Good luck with your recovery, Charles. Welcome back. 
Thank you!
I guess the āpercussionā aspect of piano would also apply in that area.
So glad that they found a cure for you and you are back at the piano!!!
Welcome back and Great news on your recovery.
Welcome back @Charles_Hill and glad to hear on your recovery!
We have added lots of new lessons and courses over the last year, you can find out more in the āNew Lesson Updatesā section here:
https://community.pianogroove.com/c/lessons/5
Weāll also be further extending our teaching team this year which is exciting. If there are any styles or genres that you would like to see offered on the site, just let me know.
Again welcome back and enjoy the lessons!
Cheers,
Hayden
Hi all. My name is Rem and Iām from Russia.
I joined just couple of days ago after I watched the whole Jazz Foundations on YouTube. And the way Hayden teaches just clicked with me. I tried to force myself to learn scales for more than half year already. I also have two subscriptions to other online jazz schools, but there each scale is taught separately, so you do one scale a week. And, to be honest, I never went beyond first two scales. 
But after watching just one video on scales from that course, it clicked. After two days I learnt all 12 major scales. And now that I know them I can focus on making them better gradually. Brilliant!
Just for that I wanted to say thank you and subscribed.
My Profession
Iām web developer by trade. And my three most important hobbies are social dancing, board games and piano.
My musical background
I always loved music. My journey started with British rock, that we call classic rock in Russia - Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and King Crimson were my gems. But with time I broadened my horizon.
Nowadays I love classic music (Symphonies and Piano sonatas are preferred genres) and early jazz (ragtimes, big bands and swing). Iām quite a newcomer to jazz to be honest. And what I know about it I know from dancing, because I dance Lindy Hop, which is a swing dance, and Solo Jazz.
But I never seriously played any instrument, because very early in my life, I was expelled from music class because of lack of rhythm and perfect pitch. So I grew up with perfect conviction that I donāt have what I must have to play music.
Several years ago I decided to give it a try and put this assumption to the test. I dabbled mostly with classical approach to piano because I wanted to play Beethovenās Appassionatta one day. Well, after several years of doing something and not be able to play anything I kinda lost motivation a little bit.
I played several simple pieces. And then I switched to Joplinās rag times. Here is my Maple Leaf try.
But what irritated me even more is that after playing several years I knew nothing about music itself. I knew how to read it from the sheet, and what notes are, but nothing more. And thatās when I decided to try out jazz approach, and Iām loving it so far.
I learnt 12 scales already and working through The Nearness of You standard.
My goals
They changed for sure. Now I just want to play for myself and my friends. Be able to get a leadsheet and create decent arrangement out of it and incrementally become better at it. I still want to have a repertoire of about 10 ragtime pieces, though.
The genres which Iām most interested in are: Swing, Stride, Orlean Blues and a little bit of Boogie Woogie.
Sorry for my English and for the long read. And thank you if you get to the end of my ramble. 
3 Likes
welcome, Rem nice to get to know you; you will have fun with PIanoGroove,
you already have much greater left hand independence than I will ever have.
enjoy all those styles you plan to explore; Just HAVE FUN and make music you enjoy
1 Like
What fun Rem! You are very talented on the piano. You will enjoy PianoGroove so much. Hayden is by far the best piano instructor I have ever encountered. Welcome to the community!
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Welcome Rem,
Youāre going to get a lot out of PianoGroove. You clearly know how to play, but you said that you knew very little about music, apart from reading the notes. Work through Haydenās first two study sheets, and youāll start to understand the fundamentals of harmony and see how music is put together. From there, you can steadily progress through the other lessons/topics. Whatever genre you wish to focus on, the underlying theory found in these courses will serve you well. (I, too, have subscribed to other courses. They know their stuff, but often their lessons are a few remarks and then their performance.) As Barry Harris said to teachers (roughly paraphrased): Donāt show them what you know; show them how you got there.
Anyway, welcome again, and have fun.
2 Likes
Just upgraded from monthly to annual, so thought I should introduce myselfā¦
I learned classical piano as a kid, played in bands and groups, theater, etc. throughout most of high school and college, and for the last 30 years just played by myself for fun, mostly from lead sheets.
I like Haydenās approach to teaching and arranging, community seems great, and Iām looking forward to improving my skills in improvisation, reharmonization, arranging, and, of course, listening.
In addition to the standards and luminaries, I particularly enjoy modern artists who blend together ātraditionalā jazz harmonies with modal and popular approaches (Brad Mehldau, Alan Pasqua). Favorite album right now is Badlands (Peter Erskine, Alan Pasqua, and, RIP, Dave Carpenter).
2 Likes
Welcome gregb. Iām sure youāll get a lot out of Hayden and companyās lessons. And youāll probably find something of interest in the forums from time to time. Have fun!
Welcome @rem 
and glad to hear you are enjoying the lessons.
Your Maple Leaf Rag rendition sounds brilliant. Thanks for sharing! 
