Hi, My name is Frank and Iâm from New York. Iâm a guitar player and have been playing over 50 yrs. I still gig regularly. I do a Jazz brunch at a popular music venue north of the city one Sunday every month and have for over 5 yrs. We do other gigs as well. Still consider myself a hack LOL. Sight reading sucks but I have a good ear. Came from rock and blues and have played with some great musicians over the years who I learned a lot from. Love of Jazz started when I saw Jim Hall play with Ron Carter in a Small Club (the Guitar)in New York when I was about 18. Yeah Iâm old.
Anyway, Last December I decided to start playing my upright piano that I bought for my kids years ago. Then I bought a Kawai ES 520, signed up at a regular online teaching site, practiced everyday. Realized, that even though the site was fine I was looking for more Jazz oriented teaching. Did a trial run at another Jazz teaching site. Itâs Okay. Then on YouTube I saw PianoGroove while searching Christmas standards. Loved the format, lead sheet and presentation, Theory explained etc.
I have plenty of time to practice. And will practice at least 2 hrs a day. Would like structured teaching which I believe is fundamental on this site. Thatâs why Iâm here.
Even after all this time playing music I still get excited learning something new and thereâs nothing like playing a gig with like minded people or by yourself for that matter.
How should I start?
Thanks,
Frank
@mstew8799
Welcome Frank! With your years of experience, you should sail through the foundations course. and start getting the piano well in hand. Like you, Iâve fiddled around with other online courses, but PianoGroove is by far the most user-friendly one. That is, it explains even the simplest concepts throughly. Have fun, and please share some of your playing with us. 
Welcome Frank! I agree with ScottâŠwith your background you should easily go through the foundations course. IMO, PianoGroove is by far the best online site for learning jazz. You are able to have fun learning concepts by applying them to songs.
Enjoy your journey!!!
Thanks Scott and Celia for responding. Pianogroove is head and shoulders above other online piano sites Iâve tried even though one teacher from London was very good and knowledgeable. Didnât like the format (videos transcription etc). I like to follow the bouncing ball as they say when Iâm taking lessons and do what the instructor says. The courses here seem step by step and thorough.
Hello, all,
Iâm excited to join the PianoGroove Community! Iâm 53 and work as a data scientist at an IT consulting firm. Iâve grew up in rural Missouri and have lived in St. Louis, Seattle, and the Netherlands. I recently moved from St. Louis (where Scott Joplin played) to Minnesota (where Bob Dylan and Prince originated), which yes, is cold, but is also very beautiful.
My Musical Background
I took piano lessons for ten years as a kid, starting when I was 6. I was in the jazz band in high school and in several jazz combos in college. I had a piano trio during grad school. We did a lot of corporate, restaurant background gigs, which was still (mostly) fun.
My Favorite Musicians
- Blues, esp. NOLA style: Jon Cleary, Dr. John, etc. This is my current passion. I saw Jon Cleary Friday night at a local club (the Dakota) and joined this site immediately after.
- Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett, McCoy Tyner
- Benny Green (Check out Ray Brown Trio, âLive at Scullersâ)
Favorite Instruments
- Piano
- Guitar, esp. the Delta blues cats.
My Current Musical Goals & Aspirations
- Learn NOLA style
- Build up my repertoire in a way that is less reliant on reading lead sheets
- Improv in a more creative way
Hey @mark.pedigo 
Welcome to the community area!
In addition to the recommendations that I sent you via email, here are some other things that might be of interest:
Blues Lesson & Seminar Updates
When new blues-themed lessons and seminars are added to the website I usually post an update in this forum thread:
You will see that the most recent post was for Jon Clearyâs last seminar which was hosted in February, and I posted an update once the chapters and light-up keyboard had been added to the seminar page.
Iâd recommend to click the âbellâ icon on the right hand side of the blues thread, and change your âfollowing settingâ to âwatchingâ. This means that whenever a new post is added to that thread you will receive an email notification.
