I was teaching a lesson today on Skype. My student was playing my G Blues Scale Etude, which is fast rock with a bluesy improvisation over a bass line which I wrote out.
He did very well. First, he played my written-out piece almost perfectly and then he improvised a new solo over my bass line. This was a little trickier but he started to get a good sense of “flow” going and I suggested that he keep on improvising in this way for another week or so.
Then he asked if he could try it another way. Of course I said “Yes” and he proceeded to play some amazing music by changing around my left hand patter rhythmically as he continued to improvise with the G Blues Scale in his right hand.
The music was amazing and I just sat there, smiling. The funny thing was that he was a little hesitant about doing this. We wondered if it was “OK.”
I reassured him that it was even better than OK; it was awesome! He had practiced what I gave him and made it his own.
That’s the goal! To practice what your piano teacher shows you so that you assimilate it and use it to ultimately express something personal and unique.
You can do this too!
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