When you learn more about jazz harmony I think you will find it fascinating to revisit your repertoire as you will see the songs in a new light.
When we understand what is going on harmonically it allows us to be more creative and spontaneous with our voicings, passing chords, substitutions, and reharmonisations.
Simply following the jazz standard studies will teach you all of these areas. I see you have already found āThe Nearness Of Youā - Iād recommend working on all of the beginner arrangements in that course and then dabble in some of the intermediate/advanced tutorials where we explore and apply more interesting harmonies.
For arranging from lead sheets, this is something that we get better at by doing it.
First follow the arrangements on PianoGroove and Iād also recommend trying to arrange a tune yourself. Exactly as you say, this is an ongoing process and we will be playing these tunes for the rest of our lives so we can continually expand and tweak our arrangements as we learn new theory.
Try to set a goal of learning 2 new tunes a month for the next year, and your harmonic knowledge will improve greatly and well as your repertoire.
The importance of listening and transcriptionā¦
Listening to our favourite recordings is the ultimate source of inspiration and the next step is to transcribe the little things we like and add them to our own arrangements.
Transcription can be daunting to start with but we have dedicated section of the forum for ear training exercises and transcription studies, check it out here:
https://community.pianogroove.com/c/improvisation-exercises/
I think you will enjoy our courses on Chicago Blues, Boogie Woogie, and New Orleans Blues, I would recommend approaching them in this order:
The New Orleans Blues course is advanced from a harmonic standpoint, and working on the Chicago Blues and Boogie-Woogie styles will familiarise yourself with the basic framework of the blues and also common bass lines and turnarounds.
We donāt have a lot of stride tutorials, but there is one here that jumps to mind:
Hope the above helps and again welcome to the community area!
Cheers,
Hayden
1 Like
Welcome @gregb
Many students - including myself - come from a classical background so you are certainly not alone there.
Here are some lesson suggestions based on your interests:
For improvisation check out our syllabus here:
Iād also recommend the ear training and transcription section of the forum where we can work on our ear skills and also dive into bi-weekly transcription studies and exercises:
https://community.pianogroove.com/c/improvisation-exercises/
For reharmonisation, we have a specific course on that here:
and some of the lessons in these masterclass courses may also be of interest:
Finally for arranging we have a specific course here:
Most of our courses encompasses jazz standard studies where we apply the theory and so by working through all of the courses you will naturally be improving your ability to arrange and interpret lead sheets.
Enjoy working through this material and weāre here to help should you have any questions.
Cheers!
Hayden
Thanks so much, Hayden; really helpful!
Welcome @Simon and @Lordanis @gregd @rem
YOu will have fun to play all those arrangements and your knowledge will quick growing ā¦ one thing that i really appreciate on this site pianogroove is the very concise course, you will not have 10 minutes of talking before finding the essentials
and the lessons are straight going to a lovely arrangement that you can directly learning ā¦or you can play around what you learn in the syllabus to apply it to the song ā¦
have fun !
Cheers
ps cool album @simon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYYxkFPWoIM&list=PLKUyqLlH6brkzzJgD6Gdriga4mdtCAMBJ&index=6
i imagine you drumming with it ā¦
1 Like
Hi All Have just joined PianoGroove and a short introduction. Name is Neil, I am 88 years young, and live in Mackay, Queensland Australia, and started learning piano in the land of my birth New Zealand at the tender age of 8, classical of course, and in the 40s was wooed to jazz by principally George Shearing and his quintet, Nat 'King" Cole, and Ralph Sharon. Had a few years of non music when I was in Fiji, and studied under teachers when I arrived in Oz, and considered myself an instinctive jazz player, and in recent times very interested in improvising etc.
Hoping for at least another 20 years of music (smile) and love this site so far. so finding quite a few things that I am getting into. Find the Standards very educational, and the transcriptions greatā¦so many things in each one to dig into. Just a point, great to see triplets both 1/4 and half notes used have worked out a simple counting guide if anyone is interested. Wonder if we sometimes gloss through a transcription and forget the gems that are in it.
Triplets I know are a feelā¦especially the ones mentioned, but it doesnāt hurt to get them right (smile). Looking forward to a long association with you Hayden, and if anyone knows where I can get a transcription of some of Ralph Sharonās solos, would appreciate. Take care
4 Likes
Not sure how to create a new string but here goes.
My Professional Background
I am 62 rebirthing my love for the piano ā COVID 19 Benefit. But when I work I run a consulting business that is focused on Oracle Systems Implementations. I love it! Started my career as a CPA with Deloitte ( I loved that).
My Musical Background
I had my first piano lesson in 1972 when my family of 10 were given a free piano. Of the 7 syblings I was the only one my Mom asked if I wanted lessons. I am pretty sure she did that to keep me home more instead of roaming the streets and smoking pot with my friends. But regardless, it was terrific.
