The Bill Withers classic song “Ain’t No Sunshine” is a funky R&B standard that has also found a home in jazz circles. This is probably because the song has many traditional elements of jazz present in the song. For example, the song is based on an 8-bar modal cycle that features a minor blues-type of…
I’ve been lucky enough to have some nice pianos in my life. My old studio piano was a 1925 Kanabe 6′ grand piano. My Kanabe and I have had some great memories together. In fact I wrote and rehearsed the songs for both of my albums on that piano. Now my Kanabe lives in my…
Paul Buono has returned to the JazzEdge family as an instructor. His professional piano/keyboard experience includes national and international touring, university professor, musical director, pit musician, sideman, composer/arranger, middle school teacher, and even a brief stint as a… lawyer(?)! Willie: What got you started on the piano? Paul: My grandfather was a very good…
The hardest part of practicing the piano is finding the time. In our busy world, it is not always easy to set aside 30 minutes a day to practice the piano. In addition, the fact that the piano is often practiced solo (not in a group setting) only exacerbates the situation. I’ve learned over the…
One of the first overwhelming concepts you encounter when you begin studying jazz piano is the number of chords and chord progressions. There are a lot. A real lot. But when you really break it down there are actually a finite number of chords. And to be perfectly honest with you, the VAST majority of…
In this article, our third in the “Rhythm Exercises” series, we’ll be looking at some advanced and challenging rhythmic exercises. These are really meant to test your rhythmic understanding and execution, so if they’re too difficult, don’t worry. Start off with our Part 1 and Part 2 rhythmic exercises, master those, and then build up…
In this article we are going to demystify secondary dominant chords and the confusion that often accompanies this music theory topic. Even if you’ve never heard the term “secondary dominant chords” before, you’ve probably encountered them regardless of what kind of music you like to play. That’s because secondary dominant chords are present in all…
In this article we’re featuring our top 10 picks for jazz-rock tunes. This list will feature 5 older classics as well as 5 newer (and perhaps more obscure) tunes played and written by some of the brightest and youngest stars in jazz-rock today. Now before anyone gets upset, we’re using the term “jazz-rock” a bit…
Funky chord tricks refer to some of the slick, pro-sounding passing chords that can be used to improve the sound of your playing. These chords often make students stop and ask “Wait – what was that you just played?!” Often these chords sound too advanced or complex for intermediate students, but in truth these chords…
Blues piano practice straight-talk? What does that mean? Well, in this article you’re in for a little treat. In this article we’re going to reveal some blunt thoughts and tips for playing and practicing the piano – some “straight talk” if you will. As educators, we have a love and fondness for the material we…
Understanding meter in music might seem like a fairly simple concept. When discussing meter we usually discuss the time signature, which indicates how many beats will occur in each measure and which subdivision will be counted as the underlying beat. These concepts seem quite simple when looking at examples such as 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4…
In this article we’ll take a look at some of the most requested cocktail piano tunes. Here at Cocktail Piano Lessons, we’ve spent a lot of time reviewing, practicing, teaching, and PLAYING cocktail piano tunes. So we’re very familiar with which tunes are the most popular among players and audiences. This is important information for…
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