Exploring Jazz Piano 1 (Schott Pop Styles)

This is an excellent book about jazz and an excellent method. I was trained as a classical pianist as a teenager and have only played on and off for about 25 years. About 18 months ago I decided to go back to piano seriously but this time from a jazz point of view. After a few months updating my skills I bought Tim Richards book and started this step by step approach. Not skipping lessons before I understood the key technique taught in each piece. I have been now through all the pieces after 11 months, practicing 15-30 minutes per day and more on the week end (I have a non musical day job and demanding young kids at home). I am not able to improvise like a pro obviously but I can fill gaps and change the chords based on the principles presented. I can also read leadsheets and develop my own work. This book is really enjoyable and effective. The pieces are beautiful. Unlike one of of the reviewer below I really like the pieces from Tim Richards. I much prefer playing pieces not heard before and the range of difficulties are widespread. You can apply different layer of complexity to the same piece, and that really takes your piano skills to a different level. I have now a repertoire that I will polish this summer before starting the volume 2.

This book provides a comprehensive course in jazz piano. Harmony, improvisation and technique are examined. Just as stated on the cover. And effective use is made of the 256 pages and the CD. Making it well worth the price. Chords, voicings, progressions and scales are investigated for a variety of jazz styles. As are harmonic and modal improvisation. And the topics are addressed with clarity. The author presenting his considerable, accumulated knowledge in a manner which can be easily understood and employed by others. A couple of warnings: 1. The book requires the reader to be reasonably comfortable with music notation. And to have already developed some ability to play the piano. I think it would be difficult for anyone otherwise to use the book. 2. The book is not simply a presentation of jazz piano theory. It is a considered mix of theory, exercises, studies, analysis and some context. This is the most comprehensive jazz piano tutor I have seen. And I do not hesitate to recommend it. I had to buy a second copy because I wore the first one out.

Thank you to Tim Richards for writing such a brilliant, rich and approachable book on jazz piano. It approaches learning the vocabulary of jazz in a logical and easily understandable way. There are other great books which will help more advanced learners but Tim Richards’ book is the best I know for anyone starting off. It's clarity and user-friendly nature is very persuasive. The CD and YouTube clips mean you will never be alone whilst learning. There are also in-depth written explanations which reinforce what you have learned. I think some reviewers have been a bit churlish. I like the material and the content. It will be very helpful in opening up the mystery of jazz improvisation for many pianists. I thoroughly recommend this book.

As a beginning jazz musician, I've found this book to be a superb tutorial and practical guide. The step-by-step approach is very comprehensive, with each new concept being introduced in a structured way. By far the best practical jazz guide I've found (and I've bought a lot of them). The book's layout and editing is also excellent. The only criticism I would have is that many of the pieces he uses as practice material are quite boring (often his own studies). I think it would have been better to have used more jazz standards to maintain interest.

I've worked through the blues book in the series and am a few weeks into this one and I'm grateful for having these learning tools, they are probably the best introductory books for learning piano in just about any popular style. I am however coming to realise their limits. I find personally that, although some of the tunes are great, the example songs chosen are too genre specific at times and many of them are in modern styles that I find a a bit cheesy and uninspiring. I would rather see more emphasis on more traditional jazz standards earlier on. For this reason I've decided to try out the mark levine book 'The Jazz Piano Book' which has a completely different, perhaps drier teaching approach but more historically informed maybe. If however I'd gone straight to the mark levine book I don't think I could have followed it as a complete begginer because the format is so dense: for instance the modes and all manner of chords are introduced in the first chapter. The different approach to playing is very refreshing though, for instance the first example pieces use mainly two hand voicings which is the kind of playing I apreciate over whizzing right hand scales over static left hand chords.. I will keep plugging away with these great and indespensable books by Tim Richards though which if you haven't got access to a great jazz teacher which is rare in a small city or town not to mention expensive, are possibly the next best thing, better that than a mediocre teacher in my opinion.

Excellent introdution to jazz piano improvisation. A lot of detail which can seem overwhelming at first, but stick to the authors' advice and you will get a lot from this book: skip bits, move on, and go back to them after you've got to the end and everything will slowly start making sense.

This is the book I've been waiting for! I've been trying to move from classical piano into jazz piano for a while. Teachers and YouTube tutorials have introduced some basic concepts but this book brings it all together in a structured way - with a great CD too for practice. Well worth buying. Thank you Tim Richards :-)

As a classically trained pianist, I wanted to delve into improvisation. Of all the books I bought, this was by far the best, containing the most information and instruction. I will be buying book 2.

Just what I need for getting into improvisation in jazz. My learning continues

very helpful

gut verpackt, schnell angekommen. Bin noch nicht so lange dabei aber bis jetzt ist das Buch sehr vielversprechend um sich selbst das Jazzspielen beizubringen. (hatte vorher viele Jahre klassischen Unterricht und einige Stunden Jazz-Piano). Die Stücke zu den Lektionen machen viel Spaß und die Möglichkeit nur die Rhythmusgruppe zu hören und dazu selbst zu spielen ist perfekt zum improvisieren. Ich hatte auch versucht JazzKlavier Unterricht zu nehmen, aber da kam ich weniger vorran. Man hat halt zu Hause keinen, der bei seinen Improvisationsanfängen als Rhythmusgruppe Takt, Geschwindigkeit und den Spaß dabei mitmacht. Somit ist das freie Ausprobieren erschwert. Außerdem kann man bei diesem Buch angenehm strukturiert die unterschiedlichen Aufgaben durchführen und hat damit einen Leitfaden. Beim Unterricht hatte ich schnell das Gefühl, das der Lehrer sich verzettelt bzw ich den Faden verlor.

Beau livre, il y a de quoi étudier pendant des heures, parfait pour moi : 5 ans de cours de piano et grosse quiche en solfège Très pédagogique bien foutu

Improvise the easy way, as long as you practice a little every day! Here's a hint: Write underneath or to the side of each and every note in this book. Practice regularly, as you see fit. You'll eventually be able to improvise like the professional piano players. Each book teaches how to improvise at the piano. Whether you buy 1 or 6. I advise starting with book one. Honest engine, this is the only one you really need, but if you're a perfectionist, buy the whole series. Only after you preview one! Good luck, you've got this one! Forrest Kinney and Christopher Norton are both associated with the Royal Conservatory. Christopher Norton Connections series are a little easier than the Forrest Kinney, (Author), Frederick Harris (Editor, Illustrator),Patterns series. Harris has even scaled the original 136 pages previous edition to about 46 pages. Patterns has more chords and progressions in the left and right hands, right from the start and throughout the books. These books allow us to learn at 3 to 4 times faster than normal piano practice lessons! Although at first blush, they can prove to present a slight challenge to newbie's! Just remember to write your notes of every single notes, be it one note or several, as in chords (4ths,5ths,6th... and so on. This helps with eventually memorizing all of the notes. Give yourself on average about 3-4 months, depending upon how often you're able to practice... Once you're able to play a few riffs or passages and sound kind of like a pro, your hooked and this new auditorial ability to recognize chords, scales, passages etc., should inspire you to practice even more! Just sayin :-) Here's a blurb I googled yesterday: How long does it take to master piano? Stages of Piano Playing Level of Playing Duration of Stage Practice Required Beginner 3-12 months 0.5-1 hour daily Intermediate 1-3 years 1-2 hours daily Advanced 5-10 years 3-4 hours daily Expert 12-20+ years 5-8 hours daily May 10, 2023 ABRSM is now an awarding body for the Certificate for Music Educators (CME) qualification.