Learning To Play Jazz Piano
From Traditional Training to Improvisation
Opportunities To Extend Your Expressions Exist In Jazz PianoIn
mastering piano music, you'll not only find opportunities to express
yourself, you'll also find opportunities to improvise. The same
opportunities follow jazz music and although they provide for great fun,
we want to warn you that
learning to play
jazz piano and controlling its elements requires a bit of practice.
There aren't any real shortcuts however one solution to learning how to
master its art is to understand what differentiates it from traditional,
classical piano.What Distinguishes Jazz Piano Music From Classical
Piano MusicIn essence, jazz piano incorporates several unique
chords and inversions. Inversions are instances in music where ascending
intervals are replaced by descending intervals (and vice versa). Playing
both these chords and inversions at various times and places is what
contributes to improvisation. From major or minor chords and inversions
to suspended or augmented chords and inversions, jazz triads work to
create sounds that are unique to this particular genre.Improvisation
Follows A Structure Yet Gives The Impression Of Impromptu Entertainment
If you're unfamiliar with inversions, you can rest assured that they can
be learned just as easily as traditional chords can be learned. Perhaps
the ironic part about improvisation is that it follows a structure. So
that means that although you'll learn how to play differently, you'll
learn how to play jazz piano based on traditional methods. Yes, there
are many different approaches to playing its music and some may not
agree with our position here, but you can learn to play jazz by pulling
knowledge from your classical background.Classical Music Provides a
Foundation To LearnWhile some people may derive their sense of jazz
skills naturally or from growing up by listening jazz, a classical
student can build upon past lessons by shifting away from basic scales
and three-finger chords to extensive 2-note inversions or even upside-
down inversions. It's important to remember that there's no real
conflict between the two courses of study and the transition from one to
the other is similar to learning how to paint after drawing for many
years.
As an analogy, one craft involves the use of widespread
color and brush movements while the other involves the use of gray tones
and pencil. Both crafts however, involve the use of eye-to-hand
coordination and the art of drawing serves as a stepping stone toward
learning to paint. It's the same with learning to play jazz music. Both
styles of music involve the use of ear-to-hand coordination and the art
of playing classical music serves as a stepping stone toward learning
jazz piano.
The only barrier in making a smooth transition is a
reluctance to let go of traditional methods. There's not much
practicality in learning jazz riffs, runs, or rhythm combinations unless
you're willing to acknowledge and appreciate how they differ from
traditional scales or harmonies. The
lessons in jazz
piano requires at once, the ability to let go, yet build upon a
basic foundation at the same time. Soon enough, you will instinctively
grasp its concepts without a second thought.
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