🎵 Rhythm Challenge: Offbeat 8ths with Texas Blues Feel! Hosted by Dr. Bob Lawrence of Jazz Piano Skills and Director of The Dallas School of Music, today’s Rhythm Challenge is deceptively simple: play 8th notes on the upbeat of every beat. Sounds easy, right? Think again! Locking in this offbeat…
🎶 Melody Challenge: Pentatonic Triads in 16th Notes! 🎶 Hosted by Dr. Bob Lawrence of Jazz Piano Skills and Director of The Dallas School of Music, this Melody Challenge is for all jazz musicians — pianists, horn players, guitarists, bassists, string players, and more! Today’s challenge drills the five triad…
🎹 Harmony Challenge: II-V-I in Gb Major with Altered Dominants! Hosted by Dr. Bob Lawrence of Jazz Piano Skills and Director of The Dallas School of Music. Today’s Harmony Challenge dives into a II-V-I progression in Gb Major — but with a twist! The Db7 chord is altered with a…
🎸 Rhythm Challenge: Boom Chick Groove Meets Jazz! 🎶 Join Dr. Bob Lawrence of Jazz Piano Skills and The Dallas School of Music for today’s Rhythm Challenge—perfect for jazz pianists and all instrumentalists (trumpet, sax, clarinet, flute, trombone, guitar, bass, strings, and more)! This challenge focuses on mastering 16th and…
🎶 Melody Challenge: C Minor Triplet Line from Root to 13th! 🎶 Hosted by Dr. Bob Lawrence of Jazz Piano Skills and Director of The Dallas School of Music, today’s Melody Challenge is open to all jazz instrumentalists — pianists, horn players, string players, guitarists, bassists, and beyond! This challenge…
🎹 Harmony Challenge: II-V-I with Left-Hand Shell Voicings! Hosted by Dr. Bob Lawrence of Jazz Piano Skills and Director of The Dallas School of Music. Today’s challenge tests your ability to play a classic II-V-I progression using a mix of traditional and contemporary left-hand shell voicings. Two voicing options are…
🎹 Rhythm Challenge: I-IV-V Groove Lock! 🎷 Join Dr. Bob Lawrence of Jazz Piano Skills and The Dallas School of Music for today’s Rhythm Challenge—perfect for jazz pianists and all instrumentalists (trumpet, sax, clarinet, flute, trombone, guitar, bass, strings, and more)! Today’s challenge uses a simple rhythm—played with the roots…
🎶 Melody Challenge: Classic Bebop Line over II-V-I! 🎶 Join Dr. Bob Lawrence of Jazz Piano Skills and Director of The Dallas School of Music for today’s Melody Challenge — perfect for all jazz musicians: pianists, horn players, guitarists, bassists, string players, and more! This challenge features a classic bebop…
🎹 Harmony Challenge: II–♭II–I with Contemporary Two-Handed Voicings! Hosted by Dr. Bob Lawrence of Jazz Piano Skills and Director of The Dallas School of Music. Today’s challenge dives into the colorful world of the II–♭II–I progression, using contemporary two-handed voicings to bring this bold harmonic movement to life. This is…
🎶 Rhythm Challenge: Minor Groove, Major Control! 🎷 Hosted by Dr. Bob Lawrence of Jazz Piano Skills and The Dallas School of Music, today’s Rhythm Challenge is designed for all jazz musicians—pianists, horn players, guitarists, bassists, and string players! This challenge may use a simple rhythm—just a pair of 8th…
🎷 Melody Challenge: Chromatic Major Arpeggios! 🎷 Hosted by Dr. Bob Lawrence of Jazz Piano Skills & Director of The Dallas School of Music, this bite‑sized workout is for ALL jazz musicians — pianists, horn players, guitarists, bassists, string players, you name it! Today you’ll tackle alternating ascending & descending…
🎹 Harmony Challenge: II-V-I & Turnaround with Shell Voicings! Hosted by Dr. Bob Lawrence of Jazz Piano Skills and Director of The Dallas School of Music. Today’s challenge puts your harmonic chops to the test as you play a classic II-V-I and Turnaround progression using both Traditional and Contemporary Shell…
