the old and new tunes ~ jazz piano adult beginner practice guide - deborah sacharoff

The Old and New Tunes

Jazz Piano Adult Beginner Practice Guide

By Deborah Sacharoff

Jazz Piano Adult Practice Guide

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE INTRODUCTION 3 DAILY PRACTICE Q & A 6 ALL ABOUT INTERVALS 11 MAJOR SCALE PRACTICE EXERCISES 22 CHORDS, TRIADS & IMPROVISATION 58


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Introduction Welcome to the world of jazz piano. This practice guide is meant for you if you are a beginning or returning adult piano student. Perhaps you began piano lessons as a young child, but quit and never picked it up again. You might be an adult who never played any instrument, or who played one instrument but never the piano. Or you may have taken a few classical lessons many years back. The focus of Old and New Tunes’ Jazz Piano Adult Practice Guide and lesson series is to help you hear music and develop skills playing by ear. The exercises are meant to help you learn music as a language, the way you might study a foreign language. The approach we take is very different than many of the traditional approaches for learning piano. The emphasis is on listening, hearing the sounds, feeling it in your fingers and seeing the visual pattern on the keyboard. Although you will use music theory as you learn, there is no theory to memorize. Instead, you will gain an understanding of music relationships as you practice the scales and exercises.


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Music as language When people study a new language, they often learn words that are similar in function. Students learn verbs such as “to go”, “to come”, “to look”. They learn pronouns such as “he, she or they”. Students later put together the concepts that they first learned separately. Eventually they combine and use what they learn to speak in full sentences. In music, you will start out learning separate concepts about scales, intervals, and chords. But after you learn and practice, you will be able to quickly combine them. When people first try to learn a language, they often have to think to find the right word or use the correct grammar. In music, you may have to think a lot at first, about what notes or chords go with each scale. But later you will just know what comes next, the way linguists learn to speak in full flowing sentences. You will be able to play melodies, chords and songs without needing to read the notes. With practice, the notes, chords and intervals will come automatically to you. The more you practice, the more fluent you will become.


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Much of the progress you make will have to do with your ability to be honest with yourself. When practicing, if you feel you really know something and don’t need to practice it anymore, feel free to move on. But if part of a song or scale or chord exercise continues to be a struggle, you can be honest and admit that you may have to slow the pace down in order to really learn it. Progress takes time. Don’t judge yourself. Have fun. If one part of practicing becomes frustrating, put it aside for a while and try another exercise. Don’t pressure yourself. Feel free to use your Practice Guide as a resource at any point in your piano journey.


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Daily Practice: A Question and Answer Guide WHO needs to practice? Anyone learning to play an instrument or learning to sing, needs to practice, ideally every day, or almost every day. WHY is practicing important for beginners? Being a musician is like being an athlete. They both need to develop their muscles for the sports, or instruments, they want to play. Practice makes you faster, gives you more flexibility. By practicing now, you will gain skills you’ll need to play the songs you want to play later. WHAT HAPPENS if I don’t practice? If you miss a day you will go backwards. You will actually lose some of the progress you worked so hard to make. If you end up missing several days, you may have to work twice as hard just to get as good as you once were. Practicing keeps your skills up and helps you move forward. WHY is practicing important for advanced students? Advanced students need to practice so that their fingers will work as they want them to, to play music accurately, quickly and with expression. If you are in a band or orchestra, and can’t keep up with the others, they won’t wait for you!


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Advanced students need to practice to maintain the skills they already have, because if you don’t “use” them, you really do “lose” them. They also learn new skills with daily practice. WHAT should I practice? You should practice your assigned lesson for that week. But before you practice songs or pieces: do your "warm-up" exercises play some scales slowly and then quickly to loosen up your fingers look at the music you will play to notice important information like key signatures, timing and fingering

WHAT should I do if I’m not in the right mood to practice my assignment on any given day? If you don’t not feel like practicing the assignment, you can try something completely different. We have included different kinds of musical games and exercises. Of course, we encourage you to practice what your teacher has assigned. But you can also spend some time having fun with the exercises and games! Any of the games or exercises will help you make musical progress. WHEN is the best time for me to practice? It’s best to practice at the same time and in the same place every day so it becomes a habit. It doesn’t matter when. Each student is different. Some practice early in the day, and others like the evening. What matters is that you know this is the designated practice time, that should be set aside just for you and your music.


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HOW MUCH do beginners need to practice? Beginners should aim for 30 minutes a day, but if you’re having a good time, feel free to practice longer. If you’re busy, and don’t have a half hour, at least practice something every day. Even 20 minutes is better than nothing. And 10 minutes every day is better than 20 minutes every other day. That way your fingers don’t forget what you just learned. Some people also prefer two short practice times a day rather than one long one. HOW MUCH will I need to practice after I learn the basics? Intermediate and advanced students should practice between 30 - 60 minutes a day. As a beginner, your progress will be less subtle than when you are advanced. As you gain experience, you will be able to hear the differences in the quality of your playing. When you are trying to get better playing something, it won’t be a question of minutes. You may just want to practice it until you get it right, to gain the satisfaction that you played it well. WHAT IS THE BEST WAY to practice? Develop a plan before you start to practice. Consider what parts are the most fun and enjoyable, and which parts are detailed work that may require patience. Choose one of your favorite practice activities as a reward.


