Embraceable You, Solo Piano

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Dr. Bob Lawrence (00:32.802)
Welcome to Jazz Piano Skills. I'm Dr. Bob Lawrence. It's time to discover, learn and play jazz piano. Week four is here. And week four, as it's always been since January, 2026, it's the week we dedicate ourselves to solo piano approaches. Yep, that's right.

This study segment officially launched with the start of the new year, and I'm thrilled. Heck, I'm thrilled with our entire approach to study in jazz that we adhere to each and every month. Honestly, our monthly approach to tune study is unmatched in the jazz education world. Why do I say this? Because what we do here is not random information. It's education.

And there's a difference, a massive difference. You know, most jazz education today, especially online, it's delivered in chunks. You know, like, here's a voicing trick. Here's a scale that you can use. Here's a lick. Here's a neat re-harm. Helpful. Yeah, it can be. But it can also be very confusing. Educational? Well, not necessarily.

It is so important to know. And I think if you're a regular jazz piano skills listener, then you, you do know that information is not a system. It's not an educational process. The bottom line information without a process, a sequence does not produce mastery. Jazz piano skills is built on a structured educational process that repeats

repeats itself every single month. Not randomly, intentionally. Week one, always a harmonic analysis. We begin with harmony. We study form, we study the changes, harmonic function, voicings of a tune. Because if you don't understand the architecture of a tune, everything else is guesswork. Harmony is without question, the foundation.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (02:54.755)
Week two, we turn our attention to a melodic analysis. We move to melody, not casually, not just let's play the head. No, we transcribe the melody, we look at fingerings, we study the phrases within the melody, we identify the target notes within those phrases, and we explore various melodic treatments. Because the melody is the blueprint for improvisation.

If you don't know the melody, and I mean know it deeply, your solo has no narrative. And then week three, we turn our attention to improvisation development. It's at this time that we choose to focus on improvising. And even here it's structured. We examine the chord scale relationships, melodic pathway composition.

motif development. We're very systematic about it because improvisation is not guessing. It's informed movement. It's intentional design. So important to know that. And then week four, solo piano approaches. We expand, right? We explore various approaches such as stride, shared hands.

we'll look at Roboto approaches, arrangement concepts. But see now we're building on something stable. We're not decorating confusion. Instead, we're refining clarity. And here's the key. This process repeats every month. New tune, same educational framework. Why? Because mastery is not built on novelty. It's built on structure.

Other sites provide information jazz piano skills presents a method, a method you can trust a method you can follow a method that actually builds musicianship. And that's why students don't just learn tunes here. Right? We develop essential jazz skills. Now, of course, all this sounds good, which it is. But you know what, even with solid, even with a solid educational process, like the one

Dr. Bob Lawrence (05:19.713)
I just described, like jazz piano skills, the study and practice of all these organized, structured, essential jazz piano skills do not have a profound impact on one's development if they are not governed by, guided by, a crystal clear conceptual understanding of how music works. And guess what? We have that. We have.

a crystal clear understanding of how music works. And we confirm our crystal clear understanding of how music works every week through the profession of our seven facts of music. So with that being said, it's time for us to declare the seven facts of music. Fact number one, music is the production of sound and silence. Sound of course being major.

dominant, minor, half diminished, Fact number two, sound is produced harmonically and melodically. Fact number three, when sound is produced harmonically, we're playing chords or voicings. Fact number four, when sound is produced melodically, we are playing scales and or arpeggios. Fact number five, when playing scales and arpeggios, we are moving in only one of two directions. We can either go up

or we can come down. That's it. In fact, number six, we camouflage or we decorate those scales and arpeggios with tension or notes outside of the harmony, or we often refer to it as chromaticism. And then finally, fact number seven, to make facts one through six interesting, we add rhythm. Yep, this understanding allows us to easily validate.

what we study, why we study it, and therefore how we study it. Pretty cool indeed. So today we explore solo piano approaches. Today we continue to discover Embraceable You from a solo piano perspective. We are going to learn how to begin thinking about harmonizing the melody in our right hand.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (07:46.381)
And we are going to play the six melodic phrases of Embraceable You using various stages of right hand harmonization development. So as I always like to say, regardless of where you are in your jazz journey, a beginner and an immediate player, an advanced player, or even if you are a seasoned and experienced professional, you're going to find this Jazz Panel Skills podcast lesson, Exploring Embraceable You to be very beneficial.

