9 Top Tips For Learning to Play Piano

September 4th, 2010

Learning to play the piano can be a daunting experience for most of us. Everybody adores the music coming from a piano. It can set the mood for relaxation and calmness. A lot of people sacrifice a lot in order to learn playing the piano but it can seem like this instrument is too hard to handle. If you want to learn more about playing the piano, you can do it through these 9 simple steps.

Playing the piano can be difficult especially for those who are not well accustomed to music and handling of instruments. The piano will bring out a lot of emotion and feelings. Learning the piano is not as hard as some make out, just stick to these tips:

1. Always secure access to a synthesizer or piano. Obviously, you can never learn how to play the piano without the actual instrument. Learning it hands on can help your hands and fingers to get used to the keys of the piano. This may sound obvious but you’d be surprised how many try to learn to play the piano without actually having access to any sort of keyboard!

2. Piano lessons are useful. You can opt for piano lessons that would be available in a lot of forms and approaches. You can combine various forms of learning the piano so you can learn it in a short amount of time. You can also use online lessons and even hire your own personal instructor.

3. Never ever hesitate to seek professional advice when learning the piano. These people can help you most in focusing and concentrating when learning the piano. You can ask for techniques these experts can provide and get inspiration on how they excel with their music.

4. A regular period of practicing the piano is a must. You need to prioritize and set aside a specific time to play the instrument. Spend around 15 to 30 minutes to practice every day. In this way you can improve and enhance your skills. Soon you will find out that you can play your favorite songs with much ease!

5. Start by playing songs which are meant for beginners. You do not want to be overwhelmed when learning the piano. You must use simple piano songs so that you can sustain your momentum throughout the course of your learning. Patience is really important because it can be a challenging instrument to deal with. One you have mastered playing a specific piece on your piano, you will be ready for another song or piano piece.

6. Cite and state the goals you have in learning the piano. You must keep in mind that your goals should be realistic enough so you can have a slow but steady pace when learning the piano. Plan out your routines for the day so you can have ample time for practicing your piano skills.

7. Improving your rhythm when you are learning piano. It is very important if you want to enjoy your favorite songs on your piano. You must learn how to sustain a rhythm otherwise you cannot even finish a song.

8. Always keep in mind the flow while learning to play the piano. You need to be persistent enough and never pay attention to your mistakes while you are playing on your piano. Never allow the obstacles to stop you from improving your piano skills.

9. If you are learning the piano, start by playing simple chords. Avoid using classical pieces in the beginning of learning the piano. Basic chords are the perfect foundation for a more advanced piano songs in the future.

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How to Look For Piano Books?

August 25th, 2010

There are a number of ways on how one can learn more about the piano. There are some who settled in getting piano lessons. They tend to enroll themselves in an online piano class, or through a local piano school. If you think enrolling to a piano school is easy and simple, you better think twice. It is like having home works as well, engaging to practical examinations, and buying academic script.

Well, the same logic applies for musical instrument classes. You have to do your homework about pianos and notes, you have to pass practical exams, and you have to buy piano books as well. It is not easy to find piano books and it is not a simple thing. This article will be dealing more about how to look for the piano books that you need with some considerations before purchasing one of your choices.

Know what book you need. Is it always advisable to ascertain what you are looking for in a musical instrument book. Are you into applications or purely theory related books? There are books which are into theories, there are book purely for application, and there are books that mix both. There are even interactive books as well. Know what you are looking for in a book.

You have to do a research about the prices of piano books. Some manuscript are not worth its tag price. There are expensive books that have poor quality. The price is not the sole determinant of the book’s quality. You can find discounted piano books with better quality than expensive ones. You go to the nearest bookstores or thrift shops for some discounted piano books.

If you cannot find any discounted item, settle for the regular-priced script instead but you have to make sure that it will conform your needs. it is useless to buy piano books that is irrelevant to what you need.

Look through the author’s name and check for other related musical instrument books under the same author. You mind find a better piano script than what you are looking for. Some piano books are user friendly and easier to understand than other piano books. You can check other related scripts to see if you can use it for future reference.

