As I write this, we are in the midst of the global coronavirus pandemic. It's a stressful time for many people, and for many different reasons.

I've always found the piano to be a source of relaxation and stress relief - like a trusted friend just waiting to help me through difficult times.

Whether it's the middle of the day or the middle of the night, just sitting down to play can help me deal with frustration, release tension and bring a sense of calm.

And it can really be a freeing, creative experience to just make up your own music on the spot.

But exactly HOW do you do that?

“Life is like a piano; the white keys represent happiness and the black show sadness. But as you go through life's journey, remember that the black keys also create music.”

- Author Unknown -

In this post, I’ll show you – in both video and text/picture form – how to get started making your own piano playing sound more… well… “jazzy.”

This is kind of a bonus lesson for my Jazz Piano… FAST! online/DVD video piano course , which you can learn more about here.

First, the video:

Roman Numeral Chord Progressions

In the video, I’m working with the I-vi-ii-V7 chord progression, which refers to a series of chords independent of any key. In this case, we’re working in the key of C, so we just need to translate those symbols to that key.

But what do they MEAN?

In the key of C, the C major scale is simply made up of all the white keys on the piano:

C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C

Let’s number those notes as 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8

Now, if we play a C major chord in root position, we would play C-E-G, or 1-3-5. Since the root of this chord is the “1” note, and it’s a major chord, we’ll label this with a capital Roman numeral I.

If we then move each of those 3 notes up the C major scale one note, the next chord we get is D minor, or D-F-A. Since this chord’s root is the “2” note, and since it’s a minor chord, we’ll label this with a LOWERCASE Roman numeral ii.

Similarly, we get the following chords, moving up the C major scale:

I – ii – iii – IV – V – vi – vii(dim)

There is no VIII chord – it’s the same as the I chord. Also notice that the vii(dim) chord is diminished, since the notes are B-D-F.

A very popular chord progression that’s been around forever is ii – V7 – I. The “V” (5) chord is normally played as a dominant 7th chord, FYI.

So, in the video, I’m working with the famous I – vi – ii – V7 progression, which you may know from “Heart and Soul,” that famous duet played by aspiring pianists of all ages.

It’s simply C – Am – Dm – G7.

In order to talk about our first technique for sounding better on the piano, we need to talk about…

Chord Inversions

A chord inversion is simply a chord that is played in something other than “root position.” Root position means the root of the chord is on the bottom (left-most on the piano keyboard).

So, a C major chord in root position is C-E-G.

If we move the C to the top of the chord as E-G-C, that’s called 1st inversion.

If we then move the E to the top, that’s called… you guessed… 2nd inversion. That would be G-C-E.

If we move G to the top, we’re back again to C-E-G, or root position.

Got it? Piece of cake, right?

Good “Voice Leading”

Next up, we need to talk about creating good “voice leading” – meaning that we don’t want the chords we play to jump around too much on the keyboard.

And we use chord inversions to accomplish that.

Ideally, we’d like the individual chord notes to move as little as possible from one chord to the next.

So, instead of playing this:

Good voice leading might have us play this instead:

Or maybe this:

Play those for yourself and notice the difference in sound. They should sound a bit smoother and less “disjoint” than the first version.

Adding 7ths to the Chords

Finally, we can begin to move towards that “jazzy” sound by changing major chords to major 7th chords and minor chords to minor 7th chords.

To create a major 7th chord, we simply add the note that is one half step below the root of the chord. So, C major – C-E-G – becomes C major 7th, written CM7, and played C-E-G-B.

To create a minor 7th chord, we add the note one WHOLE STEP below the root of the chord. So, A minor, written Am – A-C-E – becomes A minor 7th, written Am7, and played A-C-E-G.

For now, we’ll leave G7 alone, although there are a few other things we can do with that one, too!

So, finally, our I-vi-ii-V7 progression becomes IM7 – vi7 – ii7 – V7 and might be played like this:

And if we’re playing the chord roots in the left hand, we could even omit the root in the right-hand chords shown above.

Notice how beautifully the individual chord voices move on the keyboard, which I just noticed myself after creating this picture. I love it when artistic beauty expresses itself in multiple forms!

So, there are just a couple of steps you can use to start creating your own jazz piano arrangements.

For a lot more ideas and a more in-depth look at 3 classic jazz standards – “Moonlight in Vermont,” “Satin Doll” and “The Girl From Ipanema” – check out my Jazz Piano… FAST! online/DVD video piano course!

