The 12 Bar Blues Form & Variations
2 - Harmonic Structure
Lesson Chapters
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Do you know what makes the biggest difference when you’re trying to learn jazz piano?
A better teacher.
If you’ve tried any of the other online jazz piano programs or websites, you know that they all offer:
- A ton of courses and lessons
- Instruction in theory, technique, style, and performance
- Helpful downloads
- A syllabus or recommended “path of learning”
- A community where you can get your questions answered
And those things are great — we offer all of them too!
But those things aren’t enough to help you get where you want to be.
We know this to be true, because many of our students have come to us after being in those other online jazz piano programs.
And the number one thing we hear, over and over and over again… is this:
“PianoGroove just has better teachers, and that’s made all the difference for me.”
Here are just a few examples of actual
quotes from our students:
The lessons are really well structured and Hayden is a fantastic teacher. I feel like I'm moving forward now rather than spinning my wheels.
I have tried many of the online piano tutorials and lessons and Pianogroove is by far the best. Even if you don’t like Jazz music, the theory and methods Hayden and the other experts use is far beyond what the other sites provide. You can tell they enjoy teaching and take the extra time to answer questions and are truly engaged with their subscribers. I have learned so much in the year I have been a user.
I learned so much about jazz improvisation. I was surprised because I already knew a great deal of music theory. Hayden is a wonderful instructor.
I really like Hayden’s teaching style. It's challenging, but all the concepts, the theory, and techniques are very well explained. And that's what I'm enjoying the most — it’s easy to follow, but challenging.
Of all the online piano instruction courses that I have seen and tried (and there have been a few), PianoGroove is my favorite. The instructor is thorough, and the lessons well-organized. The lessons cover everything that I want to learn about jazz piano, but they move along at a good pace. That's the hard thing to balance: you don't want them to go so fast as to leave you in the dust, nor so slow that you are too bored to listen. It seems that PianoGroove has got it just right.
Learning is made easy with PianoGroove. Certainly, there is no magic bullet, however for a person who is seriously wanting to learn music, PianoGroove has it all. Highly skilled instructors guide you through lesson plans that are thoughtfully laid out for whatever level of learning. I am beginning my third year and feel like I have only scratched the surface. I'm always looking forward to my next lesson. Can't say enough about PianoGroove, simply put, they are the best.
I am really enjoying my experience with PianoGroove. I have been on other sites but Hayden is by far one of the best teachers. Hayden teaches slowly and shows exactly what he is doing, especially with voicings. I really enjoy PianoGroove.
This is my third year. Started looking at some lessons from Tuomo — he did a Zoom workshop on 'My Foolish Heart', absolutely brilliant. You don't get this type of content anywhere else. I highly recommend PianoGroove.
There is no question, this is the best piano course on the Internet. I have spent hundreds of dollars on piano courses and could never seem to find the right one for me. I had almost given up hope until I saw an advertisement for PianoGroove and thought, I will give online learning one more try. I was just into my first lesson with Hayden when I knew I stumbled upon something special. Hayden is a master pianist and a master teacher. What's unique about PianoGroove is Hayden's ability to apply the concepts and theory he teaches directly to popular music. This makes it easier to remember and understand. One can take the chord progressions Hayden teaches and apply them directly to the music we love, particularly the jazz standards. After Hayden explains and demonstrates a chord progression, he then takes you directly to a piece of music that was written with the same chord progression. Now the learner has a direct association between those particular chords and a popular song.
I have learnt so much in a short time. Hayden is an amazing teacher! So well done.
What is PianoGroove?
Watch this short video to find out:
Who is PianoGroove for?
… then PianoGroove is perfect for you!
Get Started NowMore Than 6,300 People
Have Joined PianoGroove
Watch these short videos to hear what some of them say about it…
PianoGroove has greatly enhanced my playing, especially in my journey to familiarize myself with reharmonization techniques, improv techniques, and sources for improvisation in the jazz genre.
If I have a goal of 100%... through a couple of years, I have probably advanced to about 70 to 75% of that goal. So, absolutely and unequivocally, your site has helped me immensely.
PianoGroove is so thorough. The lessons are precisely outlined. They give very clear instructions on how to voice chords. And there's just a multitude of wonderful lessons and songs to learn and techniques to apply. And it's just so thorough, and so complete, and so wonderful.
I just can't say enough good things about it.
This website [PianoGroove] has opened a new world for me, in terms of a harmonies and colors.
It's been amazing for me. My playing has changed radically.
