How To Improvise On The Piano
How To Improvise On The Piano!
Who else wants to learn the secrets of piano improvising —
making up music as you play?
7 Months From Today…You Could Be Improvising On The Piano Freely — Making Up Your Own Music On The Spot!
Dear Friend:     I’m about to tell you a true story. If you believe me, you will be well rewarded. In fact, it could change your piano-playing life. If you don’t believe me, I will make it worth your while to change your mind.
    Let me explain: When I was in the 8th grade, there were lots of kids who could play piano better than I. For example, there was this guy named Scott who had the same piano teacher I did, and at the annual recital he played “Kitten On The Keys” — a jazzy up tempo novelty song with lots of frills that really got the audience going. I played right after him, and my song was “Minuet in G” — hardly an exciting song, and much easier than “Kitten On The Keys”. It was embarrassing, because he was my age, and had only taken piano lessons a year longer than I had.     Now fast forward 3 years. We are in our 3rd year of high school at Placer High in Auburn, California. I had gotten interested in jazz a couple years earlier and had sent off for a “Chord Chart” in the mail. As I recall, it cost me two bucks. Working all by myself with that chord chart I had learned a dozen or so of the most-used chords. Then I went to a jazz concert at the Memorial Auditorium in Sacramento where I saw the great Erroll Garner play a solo concert. I had no idea that a piano could sound like that, and I perceived that what he was doing was breaking up chords in some complex ways I didn’t understand at the time — but wanted desperately to find out. |
Plus you get these bonuses:
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So I immediately bought some of his records and started playing along with them, running my hands up higher and lower, pretending that I was the one making those incredible sounds. I did that by the hour — not only at home, but also in the practice rooms in the music building at Placer High.
One day as I was doing this, Scott happened to walk byyyy
the practice room I was in and noticed what I was doing.
“What in the world do you think you’re doing, Shinn?
That sounds terrible!”
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 He was right, of course. It did sound terrible, but that wasn’t the point. The point was — I was gradually learning which chords Garner was using, and how he was breaking them up and moving so deftly between them.
    Now fast forward another 2 years. We are in our first year of college at Sierra Junior College, and I am playing in the college dance combo. Scott sees me playing and comes over to the bandstand and stares at my hands for a long time. Finally he shrugs and says “I can’t believe it. I actually used to be better than you, Shinn. Now all I can do is play what’s in front of me, and you can improvise all over the place.”
    I tell you this story not to brag, but to demonstrate that it is possible to learn to improvise — even by yourself, with no one to help you but a chord chart and some recordings.
    But YOU don’t have to learn by yourself. You can take advantage of all that I have learned about improvising over the past umpteen years since that happened. Instead of sweating by yourself, trying to figure out “how they do that”, you can stand on my shoulders and learn piano improvisation correctly right from the start.
    Here’s how the program works:
    I’m going to take you on a 7-month journey into piano improvisation. Each month for seven solid months you will work through a new book. You’ll receive the entire course all at once, but you will take it gradually, month by month — so please don’t skip ahead!
    This is a course for people who don’t know how to improvise — not for pros who already do. It takes you by the hand, step by step, and shows you how to actually start making up your own melodies and arrangements.
Piano Improvising — The Exciting
7-Month Home Study Course!
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The 1st month we will lay the foundation for improvisation, including the 12-bar blues. You’ll improvise through the blues sequence many, many times, until you get the “feel” of it. You will work out of a 28 page book so you will SEE every note, every chord, every progression in the book. That makes learning fast and secure.
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The 2nd monthwe will learn how to create a “motif” — also known as a theme, for our improvisations, then develop that motif. We will also cover “razzles” on various beats of the measure. (This will also help your rhythm — an added bonus!).
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During the 3rd month we will learn how to play popular ballads, using an arpeggio pattern in our left hand. You’ll play a half-dozen beautiful ballads, and learn to improvise on each one.
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The 4th month we will learn chord substitutions, how to apply triplets to improvisation, how to use inversions — all the stuff that makes for exciting, lush arrangements! The use of good chord substitutions makes your playing not only professional, but individual as well. You put your own “signature” on each song.
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The 5th month we will work with 7th chord improvising and various accent patterns. (And don’t forget — you get a new book to work out of EACH month, including this month!). 7th chords are so important in all kinds of music, because they are “pregnant” — they want to “deliver” you to the next chord. You’ll not only master them, but you’ll also improvise on them!
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During the 6th month we will drill on the arpeggiated bass using 6th chords, the altered 9th chord, and what to do when 3 or more chords are in the same measure. When you create a “flowing river of sound” with your left hand arpeggio, your playing sounds full and lush and exciting.
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The 7th month we will learn and work through the blues scale (which notes to flat to create a “bluesy” sound) and mixed up motifs, and we’ll put it all together so you can see how everything relates. You’ll learn the importance of the flat 5th, the flat 3rd, and the flat 7th, and how they work together to create that “jazzy” sound!
So there you have it.
    Seven months from now YOU WILL be improvising — and understanding what you’re doing! You’ll be making up your own melodies (made out of 2 or more motifs you learned back in month #2). You’ll be playing exciting chord progressions based on the blues scale (which you learned in month #7). You’ll be creating moods. Playing the blues. Playing ballads. And many other improvisational styles.
    And remember — once you learn the principles of improvisation, you can improvise in any kind of music— gospel, praise, pop, rock, C&W, R&B — any style!
Sign up now, and get started on your seven month journey to improvising!
Cordially,
Duane
P.S. I know the tuition for this course is embarrassingly low for a course of this magnitude. The same material at a conservatory or university (IF you could find such a course) would cost many times this amount — (if you have attended college recently, you know about this!) But this is first-class material using seven excellent books that illustrate each improvisation technique. So even though it’s extremely low-cost,it is the highest quality course you could possibly take!
P.S. again: The course is so clear and easy to understand that you really don’t need me to hold your hand as you go through it. But it will be like me sitting on the piano bench with you, guiding you step-by-step.
Plus you get these bonuses:
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A Free Big Binder to keep all your books in, plus
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Bonus DVD on “Using Chords To Improvise”! which includes a little booklet titled “Practice Songs”!
All this comes free with your course!