Thank you though Lori! 
Thanks for your reply Hayden and encouragement! 
I honestly cannot state enough how much I have both learned from this over the past year, but also how much I have enjoyed it. It feels weird at first to be so āclinicallyā breaking music down, but once it clicks it is so awesome - especially when you just hear a song somewhere and instinctively know what scale degrees the notes are and what chord progression it is using. However, it really does take time and practice (at first I would get 90% of the exercises wrong, then gradually - over months - get to the point of getting them all - or most of them - right). If I can do this, anyone canā¦!
I do have a couple of recommendations for sources Iāve used, and would be happy to share, but Iām not sure how appropriate this might be, especially as you are also going to be covering transcription.
I need to investigate this, it looks good at first glance. I tend to use iOS-friendly apps so I can practice on the go. I actually like Capo which, as the name suggests, is a guitar based transcriber - with much of the same functionality as Transcribe, by the looks of things. You can section off a song, slow it down, isolate parts for closer listening, transpose etc. It does have a chord āguesserā but as you can imagine, is often very inaccurate. A plus point is you can add corrected chords on the time line of the songās sections. Another useful tool is Anytune Pro, similar to Capo but without the ability to add chords so you can see them on the timeline - although it has some advantages otherwise compared to Capo - swings and roundabouts. I also - if I get really stuck - load the file into Ableton Live and covert the relevant part into Midi and pick things out there. So all in all it sounds like Iām using the constituent parts of Transcribe!
The main drawback doing this on the go is not having a keyboard with you to explore the harmony as you go along. Itās not quite the same having to switch from whichever app to Garageband to use its keyboard - by which time even a few seconds can make your memory trick you!
I think an interesting part of transcribing is when you see there can be more than one interpretation or option within the harmony, and ultimately you can choose to follow the one that works best for your voice leading and style - which I guess is where reharmonisation comes in.
Anyhow, definitely, definitely recommend ear training and transcribing.
Yes, thatās very similar to my own experiences Jamesā¦ I found transcription extremely difficult to begin with. However, the more I focused on it, the easier it became. I can now listen to any improvised solo and pick things out immediately which is a great feeling!
I guess thatās one limitation of Transcribeā¦ it isnāt iOS-friendly.
The interface looks clunky and archaic, but I find it very fit-for-purpose and easy to loop and manipulate the recordings Iām working with. Weāll be using it in my upcoming course.
Thanks for the tips with Capo and Anytune Proā¦ Iāll check them out when I get a second.
Cheers.
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Thanks Hayden - with a little tweaking of my workflow I could accommodate Transcribe as well - Capo and Anytune Pro, as handy as they are, look to be a little lacking versus Transcribe. And if you are using it in your course, thatās a plus too. I see what you mean - itās not winning any prizes for design slickness! 
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Hi,
my name is Moritz Gekeler. I am German, but I live in New Delhi, India, since 2015. My wife and I came here, because of her job: she is currently working at the German Embassy here. I work as a consultant for creative problem solving and an approach towards innovation called design thinking. This work keeps me traveling quite a bit, therefore I was super happy to find this platform, which enables me to learn piano at my own speed.
When I was a kid, I played classical piano from the age of 5 until 15 or so. My first teacher was super strict: she would hold a book over my hands in order to force me to look at the score instead of my hands. The problem was as my grandmother said: I am a little dyslectic when it comes to score reading. So instead of looking at the score, I watched my fingers in the āmirrorā of her black grand pianoā¦ My second teacher was good: he made me play things like Rhapsody in Blue, but he had other problems, so I switched again and found a teach who was supposed to teach me Jazz. By the time I started, I had already gotten into puberty, so there was no way, I would learn chords by heart for fun.
So now, Iāll make my fourth attempt: 23 years later. I am very much lokking forward to it.
Cheers,
Moritz
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Welcome Moritz!
Itās nice to hear that PianoGroove allows you to study jazz whilst travelling. Thatās awesome!
Itās also great that you studied classical piano from such a young ageā¦ the finger strength and dexterity will certainly help you in your pursuit to learn jazz piano.
I understand about classical piano training being āstrictā. You have a lot more freedom in jazz piano to interpret the music exactly how you want toā¦ chords, the melody, even entire songs, you can make it your own which is nice.
This is what attracted me to playing jazz, thereās much more freedom of expression!
We recently documented the āBeginner Roadmapā for students, check it out here: Beginner Jazz Courses: Roadmap & Syllabus
The jazz standards and courses covered in that thread are the first ones that students should work through.
If you do want to play a particular song or learn a particular topic that is more advanced, absolutely go and check it out, but you should spend some time to watch the beginner material to make sure that you understand the basics.
