Nord User Forum

Dear all, this is a newbie question so pls bare with me and my long post.

I have been playing classic piano for about a year (with teacher first) but now alone by myself with couple of books and play along from Jamey Aebersold.

My current abilities:
1. Can read music for both hands
2. Can play triads (all inversions) in major, minor, diminished, and augmented
3. Can play 7th chords major7, minor7, dominant7 and learning to play dim7 also practicing 7th chords inversions.
4. Can play music from lead sheet without much of the problems (if the chord not too hard)
5. Can play major and minor scales (melodic minor)

My resources:
1. Jazz Piano Book by Mark Levine
2. Jazz Improv: How to Play It and Teach It by Jimmy Amadie --> Haven't started yet
3. Harmonic Foundation for Jazz and Popular Music by Jimmy Amadie --> This book teaches how to construct chords using two hands
4. Connecting Chords with Linear Harmony (Jazz Book) by Bert Ligon --> Haven't started yet
5. Vol. 1, How To Play Jazz & Improvise (Book & CD Set) (Play- a-Long) by Jamey Aebersold
6. Play a long from Jamey Aebersold
7. Bill Evans Play a long

My problems is that with all this great books and play a long, I still have no solid practice routines to fully utilize them. I am now practicing scales chord (inversions) and play a long (occasionally). My previous routine is that in the morning, I practice scale and chords (about 45 mins before go to work). In the evening, practice book number 1, 3, and 5 but cannot do it now since have to split piano time with my son practice and have to go bed with him. So, now I have about 1 hour in the evening and in the morning but really don't know how to use it wisely.

If anyone can help, it will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much in advance for your kind help

Hello,

I would like to have some routines too.
Maybe it's somewhere, in a "ready to use package", with different levels / abilities.
That's a pleasant idea.

If we were to build that, we would probably :
- write a complete list all the rudiments (exercices),
- sort them by levels/abilities (basic, intermediate, advanced)
- factorize (chose elements you want to keep)
- draw some links between dependent rudiments (what should be done before what)
- write down 3 routines that chain the rudiments in a smart way (progressive, not boring), maybe a 5 minute routine, a 15 mn, and a full.

This is an evolving process, has to be adapted to the person, but building one in common seems very interesting.
I must say that this is very inspired by Tommy Igoe's "Great Hands For a Lifetime" DVD, for drummers.
If we do not find one equivalent for piano and keyboard players, then we could start building it here ?

Thank you very much for your ideas, it might be very naive question for any anyone who has all the tricks in their bags but for someone who has word "beginner" as a prefix like me, anything would help. I can play a piano all day with all the songs that I like and still not learning anything 555.

Grasoon, Hi again, hope you're not too far, I come back with more questions to your question

There is a practice procedure in Jamey Abersold's handbook page 11 for instance.
There is Hanon's exercise too (http://www.hanon-online.com/)

But I think this is not global, in a sense that a routine should include both the technical and the harmonic elements we want to learn & keep in our fingers and in our head.

Let's start a list of tunes with the widest harmony and technical diversity.
- Bumble bee flight / Entry of gladiators (chromatic scale, left hand pump)
- Georgia on my mind (major / minor modulation, go through all degree of a scale with 7th)
- Autumn leaves (circle of fourth progression)
- Girl from Ipanema (modulation with 3 scales)
- So What, Cantlaoupe island, September second (jazz, modal jazz)

We could include a reggae to practice hand independance, the left hand in counter time.
We could include other signature, triplets ...

I'm certainly for from my own goal, you're more advanced than me in the abilities, please tell me what you think.

Hi frantzkb,

First of all, I'm not sure why you said that I more advance than you in term of ability. If you mean piano ability, I think you are overestimated my ability probably by many thousand times!!!

My ability is probably very close to 0.5 from a scale from 1 to 1,000,000

It is like, I'm not sure what to practice at all. Hesitation is all around me and with all these great songs that I already have a music sheets!!! It's like looking at a beautiful lady but can't not do anything because I know that she is too good.

The list that you provide is very interesting (I know only some of them) and I think I'll start from this list and see how can I progress from there. Plus I'll have to go back and take a good look at all the books that I have. I'm sure that all these great teachers must have advices on how to practice just like you mentioned.

I'll check back again once I can create my practice routine base on your recommend tunes and from books that I have

Cheers!!!!

Grasoon wrote:My ability is probably very close to 0.5 from a scale from 1 to 1,000,000

Wow, what a coincidence! We're at the same skill level.

Seriously, I can play a few children's tunes (badly) so it is rather likely you're a lot better than me

Grasoon wrote:I'm not sure why you said that I more advance than you in term of ability.

Just because I'm still trying to be able to do the things in your list :

Grasoon wrote: My current abilities:
1. Can read music for both hands
2. Can play triads (all inversions) in major, minor, diminished, and augmented
3. Can play 7th chords major7, minor7, dominant7 and learning to play dim7 also practicing 7th chords inversions.
4. Can play music from lead sheet without much of the problems (if the chord not too hard)
5. Can play major and minor scales (melodic minor)

1. I just decipher and guess what's on music sheet
2. I have to search triads in some scales I'm not fluent with ( D, E ) if I did not play it recently.
3. Same thing for all 7th flavors, I have to search in some scales I'm not fluent with
4. Same as 1, rough & quick deciphering, then play & guess
5. that's OK

It's good to state where we are, we can decide where to go !
I just begin to try to play the tunes I listed above in different scales.
Jamey Aebersold says in his book that if he was to start again from scratch, he would start by learning simple tune and play them from any of the 12 pitches.
Keep us updated with what you do please, or any question,
Frantz.

Alright then off we go!!!! see you again soon

I fully recommend you to get some kind of band, even if its just for rehearsing and jamming. I find that helped me a lot, since I had peer pressure to actually play something.

One way is to find a music school that teaches Jazz (since it looks like you want to play that style), they will probably have some kind of ensemble so that you get used to play in a band context. Doing so is very different than playing alone.

Also, sometimes its not very important what notes you play as long as they belong to the scale (specially in jazz). It is more important to have a correct rythm so try practicing with drum loops and metronomes.

Just my two cents,
Gustavo

Yeahhh!!! Great advices keep coming!!! Thank you Gustavo for you advice. Unfortunately, guys my age in my country (at least ones that i know) are either already professional or in to somthing els (all of my friends are the latter).I don't have time to do that anyway since most of my free time will be taken away from me by either my wife or son

For the past two days, beside practicing scales and chord, I have working with play a long from Jamey Aebersold and just had my first improvisation yesterday man it sound so terible but felt soooo good

Will do it more

Cheers!!!!