Hear It, Sing It, PLAY IT! The Secret To Learning Jazz Piano

Play what you hear, not what you luck into. Understand how to improvise for real, not by rote.

3.30 (20 reviews)

Udemy

platform

English

language

Music Fundamentals

What you will learn

You'll learn and understand the basic skill set that the best players use to learn to play Piano.

You'll grasp how to connect your ear to the piano, in order to play what YOU hear, not just learn by rote.

You'll gain a concrete set of terms, and insight into how to understand the keyboard in a geographical sense, like a city you can explore, by feel.

You'll learn about the incredible importance of keeping good time, and how to do just that!

You will understand that there are TWO melodies to every song, and between them they make a whole tune. This will also SHOW you the harmony, rather that having to read it off a jazz "chart.".

You'll learn a simple song as a model for how you learn all songs, at their simplest core level, so you can actually hear and play and improvise with them, rather than learning a static, higher sounding level by rote. Static meaning you can only play it the same way every time.

You'll master simple, clear shortcuts to improvisation, which, by the way, are the way you really improvise.

You will have fun and be able to show off at parties and get dates :)

You'll start to master the ability to express who you are through the medium of Jazz Piano.

Why take this course?

This course is an introduction to learning how to REALLY play piano. It uses jazz as an example, but can apply to any style of music you want to learn. Music can help you in your daily life. No, it can't solve everything, but it can connect you with something bigger than yourself, and offer refuge and connection in yourself, and for others when you ultimately play for and with them. Yes, it takes some discipline, but even a minute a day is a start. This course presents information in a clear and simple way. It doesn't teach you "pieces" that you learn like typing. It teaches you how to connect your ear to the piano, and ultimately, play whatever you feel and hear inside. And the piano is so fun, like a giant box of color paints that never runs out, so you are learning a skill that will stand you in good stead for the rest of your life.

We will look at such things as keyboard geography (the keyboard is like a city you visit, and learn to walk around!), the importance of good time and how to keep it (it's learning a rhythmic dance!) by tapping your foot, how songs are made of two melodies, how a good song teaches you its own harmony (no paper no nothing needed!) how to play what you hear, not hear what you play. We look at how to connect your singing voice to what you play on the piano (I don't care WHAT your 3rd grade teacher said about your musical ability, all humans are musical!!), with the ultimate goal of having fun, expressing your own musical soul and playing for yourself and if you want, for and with other people.

It's also really cool to note that a recent study based out of Harvard Medical School shows that "Music has the unique ability to go through alternative channels and connect different sections of the brain." Musicians have an "enhanced ability to integrate sensory information from hearing, touch, and sight." and "the ability to improvise improved brain connectivity resulting in less dependence on working memory." In other words, Music wires you up to better see the world. It's like having a magical ability. And, it's never to late to learn.

Screenshots

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Reviews

Alan

July 8, 2017

I liked the thinking behind this course but beginners might find it relentlessly chaotic. In particular the basslines were boring and not always true to what I could hear. Sam is always too laid back!! Good luck for future versions!!

Pamela

November 20, 2016

This course moves fast and is fun with an engaging teacher. I was expecting a more advanced jazz presentation, but it does have some pertinent ideas even for advanced players. The sound varied from lecture to lecture and I could hear the music in some and not his voice and then had to adjust for the next lecture. Also, the music seemed too clashy and rough at times. It is a good course. He has an enthusiastic style of playing...like a march band with strong points in improvisation.

Jannie

April 9, 2015

I highly recommend this course to anyone who's interested in jazz piano or singing. I am only half way through the course and already feel like I've learned a lot. It's already worth at least the $65 cost. I look forward to finishing the course. I have studied jazz piano in the past but found it tedious. This course gives me hope. I am a singer and learning to play bass on "Happy Birthday" has given me an important tool to learn to improvise and scat sing in my jazz tunes.

Trey

August 22, 2014

I've always wanted to play the piano, but for whatever reason I was never able to "get it." The lion's share of the problem was that I wasn't willing to put in the hard work, in the form of practicing, needed to get to the point where the playing could start to be fun. I always felt like if I could get to the point where I could begin to play around with the tunes, experiment and improvise (you know -- jazz!) instead of plinking them out from sheet music, then it might be at least a little easier to keep myself interested. But if I ever tried to "color outside the lines," then everything I did sounded terrible and my teachers would smile patiently, return me to the sheet music, and say something like, "You've got to learn to walk before you can run." Spitzer's lessons break this pattern in a really inspiring way. It's not magic. You'll still have to learn to walk. But the walking feels a little more like dancing. Instead of teaching you tunes by rote, he introduces you to the keyboard in an intuitive and innovative way. You're still learning the names of the notes and what keys produce them, but that's secondary. More important: he's teaching you techniques for knowing your way around the keyboard by touch. He starts you off with Happy Birthday, a tune you already know, so that you can improvise, experiment, and play around right away. You'll still work hard, but the work doesn't feel so odious. It's creative and engaging and fun. I think my problem was always that I never looked forward to practicing. Now I do! I'm not finished with this course, and I still have a lot to learn. I'm sure there are frustrations in store for me, any worthwhile artistic endeavor has those. But now I'm enjoying the process, and I look forward to the challenges like I would look forward to the next level of a game. That's already made all the difference. I strongly recommend Sam Spitzer's "The Way to Really Play Jazz Piano."

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