Jazz Piano Lesson: Jazz Piano Lick 001

First in Frank’s HUGE collection of killer jazz piano licks to add to your bag… by ear, intellect, eye, and muscle…

Table of Contents

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Special Note about this Lesson

Don’t underestimate the immense value of this seemingly simple study for developing your musicianship. While this lesson may not qualify as a lick per se, such knowledge and skill is fundamental and builds a solid foundation for hearing, reading, feeling, playing, composing, and improvising musical melodies.

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Special Note about the Design of these Studies

An extremely effective way to internalize any new lick–by ear, intellect, eye, and muscle–and to simultaneously develop your comping and soloing chops is to play it “in context”: within an established form over a set of standard chord changes.

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Jazz Piano Lick 001

The pattern here is simple: Play each of the three Tonic Major Triad Chord Tones (Do, Mi, So) against a Major 1-6-2-5 (I-vi7-ii7-V7) turnaround chord progression in an 8 bar form in the key of Bb Major (a commonly used jazz key)…

Jazz Piano Lick 001 (Played over Chord Roots)

Listen to Frank demonstrate one way to play this at 120 beats per minute…

Ear Training Tips: As you play and sing each Solfege syllable aloud, pay special attention to the unique sound-feeling of each one (Do, Mi, So) and ask yourself: Which one sounds and feels most stable and resolved? How does the sound, feeling, and function of each note depend on its location within the meter, within the form, and with respect to the chord that is being played at the time?

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Jazz Piano Lick 001 (Played over “Root plus Definitive Tones” Left Hand)

Notice the left hand pattern: Root on the strong beat and the definitive tones 3 and 7 are played on up beats and weak beats. Here’s where knowing your major scales and chords really pays dividends…

Listen to Frank demonstrate one way to play this at 80 beats per minute…

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Jazz Piano Lick 001 (Time for You to Improvise)

Use what you know about form, meter, chord voicings, left hand patterns, and rhythm… and see what you discover just by messing around.

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Study & Practice Reminders

1. You’re singing the Solfege aloud in order to internalize the sound-feelings, right?
2. You practice with a metronome or rhythm track in order to instill good time, right?
3. You record yourself, listen to the playback immediately, self evaluate, and respond accordingly, right?

The key to getting good isn’t “talent”; it’s the discipline to study and practice the right things the right way.

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