Q. I have been playing piano for 8 years. I know all of my scales, chords, and chord progressions. I know everything a pianist should know but i can't improvise at all every time i try i start of good but then it goes badly from there..so please help...thanks in advance. I also play bass guitar and alto saxophone, I want to be able to improvise on those instruments too.
A. seems like you know enough music, scales and stuff
do you listen/play to classical?
because if you do ,it is too strict and it doesnt leave any space for improvisation
I would say listen to jazz and blues, rock and pop, listen to how they play solos and try to imitate
MW
http://miketheblacksheep.wordpress.com/
I want to learn Jazz Piano, where do I start?
Q. Hi,
I've been listening to a lot of jazz piano improv and its amazing!!! I want to do it too: I know what diminished chords and augmented are but I'm not really sure what to do with them.
2. How do you find which diminished chords go with which notes? I see people doing improv and they can match chords w/ notes so easily and how do you pick and choose? Thanks!!
A. There are literally hundreds of styles of jazz. Most of what you hear, the real flashy stuff is bebop orientated - frantic tempo's, disjointed progressions, extended harmonic vocabulary, odd phrasing, and mostly the song exists as a vehicle of 'self-discovery' or what musicians call noodling.
So - Jazz isn't just playing some dim/aug chords and fucking around the C major scale, just as french isn't oui/non and good to go. Where to start?
Get a fake book - it gives you the melody and the progression. Learn the melody by heart, learn the progression by heart. This big ass pdf is a good place to start. The songs are old and Broadwayish - but it'll get you started playing real jazz songs.
http://www-irma.u-strasbg.fr/~vigon/amis/partoches/jazz/fichiers/Fake%20Book.pdf
From there you'll notice that certain songs have all fucked up progressions - like C major to Ebmaj7 - well, how the hell can that be? Then you'll notice that G is in the Cmaj chord as well as the thirst of Eb. So in Jazzland, as long as the note is in there somewhere (given that it's not just 'out there' or part of a weird chromatic passage, or leading into another note) it's good to play, and can transition you to a new scale. When you start to make up your melodies, write the melody and the reharmonize with more complex chords and google substitution.
Remember, the SONG comes before the solo. Learn some songs and you'll start to connect the dots on what scales are used over what chords. IMHO, most of the really hard stuff to solo over are showtunes. Find a jazzer who can make those progressions sing is really something - because everyone already knows the song/lyrics yet wants to hear something new and exciting from the jazz man. Whatever. It's all bullshit anyhow, no one listens to this crap anymore.
If you were going to start playing blues/jazz piano; which piece would you start with?
Q. All throughout my piano years I've played classical. I find it EXTREMELY boring, except Bach's music of course. I want to start playing Jazz or Blues piano but I don't know what music piece I should start with...Any ideas?
A. This is a good question, but it has been asked here a number of times in various ways!
No. 1 (rhetorically): If you find "classical" extremely boring, what makes you think you would be interested in anything else? This is a serious question, I just want to make you think about it. How you define "classical" has a lot to do with the answer, but let us leave that for another time.
No 2: Do you have any idea what you are talking about? I mean this also as a serious question. Do you know the difference between jazz and blues? That question was asked here very recently and I suggest that you do a tiny bit of research at Yahoo!Answers. Jazz is a VERY broad subject and though there is no definitive definition of "jazz", it does incorporate the "blues". "Blues", is strictly defined by a chord structure as well as by a style of playing. One of the answers here calls it a "generic blues progression" and he is correct as it applies to a version of the "12 bar blues" progression. There are many versions and then you get into "16 bar blues" progressions and alterations. But it all has to do with the basic three chords: tonic, sub-dominant and dominant. Learn this progression in all 12 keys and you will be well on your way to playing "the blues".
No. 3: "Jazzing" it up. Your best bet is to listen to some people who do it well. Try looking for "blues" on YouTube and listening to samples. You won't be bored for long.
Now for the broader question: Why do you find "classical" boring? Is it because you are expected to play it exactly the same, or better, every time? Well, jazz is about NOT doing that. You do strive to always play it "better", but you also strive to play it differently every time! Again, listen to tracks at YouTube. YouTube takes are free and I've spent many enjoyable hours following links to find the next "gem".
As you come from a classical background, I suggest that you listen to Dave Brubeck. My first "deep" forays into playing jazz came from following Brubeck, Peter Nero, Ronnie Kole and other classically trained pianists who turned to jazz. These three were on juke boxes in restaurants and bowling alleys a "few" years ago! Brubeck even published a lot of his manuscript with very accurately transcribed solos! These guys even do amazing jazz versions of some well-known classical "hits"! Another pianist I came to later is the Brazilian, Deodato. He is one of my current favorites because of the "rock-tinged" flavor to his classical version of such things as "Also Sprach Zarathustra", "Rhapsody in Blue", "Prelude To The Afternoon Of A Faun" and many others. (Brazilian pianist/composer Antonio Carlos Jobim turned me into a confirmed jazz lover with his music!) There are MANY jazz versions of "Clair de Lune", a song mentioned in another answer. This Debussy composition is never boring! "Ode To Joy" has several fine modern versions that are not classical but I can't remember a jazz version. My favorite, a rock version, was a big hit several years ago. Another "classical" song re-done in many versions is Pachebel's "Canon in D".
"Laura", "All the Things you Are" and "Here's That Rainy Day" as mentioned in another answer are GREAT jazz ballads and must be in every jazz pianist's repertoire!
For more jazz/rock, don't forget the Walter Murphy version of "Fifth of Beethoven" (my all-time favorite of the genre), the "Hooked on Classics" series, "Classical Gas" by Mason Williams and many others.
My final answer: Start with Nat King Kole's "(Get your kicks on) Route 66". It is a medium tempo, altered blues composed by Bobby Troup. It has great lyrics to help you learn the pattern. The song has been recorded by everyone including Chuck Berry, the Rolling Stones, Charlie Brown and Nat King Kole. Kole's version was the original and it is my favorite recording of the song. The main thing is, I never get "bored" with playing this blues song on piano and I frequently wind up "quoting" it when improvising on any other blues!
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Title : How do you improvise on an instrument?
Description : Q. I have been playing piano for 8 years. I know all of my scales, chords, and chord progressions. I know everything a pianist should know ...