Another option for you to consider is purchasing the manuscript online. Of course you need to get the specs of the book before you purchase it. You have a lot of books to choose from but you can narrow down your options and get the book that you will need the most. It is wise to read anything and everything first before purchasing your book online so that you will not regret the decision and you will make sure that you are getting the things that you need with the book.

These are just some of the things you can try to look for piano manuscript. Whichever way you would want the musical instrument manuscript purchased as long as you know what you are looking for and you know where to find it, you should be good to go and purchase the one that will suit the needs and the demands of your piano classes.

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9 Top Tips For Learning to Play Piano

August 23rd, 2010

Learning to play the piano can be a daunting experience for most of us. Everybody adores the music coming from a piano. It can set the mood for relaxation and calmness. A lot of people sacrifice a lot in order to learn playing the piano but it can seem like this instrument is too hard to handle. If you want to learn more about playing the piano, you can do it through these 9 simple steps.

Playing the piano can be difficult especially for those who are not well accustomed to music and handling of instruments. The piano will bring out a lot of emotion and feelings. Learning the piano is not as hard as some make out, just stick to these tips:

1. Always secure access to a synthesizer or piano. Obviously, you can never learn how to play the piano without the actual instrument. Learning it hands on can help your hands and fingers to get used to the keys of the piano. This may sound obvious but you’d be surprised how many try to learn to play the piano without actually having access to any sort of keyboard!

2. Piano lessons are useful. You can opt for piano lessons that would be available in a lot of forms and approaches. You can combine various forms of learning the piano so you can learn it in a short amount of time. You can also use online lessons and even hire your own personal instructor.

3. Never ever hesitate to seek professional advice when learning the piano. These people can help you most in focusing and concentrating when learning the piano. You can ask for techniques these experts can provide and get inspiration on how they excel with their music.

4. A regular period of practicing the piano is a must. You need to prioritize and set aside a specific time to play the instrument. Spend around 15 to 30 minutes to practice every day. In this way you can improve and enhance your skills. Soon you will find out that you can play your favorite songs with much ease!

5. Start by playing songs which are meant for beginners. You do not want to be overwhelmed when learning the piano. You must use simple piano songs so that you can sustain your momentum throughout the course of your learning. Patience is really important because it can be a challenging instrument to deal with. One you have mastered playing a specific piece on your piano, you will be ready for another song or piano piece.

6. Cite and state the goals you have in learning the piano. You must keep in mind that your goals should be realistic enough so you can have a slow but steady pace when learning the piano. Plan out your routines for the day so you can have ample time for practicing your piano skills.

7. Improving your rhythm when you are learning piano. It is very important if you want to enjoy your favorite songs on your piano. You must learn how to sustain a rhythm otherwise you cannot even finish a song.

8. Always keep in mind the flow while learning to play the piano. You need to be persistent enough and never pay attention to your mistakes while you are playing on your piano. Never allow the obstacles to stop you from improving your piano skills.

9. If you are learning the piano, start by playing simple chords. Avoid using classical pieces in the beginning of learning the piano. Basic chords are the perfect foundation for a more advanced piano songs in the future.

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What is a Good Age to Start Piano Lessons?

August 14th, 2010

The age to start your child depends entirely on whether you intend to use the conventional methods that employ only sheet music. If you intend to use the conventional methods, then don’t even think of starting before the age of six.

The reason for this is that preschoolers are just too young for the standard sheet music methods that exist. Many have difficulty understanding the tasks asked of them in a conventional piano lesson outside the home, and have great difficulty with the abstract concepts and symbols necessary to read sheet music.

If you intend to use a friendly method such as piano by number, there is no age limit: any child that can identify the numbers 1-12 is a perfect candidate to begin enjoying and learning music at the piano.

In terms of maturity, I would suggest the age of four or five as a good age to start with piano by number, and soon after perhaps begin to slowly introduce the concepts of sheet music as presented in our book, I CAN READ MUSIC.

If you encounter any difficulties with sheet music, back off and continue with piano by number.
A child should easily grasp the concepts presented in I CAN READ MUSIC, and if they don’t they are too young for sheet music and should be allowed to continue enjoying piano by number until they are old enough to make the transition with ease.

Better to wait than to frustrate.

PRESCHOOL: I recommend starting children of preschool age playing piano by number. Preschoolers are just getting used to numbers and letters. Many teachers have found that having children identify numbers via the piano keyboard is a fun activity that builds confidence with numbers.