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Find another practice exercise that you know will be good for your playing in the long run, but that demands a lot of attention now. Practice the parts that require patience first. You may have our favorite activities that you like to play the most. Students often want to avoid the difficult parts. People love to play what they know well over and over, because it makes them feel good. It’s better in the long run to start with the parts where you need the most practice, and save your favorites for last. If you spend at least 10 minutes a day on an exercise that requires patience and diligence, you will get much better. This might end up as a favorite activity! Take time to focus before you start practicing. Think about what you plan to do. Get up and walk around between activities to help you feel refreshed. Before you start to play a song or piece, think about how fast it should be, if it has sharps or flats, or if there is a part that will repeat. Don’t jump in to the song before you’re ready. If you go on vacation, be kind to yourself when you return. If you feel like you’ve forgotten everything, don’t be discouraged. Be patient with yourself. It’s normal if you need time to renew your skills. Just try to get back on schedule after you return.


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WHERE should I practice? Try to set up a corner of your bedroom, living room, or other room as the "music place" where you will always practice. Have all the items students need close at hand: instrument, sheet music, stand, rosin, reeds, valve oil, etc. WHAT should I do if I have trouble with the more difficult passages or measures of a song or piece? Practice the difficult passages very slowly. Avoid the temptation of playing the easy parts fast and the hard parts slower. Use a metronome. Play the entire piece only as fast as you can skillfully play the difficult sections. If you can’t play the entire piece at one regular pace, with no mistakes, slow it all down. If you practice the difficult parts separately, eventually you will be able to play the entire piece faster. Listen to yourself and ask yourself where you think you need work. After you have mastered all the parts, you can put them together and place the entire piece with confidence. HOW can listening to music help me with practice? If you listen to music with your full attention, you can learn about music and apply it to how to play. Try listening to the same musical work in different ways. Listen to the overall mood of the piece. Pick one instrument in a song, your instrument or another,


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and concentrate just on that one instrument all the way through the piece or song. You can listen for expression, how the player changes, or you can listen to figure out the rhythm. In fact, if you don’t feel like practicing sometimes, listening to music different ways can still teach you a lot and improve your playing. All About Intervals What’s an interval? An interval is a distance between two keys, or the difference between how high or how low two notes are. People think of the distance between notes or keys as “intervals” the way they think of distance in “miles”, or space in “feet” or “inches”. Sometimes you can tell how wide something is just by looking. In music, with practice, you will be able to recognize an interval just by listening. If you listen to any two notes played, and can hear and repeat that interval, you can develop a very powerful tool to help you play any song without reading a book. Not everyone learns to do this. Many pianists with years of experience, who can read difficult pieces, have never learned to listen and hear intervals. Some of them can’t play piano at all without reading notes from a book.


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If you want to be able to play music without a book, or learn to play songs using your ears, your fingers, and your mind, it’s good to learn about intervals. We’ll start with singing and hearing exercises to learn about intervals on the major scales. Each exercise is named using the song associated with it, and the interval abbreviation.

Interval Exercises Sleeping Exercise M2 Think about the song that many people know, “Are you sleeping, are you sleeping, brother John, brother John”, known in French as “Frere Jacques”. Play an E on the piano. Start on the E and sing the first two notes of the song, “are you”. Find the next note for the “you”. Play the two notes together, for “are you” starting on the E. What note did you choose for the “you”? It should have been a black key or F#. So to start this song on E, you would play E and F#.


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On a notepad, write “are you sleeping” with an M2 as the title at the top of the page. Underneath, start a column with your first entry of “E, F#” written on one line.

ARE YOU SLEEPING? M2

E F# F G

Start with F this time, and continue to sing and then play the first two notes of the song “are you sleeping”. Write down the two note pairs you find. If you start with F, for example, the second note will be G, so you would write “F, G”.under “E, F#. Continue to sing, find and note the two note pairs, starting on F#, G, G#, A, A#, B, C, C#, D, and D# until you are back to E.


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Write each two note combination as you find it, going down a column on the page. This interval is called a “major second”. That is why you have the M2 on the title page. C to D is a Major Second When you are finished, you should have 12 different pairs written down. Now, take a paper and hide the right side of the column. Play the first note, sing both notes, and see how long it takes you to find the second note in the pair. Finding the two note pairs may seem simple at first. The quicker you can find the two notes, without looking at what you wrote, the better off you will be. You can practice finding the second note of two note pairs at any time in your music practice.


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Saint Exercise M3 Think of the first two notes of the songs, “Oh when the saints go marching in”. Start with any note. Play that note. Then sing the first and second notes to “oh when”. Fnd the second note that would follow the first note, and play it. Write “oh when” and M3 on the top of the page. Write down your two note pair that you just found. This is a major third. For example, if you start on C#, your first two note pair that you sing, find and write down should be C#, F”. C to D is a Major Third


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Continue to sing the first two notes, starting on different notes each time. Write down every pair you find on your list. This interval is called a major third. When you are finished, you should have 12 pairs. Now, take a paper and hide the right side of the column. Play the first note, sing both notes, and see how long it takes you to find the second note in the pair. New Year Exercise P4 Think of the common New Years Eve song “Auld Lang Syne”, the bridal song known as “here comes the bride” or the common tune “the farmer in the dell”. Write the song name you want to work with, and the letters P4 at the top of a page. Start by playing and singing on any note you wish. Sing the first two notes of the song (“Should Auld”, “here comes” or “the far”). Find the two note pair, and write it down. Continue to sing and play the first two notes, starting on different keys each time.

Write down every pair you find. This interval is called a perfect fourth. When you are finished you should have 12 pairs.


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C to F is a perfect fourth

Now, take a paper and hide the right side of the column. Play the first note, sing both notes, and see how long it takes you to find the second notes in the pairs. Twinkle Exercise P5 Think of the tune “Twinkle, twinkle little star”. The first twinkle is a note that repeats. The second twinkle is a note that also repeats. Hum one long note as you hear the first “twinkle” and then another long note for the second “twinkle”. On a fresh page, write Twinkle Twinkle and P5 on the top of the page.


