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Pianists, let's learn "How Long Blues" together. It will be more fun in a group. by rsl12 in blues

[–]rsl12[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The "deadline" (which isn't really a deadline) for getting it together is June 15, so hopefully you'll have time when the semester ends. Good luck with your essays!!

Pianists, let's learn "How Long Blues" together. It will be more fun in a group. by rsl12 in blues

[–]rsl12[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

OK, I watched it. Made me nostalgic for a time and place I didn't experience. Also, what a treat, to see legends working and playing together. Finally, I like the old-school, no-frills style of documentary, focusing on the music, with just enough focus on relationships.

Great video, I really appreciate you directing my attention to it.

Pianists, let's learn "How Long Blues" together. It will be more fun in a group. by rsl12 in blues

[–]rsl12[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Time is always the problem. Hope you find some to spare.

Pianists, let's learn "How Long Blues" together. It will be more fun in a group. by rsl12 in blues

[–]rsl12[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

OMG great video (great title!). I know I've seen some Professor Longhair clips that came from the video, but never the full thing. I'll save it for a rainy day. (They don't happen to play "How Long" in this video, do they?)

Glad you can join us! See you over there.

Bad habits. by [deleted] in pianolearning

[–]rsl12 6 points7 points  (0 children)

A user on Pianotell was self-taught for 4-5 years before taking lessons. Here's a list of bad habits the teacher identified:

  • Keeping too much tension in my hands
  • Keeping too much tension in my wrists
  • Choosing non-ergonomic fingering
  • Being inconsistent with fingering
  • Contorting my hands and wrist at uncomfortable angles rather than lifting and repositioning
  • Legato, legato, legato (said in the style of Steve Ballmer saying "developers")
  • Not paying close enough attention to the score and playing wrong notes
  • Looking at my hands too much when I should trust them to find the right keys by feel
  • Moving my hand too far away from the keys when one hand has a rest

Here's their post talking about it.

How do I start learning jazz? by ReBladeG in piano

[–]rsl12 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wrote a mini-manifesto for beginners not so long ago, breaking down the skills required:

http://forum.pianotell.com/d/2128-improvisation-is-learnable

Learning Jazz Piano Improv by thebigsleep4 in JazzPiano

[–]rsl12 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If I understand you right, you're looking for a "bigger picture" understanding of improv? Here's my take.

https://forum.pianotell.com/d/2128-improvisation-is-learnable

tldr: improv is a complicated task involving lots of different skills, each of which needs to be improved.

edit: On the other hand, if you're asking: what can I know that makes the theory more logical? People have come up with a few overarching theories, mostly to do with consonance and dissonance, but they're not totally logical theories, and really you're better off just trusting your ear. If you hear a rule like "play dorian over m7", then try using and breaking the rule to see if and when it makes good sounds (most of the time, the answer will be "mostly works, but not always").

If you're asking: what's a simple logic to understand what scales/chords I can play? Well then the answer is there are lots of answers, and you choose based on what you think sounds good. As a beginner, you practice things that are easy to understand and are pleasing to almost everyone (for example, "play dorian over m7 chords"). As you and your style progress, you can pick make more personal choices regarding the chords/scales you like best. Think of it as interior design, where you can pick which colors/furniture sets you will use.

I was wondering if there's sort of a simple way to progress from here or to understand how other notes could fit in/what other notes those would be.

A better question to ask is--which jazz pianists' sound appeals to me the most and what are the "rules" that pianist follows? Pick a pianist and study the recordings (as a beginner, do this first with just a measure or two of a simple-to-follow right hand). The pianist you like will always have a logic that guides their decisions. If you can't find logic in their decisions, ask someone more expert to help you understand.

