Piano Fluency

A 3-step framework for making things more efficient when transcribing. Can be done with any DAW and any form of music notation; I'm using Logic and Sibelius.

Relative, parallel, natural, harmonic, melodic. Fingerings and practice approaches. 5 minutes.

3 basic approaches to start with when you're creating solo piano arrangements from a lead sheet.

How to think about building a juicy voicing for a piano chord: start with the most important chord tones.

Things to consider when writing harmony at the piano: register, function, and voice leading.

The essential music theory concept that makes the "4 chords" idea work... even though the songs in these medleys actually use different chords.

Songs performed: "It Could Happen to You" (Jimmy van Heusen and Johnny Burke) "Blue Monk" (Thelonious Monk)

"Good Luck, Babe!" (Chappell Roan) In this video I'm demonstrating how to make a quick chord chart for this song using relative pitch. Listening for notes and chords as numbers, hearing where they are in relation to the key of the song. Anyone can learn to do this!

This is the first thing I do with most private students; you can use it as a practice tool for the rest of your life.

Use the "slow and simple sliders" to practice more effectively. Piece used in the video is Chopin's Nocturne op 9 no 2.

An introduction to passing chords, and how you can add variety and creativity to your own chord progressions: - alternating chords - secondary dominants - chromatic bass notes - tritone substitution - extending back

Ideas on how to prepare yourself for a performance.

Explaining the term "non-diatonic" and looking at some common sources of non-diatonicism in popular music.

Let's quickly define the modes, then discuss how you might explore them in your practice.

The best way to great hand coordination is to practice real music - with a solid understanding of the principle of rhythmic subdivision.

A song tutorial for "Let it Be" (Lennon/McCartney) in 3 levels of difficulty.

How to quickly find every major and minor chord with no prior experience.

Breaking down a short piece of music into simple steps that you can use when arranging any chord chart.