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Start with any note and hum the first “twinkle” on that note. Then hum the second “twinkle”. Find and play the notes one at a time for this. Play both notes and write down the pair. Continue to sing and play the first two notes, starting on different keys each time. Write down every pair you find. This interval is a perfect fifth. When you are finished, you should have 12 pairs.

C to G is a perfect fifth Now, take a paper and hide the right side of the column. For each pair, play the first note, sing both notes, and see how long it takes you to find and play the second note. .


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Bonnie Exercise M6 Think of the traditional song “My Bonnie Likes Over the Ocean (or My Wild Irish Rose”) Play the first note and sing “my”. Then sing the “my bon”. Try to find the note that matches the sound for “bon” . This interval, or the sounds from “my” to “bon” is called a major sixth.

C to A is a major sixth Sing the first two notes of the song, starting on every note of the octave. After you play the first note of the pair, try to guess on the first try which note is the second note of the pair. On a fresh page write down the song name you will use and M6. For example, if you start on C, you would play and write down, “C, A.”


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Find, play and write down all the two note pair combinations you find. This is a major sixth. You should come up with 12 pairs. Take your paper and hide the right side of the column. Play the first note, sing both notes, and see how long it takes you to find the second note in the pair. Seven Exercise M7 Play a C on the piano and then play the B that is six notes above or higher than it, in the same octave. Play the C and B again and listen closely. Sing these notes, and write down the combination “C, B”, on a sheet of paper with the title called M7. This is called a major seventh. It is not easy to hear.

Figure 1 C to B is a major seventh


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You will be able to hear most intervals by associating them with songs. But even music professors and historians have trouble finding a song that starts with a major seventh. Continue by playing C# and the C that is above it. Move your finger up to the next possible starting note, which would be D. Find the next note in the two note pair by looking up one octave (to the D that is one octave higher) and then dropping down a half step, the smallest distance between two notes. Your major seventh intervals will start as the note pairs of C, B, then C#, C, then D, C#. Find, play and write down every pair until you have your 12 pairs. Try to hear this interval even though it may be difficult. Now, take the paper and hide the right side of the column. Play the first note, sing both notes, and see how long it takes you to find the second note in the pair. Although this exercise seems simple, the quicker you can find the two note pairs, regardless of where you start, without looking at what you wrote, the better off you will be when you play music with or without a book.


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Major Scale Practice Exercises On the piano, a major scale consists of the notes commonly referred to as “do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do”. You can play a major scale starting on any note, and play the seven notes until you reach the first note one octave higher. This is one octave of a major scale. You will start with the simplest major scale to play, called the C major scale. It consists of all white notes and goes from one C to the next highest C. In a major scale, no letter note ever repeats itself. So in the scale of C major the notes are C, D, E, F, G, A and B. A scale may look like it has two notes of the same letter, such as an F and an F#. But the scale will never be written that way. One note will be called an E# (which is a different name, but the same sound and piano key as F). It is important to use the right fingering positions to play scale, so that your fingers can move quickly and easily from one note to the next. Each finger has a number associated with it. The thumb is 1, the index finger is 2, the middle finger is 3, the ring finger is 4 and the pinky is 5.


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Playing scales with the right fingering is not just something people do because they’re supposed to. Experts agree on the correct fingering for scales because someone figured out what was the most comfortable, efficient and easy way to get from one note to the next. You can try different fingering if you want to. Or as fun exercise, try different fingering positions to see if you can figure out why that fingering is recommended. Maybe you can come up with something better. For each scale, you will learn to play two octaves, first with the right hand, then with the left hand, and then with the two hands together. When you go up a scale, such as C major, and then start to go down, don’t play the last note, or the high C, twice. Just use it as the note to “turn around” at, and start going down.

How to Practice the C Major Scale

The charts provided show the notes and fingering for the two hands of the C major scale. Start at middle C with the right hand, and one octave lower for your left hand. Practice each hand separately.


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C Major: Going Up with the Right Hand:

C D E F G A B C D E F G A B C1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5

C Major: Going Down with the Right Hand:

C B A G F E D C B A G F E D C5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 How to Practice the C Major Scale with your Left Hand Start at the C one octave below middle C. Follow the diagram below to practice the correct fingering for the left hand.

C Major: Going Up with the Left Hand:

C D E F G A B D E F G F A B C 5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 2 1

C Major: Going Down with the Left Hand:

C B A G F E D C B A G F E D C1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5


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Practice using the correct fingering to play the two octaves with your left hand very slowly. Do not try to rush yourself to go faster. Listen as you play to make sure you are playing at an even pace and that no notes are played louder or softer than others. If you have trouble with any part of the scale, slow it down. Build up speed gradually on each hand as your practice. Do not increase speed until you can play the two octaves, up and down, clearly and evenly, with no mistakes. Putting both hands together: the C major and other scales Place both hands on the keyboard in the same starting positions for when you practiced playing each hand separately. Relax just before you start. At first it can seem scary. You might think it looks far too difficult. Take a deep breath. Start playing both hands very, very slowly. If one hand is playing much faster than the other, stop and start over slowing it down. Make sure that one hand is not forcing the other to play faster than what is comfortable. Don’t try to watch your hands to get the right fingering.