My first piano teacher was Lee Shapiro a senior in high school who ultimately went on to be the keyboardist for Frankie Valley and the 4 seasons. He was a writer as well. What happened was,I apparently had an āearā for music, so lee would come in and say āwhat do you want to play?ā I didnāt know and said play something for me. So it went like thisā¦. 2 weeks to master Minuet In G. Same for For Elise moved onto Moonlight Sonata amongst others very quickly. The detriment here was that I never really REALLY learned how to read music as I could find the sound of the song with minimal chord or key references. Thus I was NOT a person who could do Christmas Sing alongs.
Two years in Lee went to college and I had one more year of Lessons. In 1992 ( 20 years later) I bought a digital piano in Boston and decided I wanted to learn Jazz. Found a great Berkley Jazz graduate near my home and spent another year or so just really learning chords.
Life āgot in the wayā. Hubby, kids and in 2008 I started up again. This time I was playing with Keith Jarrett and Lyle Mays quite often ā¦. They were on the speaker on my piano and I just played along. My love for jazz started in 1980. Metheny Group, Gary Burton, Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett Phil Woods, of course Miles Davis and so many others were my āintroductionā to a life long love of Piano. Today I prefer the Jazz Standards ā love Ella and all the 40ās music but they all are great.
Moving forward to today. After not playing the piano in 12 years, I was thinking in April ā what am I going to do in May ā EUREKA. I will buy another piano. This Korg I really like and so happy I found this website. It is my kinda learning both visual as well as theory and perfectly presented for this girls desire to really learn chords and play like I have been playing for 40 years. Fingers Crossed!.
Favorite Instruments:
My favourite instruments are:
ā¢ piano
ā¢ mandolin
ā¢ oboe
ā¢french horn.
My Current Musical Goals & Aspirations
To be able to accompany a good jazz singer and who knows. One day perform at the clubs in my cute town New Hope PA. Also to continue to learn grow and play better
Composition Work
I play different things that I make up but would not call that a ācompositionā as it never gets on paper.
I am very much excited to join this collaborative team!
3 Likes
Hi My name ls Lizzy Hahn - So happy to be here.
My Professional Background
I am 62 rebirthing my love for the piano ā COVID 19 Benefit. But when I work I run a consulting business that is focused on Oracle Systems Implementations. I love it! Started my career as a CPA with Deloitte ( I loved that).
My Musical Background
I had my first piano lesson in 1972 when my family of 10 were given a free piano. Of the 7 syblings I was the only one my Mom asked if I wanted lessons. I am pretty sure she did that to keep me home more instead of roaming the streets and smoking pot with my friends. But regardless, it was terrific.
My first piano teacher was Lee Shapiro a senior in high school who ultimately went on to be the keyboardist for Frankie Valley and the 4 seasons. He was a writer as well. What happened was,I apparently had an āearā for music, so lee would come in and say āwhat do you want to play?ā I didnāt know and said play something for me. So it went like thisā¦. 2 weeks to master Minuet In G. Same for For Elise moved onto Moonlight Sonata amongst others very quickly. The detriment here was that I never really REALLY learned how to read music as I could find the sound of the song with minimal chord or key references. Thus I was NOT a person who could do Christmas Sing alongs.
Two years in Lee went to college and I had one more year of Lessons. In 1992 ( 20 years later) I bought a digital piano in Boston and decided I wanted to learn Jazz. Found a great Berkley Jazz graduate near my home and spent another year or so just really learning chords.
Life āgot in the wayā. Hubby, kids and in 2008 I started up again. This time I was playing with Keith Jarrett and Lyle Mays quite often ā¦. They were on the speaker on my piano and I just played along. My love for jazz started in 1980. Metheny Group, Gary Burton, Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett Phil Woods, of course Miles Davis and so many others were my āintroductionā to a life long love of Piano. Today I prefer the Jazz Standards ā love Ella and all the 40ās music but they all are great.
Moving forward to today. After not playing the piano in 12 years, I was thinking in April ā what am I going to do in May ā EUREKA. I will buy another piano. This Korg I really like and so happy I found this website. It is my kinda learning both visual as well as theory and perfectly presented for this girls desire to really learn chords and play like I have been playing for 40 years. Fingers Crossed!.
Favorite Instruments:
My favourite instruments are:
ā¢ piano
ā¢ mandolin
ā¢ oboe
ā¢french horn.
My Current Musical Goals & Aspirations
To be able to accompany a good jazz singer and who knows. One day perform at the clubs in my cute town New Hope PA. Also to continue to learn grow and play better
Composition Work
I play different things that I make up but would not call that a ācompositionā as it never gets on paper.
I am very much excited to join this collaborative team!
1 Like
we are very similar in our story
1 Like
Welcome Neil,
Youāre rightāthis is a great place to learn/reinforce your theory and study (and play around with) some of the great standards. Itās also a friendly place to share your ideas and your music, if you wish. Have fun!
1 Like