Over the Rainbow, Solo Piano

Welcome to Jazz Piano Skills. I'm Dr. Bob Lawrence. It's time to discover, learn, and play jazz piano. Well, you know, throughout this month, we've been busy. We've been exploring over the rainbow from several different musical perspectives. We began by discovering the harmonic foundation of the tune. Then we explored how the melody is connected and how it naturally interacts with the harmony. And then last week we focused on rhythm and improvisation, learning how to bring the melody to life with greater freedom, creativity, and of course, expression. Today, we bring everything together. So today you are going to discover that every stage of solo piano development is in fact solo piano. You are going to learn how harmony, melody, and rhythm naturally work together as your solo piano playing grows with greater musical understanding and greater musical maturity. And you are going to play over the rainbow using seven stages of solo piano development. A clear, a logical, organized framework that will help you continually develop your solo piano skills with confidence and joy. So whether you're sitting at the piano or just simply listening along in the car, I want you to keep one thought in mind throughout today's lesson that every stage is solo piano. Every stage reflects greater musical understanding and greater musical maturity. Wow, this is going to be fun today. I'm ready. So let's uh let's dig in. You know, we live in a remarkable time. There has never been, and I've mentioned this before, there has never been more information available to anyone wanting to learn jazz piano. We have it all. Videos, books, courses, podcasts, social media. Every day there seems to be another lesson, another shortcut, another secret. Yet, this is interesting, despite all that content, many students, many musicians still find themselves asking the same question. Why am I still confused? That doesn't make sense, does it? We have videos, books, courses, podcasts, social media everyday tips, and yet we're still confused. You know, I've spent a lot of time thinking about that question over the years. And I believe the answer is actually surprisingly simple. Content alone has never created understanding. Content is important, don't get me wrong, it's important, but information without clarity often leaves us overwhelmed rather than confident. You know, real learning happens when ideas connect. That's the key. When ideas connect, when relationships become obvious, when complexity gives way to understanding. That's that's what education should do. It should actually create clarity. Now, here at Jazz Piano Skills, every lesson, every podcast, every illustration, every lead sheet, every play-along, every monthly learning cycle is designed with one purpose in mind to help you see music more clearly. That's it. Because when music becomes clear, it becomes understandable. And when it becomes understandable, guess what? It becomes playable. This month we've explored over the rainbow through harmony, through melody, and through improvisation. Today we complete that journey with solo piano. Now, many pianists think solo piano is something reserved for advanced players. I don't. In fact, I believe one of the biggest misconceptions in jazz piano is the idea that you somehow become a solo jazz pianist. Only after you've mastered a long list of techniques, then you become a solo jazz pianist. I see it very, very differently. I believe you become a solo pianist the moment harmony and melody begin working together with musical purpose. That's it. And from that moment on, right? From that moment on, you're playing solo jazz piano, and you're not trying to become a pianist, you a solo pianist. You are. You're just simply developing greater musical maturity. And that's exactly what today's lesson is all about. Today we're going to explore what I call the seven stages of solo piano development. A clear, logical, organized framework that will help you see solo piano differently. Not as a destination, but as a lifelong journey of musical growth. This is going to be fun. But before we begin, let's review not the seven stages of solo piano development. Let's review the seven musical facts. I like the number seven. What can I say? Now, every lesson at Jazz Piano Skills is built upon the same timeless musical truths. These truths, these facts guide everything we do. So let's go through them. Musical fact number one, music is the production of sound and silence. Sound, of course, being our primary musical sounds major, dominant, minor, half diminished, and diminished. Musical fact number two, sound is produced harmonically and melodically. That's it. Fact number three, when sound is produced harmonically, we are playing chords, or what we often refer to as voicings. Musical fact number four, when sound is produced melodically, guess what? We're playing arpeggios and scales. Musical fact number five, harmony and melody have motion. Harmony has circle, diatonic, and chromatic movement. And melody, ascending and