalists too, such as Miles Davis, Keith Richards, and Duane Allman to name just a few. The music we hear on this street corner dis varied, yet all under the same umbrella. It reflects the styles that are being developed in each individual neighborhood, and emphasizes one musical element now, and another one a while later. A slinky swing groove [...]

Hey Improvisers, It seems like everywhere we look these days, someone is telling us rules we need to follow: “You need to use 9th voicings to sound good playing jazz piano.” “Start with the blues before you play rock or jazz.” “You have to practice everything in all 12 keys.” Rules. And more rules. But are they true? Let’s look at it another way: In a group of 10 pianists, how could any of these statements possibly be true for all of them? Can they even be true for 5 of them? 3? Of course not. It all depends on [...]

Wouldn’t it be great to play piano with the joy of a child again? Just imagine… we can sit down at our piano and simply delight in the process of making sounds, exploring chord progressions, creating melody after melody. And we can do it without self-criticism, with a sense of wonder, and with true joy. Yes, this is possible for us and groups like The Beatles can show us the way. Check out this video from director Peter Jackson, who gives us a “sneak peak” of his upcoming Beatles documentary Get Back (the bit at 1:51 is priceless!). The Beatles [...]

Here’s how to become a happy and successful pianist: Ignore rules, but embrace principles Don’t say “sorry” when you make a mistake (smile instead) Practice because it’s fun, not merely to improve (you’ll improve anyway, I promise) Trust your talent Ride the groove Find a teacher who can take you where you want to go, musically Study music, not just the piano Notice the connections between musical genres Don’t let your way of thinking about music limit you Be opinionated Don’t be opinionated Immerse yourself deeply in the music of your favorite musician (then let it go) Love what you [...]

When Herbie Hancock was asked the difference between how he learned to improvise and the way the younger generations learn it, he said something that surprised me. He answered that the younger generations learn primarily from listening to note-perfect recordings, while he, in the late 1950s, learned primarily by hearing his musical idols play live in clubs, several times per week. People didn’t have access to as many recordings back then, and this was before canned music took over dining establishments and bars. Yet the part of his answer that surprised me the most was when he pointed out that [...]

Hey Improvisers, When pianists tell me they have Practice Paralysis, they are usually referring to the feeling of being so overwhelmed by all the stuff they’re told they have to learn that they become emotionally frozen and end up doing nothing at all. This is a very common phenomenon and is understandable, due to the huge amount of info out there nowadays and also because it seems like everyone’s telling us “learn this,” “practice this,” etc. But I’ve also realized that Practice Paralysis can happen in relation to learning a single tune, especially a complex composition. Compositions like Billy Joel’s [...]

Have you ever felt that everything about playing piano was difficult? That nothing comes easily to you? Or that you’ve been stuck at the same level for a long time? If so, you may want to try applying the Minimum Viable Piano concept to your musical development. Briefly, I got the idea for Minimum Viable Piano (MVP) a few years ago, when I was inspired by the business term “minimum viable product.” Basically, minimum viable product means that you can set up a new business fairly quickly, with a small amount of your product. Then, you can expand your offerings [...]

Hey Improvisers, It’s happened to all of us: we hear a new jazz tune that sounds great, we get excited about learning it, and then we sit down to play it for ourselves and… Yikes!!! We find it’s WAY too fast for us to play. When this happens, we usually just sigh, put the tune aside, and resign ourselves to maybe playing it again “someday.” Over the years, I’ve found a way to turn “someday” into “today.” The key is to let go of the fast tempo, with no regrets. We can simply play the chords to the tune, slowly, [...]

When I was in college (UCONN during the mid-1980s: “Go Huskies!”), I read about a book about creativity. I don’t remember the title or author (maybe Rollo May?), but I do remember what surprised me the most about it: Flow. Yes.. Flow. The author had interviews dozens of creative people in all different fields, from music and the visual arts to science and lot of other professions. And they all used the same word to describe the creative process: Flow. Well, even though I had never thought of “flow” in this way before, I thought that if all these great [...]

Hey Improvisers! Have you ever thought that you knew how something would go, only to discover that it turned out differently? This happens to me all the time. We go to the store to pick up a gallon of milk, and end up having a wonderful conversation with a neighbor on the sidewalk or in the parking lot. In school, we sign up for a supposedly-boring class, only to find that the teacher makes the subject “come alive.” And we listen to our kid’s or parents’ music and acquire a few unexpected new favorites. Music is like this too, and [...]