One of the most important things that I’ve taken from PianoGroove is understanding what I’m playing. I’ve learnt about chord progressions, song forms and song structure, and this allows me to play more freely, I’m able to memorise, and not be dependent on a lead sheet.
I enjoy the lessons. I think they're organized well, and the topics are covered well — they're not too long and you can progress fairly easily through them. I've tried other websites and while helpful, they haven't helped me nearly as much as PianoGroove. I also like the monthly seminars. They're often very helpful. And the transcriptions of standards have been very useful for me.
I wanted to play New York State of Mind and HD Piano was a good way for teaching that, but there's some repetitious chords which are, kind of boring. And you present us with options for embellishing that, so I can actually use your courses to make playing that, better than it would have been without it.
Perhaps the most important thing for me is how you push me to to start with the foundations, building step-by-step, my ability to play, and improve my playing, on the one hand. And on the other hand, also to dive into the more advanced stuff, which I like very much. I found it a bit strange in the beginning, but my experience is that this is very, very good.
For instance, My Funny Valentine is a tune I love very much. When I started with that — with the elementary stuff — the chords — the thirds and the sevenths and all that, but more and more advanced. I was led to to dive into more advanced lessons at the same time, which was quite scary in the beginning, but it has helped me very much.
The simple things are the best, I think. I like how you can slow the video down. And then all the comments underneath [the lessons], from yourself and from other people who are having issues, and being able to go through them. So, a bit like YouTube almost. And then all the PDFs [downloads] — the PDFs are great.
I've only covered courses so far taught by Hayden, but I really like his teaching style. It's challenging, but all the concepts, the theory, and techniques are very well explained. And that's what I'm enjoying the most — it’s easy to follow, but challenging.
There are a few things that I really enjoy about PianoGroove. The first and foremost is my interest in playing jazz standards and taking a lead sheet and embellishing that sheet to where it sounds professional. And Hayden Hill really teaches that well, and he does it in a simplistic way, so I enjoy that part of it. And plus, you can pretty much find any genre of music that you wanted to learn. I'm also interested in the blues. He does a great job with that and, overall with adding in different musicians and different styles to his PianoGroove setting. It's really made it a well-rounded piano site for anyone looking to learn any kind of genre.
I considered taking lessons with a teacher. Now I have a teacher every day, every hour — when I want. The lessons are very well structured and the interface is very easy to follow. I can see a constant progress. One thing is important. You have to practice a lot. But this is not my problem. My problem is when to stop.
In today’s internet world with YouTube, Instagram, and social media content everywhere you look, the problem is not finding information to learn about any type of music, the problem is filtering it and identifying which sites have something to offer.
I’ve seen a lot of sites and filtered through them and I think makes PianoGroove different are the consistency, the organisation, and the attention to detail that Hayden brings to the site.
There are incredibly helpful instructors, notably Tuomo and Jovino, and I have learned a lot through them.
The ear training exercises have helped me to start a routine of transcribing music and that was especially helpful on top of all of the other stuff like learning the voicings, learning the licks, learning the scales, and all of that good stuff.
The PianoGroove resources are beautifully written and easy to understand. I’ve still got my minor 251 progressions that I downloaded about 7 years ago and I practice with them a lot. They are so clear and I’ve put all of my annotations on them. The resources are wonderful and the teaching is fantastic.
What exactly do you get in PianoGroove?
54 courses (and more coming each month…)
Right now, you get unlimited access to 54 courses in PianoGroove, and we have more coming every month! Just below, you’ll find the complete list of all the courses you get in PianoGroove, sorted in two ways: (1) by experience level, and (2) by genre.