Please click on the screenshot below to see how to enable this setting:
That way you wonât miss any updates or new lesson/seminar releases taught by our blues teachers.
Monthly Listening Zoom Workshop
Our jazz teacher @Tuomo hosts a monthly listening workshop here in the forum. These are interactive sessions are designed to encourage students to listen to more jazz and to learn more about the musicians that we admire.
Esch class includes a suggested discography and biography discussion on the featured musician. After the Zoom session, the recordings of the class are published here:
https://community.pianogroove.com/c/workshops/listening-workshop/52
and here are some previous recordings which cover the musicians that you mention:
On those pages you will find the Zoom session recording, and also related PDFs on discography, transcriptions, and other resources related to the musicians.
You can also find transcription studies on these musicians here:
These are half completed transcriptions created by Tuomo which will help you to bridge the gap between listening to a recording that you like, and transcribing the melodies, harmonies, and improvisations.
Improv Themed Seminars
In addition to the cocktail piano improvisation course that I sent to you, we also have a dedicated seminar which dives into a little more detail on the importance of transcribing from our favourite recordings:
I hope that helps Mark and enjoy the lessons!
Iâm Zeki and am very excited to be a new member of PG for a month. Iâll be 61 this year, studied science and lit in school, and have worked (and still work) as an Editor for most of my career (and an English teacher briefly). I love to listen to music and to sing and have some classical piano background with a wonderful beloved teacher who taught me about the importance of listening and of technique to try to make a singing tone at the keyboard. We studied some lovely intermediate repertoire (favorites are Brahms, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Beethoven). Years have gone by, and I feel a longing to really devote more time to an exploration of piano nowânot for the end result but for the journey itself, wherever it leads. Iâve never taken theory of any sort, or studied any jazz, so this is very much a revelation to me already, and the world of jazz already feels like home. I want to really try to focus on developing musicalityâthrough strong foundationsâand by working multiple modes of learning/re-learning. Listening to what the scales/chords sound like, ear training (I have never done any), rhythm work, singing while I play, and of course trying to learn the landscape of the jazz language at the keys through the theory/drills/applications to standards. Rather than viewing the keys by note and by rote (which led me to a sense of discouragement, I think, or of a sense I was not able to understand the musicâthat it was just beyond my grasp despite my longing in years past), this time I am striving to be deliberate/intentional in whatever I doâto be rhythmic in the drills, to sing the melody when I work out the voices, etc., to think of intervals and relationships and sounds. To laugh at my own mistakes and try again until I get it. Repetition and going slowly are two of watchwords. Perhaps with the passage of years comes also an understanding that what matters is courage and belief and joy and a sense of appreciation to have the chance to learn within this wonderful community. I have already sampled superb classes from the archives by @Tuomo, @Jovino, @Lyndol, and @Hayden and I am blown away by each of your talents and generosity and the quality and comprehensiveness of supportint materials and technology here. I also really enjoy reading the posts of others and the great material being shared. I wish all much joy on your individual journeys and the collective PG site itself. Since classical has been my idiom, it is wonderful too to re-visit some old music with a greater understanding of what I am seeing there that I had not seen before. I also have a suspicion that Chopin would have been one cool jazz pianist, too. Ciao. Zeki
Thanks for your post, Zeki. I am sure that you will find inspiration to grow as a musician on this site.
I am looking forward to seeing you in one of our upcoming live seminars!
Welcome and see you soon,
Jovino
Thank youâI look forward to it, Jovino. âZeki
Hi my Name is Luzio, I live in Guatemala. I grew up with a piano in the 70âs but I could never find a good teacher. I stopped playing piano while I travelled but a few years ago I finally judged the yamaha p125 as an affordable digital practice piano that has a tolerable enough sound. Sometimes I still get tired of it but I can plug in the ravenscroft app to get rid of some of the digital loop sound on the yamaha.
