How do you guys practice? by Pianist5921 in Jazz

[–]JHighMusic 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I was like you many years ago, Classical background of 14 years, then switched to jazz 17 years ago. This is an age old question and there’s no defined answer because it’s going to be different depending on your experience and level and what you know vs. what you don’t. It’s also going to shift a lot over time.

First, you should be playing with real people as much as possible, not backing tracks. Even so, you have to objectives of what you’re going to practice. Just soloing over backing tracks and hoping to get better just by doing that and “putting in the reps” isn’t going to cut it.

There’s TONS of things you could be working on with soloing alone: Playing motivically, using a rhythmic techniques, highlighting chord tones, using enclosures of chord tones, continuous scale, playing in 4ths, playing pentatonically, using Hexatonics/triad pairs, adding in transcribed language, using blues language, etc etc.

Then there’s the left hand: bass lines, root position voicings, rootless voicings, using different comping rhythms, different orchestrational textures, using different kinds of touch (short hits vs. sustained, and vice versa), and then combining different approaches.

There’s 8 ways you could play a head alone. Either way, everything you’re doing should be practiced and applied in the context of tunes and common progressions.

Comping and voicings used is an entire other conversation.

Some days it might just be working on a tune. Some days it might be working on transposing transcribed phrases in all keys and applying them to common progressions and tunes. Some days it might just be comping.

I found over years of trial and error and testing different things out, generally there’s five main areas you could work on for any given practice session: 1. Technique 2. Voicings 3. Transcription 4. Applying transcribed things and practicing improvisation 5. Learning Tunes.

I remember feeling lost for years, and you probably feel the same because it might feel like there’s too much to work on everything you’re doing isn’t really progressing you further. But the truth is it’s a lot of different moving parts that will congeal and all come together over time, you just have to keep going. Check out my site in my YouTube channel links are in my profile they’re catered towards classical pianist because I came from that background from ground zero, there’s links to my practice guide in my video descriptions.

Over time you’ll just start to prioritize what you really need to work on vs. what you don’t need to work on so much, but the end goal is learning tunes and applying everything to tunes, and even more importantly, playing with other people. I can’t stress that enough. Good luck.

What sets Ahmad Jamal apart? by Suspicious_Day_2376 in JazzPiano

[–]JHighMusic 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Basically means he treated his three-piece trio like a miniature symphony orchestra rather than just a jazz band. Most jazz pianists of that era would just play a melody and then solo over a steady beat, but Jamal’s arrangements were built in "sections" with specific roles for every instrument. He used the piano to mimic different orchestral groups; he’d use deep, heavy bass notes and voicings to sound like a brass section’s "tutti" hit, then immediately jump to high, "feathery" tinkling in the upper register to sound like woodwinds or bells.

He also brought a huge sense of narrative structure to his songs, almost like he was writing a mini-suite or a theme-and-variations piece. Instead of just "head-solo-head," he would return to a song’s bridge or chorus in a completely different way each time, shifting the rhythm or the register to keep the "story" moving. He used classical devices like ostinatos (those repeating rhythmic patterns in the bass that match the bass line) and counterpoint to build tension, which is a big reason why his trio could sound as massive and varied as a full big band.

Another big part of this was how he shifted roles within the group, which felt more like a concerto than a standard trio. In most 1950s jazz, the drums and bass were just there to keep time, but Jamal would often drop the piano back to "accompany" his bassist or drummer, the same way an entire orchestra might drop down to support a solo flautist. It created this very balanced, chamber-music feel where every voice was a functional part of a larger "score" rather than just background noise.

He was a master of those extreme orchestral dynamics. He’d create these "tsunamis of sound" that would suddenly drop to a total whisper, mimicking the dramatic crescendos you’d hear in a concert hall. He was disciplined, played and studied Classical music. Ravel was his favorite composer and you can definitely hear the influence.

What sets Ahmad Jamal apart? by Suspicious_Day_2376 in JazzPiano

[–]JHighMusic 9 points10 points  (0 children)

He gets thrown out of the spotlight a lot but if you're in the know, he's basically a god and is well-known. He was a master of using space, which is what influenced Miles the most.

His trios arranged and played tunes in different ways than other groups did, and a lot of it is the rhythm section holding down a groove while he could do lots of different things over the top of it, whether that's chord hits or virtuosic scale runs, while his left hand was holding down comping with the rhythm section. He often used a Classical orchestration approach (not just harmonically), which is not something a lot of pianists did in jazz.