When you click on any of the course titles you see below, a pop-up box will open with more details on that course, so you can see exactly what you’re getting.All Courses By Experience Level
(Click on any link below to get more details about each course.)Novice
- Reading Lead Sheets For Beginners
- Reading Lead Sheets: Key of Bb
- X-mas Jazz Piano For Beginners
- Website Tour & Orientation
Beginner
- ‘Georgia’ – Bluesy Stride Course
- Solo Bossa Nova For Beginners
- Slow Blues Piano For Beginners
- Jazz Piano Foundations
- Soulful Gospel Blues Piano Course
- Beginner Jazz Arrangements
- Extended Chords & Voicings
- Introduction To Chicago Blues
- Whole Step 251 Exercises
- Rootless Voicings & Stride Piano
- 12 Bar Blues Improvisation Course
- Jazzy Christmas Piano Lessons
- How To Accompany Singers
- The Minor Blues Progression
- ‘Sentimental Mood’ – Easy Improv
- Hayden’s 5-Minute Masterclasses
Intermediate
- Brazilian Grooves Course
- Jovino’s 5-Minute Masterclasses
- Jon Cleary’s Blues Masterclass
- New Orleans Blues, Funk, & R&B
- Brazilian Grooves Volume II
- Triads: Non-Linear Improvisation
- The Art Of Composition
- New Orleans Blues Tunes & Studies
- Bossa Nova Tunes & Short Studies
- Boogie-Woogie Piano Course
- Introduction To Hammond Organ
- ‘Misty’ – Cocktail Piano Improv
- ‘Nearness Of You’ – Fills & Improv
- Altered Harmony & USTs
- Chord Subs & Reharmonisation
- Xmas Song Reharms & Improv
- Functional Harmony Course
- Intros, Endings & Turnarounds
- Arranging For Solo Jazz Piano
- How To Sing & Play Jazz Piano
- Walking Bass & Bluesy Tunes
- How To Play In A Jazz Band
- ‘Body & Soul’ Elegant Stride Piano
- Cuban Grooves Piano Course
Advanced
- Brazilian Choro Course
- Gospel Piano Masterclass Course
- New Orleans Piano Legends
- Jazz Improvisation Tutorials
- Jazz Harmony Masterclasses
- Advanced Improvisation Course
- Solo Jazz Piano Arrangements
- Jazz Piano Legends Series
- Comping & Improvisation Studies
- Improvisation & Soloing
- Block Chords & Drop 2
- Diminished Chords & Scales
All Courses By Genre
(Click on any link below to get more details about each course.)Jazz Piano Lessons
- Reading Lead Sheets For Beginners
- Reading Lead Sheets: Key of Bb
- X-mas Jazz Piano For Beginners
- Website Tour & Orientation
- Jazz Piano Foundations
- Beginner Jazz Arrangements
- Extended Chords & Voicings
- Whole Step 251 Exercises
- Rootless Voicings & Stride Piano
- Jazzy Christmas Piano Lessons
- How To Accompany Singers
- ‘Misty’ – Cocktail Piano Improv
- ‘Nearness Of You’ – Fills & Improv
- ‘Sentimental Mood’ – Easy Improv
- Altered Harmony & USTs
- Chord Subs & Reharmonisation
- Hayden’s 5-Minute Masterclasses
- Xmas Song Reharms & Improv
- Functional Harmony Course
- Intros, Endings & Turnarounds
- Arranging For Solo Jazz Piano
- How To Sing & Play Jazz Piano
- Jazz Improvisation Tutorials
- Jazz Harmony Masterclasses
- Advanced Improvisation Course
- Solo Jazz Piano Arrangements
- Jazz Piano Legends Series
- Comping & Improvisation Studies
- Improvisation & Soloing
- Walking Bass & Bluesy Tunes
- How To Play In A Jazz Band
- Block Chords & Drop 2
- Diminished Chords & Scales
- ‘Body & Soul’ Elegant Stride Piano
- Cuban Grooves Piano Course
Blues Piano Lessons
- ‘Georgia’ – Bluesy Stride Course
- Slow Blues Piano For Beginners
- Jon Cleary’s Blues Masterclass
- New Orleans Blues, Funk, & R&B
- Soulful Gospel Blues Piano Course
- Gospel Piano Masterclass Course
- Introduction To Chicago Blues
- New Orleans Blues Tunes & Studies
- 12 Bar Blues Improvisation Course
- Boogie-Woogie Piano Course
- Introduction To Hammond Organ
- The Minor Blues Progression
- New Orleans Piano Legends
Brazilian Piano Lessons
Technology that actually helps you learn faster
All of the lessons in all of our courses are video-based, and we use a clean, easy-to-view, and easy-to-follow three-part video layout that shows you your teacher’s hands and fingers as they play, the notes highlighted on the keys above, as they’re being played, and the music notation or chord charts above that.
Finally, we break each lesson down into chapters and allow you to jump forward or back, as you see fit.
You can bookmark any lesson that you’re currently working on, for easy retrieval and access the next time you come back.
We offer course and lesson progress tracking, so you can always pick up right where you left off last time you were here. (And you’ll also get a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction when you complete each lesson and course.)
In each individual lesson, we give you the ability to control the speed of the video (without changing the pitch), so you can slow it down and make sure you’re seeing exactly how those more complicated runs are being played, or speed it up if you’ve already covered a certain section of a lesson and you want to breeze by it quickly.