The most important aspect of using piano by number for preschoolers is to first recognize the capabilities of the child: can the child identify numbers if the graphic representation of those numbers (on a page) is presented to them?

It is one thing for a child to recite vocally numbers as high as they can, but quite another to recognize the symbols for each number. Many preschool children can play any numbered piano key you say to them, but have difficulty playing numbers (or any symbols, for that matter) that they find on the page.

Piano by number slowly builds the abstract skills necessary to decipher musical symbols later, and promotes children’s sense of security in successfully deciphering them.

For children who cannot yet identify the symbols for numbers, the piano keyboard is an ideal place to build confidence with those symbols, with the added attraction that music itself produces a “good-mood” effect that is conducive to learning more complex skills.

Seeing the first twelve numbers, 1-12, spread out on a piano helps children to imagine numbers as a sequential ordering device.

Probably the biggest secret of teaching music to children this age is to allow kids to be kids while they learn. If you do this, and it requires unbelievable patience and creativity, they will reward you with constant effort, and humor!

The younger the child, the less I expect. If they only learn that the piano is a fun place to be, you’ve had a major victory as a teacher and a parent.

KINDERGARTEN: I recommend starting kindergarten kids with piano by number, and then making limited attempts at sheet music depending on the child’s sense of security with the piano. Usually, this is no problem. Kindergarten kids are very ready for games of any kind, and begin to have the skills necessary to put several hand movements together into a group of movements.

Children of this age still are most comfortable with numbers, but will tolerate more games preparing the way for reading sheet music. But you must make games out of everything. And back off from teaching sheet music as soon as you see their eyes start to show exhaustion, perhaps 5 minutes at most. Sheet music is fascinating but very tiring for kids this age. Better to expose them 5 minutes at a time than risk exhausting them and making them feel like failures.

With this age you may be able to teach them chords (three piano keys played with the left hand) but usually I allow them to play 2 note chords (two piano keys with the left hand) until it becomes obvious that 2 note chords are too easy.

I don’t insist that children play with both hands at this point, that is, chords with left hand and melody (numbers) with the right hand. It is enough that they can make their way through a few moments of a song that I show them, always carefully chosen to allow them to master a simple-enough task.

For example, a child this age should begin to easily have knowledge of the first three chords (three piano keys for the left hand) known as C, F and G. Any child can do this with enough focused, fun repetition.

If a child does begin to read sheet music, be careful to gain complete mastery of the notes of the right hand, say the first 5 keys above Middle C, before attempting to introduce the left hand.
It is my feeling that merely introducing the idea of “lines and spaces” (sheet music) is more than a victory at this stage.

The reason for this is that sheet music is much more of an abstraction than numbers for children of this age. Children gravitate to what is most comfortable for them, and you can bet at this age that it will be “piano by numbers,” because it is less abstract than sheet music.

Children who are allowed the room to succeed at “piano by number” no matter how glacial their pace, are perfect candidates for reading sheet music, because they are properly prepared.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: FIRST GRADE: At this age, you can start with piano by number to build confidence, and readily move on to sheet music a little bit at a time within a few months.

First graders seem magically wired to try the piano! All the physical perceptions necessary are in place; numbers are no problem, playing with two hands is no problem.

But if a child has difficulty with playing two hands simultaneously, do not insist, as most kids this age have great difficulty with two handed maneuvers. It is enough to expose them to the idea that two hands are involved, eventually simultaneously.

With piano by numbers and chords (two or three piano keys played with the left hand) under their belt, first graders are ready to conquer the right hand of sheet music, and engage in a study of chords.

At this age kids are emotionally ready to play the game called “happy and sad” wherein the teacher plays chords and has the child try to guess their (the chords) emotional or dramatic quality, happy or sad.

Kids love this silly game, almost like a game show, and never tire of trying to listen and assess the emotional quality of the chord. Earlier than this age, many children seem to have difficulty grasping the idea of a sound (the piano chord) having a certain emotional quality (happy or sad.)
At this point it also becomes possible to introduce “finger games,” that is, games that teach a child to move beyond using the index finger. I always allow kids to start with the index finger, if that’s what comfortable.

