Jazz Piano Skills
A podcast introducing aspiring Jazz Pianists to essential Jazz Piano Skills. Professional Jazz Piano Lessons by Dr. Bob Lawrence, President The Dallas School of Music
Jazz Piano Skills
What a Difference a Day Makes, Melodic Analysis
Podcast Packets
Illustrations
Lead Sheets
Play Alongs
Jazz Piano Skills Community
Keywords
jazz piano, melodic analysis, practice strategies, improvisation, music education, jazz standards, learning jazz, music theory, jazz techniques, jazz skills
Summary
In this episode of Jazz Piano Skills, Dr. Bob Lawrence delves into the intricacies of melodic analysis, focusing on the classic tune 'What a Difference a Day Makes.' He emphasizes the importance of structured practice strategies, the necessity of understanding the seven facts of music, and how to approach learning jazz standards. The episode also includes a rhythmic challenge and explores various treatments of the tune, providing listeners with a comprehensive guide to mastering jazz piano skills.
Takeaways
Jazz education is saturated with information, but coherence is key.
Establishing a structured practice strategy is essential for growth.
The seven facts of music are foundational for understanding jazz.
Melodic analysis involves identifying phrases and target notes.
Improvisation should feel relaxed and natural, not stiff or forced.
Everything practiced should be approached as music, not just exercises.
Listening to various artists enhances understanding of tunes.
Different treatments of a tune can provide fresh perspectives.
Engaging with the community fosters learning and improvement.
Regular practice and exploration lead to mastery of jazz piano.
Titles
Mastering Melodic Analysis in Jazz Piano
The Seven Facts Every Jazz Musician Should Know
Improvisation: From Stiff to Natural
Exploring 'What a Difference a Day Makes'
Structured Practice Strategies for Jazz Musicians
Jazz Piano Skills: A Comprehensive Guide
Sound Bites
"More information is simply overwhelming."
"If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for everything."
"Music is the production of sound and silence."
"You want your improvisation to improve."
"Jazz is a feel and that your feel is the opposite."
"Everything is a piece of music."
"Practice making these two notes relaxed and natural."
"Everything you play is the perfect exercise."
"Great tunes can be played a bunch of different ways."
"Enjoy what a difference a day makes."
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Jazz Piano Skills and Melodic Analysis
10:41 The Importance of Structured Practice Strategies
24:32 Understanding the Seven Facts of Music
36:18 Melodic Analysis of 'What a Difference a Day Makes'
01:03:22 Exploring Different Treatments of the Tune
Dr. Bob Lawrence (00:32.962)
Welcome to Jazz Piano Skills. I'm Dr. Bob Lawrence. It's time to discover, learn, and play jazz piano. Here we are, week two of the month, the month of March, which means it's a melodic analysis week. Last week, we took our tune of the month, the timeless standard, what a difference a day makes, and did our standard harmonic analysis, examining the form, traditional changes, harmonic function.
common harmonic movement, and of course the voicings, our blocks, traditional shells, contemporary shells, two-handed structures. You know, we always follow up our harmonic analysis with a melodic exploration to discover and learn and play the lyrics, melody, fingerings, phrases, various standard treatments, treatments like the ballad, bossa, swing. And as we do every week,
We have a little fun with a rhythmic challenge as well. You know, every month we take a tune, we get comfy with that tune through a a thorough harmonic, melodic, improvisation and rhythmic study, right? For jazz camps, as I like to call them. You know what? Every jazz musician and not just jazz pianist must gain a functional command
both conceptually and physically of each of these camps. And how do you do this? Well, it begins with establishing a well-thought-out and constructed practice strategy. And that's what we do here at Jazz Piano Skills. We have well-thought-out practice strategies, agendas. Right? Remember, people don't plan to fail. They just fail to plan.
And boy, does this age old adage ring ever so true when it comes to the study and practicing of jazz. You know, I've made this point numerous times throughout the years that jazz education has become saturated with information. Jazz tips abound in articles, books, the internet, social media, websites, podcasts.
Dr. Bob Lawrence (02:57.567)
I'm in awe with the volume of information available to jazz students today. You I was overwhelmed in the 70s when I began my jazz journey, and it's done nothing but exploded since the arrival of the internet and the various ways that we connect through it. But regardless of the volume of information bombarding us, what hasn't changed
is the necessity of having access to correct information, correct information that is presented coherently and strategically. You know what? And therein lies the problem. Tons of information, more than ever, books, websites, apps, blogs, podcasts, videos, videos everywhere. But the information is not presented coherently and strategically.