I tried many youtube videos for the last 2-3 years and Ive definately improved my understanding but I could never develop a practice routine. I tried one other video internet course and although the teacher is a very good player and had many tips he lacked the structure needed to teach someone at my level and left me frankly uninspired for 6 months, but I found piano groove a few weeks ago through the fills and runs on misty youtube video, and I was familiar with Haydens voice and Jovinos too. I noticed the price was good so I jumped in! I still cannot play a standard all the way through, but after two weeks of piano groove lessons everyday I am getting really close! haha ⊠even my wife says so. The structure and style of teaching through playing standards is just right for me right now, so I have to say, Thank you!
Hey @luzioluna
Welcome to the PianoGroove community!
Here are some courses and resources that I recommend to start with:
1) Jazz Standards & Repertoire (40% of practice time)
Check out the following 3 courses on the tunes âMistyâ, âGeorgiaâ, and âThe Nearness Of Youâ. These courses all start with the most basic voicings, and we gradually add more sophisticated voicings styles and arranging techniques:
These are my newest jazz standard courses and they will help you to understand the many ways that we can interpret a jazz standard. This will help you to think and play creatively and spontaneously, instead of reciting a set arrangement of a jazz standard.
There is a lot of information in these courses and they incorporate more advanced theory which will allow you to see the upcoming theory areas and most importantly how they are applied in context of arranging tunes.
2) Theory Recommendations (40% of practice time)
Check out this seminar which will help you to understand the main theory milestones ahead of you as a beginner jazz student:
This seminar may also be useful to help you map out and structure your practice time:
3) Listening, Ear Training, & Transcription (20% of practice time)
In addition to studying the theory and jazz standards, itâs important that you are working on your listening and transcription skills everyday and in time this will allow you to learn directly from your favourite recordings.
Check out the featured video in our Ear Training Section for more information, and aim to complete an ear training exercise each day:
â 150 Ear Training Exercises
The following seminar will help you to understand the benefits of transcription, and where to start if this is something new to you:
Spend a few weeks to review the information above and just let me know if you have any questions along the way.
Hola Luzio,
Vas a encontrar un ambiente acĂĄ que va a ayudarte mucho en aprender el piano. Todosâlos instructores y los estudiantesâson muy amables y listos para ayudarte con cualquiera duda que tienes. Bienvenidos!
Espero que vas a compartir tu mĂșsica con nosotros.
Warm welcome Luzio! You have certinly found the right platform. PianoGroove is the absolute best. You will be playing several standards before you know it! Enjoy your journey!!!
Hi,
Iâm David, and I have now retired from engineering in the communication satellite industry. Four years ago I started playing piano and have had about 3 years of lessons which touched on jazz but did not have enough structure or drills for me. I found PianoGroove on youtube and studied a few of the lessons before signing up. I would like to be able to read and play from jazz standard lead sheets. I play only for myself, and have never played with other musicians. I donât really listen to much jazz, apart from occasionally the standards (Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald etc).
Hey @David99 - thanks for sharing this introduction and welcome to our community area!
For learning to play from lead sheets I recommend to check out my newest jazz standard courses which Iâve included below. You can study these simultaneously:
These courses will help you to see the process of learning a tune starting with the basic diatonic harmony, then 3-note spread voicings, and then slowly introducing more sophisticated voicings and harmonies as the courses progress.
As you have been playing for 3 years and just touched upon jazz harmony, I imagine that you will start to encounter new theory areas after the first few lessons in each course. Donât be intimidated by new or unfamiliar theory, instead just copy the demonstrations to start to familiarise yourself with the sounds and shapes of the voicings and harmonies.
Learning to play from lead sheets is a numbers game; the more tunes we learn, the easier it becomes to learn the next ones.
Here are some other beginner-level jazz standard tutorials that I recommend for you:
These tunes will kick start your repertoire.
Also, with the holidays approaching, you might like to dip into our Xmas songs which we have a course on here:
- Jazzy Xmas Songs Course - check out the 1st module which is all beginner level.