descending. That's it. Musical fact number six, that movement, that motion is decorated with tension, or what we refer to commonly as chromaticism. And then finally, musical fact number seven, to add interest to facts one through six, we add rhythm, which of course gives life to music. That's it. Those are the seven musical facts. Now that we've established those musical facts, those facts serve, as I mentioned, as the foundation for everything we do here at Jazz Piano Skills. Every lesson, every skill, every podcast episode. So I would encourage you to write those seven facts down, tape them on your piano, tape them on your mirror in your bathroom, tape them in your car, tape them at work, wherever you happen to spend time during the day, have this list in front of you. This list becomes the lens in which you view music every single day. All right. So before we go any further, I want to take a moment to welcome new jazz piano skills listeners. If you're new to the Jazz Panel Skills podcast, new to Jazz Pian Skills, joining us for the very first time, well, welcome. I'm delighted that you are here. Jazz Pianel Skills is an educational program designed to help you develop the essential skills and understanding needed to become a confident and accomplished jazz pianist. So whether you're a beginner, an intermediate player, advanced player, or an experienced, seasoned professional looking to deepen your understanding, this podcast is designed to help you discover, learn, and play jazz piano in a very clear, logical, and organized way. Each month, we use a single jazz standard as our musical illustration while exploring four essential areas of jazz piano development. Week one, we look at harmony, week two, melody, week three, improvisation, week four, solo piano. The tunes change, but the skills remain. So each lesson builds upon the previous one, allowing you to develop not only your playing ability, but your musical understanding as well. So if today's episode raises questions or you'd like to study today's material in greater detail, then be sure to visit jazzpianoskills.com. You'll discover the many benefits of becoming a jazz piano skills member, including the podcast packets, the various educational resources, interactive courses, of course, the weekly master classes, personalized support, and the wonderful online community of jazz pianists, all committed to the same goal, becoming better musicians. So whether you're listening while driving or taking a walk or hanging out at the piano, thank you for spending time with me today. I'm honored to be part of your musical journey, and I hope today's lesson helps you discover, learn, and play jazz piano with greater confidence and with greater enthusiasm and, of course, with greater joy. Alright, so let's move on to the question of the week. And this week's question comes to us from Sarah Mitchell in Toronto. And Sarah writes, I love this, Dr. Bob, I've worked through the harmony, melody, and improvisation lessons this month for Over the Rainbow. And I know your solo piano lesson is coming next. To be honest, solo piano has always overwhelmed me. It seems like there are so many things happening at once that I never know where to begin. Is there a logical way to think about solo piano so it feels manageable instead of intimidating? And if I'm not being too pushy, would you mind making that the focus of this week's lesson? My goodness. Oh my goodness. Yes, Sarah, you are being very pushy. Just kidding. I love it. No, you're not being pushy at all. I think it's a great question. I think it's a question that many listeners share with you. And you're not being pushy. In fact, this is going to be the entire focus of this podcast episode. It's a great and thoughtful question. And I have a feeling that I have some good news for you. That yes, there is a very logical way to approach solo piano. In fact, I believe one of the biggest misconceptions that I mentioned earlier in jazz piano and jazz studies, jazz education is the idea that you somehow become a solo pianist only, only after you have mastered a long list of techniques. And I just I disagree with that. I don't believe that's true. I believe you begin playing solo piano much sooner than you realize. Much sooner than most pianists realize. Because the the challenge isn't becoming a solo pianist. The challenge is understanding how solo piano naturally develops. That's exactly what we're going to explore today through what I call the seven stages of solo piano development. And Sarah, I think that's why you feel overwhelmed because you're you don't see solo piano in this seven stages of development. So we'll begin by combining harmony and melody with a robato, uh using a robato format with a single note melody. Then we'll explore harmonized melody. From there, we're going to introduce time with what I call strum changes. Uh, then we'll develop some simple stride accompaniment, and then we'll enhance that stride with greater uh rhythmic expression, and we'll we'll create harmonic motion that beautifully supports