Jazz piano essentials

Jazz piano essentials 
By Karel Boehlee & Rob van Bavel 
 
This course deals with the essentials of piano playing and practicing and will bring you a selection of the main concepts as weekly taught from our Jazz piano faculty at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam.
The course offers you both a practice method as well as improvisational, compositional and accompanying tools necessary to succeed and advance as a jazz pianist
 
The course will take you through the evolution of the piano from its basic accompanying function to more advanced concepts covering areas such as technique, melodic improvisation, voice leading, ear training, harmony, timing, rhythm and several improvisational techniques. 

The course introduces a wide range of styles and offers many possibilities of how to assume the function of a pianist within the different genres in jazz. 
  
The lessons are accompanied with detailed work sheets, assignments per lesson, written material and exercises andinteractive play along tracks. 
 
 
Content of this course: 
 
Lesson 1 - Bebop Essentials; Scales part 2 Octatonic 
In this lesson we’re going to discuss more possibilities for the dominant chord in the 2-5-1 in major. We will cover the following material:the octatonic scale, application on the dominant chord and emphasizing the #11, #9 and b9.
 
Lesson 2 - Building your library of vocabulary (part 1); 2-5-1 in major
In this lesson we will expend your library of vocabulary by making a clear system for this:
long/short 2-5-1 major, long/short 2-5-1 minor, long major, long minor, diminished chords, long dominants/dominant chain.
 
Lesson 3 - Harmonic Variations, the Triton 2-5 & Bill Evans variation 
In this lesson we will look at some harmonic variations on the 2-5-1 in major, we will look at triton substitutions, Bill Evans variations. Kenny Barron variations, ascending and descending min 3rd sequences.
 
Lesson 4 - Bebop Essentials; Arpeggio’s (part 1) Triads, 7-chords 
In this lesson we will work on arpeggios in a ‘modal’ context. We will later apply the arpeggio’s on functional harmony. This lesson will deal with different chromatic, triadic, ascending and descending variations, combinations and enclosures.
 
Lesson 5 - Fourth Voicing 
In this lesson we will look at left hand voicings (McCoy Tyner style) we build chords using 4th’s
instead of 3rd’s.We will look at perfect 4th’s, and augmented 4th, Add a 4th on top & 5 note voicing.
 
Lesson 6 - Upper Structures
In this lesson we will look at Upper structures. It is possible to use (almost) any left-hand voicing (2 voice, 3 voice, 4th voicing, 4 note voicing) and then we put a different structure on top with the right hand. We will look at Triads, 4th chords & 7 chords
 
 
Lesson 7 - Piano Solo, rubato and Harmonization 
In this lesson we will explore some ideas for Rubato playing and harmonization.
When pianists play solo, they often play Rubato; Playing Rubato gives a lot of freedom for expression,
We will look at tempos, dynamics and reharmonization.
 
Lesson 8 - Drop 2 
This lesson we will explore the Drop 2 voicings techniques.
Applying drop-2 to minor chords, chords sequence and a jazz standard
 
Lesson 9 – Guide-tones 
This lesson will deal with guide-tones.
We will practice two, three and four voices and extend it further. You will practice transcriptions and exercises to be able to implement these methods in your comping and improvisation. 
 
Lesson 10 - Approach notes 
In this lesson you will learn the different methods of applying approach notes in our improvisation.
We will play different transcriptions and apply chromatic approach notes to our melody and improvisation.
 
Lesson 11 - Intervals  
In this lesson we will practice thirds and fifths intervals to be able to creatively integrate this material into our improvisation. We will practice exercises containing these elements and implement those on different chords progressions.