You also get a handy A/B loop feature that allows you to select a certain clip of a lesson and play it over and over again, automatically, so you can make sure you really get it.
Downloads that make learning easier
Every course and every lesson in PianoGroove comes with downloads that will accelerate your learning, and make everything easier.
Here are just a few examples of the different kinds of downloads you get in PianoGroove:
Click on each image to enlarge it
theory supplements
transcriptions
lead sheets
practice planners
practice schedules
lessons worksheet
mp3 audio files
midi files
8 proven learning paths to follow (so you’ll always know what to do next)
In Pianogroove, you get 8 different syllabuses to follow, so you’ll always have a defined and structured path to follow… and you’ll always know what to do next.
Here are the 8 syllabuses (or learning paths) you get in PianoGroove:
To see an example of an actual syllabus, click on the button, on the Beginner Jazz Syllabus, below.Beginner Jazz Syllabus
Our Beginner Jazz Syllabus starts with the absolute basics. We work 'from the ground up' teaching you keys, chords, scales, progressions, and most importantly; how it all fits together in context of our favourite tunes.
Click Here to See This Syllabus251 Progression Syllabus
Our 251 Progression Syllabus explores the most important progressions in jazz music; the major, minor, and rootless 251 progressions. Learning these progressions is a key step in mastering the jazz language.
Click Here to See This SyllabusCocktail Piano Syllabus
Our cocktail jazz piano syllabus focuses on 3 jazz classic standards - "Misty", "Georgia On My Mind", and "The Nearness Of You". These 3 courses start with basic theory and gradually incorporate more advanced arranging techniques.
Click Here to See This SyllabusVocal Accompaniment Syllabus
Our Vocal Accompaniment Syllabus provides unique insight into the art of vocal accompaniment. Learn what is expected of you as an accompanist, basic accompaniment principles, transposition, and common intros and endings.
Click Here to See This SyllabusHand Independence Syllabus
Our Hand Independence Syllabus uses the Chicago Blues and Boogie-Woogie styles to develop a greater sense of independence between our right and left hand. This syllabus will develop your sense of time, swing, and groove.
Click Here to See This SyllabusChord Voicings Syllabus
Our Chord Voicings Syllabus is designed for early-intermediate level jazz students. We explore chord alterations, upper structure triads, tritone substitution, suspended chords, passings chords, slash chords, and cluster voicings.
Click Here to See This SyllabusBrazilian Music Syllabus
Explore the colourful and vibrant music of Brazil with 3-time Latin Grammy Nominee, Jovino Santos Neto. This syllabus contains 5 courses which outline a methodical approach to playing authentic Bossa Nova, Samba, & Choro.
Click Here to See This SyllabusAdvanced Harmony Syllabus
Our Advanced Harmony Syllabus introduces a range of sophisticated voicing techniques including block chords, drop 2 voicings, Barry Harris Voicings, penatonic voicings, and diminished harmony.
Click Here to See This Syllabus11 world-class teachers (this is what really makes the biggest difference)
As we’ve mentioned throughout this page, the quality of your teacher is what will make the biggest difference when you’re trying to learn jazz piano.
This is why we’ve painstakingly sought out and recruited people who are not only some of the world’s top performers, composers, and arrangers, but also… and most importantly… are incredible teachers.
Hayden Hill
Founder of PianoGroove; Hayden shares his love for jazz piano through his online lessons and courses.
Jon Cleary
Study the nuances of New Orleans Piano with Grammy Winning blues and RnB musician Jon Cleary.
Jovino Santos Neto
3-time Grammy nominee; Jovino is a master pianist among the top Brazilian musicians working today.
Davell Crawford
Acclaimed as the “Piano Prince of New Orleans,” Gospel is at the heart of everything that Davell does.
Tuomo Uusitalo
Study jazz harmony and improv with Tuomo; an award-winning pianist, composer and arranger.
Elio Villafranca
Elio Villafranca is at the forefront of the latest generation of remarkable Cuban musicians.
Steven Flynn
Blues and Boogie-woogie specialist; Steve's music brings a smile to the face & a tap to the toe.
Kyle Roussel
A graduate of the famed New Orleans Center for Creative Arts; Kyle teaches jazz, blues, and gospel.
Lyndol Descant
Composer, singer, and pianist; Lyndol's unique musical style reflects her travels around the world.