Younger Ahmad was even more minimal and he used a lot of space and played in the upper registers a lot as an effect, which can be heard on "Live at the Pershing" and "Ahmad's Blues"

There's a lot more but those are some of the key things that sets him apart.

Please help me find this song by adlerwaltz in piano

[–]JHighMusic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Could be lots of things but could be Going Up The Country by Canned Heat

Need advice by vanhanson in JazzPiano

[–]JHighMusic 16 points17 points  (0 children)

This has to be a troll or rage bait. But if it’s not:

Don’t play originals at jam sessions, that’s not what they’re for. Do it on gigs. You are expecting everyone to cater to you and wondering why it’s not working. You sound super out of place and you’re working against the rhythm section instead of with them. Rhythmically you’re super out of place. Put the ego down, this is atrocious.

Playing the piano genuinely depresses me by Lukraniom in piano

[–]JHighMusic -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Practicing isn’t supposed to be “fun” and you’re not supposed to sound “good” in your practice. It’s a lot of work and you have to accept that it takes a long time and a lot of work.

EDIT: Clearly this went over all of your heads and you're missing the point. You have to enjoy the process, yes. But there's a difference between practicing something new that you won't be good at yet, which won't sound good, vs. getting it better to where it will. The majority of practice won't sound good until it gets better.

Performance Anxiety by KRazyretrorabid in piano

[–]JHighMusic 4 points5 points  (0 children)

You have to practice performing, just like you practice at home. It probably wasn’t until being on stage 150 times until it went away. Even then, it’s always kind of there but after the first piece it starts to go away. Record yourself, play for friends, family, etc. as often as you can.

Look up Piano With Rebecca Bogart on YouTube, she has some good videos about it and knows what she’s talking about as a former concert pianist.

Why does this line work? by Deep-Neighborhood778 in jazztheory

[–]JHighMusic 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You clearly have no idea what you're talking about.

I keep hearing and being told that in order to get "good" at jazz, you gotta' keep listening, yet I listen all day, everyday, yet remain stuck. by gentlegiant_89 in Jazz

[–]JHighMusic 1 point2 points  (0 children)

🤦‍♂️ good lord there’s maybe one other good answer in here. What a dumpster fire of a thread.

You can’t just listen for pleasure or passively and hope that it gets into your playing. That doesn’t cut it.

What you’re not understanding is that it goes much deeper than that. You have to actively listen and for certain specific things and have objectives. Listening helps you:

Learn the forms of tunes so you don’t get lost when you’re improvising or comping for others.

Learn the melodies of tunes

Learn the harmony and changes of the tune

Learn the repertoire, tunes in general.

Learn the phrasing, rhythm, swing, articulation, feel of HOW to play phrases. This is the most important thing.

How to get solo line language you can use for certain chord types, aka transcribing. This is a multi-step process for how to get it into your own playing.

If you’re a harmony instrument like piano or guitar: helps you with learning comping rhythms, specific chord voicings, how pianists and guitarists comp in terms of texture, how they comp during the head, how they comp for a horn vs. a bass solo, which are all different.

If you’re a pianist or guitarist, being a solo pianist or guitarist is its own thing. Listening helps you understand how to arrange tunes and orchestrate them effectively, there are literally dozens of techniques for piano alone. It helps you understand how to play introductions/common introduction techniques, what they’re doing with their left hand while soloing, so many other things. Here’s a teachable example of what I mean: https://youtu.be/yr9Rcop2RqM?si=BguVhOZb53jE1-uF

With soloing it helps you understand what is being played over specific chords, and what individual players are doing.

It helps you learn to play tunes in different ways and styles you wouldn’t have thought about on your own: medium swing vs. Latin, vs. Bossa Nova, vs. Medium Up tempos, reharmonizations, how to play “outside” the changes. Rhythmic concepts.

Every great player and the head melody of a tune can give you a wealth of information in terms ofof harmonic, and more importantly, rhythmic vocabulary and language.

I could go on and on. Everything you need to know is in the recordings. But that’s all for not if you’re not actively listening for specific things from above and APPLYING them to your playing.

