Stephen Hughes, shares practical tips and strategies for that moment when your high school band director recruits you to play keyboard in the school jazz band.
In part 1, we’ll talk about being proactive, focusing on chords, and listening to Jazz Classics.
Listen to the full episode here
Be Proactive
- Ask for clarification about your role in the Jazz band
- Ask your piano teacher for help with the charts
- Listen to various recordings of the music
Focus on Chords
- Learn how to build chords (more on this in PPP 305 – coming soon)
- Create a vocabulary of “stock voicings”
- If you are given fully written notation, it’s still a good idea to study the chords and edit out some of the notes
Listen to Jazz Classics
- Listen to the rhythm and style
- Start with these
- Charlie Parker
- Count Basie
- Miles Davis
- Duke Ellington
- Stephen put together a listening list. You can find it here.
Connect with Stephen Hughes
Website: Online Piano Studios
He put together a resource page for first-year jazz pianists. Thanks, Stephen!
Click here to go to Stephen’s resource page.
YouTube: Stephen Hughes’ Virtual Piano Studio
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