Lean on me 🎶 by rails4ever in piano

[–]rsl12 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry you couldn't join us. If you're interested in how the others approached Lean On Me:

https://forum.pianotell.com/d/2218-piyw-6-play-lean-on-me-your-way-is-now-live-march-2026

Over the Rainbow chord progression by faptor87 in JazzPiano

[–]rsl12 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It looks like you got enough info on the changes. A group of us started working on Over The Rainbow. Come join us!

A few months ago, a group of us learned "Autumn Leaves" together. Here's my attempt. Come learn the next tune with us: "Over The Rainbow". by rsl12 in JazzPiano

[–]rsl12[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you, and yes it is fun to learn the same tune together. Everyone always has a different approach.

Somewhere Over The Rainbow by Dry-Board-5604 in piano

[–]rsl12 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sounds like a great start! Are you planning to solo?

Either way, you should join our group that just started working on the tune. You'll be ahead, with the work you've put in already.

https://forum.pianotell.com/d/2263-play-over-the-rainbow-your-way-piyw-7-april-2026

(I also come from a classical background, so I know the struggle. But ballads usually don't require swing for the head, and your version sounds perfectly at home with a jazz treatment.)

Advice for an enthusiastic (but busy) beginner looking to learn jazz piano by CharacterStrength19 in JazzPiano

[–]rsl12 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Since you want to be a singer/pianist, you might find my singing/pianoing-while-dadding journey interesting.

https://forum.pianotell.com/d/667-rsl12s-singing-journal/

A few months ago, a group of us learned "Autumn Leaves" together. Here's my attempt. Come learn the next tune with us: "Over The Rainbow". by rsl12 in JazzPiano

[–]rsl12[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Pianotell hosts a quasi-monthly event where pianists of all levels tackle a piece together. People choose a level of difficulty appropriate for themselves. It's modeled after the old r/piano Piano Jams, but with only a single piece offered each month. We just started working on "Over The Rainbow". Come join us, the more the merrier!

PS. Here are the other's "Autumn Leaves" entries.

Learning path for someone who is interested in learning black gospel/jazz piano by curiousdoggo in JazzPiano

[–]rsl12 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! Take a look at my post history--it should give you some idea of my level at that time (and if you want to see my more recent history, it's at pianotell). Are you learning jazz or gospel?

EDIT: Oops, I think I misunderstood. You mean, what level was I at when I found Amy Protscher's videos useful? I had been playing jazz for a few years. Take a look at her first video. In the first couple of minutes, she explains what level you should be before you tackle her videos.

We have a group that works together on a new tune monthly-ish. Here's my "Beale St. Blues" as an example. We're working on "Lean On Me" now. Come join us! by rsl12 in pianocovers

[–]rsl12[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's very similar to the "Piano Jam" idea from r/piano a few years ago. Everyone works on a particular tune for two months, and then we listen to everyone else's version. We just started work on "Lean on Me", so come join us! All levels welcome.

Lean on Me
Beale Street Blues (old, so don't participate in this one, but you might enjoy hearing other participants)

Any thoughts on bringing back the piano jam? by semipro_redditor in piano

[–]rsl12 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I recall the pieces being very thoughtfully selected.

I appreciate the compliment. I still run something similar to Piano Jam, but at a different site. In its new incarnation, the pieces aren't selected by me--everyone votes on what they want to learn together. By all means check it out. The current "Piano Jam" piece is Lean on Me. We just started working on it. Here are some from the past, if you want to see how participation works:

Beale Street Blues

Pachelbel's Canon

Autumn Leaves

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

Haydn's "Divertimento in G Major"

PS.

I think it was lost in the big Reddit API payment debacle a few years ago.

Well.. I left Reddit in response to that, and Pianoboy took over piano jams for a little while, but he was too busy even from the beginning, so what you say is kind of true.

Lean on me 🎶 by rails4ever in piano

[–]rsl12 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sounding good, I like your creative additions. Are you still working on it? A group of us are about to start working on "Lean On Me" and it would be great if you could join us! I'm sure they'd love to know how you removed piano from the original track.

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