I also covered the âChristmas Medleyâ in more detail in a recent seminar:
Theory Recommendations
For which theory areas to focus on, check out this seminar:
If you have any questions you can post them on the lesson or seminar pages and that will ping me a notification.
Again welcome and enjoy the lessons!
Hi Hayden,
Thank you for your welcoming e-mail, and suggestions for study.
At the moment I have been concentrating on the Jazz Piano Foundations course and working on the drills, and the standards in the course. I canât wait to get started on some of your recommendations, but I want to get a good grasp of the foundations first.
Best Regards
David
Hi Everyone!
FirstâŠHappy Thanksgiving. Iâm âthankfulâ to be a part of this community and to be dusting off this gift Iâve had since I was a child.
I took lessons from 5 years old until maybe 10. I didnât learn much of anything from the 2 teachers I had. They also trained me more classical, but my natural inclination was toward Jazz.
Because I had no interest in what I was being taught, I started listening to music I loved and playing what I heard. That is what started a family singing group that I played keyboard for.
Now at 48, Iâve been writing and producing music for 30 years. Thatâs good right? Yes! Except Iâm tired of not knowing where to go next on the keyboard. I donât want to have to feel my way around this instrument anymore or depend on other keyboardists to make my own music âprettier.â
SoâŠno moe square chords for me. Iâm ready to pick up where I left off as a child and actually learn this thing. I know it will make me a better musician and singer.
Blessings to all!
Hey @karenwclark welcome to the community area!
Many students here at PianoGroove - myself included - started with classical piano and so you should find the lessons and courses helpful to make the transition into jazz piano and to gain a deeper and more functional understanding of harmony.
I know I already sent you some recommendations in the lesson comments section so no need to repeat them here.
You might like to take a browse over our âTheory Questionsâ & âPractice Inspirationâ sections here in the forum which contain a lot of useful information and common questions and answers:
There is also a tonne of information in this thread for new students, where to start with the lessons and courses etc⊠and so have a browse through some of my replies in this thread.
Again a warm welcome to PianoGroove and I look forward to hearing on your progress!
Talk soon, Hayden
Hi there. My name is James (35, UK) and Iâm a relative newbie to the piano world, particularly jazz piano. Many years ago I used to play on my show tunes and pop songs on my dadâs keyboard playing just the melody line with chords using the âone finger chordâ function. As of May this year, I have purchased a digital piano and removed all assistive technologies to help me play properly. When I started again, I was playing simple triads, reading sheet music and learning some classical and Einaudi songs but, really itâs jazz I want to learn. I can play a fairly decent arrangement of Misty, however, this was learned using sheet music. Now Iâm a Pianogroove member, I hope to hone my skills with jazz and aspire to be able to play solo jazz piano (lounge, late night, cocktail, slow ballad style jazz) in the future.
Itâs a pleasure to be here and I look forward to connecting more with this community.
Hey @jajw and welcome to the community area!
Thatâs great that you are just starting out with jazz piano - you should find our step-by-step courses easy to follow but challenging at the same time.
In addition to studying the theory lessons in our Jazz Piano Foundations course, you might like to check out our âessentials practice guideâ which contains 6 drills for each key (scales, triads, 7th chords, and the 3-note 251 progression), hereâs the lesson:
This drill can be completed everyday, or every other day, and start by grouping the keys into groups of 2 or 3 and slowly build up to covering all keys in a single practice session.
In addition to the foundational material, I recommend to watch the theory lessons in our Chord Extensions course to expose yourself to some more interesting jazz chord voicings:
Finally, we have a dedicated course on Misty here:
This is a mixed-level course which starts with the basics and then we introduce more advanced theory starting in the second module.
As a new jazz piano student, the theory will be new to you from lesson 3 onwards. My view is that itâs a good thing to expose ourselves to more advanced theory to see whatâs coming up in the next courses and whatâs the result of completing the foundation drills.
Thereâs lots of useful information in this thread for beginner students, and where to start with the lessons and courses, and so take a browse though some of my responses above.
Again welcome to PianoGroove and talk soon!