Again welcome to PianoGrooveā¦ great to have your onboard 
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wow, I am always sorry to hear childhood piano experiences like that.
you totally deserve the most FUN and FREEDOM based piano experience from here on out.
Dive in and enjoy this and DO NOT over-structure or overanalyze this program, and do not entertain self criticism. just have fun!!!
I have learned to play so much better in spite of not feeling like I āgetā the theory, just by learning and playing the jazz ballads. Hayden has this amazing way to sneak that understanding and knowledge into our brains just by having fun and learning a song.
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Brilliant tips and insight Lori, thanks for sharing 
As you say, the key is to enjoy the journey and enjoy playing the jazz standardsā¦ this is all supposed to be fun after all!
Hi Lori, thanks also from my side. Yes, I realize that, even though it is somewhat frustrating to sit on a simple piece like tune up for such a long timeā¦ But I am getting there. The good thing is, even though I donāt do super-heavy practicing, slowly slowly, I feel the chords coming a little easier. I am looking forward to graduating to the next song. 
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You can be working on multiple jazz standards at the same time Moritz.
You will always be working on these tunes, always adding to them when you learn new theory.
So Iād recommend you try to play some others too.
Also check this out Moritz: From lessons to lead sheet - how to learn jazz standards - this is the next step of your jazz education where you are leaning from recordings based on the sounds you like.
Exciting! 
Cheers.
Thanks, Hayden. That is great advice. I will do that. I still feel a little overwhelmed by all the theory, but at the same time I see light at the end of the tunnel. Slowly slowly, I am understanding more and learning the scales, chords etc.
I like the idea of listening to one song for a week in all available versions. I used to create Mix Tapes or CDs of just one song in different versions during my university times
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Hi,
My name is Michael Albanese and I joined piano groove a few days back taking the full year membership up front. I must say I was captivated by your breakdown of My Funny Valentine, Attaining both an advanced view of the piece while still being digestible for a mid range student such as myself, is truly a gift of teaching. I love herbie hancock btwā¦
I spent over 25 years writing software (of all kinds) here in san jose california. My last gig was a startup that got purchased by Cisco, so I spent 6 years writing insane router operating system software. For the sake of my sanity I had to leaveā¦
Iāve taken numerous music theory courses, both in person and quite a few at Berklee online. My knowledge of theory is fairly well along, however my playing has a ways to go to catch up. I just restarted piano lessons with a live teacher. I have been learning piano for around 14yrs now.
Ironically one of the first tunes my teacher presented was My Funny Valentineā¦hence my paths somehow (and very happily) have crossed with PianoGroove.
Iām the new kid on the block so a bit clumsy here, but I have had no success in adding a profile photo. Every time I go to the dashboard and click to add, it takes me to a page that says āthis is now privateā. Not sure if its an extra special place only the invited are allowed, but I see others have their photos so it surly is possible.
take care and I look forward to a steady diet of great content,
Michael
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Welcome to the PianoGroove community Michael!
Thanks for the kind words, I try to make my own tutorials as accessible as possible, and so itās great to hear such feedback!
Interestingā¦ It must be a wonderful experience writing software in the Bay Area, so many of the big tech firms are based there!
I always find jazz piano study to be relaxing and a nice āreleaseā from the more stressful aspects of lifeā¦ I hope you can get the same enjoyment from the PianoGroove course 
14 years is a good amount of time to have studied piano. Jazz offers its own challenges, particularly when moving over from classical studies, but any and all previous piano experience will be an asset to you.
Great that you are studying with an in-person teacher tooā¦ many other PianoGroove students do this and they find it to be an effective combination. Itās always nice to be able to run over a topic or concept with someone in person, and different views and perspectives can help with those āah-haā moments.
The focus of this year is to expand our teacher base so that we can also offer a selection of different teaching styles and approaches directly within PianoGroove.
It sounds like an error.
There are not any extra special placesā¦ all areas of the forum are available to all students.
I will send you an email shortly with some instruction and we can figure out what the problem is.
A very warm welcome again Michael, if I can help with anything youāre working on, donāt hesitate to ask.
ps. You can also find some common theory Q&As in this section of the forum: Jazz Theory Discussion - PianoGroove Community - these are common questions from students that I have reposted here for everyone to benefit from.
Hi to every one,
for me it is a real pleasure to share with you feelings and ideas about the progress we are making in this course. This morning I wanted to ask the teacher for assistance and to have an opinion on a take included in his educational program. So he invited me to share it with all of you, with the idea that even a simple listening, could arouse a greater stimulus and improve our goals, thanks
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Thanks, Lucianoā¦ sharing your performance is a great way to introduce yourself!