It's presented as, here's some more information. That's how it's presented. Here's some more information. And of course, more information is always better, right? The premise is that the more information you have, the more you will know. And the more you will know, the better jazz pianist, the better jazz musician you will become. After all, more is better, right? Heavy sigh, heavy, heavy sigh.
Actually, I have come to the conclusion that after 30 plus years of teaching, 30 plus years of teaching every day, every day, students of all ages, right? 30 years of teaching every day, students of all ages. I can tell you right now, the more information for the sake of having more information is simply overwhelming.
It does the opposite of what we're hoping that it will do. Instead of growth, it stifles. It stifles growth and stifles advancement. That is why, that is why it is so important to know the facts of music. Because without the facts, you cannot formulate a coherent and strategic practice plan to produce the results that you hope to obtain. You just can't do it.
Dr. Bob Lawrence (05:22.955)
Without the facts, you'll be in a constant state of information gathering. Holy cow. How depressing. You'll be in a constant state of information gathering, a constant state of the pursuit of information. Right? Instead of getting better, you're just pursuing information. Here's another old adage that rings true in jazz education. If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for everything.
You know, standing on the facts of music protects you from falling for every new video, every new website, every new blog, podcast, book, article. Right? So what are these all important facts of music? I've been pounding them since the beginning of the year. I'm going to pound them again today. Right? There are seven. There are seven. And here they are.
Fact number one, music is the production of sound, major, dominant, minor, half diminished and diminished. And of course, silence. Music is the production of sound and silence. Number two, fact number two, sound is produced two ways, harmonically and melodically. We call these shapes. We have harmonic shapes, we have melodic shapes. Fact number three, when sound is produced harmonically, we are playing chords.
or what you hear often referred to as voicings. Fact number four, when sound is produced melodically, we are playing arpeggios and scales. Fact number five, when playing arpeggios and scales, we are moving in one of two directions. We can only go up or down. That's it. Fact number six, we camouflage or we decorate
those arpeggios and scales with what we call tension or chromaticism. And fact number seven, to make musical facts one through six interesting, we add rhythm. That's it. Those are the seven facts of music. And it's imperative that you spend some time thinking about these seven facts a lot to the point that you actually see and
Dr. Bob Lawrence (07:48.589)
hear the facts of music, right? In everything that you do. Every song that you play, every exercise that you practice. You know, once this tippy point happens for you, when you can identify everything you encounter musically as being framed by the seven facts, then then you can begin constructing a practice plan that actually produces the results that you want.
You now stand for something so you don't fall for everything. This is exactly why I launched Jazz Piano Skills six years ago. To help everyone swimming in the pool of autonomous musical concepts, ideas, licks, progressions, theories, an entirely new approach to studying and practicing essential jazz piano skills.
an entirely new approach anchored by the seven facts of music. And this is precisely why we approach our tune study every week, every month, every year, centered around the seven facts of music, using three distinct studies. Study one, a harmonic analysis. Study two, a melodic analysis. Study three,
improvisation development. Right? We emphasize each of these studies, focusing specifically on fact number seven, rhythm. Right? You know, the harmonic rhythm challenge week one always involves rhythmic transcribing and the development of our comping skills. The melodic rhythm challenge that we're going to do today, week two, involves transposing
some melodic motif to various key centers. And the improvisation rhythm challenge that we'll do next week stretches arpeggio and scale motion through various segments of the sound, thus transforming literally our soloing our jazz vocabulary. You know, I'm thrilled because we have established an amazing, educationally sound
Dr. Bob Lawrence (10:13.451)
three tier, three phase, three study approach that is formulated and anchored to the seven facts of music. The seven facts needed to illuminate essential jazz piano skills needed to successfully discover, learn and play tunes. Makes sense. Makes perfect sense. So, you know, all of that to say that today we are
doing a melodic analysis and that we are going to melodically discover what a difference a day makes. We are going to melody of this great standard by ear. We're going to examine, look at the phrases and the target notes of those phrases. And we're going to play what a difference a day makes using three standard jazz treatments, right?