Josh Paxton
New Orleans Piano guru, Josh Paxton teaches his unique approach to Rhythm and Blues piano style.
Robert Kennedy
Hammond organist, pianist, and accordionist; Robert performs regularly in the San Francisco area.
Live, interactive, online seminars (so many cool things to learn in our seminars!)
In PianoGroove, we host 4 live, interactive, online seminars each month, and as a member, you get access to all of them!
You can attend these seminars live (via the internet), and actually interact with our teachers. You can ask them questions and get guidance and coaching, in real time.
AND… you can also watch all of our past seminars too, because we record all of them, and keep them in an archive that you can access anytime you like.
And, here are video clips from four of our seminars, that you can watch right now, so you can get a feel for them:
How To Play ‘My Foolish Heart’ Like Beegie Adair with Hayden Hill
Brazilian Comping For Beginners with Jovino Santos Neto
The Secrets Of New Orleans Blues Piano with Jon Cleary
Barry Harris Chord Voicings Workshop with Tuomo Uusitalo
Vibrant, supportive community (where you can get all your questions answered, make connections, and have fun!)
One of the best parts of PianoGroove is our community. Our forums are the place where our teachers and members come together to connect, learn, share, get guidance and feedback, and have fun!
We’ve got a general forum for general discussion, and as you can see in the image (either to the right, or below), we’ve got sub-forums set up for lots of interesting topics.
Here are just a few examples of interactions that are happening in our forums:
- Forum Homepage
- Practice Inspiration
- Theory Discussion
- Records & Albums
- New Lesson Updates
- Software & Setup
- Classrooms Sessions
- Ear Training Drills
- Website Feedback
- General Discussion
Ear training
We’ve found that if you spend just 10 minutes a day doing some simple ear training exercises, that you can significantly improve your ability to hear melodies and harmonies, and then, it becomes a lot easier to incorporate those into your own playing.
This is why we created a special Ear Training program, that you get unlimited access to, with your PianoGroove membership.
Watch this short video to learn more about it:
Ear Training Section
Get Started Now“This looks like A LOT of stuff… Am I going to be overwhelmed by all of this?”
Great question.
There is a lot of material included in PianoGroove… but we encourage you to see that as a good thing.
We’ve included such a large library of materials and content in this program because we want you have everything you need, to help you go from where you are, to where you want to be.
A helpful mindset to cultivate with regard to the volume of information, content, and resources in this program… is to think of it as a library.
We don’t go to the library and feel like we need to take out, and read every book, all at once.
We just take out and read the book we need and want, at this moment… and then we have the luxury of returning to the library at any time we like, to take out and read another book.
The 10 things our students like most about PianoGroove:
Quality of teachers and instruction
Far and away, the thing we hear most often from our students is that our teachers and the quality of instruction we provide, is better than any other they’ve experienced, and that this has made the biggest difference for them in their jazz piano journey.
Faster path to playing real music and actually sounding good
Our students tell us that the integration of, and careful balancing of theory, technique, and song playing… help them to get good at playing their favorite songs and jazz standards, faster and easier, and sound great doing it.
Improvement in playing
Many of our students report noticeable improvement in their playing and understanding of jazz piano concepts after joining PianoGroove… and many of them experience these significant improvements in a relatively short period of time.
Effective learning path and structure
Our students often mention the well-organized and structured approach of PianoGroove’s lessons. The curriculum is designed to gradually build skills and understanding, making it suitable for beginners as well as more experienced learners.
Versatility and variety of styles
Many of our students value the versatility of PianoGroove’s courses, which cover a wide range of styles including jazz, blues, latin, gospel, and more. This diversity allows learners to explore different genres and develop a well-rounded skill set as pianists.
Responsive and supportive community
Our students use our interactive community to connect with other learners, share insights, and seek assistance. They say this creates a supportive, motivating, effective, and fun learning environment. They especially appreciate that our teachers are also available in the forums and provide timely and helpful responses to their queries.
Realistic expectations
Our students feel that our program and method set realistic expectations for skill development and acknowledge the time and effort required to improve.
User-friendly platform
Our website’s user-friendly interface, video player, and resources are frequently praised by our students, for making the learning experience seamless.
Reasonable cost for tremendous value
Our students tell us that the subscription cost for joining PianoGroove is very reasonable. Some even say that we should be charging more, because of the tremendous value of everything they get as a member.
Accessible for various skill levels
Students of different skill levels, including beginners and experienced musicians, find value in PianoGroove’s lessons. The platform caters to a wide range of learners.