There’s Nothing to It! (1/3)

Once you’ve got this down, move on to Part 2 for the chords. Part 3 will then be performance tips and chord embellishments, with a little improv/fill-in stuff thrown in. It’s in Eb so the chords and notes of the melody you learn from this song appear in hundreds of other songs in Eb so don’t consider this an isolated learning experience; quite the opposite!

Once you’ve got this down, move on to Part 2 for the chords. Part 3 will then be performance tips and chord embellishments, with a little improv/fill-in stuff thrown in. It’s in Eb so the chords and notes of the melody

Once you’ve got this down, move on to Part 2 for the chords. Part 3 will then be performance tips and chord embellishments, with a little improv/fill-in stuff thrown in. It’s in Eb so the chords and notes of the melody you learn from this song appear in hundreds of other songs in Eb so don’t consider this an isolated learning experience; quite the opposite!

As requested, two beneficial independence exercises. Be sure to do them eyes closed and many times until it becomes second nature. Don’t rush. Find your natural limit. Independence is not about speed, it’s about… independence!

You need a good left hand. Herein, I simply show what I used to do 25+ years ago in the practice rooms regarding octaves and stride. Finding your natural limit means find a tempo BPM at which you can do each

You need a good left hand. Herein, I simply show what I used to do 25+ years ago in the practice rooms regarding octaves and stride. Finding your natural limit means find a tempo BPM at which you can do each exercise without stumbling, for at least a minute. If so, push it by 15-20 and try again… until you get to a tempo which doesn’t need a metronome since it’s fast and precise.

You need to know these to help you acquire a nice bunch of common chords as well as helping you acquire jazz repertoire with much more ease since these chord progressions in these keys appear at least 80% of the time. So just get them down once and for all! You can embellish them at a later date…

Have been asked recently to help ‘adult learners’ get started so I made this video to give you the most important things to work on, no matter your path. Nothing overwhelming. No silly books. No heavy philosophies. Just a simple truth:

Have been asked recently to help ‘adult learners’ get started so I made this video to give you the most important things to work on, no matter your path. Nothing overwhelming. No silly books. No heavy philosophies. Just a simple truth: major scales and finger independence are the absolute foundation of your piano journey. I talk about some other stuff too and provide many examples of course. From this video, I’m happy to make further videos in slightly more detail so it perhaps becomes a mini playlist. Good luck!

Years ago, I created a major scale mastery game to confirm how well students know their major scales. Many say they know them but when playing this game, we see they don’t! You start on a note and, from a random

Years ago, I created a major scale mastery game to confirm how well students know their major scales. Many say they know them but when playing this game, we see they don’t! You start on a note and, from a random number generator or long recording of your own, using numbers 2-7, say the answer BUT the answer key is the NEW key for the NEXT number to apply to. I show some variations of this game too. If you can do this on a second by second basis, away from the piano, for at least 2 minutes, then you know your major scales. So, can you do it?