Learning how to play jazz piano is different from classical piano, and it takes a different skill set - but if you commit yourself to regular practice, there's no reason you can't be playing jazz tunes within a year (or much quicker if you're dedicated).
Learning how to play jazz piano is different from classical piano, and it takes a different skill set - but if you commit yourself to regular practice, there’s no reason you can’t be playing jazz tunes within a year (or much quicker if you’re dedicated). The notes, hand positions, and technique remain the same, but you’ll need to focus more on memorization, ear training, and jazz theory.
If you’d like to expedite the process by working with a teacher in your pursuit of jazz, please feel free to get in touch for a trial lesson! I offer piano lessons in Westchester County, NY, and I’d love to put my jazz, music theory, and piano experience to work for you.
What Is The Best Way To Learn Jazz Piano?
In short, the best way to learn jazz from scratch is from the ground up: listen to it, learn the theory, memorize the chord progressions and scales, transcribe your favorite jazz performances, and practice different licks and techniques. Start with very basic material, and slowly add layers to your playing -- you’ll get further if you tackle one thing at a time and stretch it over a period of time.
Can You Teach Yourself Jazz Piano?
Yes, you can! You will learn much faster with the guidance of a teacher, and a qualified teacher will also make sure there are no gaps in your learning that will hold you back in the future, but if you can’t take lessons for one reason or another, you can follow either a published method or teach yourself the progressions and cycles unique to jazz.
Elements Of Learning Jazz Piano
Here is a structured approach to learning the jazz art form - don’t skip a step or you’ll regret it in the future. Jazz relies on memorization and ear training.
Learn Chords & Jazz Voicings
Jazz is not like classical playing, where reading is paramount and technical ability sets you apart from other pianists You will have to be able to memorize jazz progressions, read lead sheets, and know what to play without the notes spelled out for you. In a sense, it’s a more dynamic art form - but your improvisations and tunes will be the product of these progressions and chords that you’ve memorized.
Learn Jazz Scales and Melodic Lines
One of the fundamental building blocks of jazz is the scale (similar to classical music). Start by learning the simple blues scale and progress to more difficult scales (in different modes and keys). You can then start to improvise on these scales (simply mixing them up, so to speak) to create your own melodies - these melodies will overlay the chord progression you are following in your left hand, and at that point, you’re making music!
How To Learn Chord Substitution
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In short, chord substitution, also sometimes called superimposition, means that you substitute (or superimpose) the chord shown on a lead sheet with another closely related chord. So, if the lead sheet calls for a C major 7 chord, you could instead play an A minor chord over what your fellow musicians are playing. This creates a slightly different coloration or feeling than what listeners might expect, which can make the performance more interesting.
In order to be able to do this, you need to develop a sense of which chords might work well as substitutes. Sometimes chords with common tones will work well. For example, A min. 7 and C maj. 7 share 3 notes in common, or have 3 common tones. Deciding which substitute chords might work well in a given context is an artistic judgement, but working on ear training and knowing some relevant music theory will help.
How To “Comp” in Jazz - Jazz Accompanying
Playing alongside instrumentalists is very different from solo playing, and you’ll have to learn how to support a soloist rather than claim the spotlight all for yourself. It can also be one of the most rewarding ways to play the piano - jazz is a social art form, and you have to interact with other musicians as you pass the melody back and forth.
Your Jazz Learning Progression
So now you understand how to learn jazz from a high level - but how does that look at the granular level? How can you actually internalize all of that information?
Start By Listening To Lots of Jazz
Great music always starts in your ear, and you’ll never accomplish much without listening to lots of jazz (yes, Beethoven composed while deaf, but he had a lifetime of music making in the bag before he went deaf). Don’t get locked into a specific sub-genre of jazz - listen around!
Listen to Duke Ellington (Big Band jazz), swing, dixieland, Miles Davis, Great American Songbook music (Ella Fitzgerald and what not), and make sure you listen to Bill Evans, one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time.
Furthermore, as you study jazz progressions and theory, listen critically to simpler popular genres like rock and blues - you’ll be amazed at how you are able to ready the chord patterns in the music.
Also, listen to the same jazz tune a number of times, concentrating on different instrumental lines. For instance, listen to the vocalist carefully the first time, focus on the bass the second time, and listen to the pianist on your third go around.
Learn Blues Shell Voicings, Progressions & Scales
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Opus “Op.” is short for “Opus”, meaning “work”, and it numbers the composer's works in chronological order. Op. 95 is the composer's 95th composition.
Firstly, get familiar with the blues scale: C-Eb-F-Gb-G-Bb (or the same intervals in various keys). Once you learn the blues scale, you can start improvising melodies with those notes.
Then, start learning your shell voicings (made of a root note, the third, and the seventh, or simply the root and seventh or the root and third). You can even start playing simple music by playing a C shell in your left hand (let’s go with C - B, a major seventh), and improvising the C blues scale on top.
Next, learn the basic 12-bar blues structure - it’s a building block for jazz. The chord progression is as follows: I-IV-V.
4 bars on the I chord
2 bars on IV
2 bars on I
1 bar on V
1 bar on IV
1 bar on V
1 bar on I
Learn Common Jazz Chord Progressions & Cycles
Jazz progressions are a bit more complicated than blues, but that’s why we started jazz in the first place. A stock jazz progression is I-IV-VII-III-VI-II-V-I, for instance - try it out by picking a key, playing chord shells in your left hand, and improvising a melody in your right hand.
Imitate Jazz Standards
Find good recordings of Ain’t Misbehavin’, Skylark, and other such tunes, and try imitating the chords and improvisations you hear. Many great composers have learned by transcribing other composers’ work, and imitation is a great way to learn. From there, you can begin creating your own melodies and improvisations.
Work With An Experienced Jazz Piano Teacher in Westchester County
You’ll gain a better jazz foundation if you work with a qualified piano teacher in White Plains, and I would be happy to set you up with a trial lesson. I also teach piano lessons online, so whether you want to learn how to improvise or play your favorite jazz standards by ear, get in touch.
Piano Guidance
Photo: Mac DeStroir
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