Our 12-step process analyzes jazz improvisation using concepts from the great masters of jazz. Doing an improvisation that only uses the diatonic scale (such as levels 1 to 9) sounds pretty boring, and having an improvisation on level 10 all the time will also sound horrible. But by mixing and oscillating between the two extremes you can create an improvisation with a really nice sound. And the base scale acts as our anchor or reference point.
Whenever you get lost or make a mistake, retire to the base scale. Once you can improvise with the first 5 notes, try the other notes on the scale. Feel free to jump to the highest octaves on the keyboard. Make an effort to try to play notes that you wouldn't normally play.
Make sure you play with a balance in the rising and falling lines. Try to start your lines with different rhythms. To learn more about how to create interesting jazz lines, check out the Solo Over a 2-5-1 course. One of the best ways to learn about the style and technique of jazz giants is through Steve's Jazz Masters Method.
A standard jazz rhythm is a rhythm that you can use to compose or accompany almost any swing jazz tune. After performing at Carnegie Hall, in Broadway shows and at the Blue Note jazz club in New York, I now dedicate myself to teaching piano students around the world how to improvise with a new sense of joy and fluidity. Once you have left the chords in your left hand, the next step in playing a minor jazz piano is to have a scale that works with all of these chords. My own journey has taken me to Carnegie Hall, to Broadway shows such as Smokey Joe's Cafe and Swinging On A Star, and to the Blue Note jazz club in New York, and now I share this experience with piano students from all over the world.
This exercise prepares beginning piano students to play jazz standards by mastering 2-5-1 progressions using chord shells on all 12 keys. This isn't ideal if you play a jazz piano because jumping to the rhythm of the chords requires a lot of attention and it's best to focus your attention on the solo of your right hand. You can also work more on reharmonizing through Steve's revelation about his favorite jazz piano chords and his reharmonizing tricks. Keep in mind that, even if you're trying to develop your improvisation skills with jazz piano, you can learn by listening to all kinds of different instruments.) If you want to improvise a minor jazz piano, it's essential to first choose a chord progression that's commonly used in jazz melodies.
We'll talk more about this in a later section, but you can go ahead and discover Steve's 3 uncommon tips for practicing the jazz piano technique. I hope that these 12 ways to learn jazz piano improvisation will lead you to create incredible, stellar and even amazing solos. Before learning the following 3 exercises for improvising a minor jazz piano, I highly recommend that you practice this up and down scale on the piano.
