We have a new style of video which was suggested by one of our community members.
Created by @Tuomo - each of these lessons is a detailed comping study and breakdown. We start with simple comping voicings moving to a more sophisticated accompaniment as the lesson progresses.
Check out the first lesson here on Autumn Leaves:
This is the first lesson in the series and please post below to let us know the tunes that you would like to see next. We are already underway with āThere Will Never Be Another Youā.
For any students who would like to jam with other musicians or play in a jazz band Iām sure you will find these lessons interesting.
The lesson page will be published shortly with slow down controls, A/B loop, chapters, and downloads.
If anyone has any feedback on the scrolling notation in the lesson, let us know. I was wondering if another version of the tutorial with just the regular lead sheet would also be useful.
More updates to follow as the next lessons are created.
I do agree that a video that breaks down the comping would be great since I wouldnāt necessarily have to be pausing the video every 3 seconds to analyze what is being played. It would also be helpful to understand why the chords are played as such along with tips and tricks to comp effectively!
Hayden, this is a great move. And an especial thanks to Tuomo for the time heās taken to create such a fine tutorial. I assume there will be an accompanying PDF transcription with the explanatory notes as seen on the video, where, as you note, the ālesson page will be published shortly with slow down controls, A/B loop, chapters, and downloads.ā So useful for study.
Among other things, he offers a free āJazz Piano Practice Sessionā video series that covers a number of tunes. It doesnāt have the moving cursor, but each videoālike Tuomoāsāoffers weeks, if not months, of study.
Hereās an example of his presentation of Jobimās āWaveā that Iāve found very useful. (And one I still havenāt mastered.)
At any rate, thanks so much to you and Tuomo for continuing to make PianoGroove the best site for learning jazz piano.
Hi @Hayden & everyone, thank you so much for kind words, Iām having fun doing these videos!
I think we could create a separate pdf. with the transcription, as well a list of tutorials on PianoGroove that covers the topics Iām using in the video?
The lesson page is published here with chapters and video controls:
There are 2 PDF files in the āDownloadsā section - the first PDF is the annotated transcription and the second PDF list the related lessons.
The related lessons are also referenced in the āPractice Tipsā section of the page.
Iām glad that everyone likes the video. We will create a selection of different tunes and styles and perhaps host some interactive workshops on comping which would be fun.
@Hayden, I love it! About 6 months ago I started playing in a trio and it has been a humbling experience. Iāve always played solo piano and my approach to learning tunes was to learn the melody, work out the chords, create an arrangement of some sort, practice it and polish it. After that, every time I played the tune it became embedded into my āmuscle memoryā and all I needed to do was press āstartā and off Iād go. it sounded pretty good.
Then i joined the trio. It was a disaster! I got lost in the middle of tunes I had been playing for years. It took me a while to realize what was happening, but it boiled down to the fact that I was no longer paying attention to the underlying chord structure and in many cases I had even forgotten what it was! So Iāve had to go back to almost every tune Iāve ever played and go back to basics, analyzing the chords and keeping up with the changes. Some people have said that comping is far easier than solo piano. I must say that for me Iāve found the opposite to be true.
I really look forward to this new venture on PianoGroove. Thanks @Tuomo for your considerable leadership and effort.
I spent the first few years of my jazz piano journey purely playing solo piano. I learnt a tonne about jazz harmony, voicings, progressions etcā¦ but very little about playing with other musicians and feeling/keeping good time.
It was a humbling experience and it opened my eyes to the importance of memorising forms, common chord progressions, and most importantly understanding the harmonic structure of the tunes that Iām playing.
Exactly as you say itās like starting all over again on the same tune. That being said once I do go āback to basicsā and spend the time to analyse and memorise the harmony I then have a much deeper connection to the tune which works wonders when playing it in a solo piano context too.
Yes they are 2 very different skills but also very complimentary once the hard work has been done on both sides.
Your When I Fall In Love rendition sounded fantastic by the way - it was lovely to listen to.
I look forward to hearing a Beegie style solo piano introduction leading into a jam with your trio!
Love this! Thanks for putting this together. Looking to dive deeper into comping so this will provide invaluable study. Also - very enjoyable to listen to.
Awesome! Thanks @Hayden , and @Tuomo ! Iāve been looking forward to this. Iāve been practicing comping over Days of Wine and Roses so I could hit the ground running with the lesson.