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Remember that you can trust your fingers. Even if you don’t believe it, they sometimes have a memory of their own. If you relax, your fingers will know what positions you used when playing the scales before. Try not to think too hard and your fingers will go where they should. Just let your fingers play. Have confidence that you can play the scales with both hands without thinking about fingering at all. Practice playing the scales with both hands at an even pace, even if it’s slow. Practice until you can gradually do it faster. If you cannot play with both hands together, because you can’t manage the fingering, you play unevenly, or play wrong notes, then go back to practicing each hand alone. After you have mastered playing each hand separately, both evenly and quickly, you can once again try to play both hands together. How to Understand Scales that Start on Notes that are Sharp or Flat: The last scale you played was C major. The next one you’ll play is C# major. Let’s start this lesson by learning about scale letter names, and then about notes that are sharp or flat.


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Every note in a scale must have its own letter. No letters can repeat. That means you can’t have a scale that has a C and a C# in it, because those are both C’s. Every note in a scale must use a different alphabet letter. A C# is a scale that starts on a note that is sharp. What does this mean? Think of the word “sharp” as in “sharp right” like a sharp right turn. Whenever a note has that # sign near it, it means “just to the right” of the note. That’s why a B#, (or the note just to the right of B), is also a C. One sound can have more than one note name. The name of the note for that sound has to do with what notes have come before it. For example: the note called F, is the same sound as the note called E#. But if the note that came before it is an E, you must call the note an F, and not an E#. Notes are only names for sounds. In a similar way, if two people are eating the same lunch, but one calls it a hot dog, and the other a frankfurter, they’re still eating the same thing. To remember what a flatted note is, think of someone who deserted someone, she “left him flat” or he “left her flat”. The note that is just to the “left” of another is the “flat”. So the black key just to the left of B is Bb or B flat.


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The C# Major Scale /The Db Major Scale The C# major scale is the same scale as the Db major scale, with the same sounds. This scale has only two white keys. That is the easiest way to remember how to play it. Look at the keyboard. Find the white keys commonly called C and F. Everything else in this scale is black keys. Follow the charts below for how to play this scale. The chart shows the notes written as either the C# or Db scale. Always use your thumb or 1 finger to play the white keys in this scale. The notes on the C# major scale are C#, D#, E# (the white key, same sound as F), F#, G#, A#, B# (white key same sound as C). But in Db the notes are Db, Eb, F, Gb, Ab, Bb, C. C#/Db Major: Going Up with the Right Hand: (W = white notes)

C# D# E#

=

F

F# G# A# B#

=

C

C# D# E#

=

F

F# G# A# B#

=

C

C#

Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb C Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb C Db

2 3 1T 2 3 4 1T 2 3 1T 2 3 4 1T 2

W W W W


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C#/Db Major : Going Down with the Right Hand:

C# B#

=

C

A# G# F# E#

=

F

D# C# B#

=

C

A# G# F# E#

=

F

D# C#

Db C Bb Ab Gb F Eb Db C Bb Ab Gb F Eb Db

2 1T 4 3 2 1T 3 2 1T 4 3 2 1T 3 2

W W W W

C# /Db/Major: Going up with your left hand: C# D# E#

=

F

F# G# A# B#

=

C

C# D# E#

=

F

F# G# A# B#

=

C

C#

Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb C Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb C Db

3 2 1T 4 3 2 1T 3 2 1T 4 3 2 1T 2

W W W W

Going down with your left hand: C# B#

=

C

A# G# F# E#

=

F

D# C# B#

=

C

A# G# F# E#

=

F

D# C#

Db C Bb Ab Gb F Eb Db C Bb Ab Gb F Eb Db

2 1T 2 3 4 1T 2 3 1T 2 3 4 1T 2 3

W W W W


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Practice each hand going up and down the two octaves as slowly as you need to. Do not try to rush yourself to go faster than you really can. Listen as you play to make sure you are playing at an even pace and that no notes are played louder or softer than others. If you have trouble with any part of the scale, slow it down. The right hand often is easier than the left hand. Build up speed gradually on the left hand as your practice. Do not increase speed until you can play the two octaves, up and down, clearly and evenly, with no mistakes. How to practice the C#/Db Major scale with both hands playing together Place both hands on the keyboard in the same starting positions for when you practice playing with each hand separately. Relax just before you start. Take a deep breathe. Play the scales with both hands, very, very slowly. Make sure that one hand is not playing any faster than the other, and that one hand isn’t forcing the other to play faster than what is comfortable. Don’t try to watch your hands to get the right fingering.


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Remember that you can trust your fingers. Even if you don’t believe it, they sometimes have a memory of their own, and will know what positions you used when playing the scales before. Try not to think too hard and your fingers will find their way. Just let your fingers play. Have confidence that you can play the scales with both hands without thinking about fingering at all. If you can play the scales with both hands, evenly, practice doing this until you can do it faster. If you cannot play with both hands together, because you can’t manage the fingering, you play unevenly, or play wrong notes, then go back to practicing each hand alone. After you have mastered playing each hand evenly and quickly, on its own, return to the activity of playing both hands together.


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The D Major Scale The D major scale has mostly white notes. The only two black keys are C# and F#. The notes on the D major scale are shown below for two octaves: with the proper fingering for the right hand going up and then down, and for the left hand going up and then down. D Major: Going Up with the Right Hand: (B = black notes)

D E F#

G A B C#

D E F#

G A B C#

D

1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5

B B B B

D Major: Going Down with the Right Hand: (B = black notes)

D C#

B A G F#

E D C#

B A G F#

E D

5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 4 3 2 2 1T 3 2

B B B B


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How to Practice the D Major Scale with your Left Hand D Major: Going up with your left hand: (B = black notes)

D E F#

G A B C#

D E F#

G A B C#

D

5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 2 1

B B B B

D Major: Going down with your left hand: (B = black notes)

D C#

B A G F#

E D C#

B A G F#

E D

1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5

B B B B

D Major: Both Hands Together The D major scale is only slightly more complex than the C major scale. Practice each hand separately going up and down the two octaves as slowly as you need to. When you can play each hand separately and evenly, try to speed it up. Then when you feel you are ready, try playing both hands together. Do not try to rush yourself to go faster than you really can.