And of course, I will be giving the rhythm challenge of the week as well. Wow. So as I always like to say, regardless of where you are in your jazz journey, a beginner, an intermediate player, an advanced player, or even if you are an experienced and seasoned professional, you're going to find this Jazz Panel Skills Podcast lesson exploring what a difference a day makes to be very beneficial.
But before we dig in, before we get started, I want to, as I always do, welcome first time listeners to Jazz Piano Skills. And if you are indeed new to Jazz Piano Skills, listening to the Jazz Piano Skills podcast for the very first time, I want to welcome you. I want to invite you to become a Jazz Piano Skills member. You your membership helps keep Jazz Piano Skills 100 % ad free.
all education, no ads. It's been my goal from day one. And your membership also grants you many perks. For one, you have access to premium podcast content. You know, the entire podcast episode is available to members only. The first half is free for everyone. The educational agenda is laid out. The question of the week is explored and answered. The lesson rationale is presented.
Dr. Bob Lawrence (12:37.751)
The second half, that's and that's free for everyone. The second half of the podcast always is members only. We have the lesson content, the demonstrations, and the weekly assignment. You also as a Jazz Panel Skills member to go along with the podcast have access to the podcast packets. Now these are the educational materials that I design and develop for every weekly podcast episode, the illustrations, the lead sheets.
the backing tracks, the play alongs that are published every single week to coincide with every single podcast episode. You also as a Jazz Panel Skills member have access to the online courses. These are comprehensive, interactive, self-paced and sequential courses. You also as a Jazz Panel Skills member have access, a reserved seat as I like to say, to the weekly master classes.
These are held every Thursday evening, 8 p.m. Central Time. I know that doesn't work out for everyone, but you know what? It's no big deal because the master classes are recorded and you can watch as a member. You can watch and rewatch the video or listen to the audio of the podcast or of the master class when convenient for you. You also have access as a Jazz Panel Skills member to the online private Jazz Panel Skills community.
which hosts a variety of educational forums. There are jazz, general jazz forums as well. And it's a wonderful spot to meet new folks, receive members feedback and assistance. It's fabulous. And last but not least, you have access as a Jazz Piano Skills member to unlimited educational support, private, personal, professional support. And there are
many ways to get in touch with me to reach out to me through the website. There's a web form. There's a speak pipe widget that you can use to send me a message. Of course, you can always call me here at the Dallas School of Music, my number here, which I will give at the end of the podcast. And of course, if you're old school like me, you can use email. All right. So, you know, all of these amazing privileges, all of these perks, premium podcast content, podcast packets, courses, master classes,
Dr. Bob Lawrence (15:01.097)
online community on limited support. All of these perks are waiting to help you discover, learn and play jazz piano. So check it all out at jazzpanelskills.com and please become a member to enjoy all of the educational content. Of course, if you get to the website, you have some questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. Happy to spend some time with you, answer your questions and help you in any way that I can.
Okay, so on to our question of the week. This week's question comes from Hal Bray. Hal Bray living in Barcelona, Spain. And I'll ask, I've been a fan for some time and enjoy the weekly podcast and materials very much. I have improved immensely. However, I remain frustrated with my improvisation. To me, it feels stiff.
me, it feels stiff and forced. Basically the opposite of what I hear when listening to professional jazz pianist. If you had to pick one exercise for students to work on for improving their improvisation skills, what would it be? Thanks for your help and guidance. I have learned a ton. Wow, how
man, there's a lot to unpack here. So let's start with this. Your question is great. And I know is appreciated by many jazz panel skills listeners. Right? It's something that that we all want to improve, right? We want to improve our ability to improvise. We want to be expressive when playing the piano. After all, that's the whole point of playing music, right? Playing jazz.
It's a creative outlet capable of conveying moods, expressions, emotions. So your question is fabulous, right? And in a way, you already answered your question, right, in your question. You you said that your improvisation feels stiff.
Dr. Bob Lawrence (17:27.071)
enforced. I get it right? Stiffed and forced. So you're acknowledging that jazz is a feel and that your feel is the opposite of what you hear expressed from professional jazz musicians. So what is the opposite of stiff and forced? I would say relaxed and natural.
