Ron's blog on piano improv and the role of music in our lives
Strictly speaking, a “professional” is someone who gets paid for their work. So if you’ve played piano for 2 weeks and I pay you a penny to perform in a recital, that makes you a professional, right? Well, not really. We all know that a “professional” is someone who has lots of experience and displays a high … Read More
Songwriting is one of those activities where it pays to change your approach now and then. If you always begin with a lyric, come up with a few chords first. Or if you tend to begin with a melodic hook, find a drum beat first and jam over it for a while. The rhythm may … Read More
I’m halfway through my annual stint here in Alaska at the incredible Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival. I highly recommend that you occasional attend some sort of piano workshop or festival. It’s a musically stimulating environment and you’ll get a lot out of learning from the teachers and being around other pianists with similar interests to … Read More
A lot of beginning jazz pianists get stuck at what seems to be a “steep learning curve” in order to get started with jazz. It seems like you have to learn all these complex chord voicings, scales, modes, styles, and theory just in order to get started. Not true!!! All you have to do is … Read More
Frank Sinatra can teach us jazz pianists a lot about how to perfect our craft. Here are 5 things we can learn from his singing: 1. Phrasing Standard tunes from The Great American Songbook are a big part of the jazz repertoire. And Sinatra can teach us a great deal about how to personalize these … Read More
Have you ever noticed what happens when 2 young kids have a playdate together and pass by a piano or keyboard? From what I’ve seen, one of the children says “Let me show you what I can play!” and sits down to play her favorite piece. If both kids play, her friend will then play … Read More
“The Great American Songbook” is a term for popular songs that were written roughly between the years 1920 and 1950. Since this was a long time ago, anyone performing these songs now is coming from a different place than the artists were “back in the day,” when this music was more related to the general … Read More
The best way to improve at sightreading is to get a book of music that’s not too difficult for you, and spent a little bit of time, daily, playing through it. It isn’t necessary to do it for an hour at a time; the key is consistency. Even 5-10 minutes daily will make you a … Read More
Well, I’ve been here at the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival for a day now and I’m getting adjusted to the time zone change. I’ve come to the 2-week festival so many times that that I feel like I’ve just come back from a 50-weeklong vacation! Already something amazing has happened. They had an outdoor breakfast … Read More
Do you know how guitarists and sax players sometimes “bend” notes on their instruments? They’ll play a notes and then slightly raise and lower the pitch for dramatic effect, like in the blues? Well, someone figured out how to do this on piano. Listen for yourself. This is VERY hard to do smoothly! Try a … Read More