🎷 Rhythm Challenge: Ab7 Soulful Groove! 🎶 Join Dr. Bob Lawrence of Jazz Piano Skills and The Dallas School of Music for today’s Rhythm Challenge—open to all jazz instrumentalists: pianists, horn players, guitarists, bassists, string players, and more! This challenge focuses on locking in a rhythmic line over the Ab…
🎶 Melody Challenge: Major Arpeggios + Neighbor Tones! 🎶 Hosted by Dr. Bob Lawrence of Jazz Piano Skills and Director of The Dallas School of Music, today’s Melody Challenge is for all jazz musicians — pianists, horn players, string players, guitarists, bassists, and beyond! This challenge introduces two classic major…
🎹 Harmony Challenge: Diatonic Circle with Quartal Voicings! Hosted by Dr. Bob Lawrence of Jazz Piano Skills and Director of The Dallas School of Music. Today’s challenge tests your ability to play the Diatonic Circle progression (#IV–VII–III–VI–II–V–I) in C Major using Contemporary Quartal Voicings. This high-level harmonic workout builds precision,…
In this enlightening episode of the Jazz Piano Skills podcast, Dr. Bob Lawrence masterfully leads listeners through the melodic analysis of the jazz standard "Lady Be Good"—a continuation of the monthly three-part study approach that defines his educational philosophy. 🎹 What’s Covered: This is Week 2 in the tune study…
🎶 Rhythm Challenge: F Minor Samba Fusion! 🥁 Hosted by Dr. Bob Lawrence of Jazz Piano Skills and The Dallas School of Music, today’s Rhythm Challenge is open to all jazz instrumentalists—piano, trumpet, sax, guitar, bass, strings, and more! This challenge puts your rhythmic control to the test with syncopated…
🎶 Melody Challenge: II-V-I Arpeggios from the 3rd! 🎶 Hosted by Dr. Bob Lawrence of Jazz Piano Skills and Director of The Dallas School of Music, today’s Melody Challenge is open to all jazz musicians — pianists, horn players, string players, guitarists, bassists, and more! This challenge focuses on playing…
🎹 Harmony Challenge: Minor II-V-I Mastery! Hosted by Dr. Bob Lawrence of Jazz Piano Skills and Director of The Dallas School of Music. Today’s challenge pushes your harmonic control as you play a Minor II-V-I Progression using three essential voicing styles: ✅ Quartal Shells ✅ Traditional Shells ✅ Harmonic Clusters…
🎹 Rhythm Challenge: Eb Minor to the 13th! 🎷 Join Dr. Bob Lawrence of Jazz Piano Skills and The Dallas School of Music for today’s Rhythm Challenge, open to all jazz musicians—pianists, horn players, guitarists, bassists, string players, and more! This challenge tests your ability to lay down a rhythmic…
🎶 Melody Challenge: Minor Triads with a Twist! 🎶 Join Dr. Bob Lawrence of Jazz Piano Skills and Director of The Dallas School of Music for today’s Melody Challenge, crafted for all jazz musicians — pianists, horn players, guitarists, bassists, and string players! This challenge focuses on playing four-note minor…
🎹 Harmony Challenge: Quartal Shells Through the 'C' Major Scale! Hosted by Dr. Bob Lawrence of Jazz Piano Skills and Director of The Dallas School of Music. Today’s challenge tests your ability to play Contemporary Quartal Shell Voicings with minimal harmonic motion as you move through all seven chords of…
🎹 *Improvisation Misconceptions & A Better Starting Point for Jazz Beginners* Saturday Morning Sunrise Lesson with Dr. Bob Lawrence In this insightful and practical jazz talk, Dr. Bob Lawrence—founder of Jazz Piano Skills and Director of The Dallas School of Music—answers a key question from a student in South Africa:…
🎺 Rhythm Challenge: C7 Mardi Gras Groove! 🎷 Hosted by Dr. Bob Lawrence of Jazz Piano Skills and The Dallas School of Music, today’s Rhythm Challenge is open to all jazz musicians—pianists, horn players, guitarists, bassists, string players, and more! This challenge focuses on the C Dominant sound, using chord…