Read Me! Guide for Community Newcomers

Welcome!

We’re really glad you’re here. We’re even happier that you want to share your thoughts and ideas with us, and the rest of our community.

Before you do, please keep these simple guidelines in mind:

Do:

  • Keep your comments focused and on thread topic.
    This helps facilitate the best, most productive conversations. If you have a new idea, create a separate thread for discussion and chose the most suitable category.

  • Respect each other.
    This may be an online venue, but we’re all equals no matter where we share our thoughts and opinions. Please be respectful and supportive in all conversations and discussion.

  • Protect your privacy.
    Comments in the forum are visible to all members of PianoGroove. You shouldn’t post anything here that you wouldn’t say in public.

Don’t:

  • Upload Copyrighted Content
    Posting and sharing recordings is encouraged. Simply copy and paste the URLs from YouTube & Spotify which allows the artist to be paid by YouTube/Spotify. Please do not directly upload audio files or notation files of copyrighted content.

  • Think we’re responsible for the content of other websites.
    We cannot control the content of sites that we may link to, or sites that may link to us. The inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement from PianoGroove.

  • Forget to have fun.
    We like that :grin:


What is the PianoGroove Community?


The PianoGroove Community is an ideas hub designed to provide information, insight and inspiration on learning to play jazz piano. Collaborate with students and teachers from around the globe and connect in our pursuit to master the language of improvised music.


Our most important values are:

  1. Inclusion – no matter who you are or where you come from, your musical tastes, inspirations, and aspirations are welcome here. We are a supportive community of jazz musicians, students, and educators.

  2. Collaboration – we believe that great ideas and progress are born from collaboration and constructive conversation. Many of our website’s best features were born from ideas right here in the forum.

  3. Innovation – we love new ideas, new approaches, and new ways of doing things. We welcome all suggestions and ideas to improve our online school and community.


How Can I Participate In The PianoGroove Community?


The forum can be broken down into 7 distinct categories, here’s an overview:

Practice Inspiration & Guidance

As a new student of jazz piano, one of the difficulties we face is knowing what and how to practice.

In our practice inspiration section you can download PDF practice plans & watch performances by our students & teachers to inspire your practice sessions. Participate in exercises and studies and discover useful tips, tricks & exercises on how to improve.

Share & Discover Music, Recordings & Artists

The world is full of amazing recordings and it’s impossible for one person to explore all of the different styles, musicians, and genres.

The Share & Discover Music Category allows us to approach this task collectively. This section of the forum provides all students with a huge pool of inspiration spanning all genres of improvised music. If you don’t have any favourite artists or records then listening should be a priority for you. Listening is the ultimate source of inspiration and an essential part of our development as musicians.

Copy and paste YouTube URLs into the forum and the video is automatically embedded. Share recordings, albums and anything else that would be of interest to the community.

Jazz Theory Questions & Answers

When you’re new to jazz piano you will inevitably have lots of questions. The Theory Q&A Category contains many of the common questions from beginner – intermediate level jazz students with in-depth answers and discussion.

Browse through helpful information threads on chords, scales, progressions and improvisation.

If you have a burning questions of you own you can post it here for prompt replies from our teaching team.

Setup & Software

There is an ever growing number of useful software and applications for learning jazz piano. In the Software & Apps Section you can find tutorials on how to download, install, and configure useful apps such as the iRealPro and Transcribe.

Browse threads on our setup including our favourite keyboards and recording equipment.

If you have any tools or services that you use to supplement your jazz piano studies, you can share and discuss them here.

Upcoming Lessons & Courses - Have Your Say!

It’s important for the community to have a say in new lessons and materials on PianoGroove so that we are all involved in the direction and theme of new content.

If you have a theory topic or jazz standard that you would like to see covered, you can submit your suggestions in the PianoGroove Lesson Category.

Also don’t forget to cast you votes in the polls for the upcoming lessons.

Submit Feedback & Ideas For Improvement

All members of the community are encouraged to submit ideas and feedback on ways to improve the website.

The Site Feedback & Features Section gives us all insight into current projects and upcoming features. If you have an idea to improve the website, create a thread here and feel free to add to the current discussions.

Many brilliant additions to the PianoGroove website were suggested by our students. Get involved and have your say in the direction and development of the PianoGroove platform.

Jazz Events & Jazz Jam Nights

Find out information on your local jazz scene. Share information on the jazz festivals, jazz clubs, and jam sessions in your local area.


Forum Moderation

We reserve the right to make editorial decisions regarding submitted comments, including but not limited to removal of comments. All comments are reviewed as quickly as possible during regular business hours.

Thanks for your patience, for reading, and of course, for participating.

3 Likes

I appreciate how exciting it is to be a part of this process of simplifying/organizing such a complex subject for students at many levels. Hurray Hayden and thank you.

1 Like

My pleasure Cheryl… I’m very thankful to have this opportunity.

It’s so rewarding for me to see the forum participation growing and I’m excited for how it is developing!

1 Like