Jazz Arranging for Keyboardists

May 16 2013 3:00PM
Keyboard players are naturally good arrangers. We do it every day while we’re writing, tracking, putting chords to melodies, and mixing our music. All of these activities involve selecting textures, achieving balance, and More...

Be the Bass With These Left Hand Techniques

May 15 2013 2:13PM
Picture this: You got the gig and you’re excited about the music. You get to your first rehearsal and the bandleader wants you to play “bass” on a couple of things. You panic because you’ve never had to be the bass player and More...

5 Ways to Play Like Regina Spektor

May 9 2013 7:09PM
I’ve lived in New York City’s East Village for nearly 20 years, and have followed Regina Spektor’s career from its early beginnings at the Sidewalk Cafe on Avenue A, just a block from my apartment. Regina’s keyboard work More...

5 Ways To Play Like Dave Brubeck

Apr 28 2013 2:00PM
Dave Brubeck, who passed away in December 2012, just a day shy of his 92nd birthday, was one of the most influential jazz musicians of all time. Rhythms of horses’ hooves on the California cattle ranch he grew up on, along More...

Add Impact to Your B3 Bass Lines with Percussive Pedal Techniques

Apr 26 2013 12:48PM
A powerful technique used by most modern B-3 organists is to tap rhythmically on a bass pedal while playing the actual bass line on the lower manual using the left hand. Only occasionally do they play actual bass notes on the More...

Secrets of Samba Piano

Apr 19 2013 2:00PM
Growing up in Brazil, I listened to a lot of Samba, which is Brazil’s most popular style of music. To illustrate how to play Brazilian Samba properly, let’s take a typical jazz-ish melody and chords, and change them into More...

You Know More Voicings than You Think!

Apr 5 2013 6:00PM
When I wrote my first textbook Jazz-Rock Voicings for the Contemporary Keyboard Player, I included some common “shell” voicings that I heard on recordings by jazz greats. For example, I heard Wynton Kelly and Red Garland More...

5 Ways To Play Like Donald Fagen

Mar 21 2013 5:00PM
For over 40 years, Donald Fagen has had a monumental impact on modern music.  His jazz-tinged songwriting and funky keyboard work helped define the sound of a generation. Largely self-taught, Fagen regularly went to More...

Secrets of Better Jazz Solos

Feb 21 2013 12:43PM
As jazz pianists, we do many things simultaneously. We keep time, delineate song form, accompany other musicians, and improvise solo lines. We log countless practice hours honing skills in each of these areas. One challenge More...

Dave Brubeck Piano Techniques

Dec 5 2012 6:06PM
Editor's note:  We received word this morning, that legendary jazz piano pioneer Dave Brubeck passed away due to heart failure. He was just one day short of his 92nd birthday. Known most widely for making jazz in time More...

Hammond Chord Concoctions

Nov 26 2012 4:00PM
By BRIAN CHARETTE MANY OF MY PAST ARTICLES ABOUT PLAYING HAMMOND ORGAN HAVE FOCUSED ON IDEAS FOR SOLOING. This month, let’s look at ways to voice chords. Building chord voicings on the organ is often much different than More...

Left Hand Harmonic Workout

Nov 26 2012 3:02PM
I’VE ALWAYS BEEN INTRIGUED BY THE LEFT HAND. INVESTIGATING THE WAY IT CAN UNDERPIN melodic ideas is a fascination for me, and I enjoy searching for chords, inversions, and resolutions that give a refreshing aspect to the music. More...

Building Blocks of Better Solos

Nov 20 2012 5:31PM
By GEORGE COLLIGAN . ONE OF THE THINGS I’VE NOTICED AS A JAZZ EDUCATOR is that many of my students lack a fluent jazz vocabulary. When they improvise, their solos are essentially attempts at improvising with the hopes that More...

Keeping Practice Interesting

Jul 25 2012 4:00PM
by Helen Sung TIME IS PRECIOUS, SO IT’S IMPORTANT TO LEARN TO PRACTICE EFFECTIVELY. ALTHOUGH I NOW PLAY MAINLY jazz, how I practiced as a classical pianist has always stayed with me. In classical music, much of practicing is More...

Clave Concepts

Jun 14 2012 5:00PM
I've always been fascinated by the percussive elements of Latin jazz, so it was natural for me to adapt the ideas emanating from its potent percussion section to the piano. These concepts help to harness and reinvigorate the More...

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