How & What To Practice

I received the below questions from a student earlier, and I thought it would be nice to post the answer here in the forum. I share a lot of insight from my journey learning jazz piano, and I think you will benefit from reading it…

Student’s question:

I was wondering if you could do a tutorial on your approach to practicing when you were learning to be a jazz pianist. What did you learn first? Did you have a system or a list of songs? Did you use a metronome? How often did you practice 251s and how long did you practice per day?
I feel like I have plateaued and my practice seems less effective now. I Believe this type of tutorial could change the landscape for many of your students if they understood your approach.


Here’s my answer:

What did you learn first? Did you have a system or a list of songs?

The PianoGroove syllabus very closely mirrors my own journey learning jazz piano, both in terms of the theory lessons and the jazz standard lessons.

The first tunes I learnt were:

  • Tune Up
  • Misty
  • Tenderly
  • My Foolish Heart
  • Blues In Green

(Bill Evans was my first big influence, and so that’s why I wanted to work on My Foolish Heart & Blue In Green)

At the time, I was working with my first jazz teacher and he was showing me how he would arrange standards and I would simply copy what he was playing and ask questions on what I didn’t understand.

He played lots of things which I didn’t fully understand at the time (such as upper structures, slash chords, altered jazz chords etc…) but I still emulated the way he created arrangements from lead sheets and did this for many tunes.

I studied with him for around 2 years, and by the end of that time, I was comfortable with voicings but I still couldn’t create my own arrangements from scratch.

A key part of my early jazz education was that I was learning in the context of jazz standards. This made it enjoyable and rewarding because I could play jazzy sounding arrangements for my friends and family. This is why I give such importance and emphasis on jazz standards in the PianoGroove syllabus to make it a fun and enjoyable learning experience.

From playing 000s of jazz standards… I can now pick up a lead sheet for the first time, and play something that sounds nice. But if I learn a new tune, I will always use it as an opportunity to learn some new theory (see my last paragraph about listening and picking things off records).

You will see lots of similarities in jazz standards the more you tunes you learn. They often follow very similar chord progressions, and the more you play, the easier you will be able to spot these similarities.

Did you use a metronome?

In some ways, I wish I paid more attention to this.

As a solo jazz pianist, you have a lot of freedom because you are playing by yourself. And so you can play rubato, and drift out of time here and there, and what you are playing can still sound very pleasant to the listener.

However, when I started to play with other musicians, I then had a big shock in store because I couldn’t keep time. If you are playing jazz with other musicians, then the only thing that keeps everyone together at the same point in the form, is your timing.

It’s worth mentioning that the types of tunes I was playing with other musicians were different to the types of tunes I had already learnt. Virtually all of my first tunes were ballads and all very well suited to solo piano performance. Whereas the tunes that you play with other musicians at a jazz jam setting tend to me medium/up tempo. Think of tunes we have covered such as Autumn Leaves, Beautiful Love, There Will Never Be Another You, to name a few examples.

This is when I started to play more with iRealPro.

My upcoming course on "Playing In A Jazz Band” documents much of my journey and learnings with regards to playing in a band.

Back to your question… no, to start with I didn’t use a metronome. If I could take my journey again, I would place more of an emphasis on this.

That is also talking hypothetically because at the time, my aspiration was to be able to play solo jazz piano as a background pianist. As discussed, being perfectly in time was not essential and I could take liberties by playing rubato and interpreting the lead sheets more freely.

A lot of this will boil down to your own aspirations. What are your own goals with playing jazz? That’s an important place to start.

How often did you practice 251s and how long did you practice per day?

I mention above about my first jazz piano teacher.

I had been studying jazz online and learning a little bit from friends here and there.

I’d probably been working on 251s for about 1.5 years before I even started with my first teacher. When I started studying with the teacher I could play most major 251s - albeit sometimes it would take me a while to find the voicings! - but I could see them on the piano, I could see the 7ths falling to 3rds. I could play them in the 3 note variation and also playing major/minor 9ths, and dominant 13s (basically left hand voicings but in my right hand with the root in my left hand).