Thanks for reading, watching and (hopefully) playing along!

There, I said it.

I’m a grown man with a beautiful wife and 4 growing children, and I’m a professional piano player.

And I like Barry Manilow.

I can still remember listening to an 8-track tape of his Greatest Hits and playing his songs on the piano as a teenager… watching his numerous TV specials and variety show appearances.

I mean, c’mon. The guy is arguably one of the greatest songwriters of the last 50 years.

He actually sang, “I Write the Songs”!

He also wrote the famous McDonald’s jingle, “You deserve a break today,” the “Stuck on Band-Aid” jingle, AND the “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there” jingle, which is still used today!

These days, I still get requests for “Copacabana,” and every now and then I’ll play “Weekend in New England,” which usually gets everyone reminiscing and singing along

But I digress…

I promised you some boogie woogie piano licks, so that’s what I’m gonna deliver!

One of Barry’s lesser-known tunes is called, “Jump Shout Boogie,” and I always enjoyed playing it on the piano – mainly because it uses some very simple right and left hand piano licks that sound really fancy.

I’m guessing Barry Manilow isn’t a name that comes to mine when you hear the words “boogie woogie piano,” but this tune really cooks, in my opinion.

That’s why I decided to make this ANOTHER free bonus video lesson to go along with my Boogie Woogie Piano… FAST! online/DVD video piano course. Click Here For Details

And now, Barry Manilow’s boogie woogie piano licks… enjoy!

In this video – kind of a bonus lesson from my Boogie Woogie Piano… FAST! DVD/online video piano course – I’ll show you how I built a simple boogie woogie piano piece by putting together some basic elements, and how you can do the same!

No, this piece won’t make it onto the “Boogie Woogie Top 40” charts, but it will give you some nice tools to add to your piano arsenal, and maybe even dig more into boogie woogie piano.

If that’s the case, I suggest you check out my Boogie Woogie Piano… FAST! DVD/online video piano course!

Click Here To Check Out Boogie Woogie Piano… FAST!

What I found really interesting is the difference that actually PLAYING an instrument makes, above and beyond just LISTENING to music:

• Better memory
• Better problem-solving skills
• Increased communication between brain hemispheres
• Improved planning skills and attention to detail

These benefits seem to be unique to playing and learning music and are not associated with any other type of activity – for example, sports or even other artistic activities.

So, watch this video, then get back to the piano!

OK, so this photo is of a pretty OLD MIDI setup, but I’m a sucker for nostalgia!

In this post, I’ll show you how to hook up your electronic piano or keyboard to your computer and begin taking advantage of the fabulous technology known as MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface).

There will actually be very little video about the actual hookup, since that part is very simple. In fact, here’s what you need:

• A MIDI-enabled piano or keyboard (look for the MIDI In, Out and Thru connections on the back)
• A computer with an available USB port
• A USB-MIDI interface, like the E-Mu Xmidi 1X1 V3 USB MIDI Interface found at Amazon (about $25)

And here’s what to do:

• Plug the interface into your computer and let your computer automatically install the drivers. If it does NOT, you may need to use the CD included with your MIDI interface, or simply download the latest drivers from the manufacturer’s website
• Using a MIDI cable (available online or from your local music store), or simply using the interface itself (like the E-Mu), connect the MIDI OUT port from your keyboard to the MIDI IN port on the interface
• Using another MIDI cable, or the interface itself, connect the MIDI IN port from your keyboard to the MIDI OUT port on the interface

That’s it!

This video goes a little more detail on all this:

Now comes the REALLY fun part!

You can now use your keyboard to enter music into notation programs like Finale NotePad, AND you can record performances – NOT the audio, but the actual performance as MIDI events (also known as sequencing) using a free tool like Anvil Studio.

Check out this video for all the details:

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I hope this blog post and these videos gave you just enough information to be dangerous with your computer and electronic piano or keyboard! Once you get the hang of MIDI and begin using these software tools, you’ll find a whole new world of musical creativity and fun, literally at your fingertips.

So, jump in, play around, and explore the amazing, musical world of MIDI!

AND…

Please leave a comment if you enjoyed this post, have any questions, or might like me to put together a more formal course on the subject. Thanks!

And if you'd like to dig a little deeper into more left-hand techniques (still nothing very complicated), be sure to check out my online/2-DVD video piano course, Left Hand Piano Bass... FAST!