But before we get started, before we dig in, I want to, as I always do, welcome all of you first time listeners to Jazz Piano Skills. If you're new to the podcast, if you're new to Jazz Piano Skills, welcome. We're glad that you are here. I want to take this opportunity to personally invite you to become a Jazz Piano Skills member. Your membership comes with many perks. Number one, you get access to premium podcast content, which means that you get to listen to the entire

podcast episode. The first half of every Jazz Panel Skills podcast episode is free for everyone to enjoy. We deal with the question of the week, we lay out the educational agenda, and the lesson rationale. The second half of every podcast episode for members only, we deal with the lesson content, the demonstrations, we discuss the podcast packets. These are the illustrations, the lead sheets, the play alongs that I designed and developed.

for every weekly podcast episode, which are absolutely invaluable. They help maximize your benefit for each episode. And you should have this material in your hands when listening to the podcast and of course, sitting on your piano or on your music stand when practicing throughout the week. As a Jazz Panel Skills member, you also have access to the online Jazz Panel Skills courses. These are comprehensive, sound-based, self-paced,

sequential courses that focus on harmonic, melodic, and improvisation development. As a Jazz Panel Skills member, you have a reserved seat in the Thursday evening masterclass that I host every week at 8pm Central Time Thursday evenings. Again, I know that these are, it's not the best time for everyone, of course, but the masterclasses are recorded. So as a member, you can, if you cannot attend the class, you can watch

Dr. Bob Lawrence (10:13.04)
the video of the class at your convenience and as often as you wish. As a Jazz Panel Skills member, you also have access to the private online Jazz Panel Skills community, which hosts a variety of educational forums. are episode specific forums, there are general jazz forums, and of course it's a great place to receive member feedback and assistance when needed. And it's also where we house our killer listening list.

every single week that goes along with every single podcast episode. And then finally, as a Jazz Piano Skills member, you have access to educational support, private, personal, professional support, whenever you need it. So you know, all of these amazing perks, these privileges are waiting to help you discover, learn and play Jazz Piano. So check it all out at jazzpiano skills.com and of course become a member. Once you get to the site, if you have any questions,

need some assistance, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. I'm always happy to spend some time with you, answer any questions that you may have, and help you in any way that I can. Okay, I want to make a quick announcement regarding the Jazz Piano Skills YouTube channel. I'm going to be pressing pause on video production for a bit. Not because I'm going anywhere, not because I don't believe in the platform.

But because now that I've gotten my feet wet with this whole YouTube thing, remember, I'm an old dog trying to learn new tricks. But now that I've gotten my feet wet with this YouTube platform, I want to step back and reevaluate how to use it properly. Here's what I've learned. YouTube can very easily become about subscriber counts, thumbnails, algorithms, trends, trying to look hip.

playing to attention instead of teaching. And that's not why jazz piano skills exist. If the goal is chasing numbers, I'm not interested. If the goal is flashy edits and exaggerated reactions, I'm out. Jazz piano skills is about education, real education, structured education, sequential education, skill development, not entertainment.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (12:37.784)
disguised as instruction. Now that doesn't mean YouTube isn't valuable. It is. But I want to make sure that when when I use it, I use it in a way that aligns with the mission of Jazz Piano Skills. I want it to be clear, structured, thoughtful, and development driven, not driven by clicks, driven by clarity. So rather than

pumping out content just to stay active. I'm going to step back, rethink the format, rethink the delivery and design something that truly supports your growth as a musician. Because at the end of the day, I don't care how many subscribers I have makes no difference to me. I care how many musicians I'm help helping how many musicians I'm developing.

And those are two very different goals. I'll be back on YouTube. But when I return, it will be intentional. It will be aligned, and it will serve the method, not the algorithm. So stay tuned. And then finally, I want to mention that if you're not receiving the Jazz Panel Skills blog post every Saturday, please take the time to join the Jazz Panel Skills email list.

which you can do very easily at the Jazz Panel Skills website. Every Saturday, I publish a blog that summarizes the podcast episode and lesson for the week in writing. It's definitely worth reading to help keep you on track conceptually and physically. Okay, so let's get to the question of the week. Okay, this week's question comes from Chris Turton.

in Buffalo, New York. And Chris is a regular attendee in the Jazz Panel Skills Masterclass. So this is great. Chris has a very thorough question. So listen to this and then we'll unpack it. So Chris says, Thanks again for Embraceable U, tune that we're studying this month. He goes, I love your approach. I agree with the person that said you make it fun. I have, I'm having a ball and making good progress. So here's my question. I am curious about