I enjoyed listening!
Hello. I am new to the Piano Groove community. So far, so good! Really enjoying my lessons. Courses are well-covered.
I come from a gospel background. As a young lad, I was a member of a gospel trio. We toured the Western States. Also toured the Western States with the gospel choir. I played the piano and Hammond organ for both gigs. It was a lot of work, but a lot of fun!
I have a question. I am at the lesson where I am instructed to buy the Real Book, volume 6. However, when I go to the page linked to from the Resources section, I see there are many books in different keys. I canāt find the book with the exact cover that is recommended. Can you please find the direct link for me? Iād like to buy what is recommended.
Thank you, and keep up the good work!
Troy.
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Hi Troy 
Welcome to the PianoGroove School & Community.
Glad to hear you are enjoying the jazz lessons and courses!
Thatās awesome that you come from a gospel backgroundā¦ the Hammond is such a great instrument and a fantastic sound. That must have been fun to play in your band!
Onto your question, you can find all of the chord charts here:
https://www.pianogroove.com/transcriptions-scores-midi/ and also in the āDownloadsā section of each lesson page.
I will email you shortly regarding the link to the bookā¦ look out for my email.
If you have any further questions weāre happy to help, and you can find common theory questions here in the forum: https://community.pianogroove.com/c/theory
If you have any burning theory questions, you can post there for prompt replies from our teachers.
Cheers, and once again welcome Troy
Hi, Iām Artemis ā I joined PianoGroove a few months ago. Since I was 13 years old, Iāve wanted to become proficient enough as a jazz keyboard player to play with a combo, or to accompany a vocalist. 50 years later, Iām still an advanced beginner, but am determined to make some real headway over the next 6 months into ābeyond beginnerā territory. Iām a naturopathic doctor, and finally have more time to devote to practicing the piano than I have in the past. PianoGroove is a wonderful resource ā Iām so glad to have stumbled upon it!
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Hi Artemis!
Welcome and thanks for the introduction on your background.
Great to hear that you now have more time to dedicate to practicing.
Based on the information you outline, hereās what I would recommend to achieve your goals:
That is a very realistic goal: hereās is some direction
1) Listen to lots of jazz - particularly trio and bigger bands.
If you want to play with other musicians, you must listen to trios, quartets, quintets etcā¦ This will help you understand your role in the band as the piano player.
It will also help you absorb the feel and style of jazz music when playing with other musicians.
Hereās a thread with many albums that will get you started. - Listen every day, and you will become a much more grounded musician.
2) To begin with, just focus on 1 tune:
Pick a medium-up tempo tune, a few examples could be āAutumn Leavesā, āThere Will Never Be Another Youā, or maybe just the 12 Bar Blues.
Learn the chord changes so that you have them completely memorised. You do not have time to stop and think of the chord changes. You must know them.
Learn how to play rootless voicings so you donāt need to think about it. So that you can play through the form with your eyes closed. Here is the course on rootless voicings: Rootless Voicings Piano Course | PianoGroove.com
Use the iRealPro App to simulate playing with other musicians: iRealPro Backing Tracks Setup - #5
3) Check out this course:
How To Play In A Jazz Band: How To Play In A Jazz Band | PianoGroove.com
4) Transcribe from records
This is related to (1) ā¦ Itās very important that you try to transcribe from the records you are listening to. Check out the course on transcription for more information:
How To Transcribe: How To Transcribe Music By Ear | Jazz Piano Transcription Course
Every line that you transcribe, You must transpose it to all 12 keys. Do not skip this step.
Otherwise, the whole process is pointless and you will not see big improvements.
6) Play With Other Musicians
Once you have followed the above steps, you should find opportunities to play with other jazz musicians.
It may be worth checking out meetup.com for jazz jam nights in your area. You can also search Google, or ask at the local jazz club. Playing with musicians that are better than you is a surefire way to improve.
Next you also mention accompanying a vocalist.
Check out Lyndolās Course on āHow To Accompany Singersā:
Lyndol sings and plays, and so she gives a unique insight into working with singers.
Next steps:
I would recommend finding a singer to work with on a regular basis.
Perhaps you could search on MeetUp.com or perhaps at a local jazz jam.
Iām sure you can find a singer who is looking for an accompanist. You could work on the tunes that Lyndol covers in her course, and then when you feel comfortable move onto a jazz standard of your choice whilst still following the principles that Lyndol outlines in her course.
I hope this helps Artemis.
If you have any further questions, we are happy to help.
Cheers!
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