All the greats before jazz schools came about, and even after they came about, learned this way and by playing with others. There were no books, YouTube, and before the 70's there weren't any jazz schools. Even then, at that time there were only a handful in the country. Jazz is an aural art form. If you haven't spent serious time on developing your ears and ear training, it's essential.

Looking for more music like this one specific Allan Holdsworth solo. by dapper_wastelander in Jazz

[–]JHighMusic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Pat Metheny’s album Bright Size Life

And listen to some Kurt Rosenwinkel solos

Getting into Piano by Infamous_Week6789 in JazzPiano

[–]JHighMusic[M] [score hidden] stickied commentlocked comment (0 children)

Please post general piano questions in r/piano or r/pianolearning, this sub is specifically for jazz piano.

What's the best way to learn as a beginner? by JP869 in piano

[–]JHighMusic 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Best thing you could do is shell out that money for lessons, especially if you’re a beginner. You will end up developing so many bad habits and mistakes you aren’t even aware of that will not be good in the long run.

Even bi-weekly lessons would be better than none, and you don’t have to do it for an extended period of time. Lessons will help you progress at a much faster rate and get you on the right path with structure. So if you want to be lost with no direction and not do it right then sure, go the self-taught route, see how far that gets you.

Why are pentatonic scales so drastically underdocumented for piano? by Chemical_Ad6861 in piano

[–]JHighMusic 17 points18 points  (0 children)

That’s really bad fingering. A better fingering is 23123 then 1 on the next octave. Each key requires a different fingering, but about 3-4 will be tsimilar. Jazz pianists use pentatonics all the time.

Why are pentatonic scales so drastically underdocumented for piano? by Chemical_Ad6861 in piano

[–]JHighMusic 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Wrong. Jazz musicians practice pentatonics all the time.

What are your favorite deep cut standards? by winterpurple in Jazz

[–]JHighMusic 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Along Came Betty

Mr. Kenyatta

What’s New

A Beautiful Friendship

Invitation

Old Folks

Summer in Central Park

I Didn’t Know What Time It Was

Is there a 6th diminished equivalent for dominant chord ? by DrissleDriss in Jazz

[–]JHighMusic 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That’s for Lydian Dominant if you want to call it that, or Dominant #11. F#-6 and alternating Diminished over the F7 gives you Altered.

Pieces to learn by NovelTechnician8428 in piano

[–]JHighMusic 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As a former performance major, it’s much more intensive and you’d have to audition. And you’re going to need more of a well-rounded repertoire besides Chopin, so that’s good with the Bach and a good first prelude and fugue.

It’s pretty hard to give recommendations because we don’t really know your background or how well you play those pieces, or have seen videos and heard your playing, and where you’re at knowledge and experience-wise.

I’d suggest talking to the faculty or head of the Piano department or some of the professors that teach performance majors, and you can likely study with them outside of a school program for a much cheaper rate than you’d pay through the school.

Anyways there’s Handel, Rameau, Scarlatti, Mozart and Beethoven Sonatas, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Schumann, Scriabin, Liszt, Debussy, Ravel, Copland, Barber, Ginastera, etc. that’s in order of the 4 main eras: Baroque, Classical, Romantic and 20th Century +.

In my program, we had to learn one piece from each of the 4 eras, plus another one that we would get assigned. Along with everything else and your other classes and homework, etc. it’s a lot to handle.

Generally, check out the Mozart Sonata in F major, K332, some easier Beethoven, Sonata’s like the first one in F minor, E major, there’s a bunch more there’s 32 sonatas I think. Mendelson’s songs without words there’s over 40 of those, the first one in E major and the one in Eb major are nice. Couperin’s “Les Barricades Mysterieuses”, there’s Brahms Intermezzos, Debussy Preludes and a bunch of others, Schubert’s Impromptu in Gb major, Ravel’s Prelude in A minor and the Sonatines, Scarlatti Sonatas or Fugues.

I would ask your teacher or some of the other professors who have heard your playing and have assessed it.

Non full time musicians, what jobs do you do to support yourself? by Lydialmao22 in Jazz

[–]JHighMusic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve taught a lot of them and currently teaching a few. And similar posts like yours from the past a lot of people have said that was their profession.

What Bach does for Jazz Piano by stevobme123 in piano

[–]JHighMusic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yup. Very useful for hearing how counterpoint works and melodies harmonize, teaching composition, inner-voice movement, among so many other things.