beginning teacher needs jazz chord help! :)

[plinkplinkplink]

Hey gang, my name is Chris.

I've been lurking here for a while. Hi!

So, I teach jazz piano theory and basic technique to a guy a little younger than me (I'm 30). I have basic piano skills, and he knows that... I mainly give him tips on computer recording and chord building and progressions.

Here's my main problem:

I would like him to learn how to make some sweet jazzy/r&b piano progressions (on regular piano and electric piano, as he is a big fan of Rhodes/Wurlitzer sounds and technique)... here's the most important thing: I want him to learn the progressions with the correct fingering.

So what's the best way to accomplish this so he learns jazz and blues/chill piano technique the proper way so he can be the best he can be, and do fast runs and stuff like that?

I had him buy Jazz Chord Hanon by Peter Deneff. It's a nice book but pretty damn hard after the first six exercises.... he's an intermediate pianist... he can pick up a progression fairly quickly and he's got good LH/RH interdependence. He just wants to be able to improvise, doing some chill jazzy progressions (we're talking like 50s jazz), mixed in with the modern hip-hop/R&B production and technique.

He, like me, isn't the best sight-reader.. we can't just look at a piece of music and play it perfectly, even the Hanon exercises from that book... he's more of a feel/hands-on player, as I am and have taught myself to be.

Any idea? I'm sorry I'm babbling...

Again, the main thing I need to know is if there are any books out there which give you the correct fingerings for chords (and 1st, 2nd, 3rd inversions), and/or, is there anything he can practice that will make the fingerings come naturally? Any good jazz chord progression books that may show PICTURE chords and not musical notation?

I'm new to this teaching thing, and I'm a natural at it (though I'm much better at drums and guitar, which I also teach part-time), I just wish I could help my piano student more than I've been able to so far...

Thanks so much for any assistance.

-Chris in the Philly burbs

[plinkplinkplink]

i noticed 30 people read my initial post... anyone?

I realize that Pianostreet seems to be a heavily classical-focused website, however, jazz piano is just as difficult to teach and learn, if not harder, because in classical as we all know, there isn't much improvisation. Take a jazz standard and yo uhear it done 50 different ways, feels, tempos, etc.

Thanks!

-Chris

[m1469]

I realize that Pianostreet seems to be a heavily classical-focused website...

hee hee... maybe that's just it.  Most people who teach on this website are primarily Classical, so perhaps we just don't know how to answer your question off the top of our heads.  I don't, anyway.  I would have to do some research to really grasp how to answer it, and probably you could do that research yourself  .  Though, I know your post is a form of research anyway. 

Rest assured, if somebody knows how to answer your questions, they will.  If you are looking for standard chords and scales, then there is already a lot of info on the forum on this and I would suggest you do a search for it.  But, if you are looking for "jazz" progression in particular, which it seems to me you are, then you will just need to be patient until the right person reads your post.

Who knows ?  Maybe I will do some research and tell you what I find.

Anyway, welcome, glad you're here .


m1469

[emmaj]

Afraid i am classically trained too, but have been doing some jazz with my teacher for the past year.  One of the most detailed books is jazz piano by mark levine, but it is quite dense and complicated, the associated board do a jazz piano from scratch book that breaks down the main elements - so there are rhythm exercises, improvisations using just a couple of notes and CD is quite good too - I do a little bit of teaching frend's children and they love improvising with it.  I also like the Christopher Norton Jazz book that also has a CD.  I think perhaps you need to just focus on a common progression eg II7 V7 1 and use that at first - Aebersold playalong series do a whole book based on that progression - I haven't tried that particular book but other ones in the series have been great.  In terms of fingering I use whichever inversion is nearest and I don't play all the notes in the chord, just the 3rd and seventh often.  I know this is all hard to visualise and I think that is the problem with most jazz books they can be offputting.  Have you tried itunes?  there may be someone doing a video of the progressions - I downloaded a great one of someone demonstrating how to play clocks by coldplay (sorry can't remember his name).

Good luck with it all, jazz piano is quite addictive once you get into it.

[jpianoflorida]

have you done some research on the internet?    search and see what you can find....order several books and keep trying till you find what you are looking for. That's my advice!

[kawaigs40]

Try posting on the forum at learnjazzpiano.com     You'll get a response.

[jozart]

Hi PlinkPlinkPlink,
I have some jazz materials, text, tunes, and online lessons, but everything is written in standard music notation. You could try Google and search for "chord voicings" and "chord progressions". I noticed someone had dots on keys to show chords. You can listen to tunes on my site and view free jazz lessons (start with Part 4). There is some blusey stuff there but I don't know the term blues/chill piano.
Good luck to you.
Thanks,
jozart
https://www.jozartmusic.com
 

[keyofc]

Hey Plinkety,

Have  you heard of the book, "The Real Easy Book"?
IT has tunes written in the treble clef only with chords,
It also gives you the modes and scales useful to each tune.
It doesn't give you fingering - but I thought maybe if you have the fingering for all the scales, it might come pretty natural after learning to apply the scales,

There is a book called "Keyboard Wisdom" that has fingering for almost any scale.
It is definitely worth buying - one of my favorites.

 key of c

[frogmorton]

hey there plinkplinkplink, 

Sorry...I may be the proverbial "day late and dollar short" (make that about a year late, and way more than a buck lower than i'd like in my bank account ha ha) but I'd like to take a shot at giving you some sound advice about jazz voicings.  I have a bachelors of music in Jazz studies (not that you asked for credentials) and more than 10 solid years of experience playing in jazz, funk, rock and pop settings.

I most certainly agree with you.  Pianostreet seems to be overwhelmingly inhabited by the so called "legit" piano community ( that's what we jazzers call classically trained pianists...no offense intended ).  I thank that I can help you a bit with the jazz voicing question.  All the folks here are very knowledgeable about piano repertoire, technique, and so on, they just haven't made it their business to research and digest the materials out there available to the aspiring jazz artist.   I can at least give several book titles that I have found to be very solid for developing some voicing concepts. 

1)  The Jazz Piano Book - Mark Levine - Sher Music Publishing  (great catch all modern jazz piano reference)
2)  Voicings for Jazz Keyboard - Frank Mantooth - Hal Leonard Press (fairly thin book dedicated to a fairly narrow family of "hip sounding" modern jazz voicings i.e. quartal harmony)
3)  Jazz Piano Harmony - Bill Dobbins - Advance Music Publishing (a bit heady for the casual player)

If you need more....navigate to:      https://www.jazzbooks.com/
There is a link on the left side navigation bar for piano related books,
and then a section on specifically voicing related texts available on the site.

Happy hunting!

I would be happy to elaborate on some personal knowledge of the subject, if you have any questions, but these are good places to start.  Knowing all the triads and inversions in basic diatonic harmony first, followed by all the basic 7th chord types (Maj7,7, min7, dim 7 min7b5 -again, with inversions) is a starting point.  Most of the players we hear on records we listen to use different voicings than these.  That is where the books come in.  for cool chilled out Rhodes /Wurlitzer stuff, I think sus chords, min 7ths 9ths, 13ths etc really light up the room.  You can investigate all of the extentions after you digest the basic 7th sounds...and we havent even talked about closed vs. open position, etc.  Chordal harmony can be a pretty deep subject, to be sure.  I wish you all the best in your search.

humbly,

Craig Morrison

[mknueven]

pLINK,
why don't you try looking into the Alan Swain method books.
I have heard two fantastic jazz players in my area - and Alan Swain was their teacher.
I'm sorry - I forgot the name of the book - but if you google his name - you should find it.

Also there is a great book - called Metaphors for Musicians
Really good - a lot of great progressions