Jazz Piano Foundations

Jazz Piano Foundations Course

If you’re new to jazz piano… start with our Jazz Piano Foundations Course! These lessons cover the foundations of jazz theory including major and minor scales, intervals, triads and 7th chords. We then introduce the major 251 progression and play our first jazz standard.

Scales For Jazz Piano

The 12 major scales are the foundations of musical harmony and learning them is a fundamental step in your journey. Spending the time to memorise these scales will put the essential knowledge in place for you to progress at jazz piano.

You will learn how to construct the scales and also the correct fingering for major scales. It is important that we build strong foundations when learning jazz piano.

Learn The Interval Names

Next we explore intervals for jazz piano. An interval can be defined as the distance between 2 notes. As a jazz pianist, you need to have a solid understanding of intervals so that you can build chords quickly and improvise freely on the piano.

The Most Basic Jazz Piano Chords

The most basic of all jazz piano chords are triads and 7th chords. These are the most basic building blocks for extended jazz chords and so learning these foundational chord shapes will prepare you for exploring extended chord voicings in the next course.

The Mighty 251 Progression

When learning the jazz piano foundations, our first study of chord progressions is the major 251 progression. The 251 is the DNA of jazz music and it must be learnt and memorised in all 12 keys. In this lesson we discuss the basics of the progression and what to look out for to identify 251s on lead sheets and jazz standards.

We also learn a useful whole step 251 drill which can be used to practice the major 251 in all keys quickly and efficiently.

How To Read Lead Sheets

The next step is to learn how to read lead sheets. We create beginner arrangements for “Tune Up” and “The Nearness Of You” and we explain the structure and layout of the lead sheet and how to create jazzy voicings.

These are the first jazz standard lessons in the PianoGroove course and we explore the layout of the lead sheet and discuss how you can create a solo jazz piano arrangement.

If you are coming from a classical background, learning to interpret lead sheets will be an initial challenge. This is because you are given a lot of creative freedom to interpret (or completely change!) the melody, chords, voicings, phrasing etc…

Practice Drills & Exercises

There are 2 practice routines covered in this course. The first practice routine is the Essentials Practice Guide and this is designed for students who are new to the piano.

The Full Foundations Practice Guide is more advanced and is designed for students who have previous piano experience – perhaps classical or contemporary piano – but are new to jazz piano.

You can study multiple courses at once, so we recommend that you study the following courses at the same time:

• Jazz Piano Foundations (this course)
• Beginner Jazz Arrangements
• Extended Voicings Course
• Whole Step 251 Drills

Much of the theory is interrelated and it will give you more of a sense of progression when you see how the foundational material is applied and developed in the course on extended chords.

After taking this Jazz Piano Foundations Course you will understand the basics of jazz chords and scales and you will be able to play your first jazz standard arrangements.