Even to this day, I still work on 251s. But instead of drilling them, I pick up a new jazz standard and i’ll play through with left hand voicings and the melody. If there’s a 25 or 251 on the lead sheet, and it takes me more than a second to find the voicing, then I will take it away and drill it. This might be due to the chords that come before or after, or perhaps an unusual melody note that makes it tricky to voice to 251.

Once you understand the construction of the 251, I would recommend that you follow a similar approach. This way you are working on the 251s that you don’t know, or the ones that could be a little more comfortable under your fingers.

I see this as a much more effective way to improve as opposed to repetitive 251 drills on the keys that I am already completely familiar with. Again this ties into the importance of using jazz standards as a vehicle to take your playing forward.

251s are a lot of work. You will always be able to get better at them, find the voicings quicker, play them more smoothly, play them without looking etc… this is a gradual process that happens over many many years. The important thing is that you understand the theoretical underpinnings, and also why we use them. Then you can move on, and revisit them on a per-key basis. For example, if you stumble across an unfamiliar 251 key in a jazz standard.

How long did you practice per day?

In terms of daily practice, I would say at least 2 hours a day. Sometimes much more, sometimes slightly less. But I’d say at least 2 hours is a good amount of time to aim for.

I don’t know exactly where you are in your journey, but my biggest recommendation would be to listen more and try to pick things off records.

Whenever I create a new arrangement for PianoGroove, here’s the process I follow:

  1. Pick a tune

  2. Listen to as many different recordings as possible

  3. Create a shortlist of tunes that I like the sound of

  4. Then, and only then, I try and play the tune from a lead sheet. I already have the melody ingrained from the listening stage, and so it makes the task much easier.

  5. I will listen to the shortlist, and anything I like the sound of, I will try to work out with my ears. This is a slow process and takes time and patience. Using transcription tools like Transcribe can make the process much easier. The more you do it, the less you will need transcription tools. Now I can hear very specific things such as a Sus chord to an altered dominant in a 251… my ears will recognise that with the click of a finger. I can hear specific alterations over dominant chords such as b9s #11s… my ears know what they sound like because I’ve spent lots of time listening. I can hear diminished sound and patterns, I can hear chromatic passing chords with the distinctive half step approach. I can hear many things even the first time listening to a record. This is all from the time I have invested in listening.

Lessons with Teachers vs Listening to Records

When you work something out yourself, you will retain the information better, and you will think of that thing - whatever it is - next time you have a similar chord or similar situation on a lead sheet.

This is why listening is so important. Don’t get me wrong, working with a teacher and copying them and emulating them is one of the quickest ways to improve. You will learn things in minutes that may have taken you years - sometimes if ever! - to figure out just by working on your own.

That being said, there has to be a point in your journey when you become a self sufficient learner ie. learning predominantly from recordings.

That’s what jazz is all about, discovering the sounds you like, imitating them, and then making your own sound which is a culmination of everything you have listened to.

I will occasionally get a lesson or 2 with accomplished musicians who’ve been studying jazz for 2x or 3x longer than me. But most of my time is spent listening to the artists, albums, and recordings that I personally enjoy listening to. That way I am in complete control of the direction of my sound.

You will also find you can learn a tonne of things from playing with other musicians. At a jazz jam night for example. You might be chatting to someone and they will introduce you to their inspirations, you might be talking about some kind of theoretical concept etc… and making friends with these people and collaborating with them is a fantastic way to learn.

Again a lot of this boils down to your aspirations, and what you want to do with jazz.

For myself, a big area I’ve been working on is playing with other musicians. I love solo piano, and for sure there’s lots more I can do to further my playing in the area, but I have a strong desire to improve at playing with other jazz musicians.

Sometimes I’ll play with really talented players and I’ll get frustrated because I wish I could play better in that setting.

Unless you are at the point of complete mastery, which for most people with other commitments (work, family etc…) I’d estimate that would be 30-40 years of studying jazz. Then you will always feel this frustration. It’s natural because the topic is so vast and there is always more to learn. Always something to work on.

I find the key is to accept that, keep studying, and get a little bit better each day.