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Listen as you play to make sure you are playing at an even pace and that no notes are played louder or softer than others. If you have trouble with any part of the scale, slow it down or go back to practicing each hand separately. The Eb (E Flat) Major Scale The Eb major scale has 3 flats, which are the 3 black notes. The notes of the scale are: Eb -,F- G- Ab - Bb –C- D. The notes on the Eb major scale are shown for two octaves, with the proper fingering for the right hand going up and then down, and for the left hand going up and then down. Eb Major: Going Up with the Right Hand: (B = black notes)

Eb F G

Ab Bb C D

Eb F G

Ab Bb C D

Eb

2 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3

B B B B B B


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Eb Major: Going Down with Right Hand: (B = black notes)

Eb D C

Bb Ab G F

Eb D C

Bb Ab G F

Eb

3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 2

B B B B B B B

Eb Major: Going Up with Left Hand: (B = black notes)

Eb F G

Ab Bb C D

Eb F G

Ab Bb C D

Eb

3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 2

B B B B B B B

Eb Major: Going Down with the Left Hand: (B = black notes)

Eb D C

Bb Ab C D

Eb F G

Ab Bb C D

Eb

2 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3

B B B B B B


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Eb Major: Both Hands Together Even though the Eb major scale starts on fingers 2 or 3, you will get used to these positions with practice. Don’t get frightened by the numbers of flats. After a while it will seem very natural. As always, first play the scales separately with each hand, until you can play them evenly, smoothly and without errors. When you think you can play each hand slowly but perfectly, you can start to build up speed. Don’t rush when you try playing both hands together. Start slowly, even if you can play fast on separate hands. Do not try to rush yourself to go faster than you really can. Listen as you play to make sure you are playing at an even pace The E Major Scale To understand the E major scale, think of a car driving on a road that has hills and dales, or mountains and valleys. There is a small clump of mountains, then a valley, then more mountains, then valley. When you start with E, the mountains are F# and G#. The valley down on the white keys is A and B. The mountains then are C# and D#, and they you’re back to E again.


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Here are the notes and fingering for the right hand going up and down, and then the left hand going up and down the two octaves. It’s the same fingering as the C major scale that you are already used to. E Major: Going up with your right hand: (B = black notes)

E F# G#

A B C# D#

E F# G#

A B C# D#

E

1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5

B B B B B B B B

E Major: Going down with your right hand: (B = black notes)

E D#

C# B A G#

F# E D#

C# B A G#

F# E

5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 2 1

B B B B B B B B


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E Major: Going up with your left hand: (B = black notes)

E F# G#

A B C# D#

E F# G#

A B C# D#

E

5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 2 1

B B B B B B B B

E Major: Going down with your left hand: (B = black notes)

E D#

C# B A G#

F# E D#

C# B A G#

F# E

1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5

B B B B B B B B

E Major: Both Hands Together Even though the E major scale has four sharps in it, when you play both hands together, the hands “go up” to the black keys at the same time. If you look at the fingering: the “mountains” (or going up to the black keys) come at the 2nd and 3rd and 6th and 7th notes, going up or down.


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As always, practice each hand separately, gradually building up speed before you try to play both hands together. When you feel you are ready, try to play both hands at the same time. Because the hands go up an down the mountains at the same time, the scale is fun and may be easier than you’d expect. Do not try to rush yourself to go faster than you really can. Listen as you play to make sure you are playing at an even pace and that no notes are played louder or softer than others. If you have trouble with any part of the scale, slow it down. The F Major Scale The F major scale has a Bb in it; all other keys are white, but the fingering is a bit different. Here are the notes and fingering for the right and left hands going up and down for two octaves. F Major: Going up with your right hand:

F G A

Bb C D E

F G A

Bb C D E

F

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4


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F Major: Going down with your right hand:

F E

D C Bb A

G F E

D C Bb A

G F

4 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 4 3 2 1

F Major: Going up with your left hand:

F G A

Bb C D E

F G A

Bb C D E

F

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

F Major: Going down with your left hand:

F E

D C Bb A

G F E

D C Bb A

G F

4 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 4 3 2 1

F Major: Both Hands Together Practice each hand separately until you can play the scales smoothly, evenly and without errors. Start slowly and gradually build up your speed.


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When you feel you are ready, try to play both hands together, very slowly. Do not try to rush yourself to go faster than you really can. Although this scale has only the one Bb in it, it will take a little while to get used to ending or starting on the fourth finger. Listen as you play to make sure you are playing at an even pace and that no notes are played louder or softer than others. If you have trouble with any part of the scale, slow it down. The F# Major Scale/Gb Major Scale The F# major scale has six sharps. A good way to remember how to play a scale like this is to get the feeling of the scale in your fingers and in your mind. This scale can also be called the “Gb major scale”. In Gb or F#, the actual sounds and fingering are the same. The only difference is the way the notes are written. In the example below, the note in the first row is the same sound and keyboard position as the note in the second row. They just have different names. F# Major Scale = Gb Major Scale F# G# A# B C# D# E# Gb Ab Bb Cb Db Eb F