It may take a long time to get a child to use all the ten fingers properly, but it is worth waiting for, especially if in the meantime you are teaching them other valuable things.
Believe it or not, kids will let you know when they are ready to use all five fingers.

I’ll tell you the formula for success. It has three stages:

Teach the notes, the numbers, get the kids to decipher the commands and play the correct keys as best they can, with whatever finger comes to their mind.

Introduce the idea of five fingers, slowly, as a game, as a joke. I always say, when they play with only their index finger, “Oh, you were born with only one finger on each hand! Wait! I see other fingers under there, all curled up!” Try that 50 times and they will start using more fingers all by themselves, I guarantee it.

Rhythm is best left to last. The only thing I do at this point is to play rhythm games. I never, ever insist on rhythm in a piece of printed music, numbers or sheet. Don’t even think of rhythm in the usual sense for first graders. Better to try simple rhythm games like “fours” that give children the idea of regularity, of pattern, of repetition.

To start the process of learning fingering, I begin with a game called “threesies,” in which they play, starting from Middle C; 123, 234, 345 456, etc using the right hand thumb, index and third finger in ascending order. Kids love the complexity of this, but if it is too difficult after several tries, then try something else for a while.

Two more “rules:”

Keep coming back to ideas, again and again.

Never acknowledge a child’s failure to grasp these ideas, just show comic surprise and move on.
Children at the piano have an uncanny knack of showing you an honest effort if the task is not incomprehensibly difficult.

Break down complex motions into easily grasped bits.

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How to Improve Playing Piano - Self Hypnosis Help For Piano Playing

August 13th, 2010

How to Improve Playing Piano - Self Hypnosis Help For Piano Playing

When the time comes for help piano playing, you will find that there are many options available to you. Each option holds great promise. Just remember that not all options are created equally and that you may be much better served thinking a little outside the box depending on what your particular piano problems may be.

Harnessing the Power of the Mind to Improve Playing Piano

Your mind is the sharpest tool at your disposal for every task you tackle in life. Surely you understand the importance of the mind when seeking help piano playing? Music can be an excellent source of solace, a creative outlet, or simply a means of expression. It can also be a source of infinite frustration when you find yourself facing a brick wall where you seem unable to improve playing piano and yet are not ready to find your own personal plateau.

Can Self Hypnosis Help?

Most people do not think of hypnosis as a source for help when it comes to things like music and art. But when you do take the time to think about it, hypnosis is almost an ideal solution for many reasons. First of all, it’s the subconscious mind that handles creativity in music, words, and/or art. Hypnosis is the art of using the subconscious part of the brain to send messages to the conscious part of the brain (the short version at any rate).

What are Your Options to Help Piano Playing Progress?

There are many options that can aid you in your pursuit of piano playing perfection, or as near as you may be capable of getting to that perfection. So, what can you do to improve your piano playing abilities?

Endless hours of practice

You should be well aware that practice makes perfect. Why should anything else be true when it comes to getting help piano playing? Tack on an extra 30 minute practice drill each day of the week and you will find yourself playing better than ever before.

Learn New Techniques for Old Drills

Looking at the same old thing in a different light can have a huge impact on how effective it can ultimately be. Why wouldn’t this be the case when it comes to getting help piano playing? If you are having difficulty with the same old drills find a new way of incorporating the skills those drills teach into your piano playing routine.

Find a New Teacher

Sometimes students out pace the teacher. This happens in all sorts of things. Professional golfers outgrow the instructions of their coaches and need new coaching to breath new life into their game. The same can be the case for you if you need help piano playing and your current teacher isn’t giving you what you need.

How About Hypnosis?

Each of these is a valid tool for improving but will net marginal results and may lead to frustration and discontentment with the piano in general. Hypnosis reaches the part of the mind that is actually responsible for learning these drills, skills, and techniques in a way that instruction and practice may never be able to manage. Put the power of hypnosis to work for you today and find all the help piano playing you will ever need.

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Learning the Piano - Discover the Magic of Playing Piano Chords

August 12th, 2010

Playing piano chords is the equivalent of having an orchestra at your fingertips. The magical harmonies that emerge from the keys can lift your spirits or sooth you.