It’s supposed to be fun after all! :slight_smile:

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So I have a question - I was looking for an appropriate thread in which to pose this query, but thought it might fit in among the ‘how and what to practice’ area. Sorry Hayden if I’ve missed a more suitable place for it to go.

Anyhow, It’s this - have to admit my left and right hand independence/co-ordination is not my strong suit, and a timely reminder of this has been in starting the Brazilian grooves lessons: and realising how poor I am at this! I guess I glossed over this doing the previous bossa lessons because I would let iReal Pro take care of the bass so my hands were just handling the harmony and occasional improvisation in my right as I also sang. But now I’d like to try practicing this more so I finally can grasp it. Are there any recommended exercises for this? I’ve tried starting with pulsing the bass with my left hand on the beat and trying the chord voicings on different beats with my right hand and mixing these up while continuing to ‘beat’ with my left hand just to try developing it. It’s just a case of practicing but any advice would be really helpful! Thanks! :smiley:

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Hi James,

Yep this is a good place to post this question, perhaps we can move it to a dedicated thread on ‘hand independence’ in the future.

Onto your question:

From my experience, there is no ‘quick fix’ for this.

My main recommendation would be to play whatever it is you are struggling with but at a ‘snail’s pace’.

Really slow it down.

Slow it down so much that it feels unnatural, and then gradually build up the tempo.

Playing complex things in both hands simultaneously is unnatural, the hands want to copy each other, and so this is something that you will gradually develop.

I was noodling around on the piano earlier and I noticed my left hand was almost subconsciously outlining some interesting inner voices whilst the right hand was doing its thing. I have been working on this stuff recently, and so I think the more you expose yourself to the situation, the better it will get.

Not the best answer in the world but hopefully, it will give you some perspective.

Hand Independence Exercises

I’m sure that Steve - our new Boogie Woogie/ Blues / NewOrleans piano player - will have some guidance here. We just finished recording his course today and we are in the editing stages.

Whilst hand independence was not a lesson topic in his course, I feel that simply playing the boogie woogie style, (or Brazilian style for that matter) will help develop this skill.


Leave this with me James and I will prepare a dedicated course on hand independence which features advice and guidance from all of our teaching team.

It’s a fantastic suggestion for a course and I will make it happen.

In the meantime, slow it down, and gradually build up the speed.

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Hey Hayden,

Thanks for this - yes, I wasn’t thinking in terms of a quick fix and I was conscious that it would just be practice and a case of gradual development (it helps me to remember that when being a hobbyist DJ - even around 3-4yrs ago - it felt completely weird to me to be counting beats and bars at first, seriously!) So things do become more second nature with practice and exposure as you mention.

I guess I kind of answered my own question in terms of exercises up to a point (muscle memory I’m sure will develop) but I’m also thinking there might be a good way to practice and probably a ‘less good’ way, if that makes sense!

Cheers again :smiley:

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Yep I think DJ’ing is a good thing to compare it to. The first time I tried I was hopeless (and I still am now :smile:) - like many things… practice makes perfect.

As always, this kind of feedback and suggestion on lesson content is brilliant. So thank you and leave it with me to formulate how this will be delivered. This exact topic has been suggested to me over email and so it was already on my radar.

I will create a thread and update on progress.

Cheers!
H

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Thanks Hayden! :smiley:

So glad to have found this thread. This really helped answer a lot of my questions :blush: and surely brought more light into what I am aiming for and where I am currently in terms of my learnings … Thank you so much! There is like a gazillion things to learn and know about jazz - but I just wanted to say, from the first day logging in to Piano gRoove - has already been aDDicting ! to learn from the excellent lessons and I’ve never practiced as much as I have been doing now - on top of it all - It has always been great FUN ! :blush:

Hayden, my question is …

does this mean since you have been a Jazz pianist, performer - you have only been learning, playing, writing, composing, arranging and performing JAZZ style alone?

or do you still sometimes play songs and perform with others using other genres that is not jazz?
and why is that? if ok to ask :blush:

Thanks so much in advance!

I’m glad the thread was useful Kristeta. When we launched the forum I reposted lots of questions from my inbox and so it’s great to see these Q&As are still of interest.

To answer your question:

Yes I predominantly play and listen to jazz music as it’s the genre I’m most interested in.