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You can think of the F# (or Gb) major scale as a pilot that has to stop for gas twice. The pilot starts out in the air, up on the black keys of F#, G# and A#. The pilot drops down to get gas on the B, and quickly gets up flying for C# and D#, but goes down for gas again on the white key (an F, here called the E#). Though some students simply memorize all the notes in all the scales, there are other ways that work. See if the pilot idea works for you. The charts outline the notes and fingering for two octaves of the F# major scale, with the right and left hands going up and down. Practice each hand slowly until you can play the scales evenly, smoothly and without error. Do not speed up until you can play each hand perfectly at a slow speed. F# Major: Going up with your right hand: (W = white notes)

F# G# A#

B C# D# E#

=

F

F# G# A#

B C# D# E#

=

F

F#

2 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 1 3

W W W W


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F# Major: Going down with your right hand: (W = white notes)

F# E#

=

F

D# C# B A#

G# F# E#

=

F

D# C# B A#

G# F#

3 1 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 4 3 2

W W

F# Major: Going up with your left hand: (W = white notes)

F# G# A#

B C# D# E#

=

F

F# G# A#

B C# D# E#

=

F

F#

4 3 2 1 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 2

W W W W

F# Major: Going down with your left hand: (W = white notes)

F# E#

=

F

D# C# B A#

G# F# E#

=

F

D# C# B A#

G# F#

2 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4

W W


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F# Major: Both Hands Together Be sure that you have really learned to play each hand separately before you try putting the hands together. As always, start out playing each hand slowly and then build up your speed. You might be anxious to play both hands together because it’s more fun than playing them alone. Make sure you’re ready before you try putting your hands together for this scale. If you try before, and it’s too tough, you might feel discouraged. If you find that you are naturally faster on one hand, when practicing each separately, you will have to slow the fast hand down until the slow hand can catch up. Don’t try to force the slower hand to play faster because the other one can. With practice you will be able to put both hands together. When you do, you will have accomplished a great deal that can help with finger flexibility and dexterity for playing advanced pieces. The G Major Scale The G major scale has all white keys except for an F#. The fingering for both hands is the common fingering used, for example, in both the C major and the D major scale.


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Follow the notes and fingering chart below to practice each hand separately until you can play them smoothly and without errors.

. G Major: Going Up with the Right Hand:

G A B C D E F# G A B C D E F# G1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5

G Major: Going Down with the Right Hand:

G F# E D C B A G F# E D C B A G5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 2 1

G Major: Going Up with the Left Hand:

G A B C D E F# G A B C D E F# G5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 2 1

Going Down with the Left Hand:

G F# E D C B A G F# E D C B A G1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5


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How to practice the G Major scale with both hands playing together Learning to play both hands together on the G major scale is not as complicated as some of the others. The fingering is already familiar. You should be able to make good progress. As always try to play the scales with both hands together only after you have learned to play each hand separately. Start out slowly playing both hands together. Speed up when you are ready. If you find, when practicing both hands together, that one hand is actually slower, go back and review that hand, until you have each hand playing separately at the same level and speed. The Ab Major Scale You may know by now that a sound can have more than one name. The note called an Ab is actually the same sound as the note called G#. So why is there an Ab major scale, but no G# major scale? The reason is that a scale on G# would have the notes G#, A#, B#, C#, D#, E#, F# and then “G”. But in music, a scale can’t use the same letter twice, you can’t have a G and G#. So the only name for this scale is the Ab major scale.


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Follow the chart with notes and fingering below to practice each hand separately for the Ab major scale. Note that W= white note applies to this chart to help you locate which keys are white.

Ab Major: Going Up with the Right Hand:

Ab Bb C Db Eb F G Ab Bb C Db Eb F G Ab 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 w w w w w w

Ab Major: Going Down with the Right Hand:

Ab G F Eb Db C Bb Ab G F Eb Db C Bb Ab 3 2 1 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 w w w w w w

Ab Major: Going Up with the Left Hand:

Ab Bb C Db Eb F G Ab Bb C Db Eb F G Ab 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 2 w w w w w w

Ab Major: Going Down with the Left Hand: Ab G F Eb Db C Bb Ab G F Eb Db C Bb Ab 2 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 w w w w w w


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As always, start out playing each hand very slowly. Listen as you play to make sure you are playing at an even pace and that no notes are played louder or softer than others. Build up speed gradually on each hand as your practice. Do not increase speed until you can play the two octaves, up and down, clearly and evenly, with no mistakes. How to play the Ab Major scale with both hands together The Ab major scale may require that you practice more with each hand separately than some of the other scales. The fingering is not one that is often used. Practice each hand until your fingers just “know” where to go, so that you don’t have to think about it. Then, when you put your two hands together, the trick is to trust that each of your hands will remember what to do. And they will. The problem that many students have is that they don’t trust that their fingers will actually do what they tell them to do. Some students try to get logical. They try to memorize what fingers to use, using their minds, instead of letting the finger position kind of “sink in” to their fingers.


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It is much easier to play both hands together if you trust that they can. Your fingers really do know where to go. Some people have a hard time trusting this idea. If you start playing both hands together, and you use the wrong fingering, or start on the wrong notes, your hands will immediately recognize that. It will feel like you tried on a pair of gloves of the wrong size. As always, relax just before you try to play both hands together. Start out playing slower with both hands together than you played each hand separately. Go as slowly as you need to. Once you can play both hands together slowly, build up your speed. Make sure that one hand is not playing any faster than the other, and that one hand isn’t forcing the other to play faster than what is comfortable. Don’t try to watch your hands to get the right fingering. Try not to think too hard. Your fingers will go where they should. If you cannot play with both hands together, because you can’t manage the fingering, you get overwhelmed, or play unevenly, or play wrong notes, go back to practicing each hand alone. After you have mastered playing each hand evenly and quickly, on its own, return to the activity of playing both hands together.


