Q. I'm the pianist in my high school jazz band, and I'm working on my jazz piano improv (during repeat sections where people take solos in songs). However, I don't know what musical mode to solo in (ie: major, minor, mixolydian, blues, etc). How do I know which one to pick and which one do you recommend? I'm open to any other suggestions about soloing. Thanks!
A. The mode you use depends on the chordal progression. Use the mode that incorporates the notes of the chord - Cmaj7 - use Ionian or Lydian, (major scale with a sharp 11)
Cmi7 - use dorian, , (minor scale with a b6) or harmonic minor
C7 - use mixolydian (major scale with a b7)
Have you ever used any of Jamey Aebersold's books and cds? Start with his ii-V-I and one with some of your favorite standards. You can play along with them, solo for many choruses, and your rhythm section never gets bored!
Also try singing your solo line without playing. If you can sing an interesting improv melody, you will learn where to find those notes on the keyboard.
How long to learn jazz piano?
Q. I want to take up jazz piano. I have been playing the guitar pretty seriously for 12 years and I am an OK jazz guitarist. I also played piano for 4-5 years when I was a kid and sporadically through the years, but never serious. How long would it take me to get the technical part down for jazz piano? My ear is OK as I transcribe jazz pianists all the time?
A. It depends on how advanced you are with piano overall, like whether you are very familiar with scales, chords, arpeggios etc. already. Some things different from piano solos and guitar solos is that some jazz pianists will accompany their own solos and technique on piano is more straightforward; their aren't many piano techniques like sweep picking, hammer ons/pull offs, etc. Piano is mostly about having second nature knowledge of where your notes are and controlling your sound.
What's the best system for memorizing piano chords and their inversions?
Q. It seems such a difficult task to memorize all piano chords and their inversions. I'm going at it slowly, as I learn new pieces. Is there any systematic way to learn them faster? (I am studying mostly jazz voicings, open voicings etc....not your normal root 3 5 chords.) Thanks!
A. There isn't a system that I know...I didn't really learn by memorizing inversions though.
If you know anyone that plays, it's really helpful to get out a few real books and play together. That's what I did, and it's paid off (literally)
Powered by Yahoo! Answers
Title : What mode do you solo in for jazz piano?
Description : Q. I'm the pianist in my high school jazz band, and I'm working on my jazz piano improv (during repeat sections where people take s...