Dr. Bob Lawrence (15:00.962)
a few other approaches that I have seen or been taught. Number one, take a look at this video. Chris sends me a link of another jazz educator. And he said, I think, which is good, by the way, it's an excellent link. I think it sounds good, but he appears to use full inverted chords in the right hand under the melody, and a shell in the left. What is that style? It sounds full. Is that some type of sharing?

or is it a Barry Harris thing? Number two, I hear of spread voicings or root seven, root third in the left hand, melody on top of the right hand, and then fill in additional harmony with the fingers, with the remaining fingers in the right hand. Number three, is there a reason you went with a three note traditional shell rather than four note Bill Evans style that so many others teach? I realize there are a problem.

probably a zillion ways to voice chords and we simplify by honing in on a few. is your opinion, what is your opinion of the above? Should I also be learning these too or am I just making things more complicated for myself and sending myself down a very deep rabbit hole to become a jack of all trades and master of none? I am not using any

practice time for the above because I'm focused on and prefer your method. If I get spread too thin, I will inevitably burn out and fail. I am sticking to the plan. The question is just because I was just curious about these others and what you would say about them. Don't worry, I'm sticking to the plan. This is just a question of curiosity. Someday I want to go out for a beer. I'm in. Chris, I'm in.

I went to go out for a beer and you can tell me who the online jazz charlatans are.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (17:05.327)
Happy to do that, We don't have to, we can do that online, man. You and I can share beer online if we have to. So, all right, Chris, excellent question. You're a thinker, and that is the first step in successfully embarking upon a serious jazz journey. I love your question, and I love that you are regular attendee of the Jazz Panel Skills Thursday evening masterclass.

So whatever questions arise as a result of my response today, we can address in more detail Thursday evening. All right, so Chris curiosity is good. Distraction is not. And you're and you're doing this the right way. Honestly, you're asking questions without abandoning abandoning structure. So what you're describing is likely harmonized melody.

sometimes associated with you've already mentioned right, George Shearing's block style textures, some pedagogical ideas from Barry Harris or simply just closed position chord melody playing. And yes, it all sounds fabulous. It sounds full. It sounds rich. It sounds impressive. But here's the key. This is an arrangement texture, not foundational harmonic training.

there's a huge difference. It's beautiful, right, but but it requires a strong harmonic awareness, refined voicing control, awareness of phrases, top note clarity. It is not in other words, what you're talking about is not step one in the jazz piano learning process. Okay, so

Let's talk about the spread voicings route seven route third plus the melody, right? So route seven route third in the left hand melody in the right hand inner harmony in between the route and seven and route and third and the melody, right? These spread voicings require number one left hand independence, spacing control, harmonic clarity, which is so important. I call it harmonic DNA, strong

Dr. Bob Lawrence (19:24.993)
internal hearing. They are fantastic. These, these voicings, these open spread voicings are fantastic once the foundation is stable. Now the reason I teach the three note shells first and not it's not because other voicings are wrong. It's because simplicity accelerates mastery. Let me say that again, simplicity accelerates mastery.

Shells expose guide tones, harmonic function, voice leading, and motion. There's no clutter. Clarity first, always. So why three note shells instead of Bill Evans style? Well, let's talk about this very carefully. Listen to this. Bill Evans didn't start with Bill Evans voicings. It's so important to realize that, that Bill Evans did not start with Bill Evans voicings. He learned them.

And even more importantly, he earned them. Four note voicings are their color, their texture, their dense, right? Three note shells are structure, function, clarity. And I always like to say color without clarity creates confusion. Clarity always first, conceptually and physically. Decoration, density, flavor, later.

All right, so the real question, Chris, underneath your question is really this. Am I missing out? And the answer is no. You're sequencing. And sequencing beats collecting information every day, all day, right? Too many jazz students, I see it all the time, too many jazz students learn, try to learn 40 different voicing systems and they master none. They get overwhelmed and they burn out. Jazz development.

is not about knowing every possible voicing style.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (21:27.279)
about building one solid foundation that allows you to add styles systematically and intelligently later. And that is exactly what I am trying to establish and put in place for all jazz piano skills members. Jazz piano is not a buffet. Okay, it's just not a buffet. It's architecture. You don't

decorate before the structure is stable. I've said it many times, you can't decorate a cake before you bake the cake. You don't add color before you understand function. Mastery over menu options, foundation before flavor. And as for online charlatans, we'll save that conversation for when we have that beer. But for now, stick to the plan. You're on the right track.

you're not missing out. Instead, you're building correctly. And Chris, gotta be honest with you, that's how musicians are made. All right, so that's a really quick answer to your fantastic question. And as I stated earlier, anything that any additional questions that you have or any any clarification that is needed. I know I'll see you Thursday evening in the masterclass. We can talk about it at that.