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The A Major Scale The A major scale has three sharps (3 black notes) which are C#, F# and G#. The fingering is one that you have learned for other scales such as C major. Follow the notes and fingering chart below to practice each hand separately until you can play them smoothly and without errors. The B in the last row indicates which keys are black.

A Major: Going Up with the Right Hand:

A B C# D E F# G# A B C# D E F# G# A 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 B B B B B B

A Major: Going Down with the Right Hand:

A G# F# E D C# B A G# F# E D C# B A 5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 B B B B B B


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A Major: Going Up with the Left Hand:

A B C# D E F# G# A B C# D E F# G# A 5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 B B B B B B

A Major: Going Down with the Left Hand:

A G# F# E D C# B A G# F# E D C# B A 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 B B B B B B

How to practice an A Major scale with both hands together Because the A major scale has a familiar fingering pattern, and black notes that require no special positioning, this scale should not pose any unusual challenges. Try to play the scales with both hands together only after you have learned to play each hand separately. Start out slowly playing both hands together. Speed up when you are ready. If you find, when practicing both hands together, that one hand is actually slower, go back and practice that hand, until you have each hand playing separately at the same level and speed.


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The Bb Major Scale The Bb major scale is one of the simpler, less complex scales to learn and practice. It has 2 flat notes that are black, the Bb and and the Eb. Follow the notes and fingering chart below to practice each hand separately until you can play them smoothly and without errors. The B in the last row indicates which notes are black.

Bb Major: Going Up with the Right Hand:

Bb C D Eb F G A Bb C D Eb F G A Bb 2 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 B B B B B

A Major: Going Down with the Right Hand:

Bb A G F Eb D C Bb A G F Eb D C Bb 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 2 B B B B B


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Bb Major: Going Up with the Left Hand:

Bb C D Eb F G A Bb C D Eb F G A Bb 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 2 B B B B B

Bb Major: Going Down with the Left Hand:

Bb A G F Eb D C Bb A G F Eb D C Bb 2 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 B B B B B

How to practice the B Major scale with both hands together As always, be sure you have mastered how to play each hand separately before you attempt playing the hands together. When you first try to play the two hands together, start slow, much slower than you can play each hand separately. As you build up speed you will discover where you still need practice with one hand. You will also find just the right speed at which you can play both hands well.


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If you find, when practicing both hands together, that one hand is actually slower, go back and practice that hand, until you can play each hand separately at a smooth and even pace. The B Major Scale / The Cb Major Scale Here is an easy trick for how to remember the B major scale. Think of the word “B” spelled out how it sounds, as “be”. The word “be” has two letters, a B and an E. The B major scale has two white notes, a B and an E. Everything else is black keys. The fingering is the fairly common pattern you learned for the C major scale. Follow the notes and fingering chart to practice each hand separately until you can play them smoothly and without errors. The notes with W in the last row show which notes are white. We learned that the same sound can have two note names. Some scales can have two names too.


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The chart shown shows the notes for both the B major scale and the Cb major scale. These are the same sounds and same finger positioning, just different note names. Look at the chart below, before you play, just to see how the notes would be named in a scale with sharps (the B major scale) or in a scale with flats (the Cb major scale). In this chart the name of the note on the top row is the same sound as the name of the note on the bottom row. To practice it, we will just call it the B major scale. B C# D# E F# G# A# B Cb Db Eb Fb Gb Ab Bb Cb


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B Major: Going Up with the Right Hand:

B C# D# E F# G# A# B C# D# E F# G# A# B 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 W W W W W

B Major: Going Down with the Right Hand:

B A# G# F# E D# C# B A# G# F# E D# C# B 5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 W W W B B

B Major: Going Up with the Left Hand:

B C# D# E F# G# A# B C# D# E F# G# A# B 4 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 W W W W W

B Major: Going Down with the Left Hand:

B A# G# F# E D# C# B A# G# F# E D# C# B 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 W W W W W


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How to practice the B Major scale with both hands together As always, be sure you have mastered how to play each hand separately before you attempt playing the hands together. When you first try to play the two hands together, start slowly. Play much slower than you are able to play the scales with each hand separately. As you build up speed you will discover where you still need practice with one hand. You may find just the right speed in which you can slowly play both hands together well. Once you can do this, you can gradually build up to play both hands together faster. If you find, when practicing both hands together, that one hand is actually slower, go back and review that hand, until you have each hand playing separately at the same level and speed.


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Chords, Triads and Improvisation What’s a chord? A chord is a group of notes that can be played together. When chords are played along with a song melody, the sound is much fuller than playing just the melody alone. Each of the scales that you just learned has three notes, which make up the major chord of that scale. These three notes are called the major triad. The major triad is the first or “1” note, the third or “3” note, and the fifth or “5” note of the scale. Let’s start with C to learn how to play a C chord. If we number the notes of the C major scale, it looks like this: C=1, D=2, E=3, F=4, G=5.A=6, B=7. So the 1- 3- 5 notes, or major triad are: “C – E- G” as shown below.