the melody, and finally uh allow the melody itself to grow naturally into improvisation. So that's a you that's a very, very quick uh uh description of the seven stages of solo piano development. And I know that that hearing those seven stages just rattled off like that may sound like a lot, but but here's the wonderful news every one of those stages is already solo piano. Each stage simply reflects a greater level of musical understanding and uh a greater level of musical maturity. So today I'm I'm going to walk you through each stage at the piano one step at a time so you can see just how logical, manageable, and enjoyable solo piano can become. So again, I I know I just rattle those off and it can sound like a lot, but we're going to break it all down and in, like I said, in a very logical, manageable, and uh digestible way. Okay. All right, so I'm promise me this, Sarah. You'll reach back out after today's episode and let me know what you think, because I want to make sure that you move forward as all of us. I want to make sure all of us move forward with solo piano in a very uh non-intimidating way, an enjoyable way. Okay? So please let me know what you think after you experience today's lesson. And if more clarity is needed at that time, you and I will get on the phone with one another and go into greater detail. All right. Okay, so today's educational agenda. What are we going to accomplish today? Of course, as you know, our focus this week is solo piano. More specifically, we're going to explore what I call the seven stages of solo piano development. Now, it's important to understand that these are not seven steps you must complete before you can play solo piano. As I've already mentioned, every stage is solo piano. Each stage simply reflects a greater level of musical understanding and musical maturity. So together we'll move through each stage from combining harmony and melody with a rebuttal articulation or rebuttal feel, single note melody, to harmonizing the melody, to establishing a steady pulse, to developing a supportive and expressive accompaniment, to creating some harmonic motion, and finally allowing the melody to grow naturally into improvisation. Along the way, I'll explain each stage, demonstrated at the piano, of course, using over the rainbow, and sharing a development principle that will help you understand not only what to play, but why each stage matters. By the end of today's lesson, I hope you will have a clear, logical, and organized framework for approaching solo piano, one that you can apply to any jazz standard. Because remember, right, the tunes change, but the skills remain. That's the whole point of jazz piano skills. So before we begin, if you're a jazz piano skills member, I want you to hit the pause button. Now is the perfect time to download and have your podcast packet uh open and ready. As always, uh today's podcast packet contains everything you'll need to get the most from today's lesson. Okay. As you know, the podcast packets are designed specifically for each podcast episode to help you maximize your study, practice, and application of today's concepts while at the piano. In other words, these resources are designed to transform today's lesson from something that you just simply listen to into something you truly learn and can play. And while you're logged in to your account at Jazz Piano Skills, I encourage you to visit our online community forums and spend some time with Lisa's listening list. Each week, Lisa very thoughtfully curates a collection of recordings that complements our monthly study, giving you the opportunity to hear how great jazz musicians interpret the very concepts we're exploring together. So listening with intention, I stress it all the time, is one of the most powerful ways to deepen your musical understanding. And Lisa's listening list is a wonderful resource for doing exactly that. If you are not a jazz pianel skills member, I want to thank you for joining us today. I hope that you've enjoyed the first half of today's episode and found our discussion helpful and of course encouraging. And if you'd like to join us for the complete lesson and gain access to today's podcast packets and all of our educational resources, including the master classes and supportive community of jazz pianists, then I invite you to visit jazzpianoskills.com and of course become a member. I'd love to welcome you as a new member. But for now, thank you again for listening. Take care, stay safe, and as always, continue to discover, learn, and play jazz piano. All right, so let's get busy. I hope uh you have your podcast packets in front of you and um ready to dig in. Now, earlier in today's episode, I introduced what I called the seven stages of solo piano development. Thank you for listening to Jazz Piano Skills. The remaining premium content of this episode is available to Jazz Piano Skills members at Jazz Pianoskillspodcast.com. Visit jazzpianoskills.com to learn more about membership privileges and become a Jazz Piano Skills member. Thank you.