But Chris, thanks a ton for your question. And thanks for being a Jazz Piano Skills member and regular attendee in the Jazz Piano Skills Masterclass. Okay, so let's discover, learn and play Jazz Piano. Let's discover, learn and play Embraceable U. Okay, you know, every week we go over the process, the step by step process for learning a tune, which is so important. Again,

it makes no difference whether it's a jazz tune or pop tune or rock tune, country tune. We go about it the exact same way. We always start with listening. That's why we always have an amazing listening list to go along with every podcast episode. It always begins with listening. when I when I talk about listening, I'm talking about various artists from various genres, talking about professional musicians, amateur musicians.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (23:53.337)
talking about vocalist and instrumentalist, not just pianist, talking about listening to anyone and everyone performing the tune that you are trying to learn. So that's step number one, always. Step number two, as we do here at Jazz Piano Skills, we we begin with a harmonic analysis, looking at the form, the changes, function, common movement, voicings. Then we turn our attention

to melodic analysis. We transcribe the melody, look at the phrases, identify target notes within the phrases, and then explore various treatments, typically our standard jazz treatments, a ballad, a bossa, a swing. Then we turn our attention to improvisation development, chord scale relationships. We look at melodic pathway development and motif development. So we go through this whole

this process every month listening harmonic analysis, melodic analysis, improvisation development. We've now added solo piano approaches. It's a it's a very thorough it's a very complete approach. So you know, already this month, we've done our harmonic analysis and melodic analysis, we've done our improvisation development. So today it's, it's time for us to devote some time to solo piano approaches.

So the educational agenda for today is as follows. Number one, we are going to, as I just mentioned, we're going to listen to various recordings of Embraceable U. Number two, we are going to isolate the six melodic phrases found within Embraceable U to help us begin developing an essential solo jazz piano approach. Number three, we are going to use a kind of like a stair step approach

to helping us develop our right hand melody harmonization skills. Kind of at the heart of Chris's question. So if you are a Jazz Piano Skills member, I want you to take just a few minutes right now to download and print the podcast packets. You have lead sheets, have illustrations, you have no play alongs today or this week because we're talking about solo piano. So your membership again grants you access to

Dr. Bob Lawrence (26:12.463)
podcast packets to this material. And again, you should take advantage of that, have them in your hands when listening to the episode to get the most out of it. And of course, have them on your piano or music stand when practicing throughout the week. Okay, so now that you have your podcast packets, I want you to, as always, I want you to grab your lead sheets and you should have six lead sheets in your packet. Lead Sheet One deals with phrase one of Embraceable You.

and I have the right hand melodic harmonization pathway that we are going to utilize today, laid out section A, B, C, and D. Lead Sheet 2, Phrase 2, then the same right hand melodic harmonization approach that you found in Lead Sheet 1. Lead Sheet 3 is Phrase 3, followed with the right hand melodic harmonization. Lead Sheet 4 is Phrase 4.

Lead Sheet 5 is phrase 5. Lead Sheet 6 is phrase 6. Very clean, very tidy. All of them have four sections, as you can see there, A, B, C, and D. Each of those sections is kind of a stair-step approach to developing the skill of the harmonization, right-hand harmonization of the melody. So now, before we go any further, I want to encourage everyone, all you Jazz Panel Skills members, to take the time

to head on over to our online community, spend some time listening to the amazing list that Lisa has put together for us this week. It is as always, it is fabulous. Again, I cannot adequately express how important it is to spend time listening, just listening, not trying to figure things out, not trying to test your ears or hear progression, but simply just listen.

You know, I believe listening is the absolute best activity you can engage in for improving your playing. And why this is is because if you're spending time listening, then you will instinctively try to emulate that which you have orally consumed. Listening leads to imitation. And it's through imitation that we find ourselves. Right? So

Dr. Bob Lawrence (28:37.903)
spend some time listening, spend some time imitating, and you will begin to discover your sound and your feel, your ability to play with expression. So head on over to the community, spend some time listening to the recordings, and if you do, you will begin to hear your playing mature. I guarantee it. Alright, so once you have listened, grab your lead sheets. Let's start with lead sheet one.

And let's take a look at how we are going to begin developing our the right hand harmonization of melody.

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