I would like to play more classical music - I love Chopin and Debussy - and hopefully one day I’ll have more time to delve back into their music!

Occasionally, friends and acquaintances will ask me to play classical and/or contemporary piano songs which of course I’m happy to do so as long as the sight reading is within my grasp :grinning:

I do have a somewhat limited repertoire of contemporary piano music that I prepared for a friend’s wedding 5 years ago or so, but I rarely, if ever, play these songs for my own enjoyment as I have more fun listening and transcribing from my favourite jazz musicians.

Hope this helps!

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Wow, Yes that was very helpful :blush: Thanks very much Hayden! Yay! Chopin and Debussy - two great composers !.

Btw Love that you also shared (from top post) tips about your practice , how we can improve , then the value of listening to records… and many many more. Really inspiring to read. Take care. :blush:

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@Hayden Hi Hayden, just wanted to ask a question in relation to this thread. As I’ve just started I like to follow the syllabus as laid out. So starting with the Jazz Foundations course, I just wanted to know, if I have more than two hours ( which I have, especially on the days off ) can we do another additional course such as the “inner voicing”. For example a day would consist of 2 hours Foundation practice + Inner voicings lesson or another lesson to supplement it. Or is it best to go linear ?

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Good question Micheal.

I recommend that new students study the following 3 courses together:

These courses are all beginner-focused and very accessible. They will take you from knowing nothing about jazz, to being able to play some jazzy chord progressions, extended chord voicings, and a good selection of arrangements.

The next courses to study would be the following 3 courses:

That is the order that I recommend, as each course builds upon the theory in the one before. The rootless voicings course is a tricky one, particularly for students coming from a classical background as there is so much freedom in rootless harmony.

Once the theoretical underpinnings of a topic have been absorbed, you can then move onto the next lessons/courses and just remember to revisit the practice exercises in the previous courses. Mastering the different drills in all 12 keys is a gradual process and so always keep that in mind.

One of students Christian posted some insightful feedback in this thread on how he is using the practice plans in a modular way and shifting the focus as he progresses through the lessons and courses. That is exactly how the practice plans are designed to be used so you can alternate between plans on different days.

5 Minute Masterclass Course

As a priority you might like to watch my 5 minute masterclass course which contains short and succinct studies into some intermediate/advanced topics, but I tried my best to make them as accessible as possible for any level of student:

This course will give you insight into inner voices, passing chords, sus chords, upper structures, chord alterations, and block chords - all very common devices used by Bill Evans which I’m sure you will find interesting. You could watch all the lessons in that course in an hour or so, they are amongst the shortest on the site, but packed full of information.

If a particular topic in the masterclass course piques your interest, or your ears, then go straight to that course and start studying the theory, then the jazz standard applications.

Ultimately there is no single correct way to progress through the lessons, but the courses and syllabuses are there to give some structure and possible roadmaps to navigate the content on the website.

I often recommend students to check out this beginner jazz Q&A session too:

It’s a long session (1.5 hours) but you can use the chapter interface to watch in multiple sittings.

I hope that helps Micheal. A lot of info above and so let me know if you have any further questions.

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I just realised I didn’t really answer your original question …

If you have 2 hours to practice in a day, I would recommend an hour on one course, and then the second hour on a different course.

That way you are pushing yourself to learn new theory, and you will also find it more enjoyable and challenging as you are exposed to new topics and concepts.

I would say stick within the 6 courses outlined above as they form a sizeable chunk of what I would classify as the essential jazz theory.

Also check out the 5 minute masterclass course as suggested to ‘get your toes wet’ in some more advanced jazz theory which should give you some additional direction and focus.

I hope that helps!

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First response was detailed enough but thank you! I also read the thread you provided and watched the Q&A yesterday so feel much more confident about the syllabus. The consolidating and underpinning is what I will focus to achieve, meaning I’ll focus on the beginner foundations course and alternate between the suggested courses above to avoid tedium kicking in. On my days off I spend half the day on piano studying so I can factor in more than two hours on your courses which is great. Two hour foundation + Secondary beginner course + 5 minute masterclass. Very excited for the new discoveries thank you again

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