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Let’s play the C chord now with the left hand. Put your pinky on the C, the third finger on the E, and the thumb on the G. Play all three notes together. Did you hear that full sound? Playing Chords and Melody Exercise You are now going to combine two concepts you have already learned, and try something new along with it. With your left hand, play the C chord again. Think of a rhythm that you can count to a 1-2-3-4 beat. Tap this rhythm with your foot with a lively, even steady beat. When you have that rhythm in your mind, play the C chord in that rhythm, over and over, to the same beat. While your left hand continues to play the chord, your right hand is going to play a melody or tune. For this chords and melody exercise, the only notes you may play with your right hand are the C, E and G. They are the same notes you are playing “together” as a chord on the left hand. As you continue to play the chord with your left hand, experiment on these three notes with your right hand. Do not play the notes together with your right hand.


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Play the notes in some sort of tune, any way you want, in whatever order you want. Don’t think about it too much. Just try to play something. If you don’t like how it sounds, you can always try again. In this exercise, you won’t know how it’s going to sound before you play it, so just take a risk. Keep playing with your right hand, with just these three notes, while you play the C chord with your left hand. If you feel you don’t know what you’re doing, don’t worry. The photos on the following pages will guide you on how to learn to play the major chords built on the 1-3-5 for every major scale. After you learn the other chords, you can try doing the chord melody exercise, starting on any major scale. The Major Chords: Db Chord: The photo below shows the Db Major and the pinky reaching up to the next Db. The triad notes are Db, F, Ab.


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. D Major Chord: The photo below shows the D major triad of D, F# and A. . Eb Major Chord: The photo below shows the Eb major chord with the major triad of Eb, G and Bb.


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E Major Chord: The photo below shows the E major chord with the major triad of E, G# and B. F Major Chord: The photo below includes the F major chord with the major triad of F, A and C. The pinky is reaching up to play the next highest F.


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The F#/Gb Major Chord: The photo below shows the F# or Gb major chord with the major triad of: F#, A# and C# OR Gb, Bb and Db. The G Major Chord: The photo below shows the G major chord with the major triad of: G, B and D.


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The Ab Major Chord: The photo below shows the Ab major chord with the major triad of Ab, C and Eb. (The player reached his pinky over one octave to touch the higher Ab as well.)

The A Major Chord: The photo below shows the A major chord with the major triad of A, C# and E. (and pinky reaching to A)


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The Bb Major Chord: The photo below shows the Bb major chord with the major triad of Bb, D and F. (and pinky reaching over to touch the higher Bb)

The B Major Chord: The photo below shows the B major chord with the major triad of B, D# and F#. This is the same chord as the Cb Major Chord. You can “spell” this chord as: B, D# and F# or Cb, Eb, and Gb.


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The 1- 4 - 5 -1 Exercise You have now learned how to play major scales and major chords. You are now ready to try the 1-4-5 exercise, a very exciting first step into the world of improvisation. Though this exercise may take some time, your will reap great rewards from trying it on a consistent basis. Once you get familiar with it, you can do it every day if you wish, starting on a different scale each time. To start, you are going to try the 1-4-5-1 with the C major chord and C major scale. Find the fourth note of the C major scale. What is it? It is F. Find the fifth note of the scale. What is it? It is G. What are the notes of the F major chord? They are F –A-C. Play the F chord now. If you start on C, as you just did, and you play the F-A-C as a chord, then you are playing a “4” chord in the key of C.


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Find the fifth note, or G, in the scale of C. What are the notes in the G major chord? They are G, B and D. If you start on C, and then play a G chord of G-B-D, you are playing a “5” chord in the key of C. Practice playing the C chord, then the 4 chord (or F chord) in the key of C, and the 5 chord (or G chord) in the key of C. After a few minutes, proceed to learn what you will do next with the 1-4-5 skills you just learned. The Music Recipe Exercise: This Music Recipe exercise is like a cooking recipe, except instead of using teaspoons or tablespoons, we will use “beats”. Your left hand will play the chords. Before you begin, tap the beat with your foot in the lively 1-2-3-4 rhythm.


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Music Recipe (continued): Play 16 beats of the C chord, also called the 1 chord. (C-E-G) Play 8 beats of the F or 4 chord in the key of C. (F-A-C) Play 8 beats of the C or 1 chord again. (C-E-G) Play 4 beats of the G or 5 chord in the key of C. (G-B-D) Play 4 beats of the 4 or F chord in the key of C. (F-A-C) Then play 8 beats of the 1 or C chord in the key of C. (C-E-G) Let’s review: You will start with the C scale. Later, you can start on other scales, so this time we’ll just call the chords by number. Play 16 beats of the 1 chord. Play 8 beats of the 4 chord. Play 8 beats of the 1 chord. Play 4 beats of the 5 chord. Play 4 beats of the 4 chord. Play 8 beats of the 1 chord. Try playing the Music Recipe chords over and over. After you feel comfortable playing the Music Recipe chords, and can play it fairly quickly, you will add a melody with your right hand.


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Your right hand will play only the notes that are in the scale in which you started. This time it’s the C major scale. Experiment with a melody with your right hand playing only the notes in the C scale, which are all white keys. If you think it sounds terrible, it doesn’t matter. If you just stop in the middle, panic, or don’t know what to do, that’s fine. Just keep playing those chords, and “jump in” any time with your right hand. Have fun. See what happens. Practice the Music Recipe exercise as often as you want. Make sure that you play all the chords with the same steady beat. After you’ve done the Music Recipe Exercise starting in C, try starting in another scale. You can experiment with melodies and chords in any scale. After you choose a scale, review the 1-3-5 triad and all the notes of that scale. Remind yourself of the pattern, of which keys are white or black. Start with your chords in the left hand, and then try adding a melody with the right hand. This is the first step towards jazz improvisation. Congratulations! Good luck with your new skills. And don’t forget to have fun.

the old and new tunes ~ jazz piano adult beginner practice guide - deborah sacharoff

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