If you play a solo instrument such as the flute, violin or trumpet you will not be able to produce harmony on your own. Harmony occurs when 2 or more notes sound together. With the piano, you can play multiple notes together and create a wide variety of chords.

There are 2 main types of chords in music. Major chords sounds bright and happy. Minor chords sounds sad and mysterious. Any chord is formed from playing every alternate key on the piano. To play the chord of C Major, play the 3 white notes C E and G together. Notice that the sound is bright. To play the chord of A minor, play the 3 white notes A C and E together.

To create a beautiful effect on the piano place both hands on the piano one octave (8 notes) apart, with your end fingers on C. Form the chord of C Major - C E and G - using alternate fingers. Start with your left hand and play the 3 notes one after each other. Then repeat the pattern with your right hand - playing C E and G separately. You are playing a broken chord. Play the notes equally spaced - C E G C E G. Let the sound flow from finger to finger.

Now try this same 6-note broken chord using A minor. Move both hands down 2 white keys and cover the 3 notes A C and E. Play the same flowing pattern, from left to right, and discover the magical effect of playing piano chords.

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How to Learn Piano - Teach Yourself to Play

August 11th, 2010

Private instruction is normally the most effective method of how to learn piano, but if you believe that having a private instructor isn’t for you, then don’t worry, there are plenty of other ways to learn piano. As a matter of fact there are a online piano courses that do an excellent job in teaching how to learn piano. If you decide for yourself you want to teach yourself to play piano, you should keep a few basic things in mind:

Stick with the course

The courses that are available to you online have enough material in them to keep you busy for ages. If you stick to your chosen course, you will be able to reach your goal of teaching yourself to play piano. Teaching yourself to play piano may seem very daunting at times, but if you are persistent and put in a valiant effort, you will be pleased with your results.

Practice

You know the old saying practice makes perfect. By practicing and practicing some more, it is the only way that you will get better. It doesn’t matter if you have private instruction or following an online course, these are only tools to teach you a lesson. You are the only one that can make you get in front of the piano or keyboard and tickle the ivory.

Enjoy Yourself

Learning how to play piano by yourself can be tough, but this doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy yourself as well. As with anything else, rest when you need to, don’t over burden yourself with a grueling practice schedule and progress at a steady pace. Whatever the reason that you have for choosing to learn piano, you will have a hard time achieving your goal if you aren’t enjoying yourself.

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Jazz Piano Improvisation - The 3 Methods of Jazz Improvisation

August 8th, 2010

In this article we will look at jazz piano improvisation and the 3 methods it combines to create this unique style. By learning these three methods and using all of them at various times while you play, making songs your own becomes very easy to do.

1. Improvise on the Melody: There are four parts to this method that consist of paraphrasing, adding to the start, middle and end, changing the rhythmic content and ornamenting. When you combine all four of these parts to create a new melody from the old one, you can hear the original song beneath it, but it is a fresh interpretation that takes on a life of its own.

2. Improvise on the Harmony: This method consists of two parts with various techniques within them. For example, the first part, harmonic generalization, includes use of the tonic triad as well as major, minor and diatonic scales. While the second part, harmonically specific, deals with arpeggios, scales in the tone center as well as chord alternatives. These are just fancy words for the various scales that exist that you can draw upon during your improvising. Learning these different scales will allow you to vary your jazz pieces and add many facets to your improvisations.

3. Motivic Development: Developing the melody can be done using repetition, transposition, mode changes, pitch and rhythmic augmentation, displacements, fragments and many more. Once you have the basic idea of the song down, it becomes fairly easy to tweak little sections and change the song dramatically. This is why it becomes so easy for musicians who know how to implement the technique of improvisation to carry on a song for so long.

This article discussed the 3 methods that make up jazz piano improvisation. By improvising on the melody and the harmony and using motivic development to embellish songs, a musician can create new material from old that can help them not only add to their library of songs, but can help them excel in improvisation techniques of many other styles.

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4 Tips to Improving Your Piano Skills and Taking Them to the Next Level!

August 4th, 2010

Have you taken years of piano lessons? If you have, Ideally you would think that you are beyond an expert at playing the piano. Nothing can stop you! However, you might not feel that way. You might feel like you’ve hit a dead-end. You might feel like you don’t know how to improve your skills from here. So what should you do? Here are 4 tips!

1. When you listen to any song, you will notice that it follows a pattern. By this, I mean there is a certain structure of chord progressions and sections. Don’t believe me? Listen to an album by The Beatles and you will understand. One way of expanding your piano skills is to listen to some of your favorite songs and listen to the patterns that are in each song. This is a great way to help you to learn to pick up more songs.

2. Like the previous tip, put a focus on listening to music. Listen to every little note. Songs usually consist of many different instruments. All of them playing certain notes and it all comes together perfectly. Understanding songs more is a great way of advancing your piano skills, as mentioned in the previous tip. Also, do you know how to read Piano sheet music? If you don’t, learn how! Once you know how, you will be able to easily learn many new songs!

3. Spend some time with other musicians. It’s best to spend time with musicians that are really good, professionals, and even those around your skill level. You can hear the different skills and figure out just how you want to play the piano. You can also focus on just how they play the piano. How do they sit? How do their muscles move? There’s nothing wrong with copying a thing or two from the professionals. After all, you want to excel your own music skill! Sometimes you do this by learning from the professionals.

4. Make sure to spend time each day playing the piano! This is so important. You really need to get into a daily routine of playing the piano. Now, this doesn’t mean you have to play for hours and hours each and every day. But try and play for at least 15 minutes. Even if it’s in the morning after breakfast, after dinner, or even before bed. Playing the piano each day keeps your skills fresh and helps you to improve your skills. Remember, practice makes perfect!

Hopefully with these tips, you can finally get past the slump you are in and continue excelling your piano skills. Remember, don’t give up! You can do it!

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Learn Jazz Piano Easily

July 27th, 2010

Do you want to learn jazz piano quickly and easily? Then you first need to know the more sophisticated chord symbols and voicings used in jazz music. You also need to understand the difference between chords and voicings. A chord is a group of musical notes played simultaneously. Voicings are the way you arrange the notes of a particular chord.

For instance a C chord has a C,E, and G. You can play these notes in this order, or with the E at the bottom (E-G-C), or with the G at the bottom (G-C-E). These are the different voicings for the C chord. When you first learn jazz piano, you’ll notice the use of more advanced chords such as a Cmaj7 or CΔ, a Cm7, and larger dominant chords like the C9, C11, or C13.

We’ll start with the most widely used chord progression in jazz, the 2-5-1. This means that you build chords based on the 2nd, 5th and 1st note of a scale. Let’s use the C scale as an example. The 2 chord (Dm7, or DFAC) is built on the second note of the scale. The 5 chord (G7, or GBDF) is built on the fifth note, and the 1 chord (Cmaj7, or CEGB) is built on the first note of the scale.

You can start by playing the root of each chord with your left hand and the chords with your right hand. Play these chords in sequence and listen to the distinctive sounds of these chords: the minor seventh, the dominant, and the major seventh. As you continue to learn jazz piano, you’ll easily distinguish these jazzy or more sophisticated sounds.

Just to make sure that you understand this concept, try to apply this knowledge to another key. For instance, if you build a similar 2-5-1 chord progression in the key of G, here are the results. The 2 chord (Am7, or ACEG) is built on the second note of the scale. The 5 chord (D7, or DF#AC) is built on the fifth note, and the 1 chord (Gmaj7, or GBDF#) is built on the first note of the G scale.

You should continue to build the same chord sequence in different keys. Then, try to give a clear swinging rhythm to the chords as you play them. Start using different chord voicings. Instead of playing the root, 3rd, 5th, and 7th, leave out the 5th, and play the Root, 7th, and 3rd on top. So if you wanted to play a C7, voice it using the C, Bb, and E notes.

A final step to these learn jazz piano basics, would be to play a scale with your right hand while you play the full chords with your left hand. So, in the key of C, your left hand chords would be: Dm: DFAC, G7: GBDF, and Cmaj7: CEGB. Your right hand can play the notes of the C scale (using eight notes).

As you become familiar with these chords and voicings, begin using more advanced dominant “5″ chords such as 9th, 11th, and 13th chords. (C9, C11, C13). Then try to improvise melodies with your right hand, and eventually you’ll be able to play your own jazz style based on the chords of your favorite songs.

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