So I guess what you are wanting is an exercise that will help you develop a relaxed and natural feel when playing, which of course will improve your improvisation. And you're wondering what would be my go-to exercise for developing a relaxed and natural feel. Well, how guess what? That's actually easy to answer and I'm happy to give it to you.
give you the answer. My go-to exercise for developing a relaxed and natural feel is whatever exercise, whatever skill I am currently practicing. I'm going to say that again. My go-to exercise for developing a relaxed and natural feel is whatever exercise or whatever skill that I'm currently practicing.
You know, I guess what I'm trying to say.
is if your improvisation is stiff and forced, I bet you a million bucks. Hal, I bet you a million bucks your exercises are stiff and forced. I bet your arpeggios are stiff and forced. I bet your scales are stiff and forced. I bet your voicings are stiff and forced. I bet your playing of tune melodies are stiff and forced. Right? Bottom line,
Dr. Bob Lawrence (19:29.593)
I think everything you're playing is probably stiff and forced. Now, I'm not saying this to be insensitive or mean. All I'm trying to do is make a point that if you want your improvisation to improve, to become more relaxed and natural, then begin practicing everything you do. And I mean everything, everything as music and not as an exercise. everything you do should be musical.
It should be relaxed. Should be natural. You know, I stress this to students all the time and almost all of the time it goes in one ear and out the other. I tell students everything is a piece of music. Everything is an improvisational line. When you play a simple ascending or descending arpeggio through third, five, seven, play it like you just lifted it from a Chet Baker solo.
When you play a simple ascending or descending scale, play it like it's the greatest improvisational line of all time. You know, I guess in essence, what I'm telling students and telling you how is to play that arpeggio, to play that scale with a relaxed and natural feel. Don't be stiff. Don't be stiff. Don't be forced. Heck,
It doesn't even have to be an arpeggio or scale. It can be something as tiny as a melodic interval. A second, a third, a fifth, whatever. Play it relaxed, play it natural. Imitate what you hear professional jazz musicians doing. You know, wait a minute. I'll tell you what. I'll give you an exercise.
Dr. Bob Lawrence (21:28.581)
Begin, and I've done this before, begin practicing Duke Ellington's C Jam blues. There's your exercise. It's two notes, the note G and the note C. That's it. Two notes. Practice making these two notes relaxed and natural. Practice making these two notes swing. Right? Give me a second. I'm going to pull this up. Check this out. I want you to hear this.
this is just a little snippet of C Jam blues that you can start playing along with. Note G, the notes G and C. That's it. If you can make this feel as good as what you're going to hear, you're in good shape, Hal. You're going to be just fine. So check this out.
Dr. Bob Lawrence (23:06.779)
That's it right there. I mean, that's it. Right? Everything you play is the perfect exercise for developing a relaxed and natural feel. Right? It will break you out of the stiff and forced sound that we all have to deal with initially, right? When, making the transition from sounding like an amateur to a professional. So I have no doubt that you can do it.
I would encourage you to, you know what, send me some recordings of you playing Hal and I will be able to give you some more specifics as well. And the recording doesn't have to be anything fancy, right? Just pull out your phone, press record, play, and then send it to me. You know, again, right? Your question, Hal, is great because it addresses an issue that I know everyone encounters. And I hope this initial answer...
I hope this initial answer and some of my thoughts are helpful. As always, do not hesitate to reach out to me. I'm happy to spend some time with you and happy to help you jump over this temporary hurdle. I promise you, it's a temporary hurdle. We all start stiff, we all start forced, and we will all end up relaxed and natural. I promise.
Alright, so let's discover, learn and play jazz piano. Let's discover, learn and play. What a difference a day makes. Alright, I go through this little exercise every week because it's that important. When studying, when learning any tune, I always approach it the same way. And again, genre makes no difference. I don't care whether it's a jazz tune, rock, pop, country, folk, R &B, bluegrass. I don't care.
Here's how I go about learning a tune. Number one, always listen. I love listening to various artists, vocalist, instrumentalist, pianist, not just jazz musicians. I listen to every musician from every genre that I can get my hands on. Number two, I always attack harmonic study first. I'm always examining the form, changes, function, common movement, voicings, just
Dr. Bob Lawrence (25:28.953)
like we did last week with what a difference a day makes. After I do my harmonic study, I turn to melodic analysis. I learn the melody, the phrases. I explore the tune using various treatments like we're going to do today. Okay. And then finally, after I have my harmony under control, my melody, I'll turn my efforts to improvisation development.
looking at chord scale relationships, arpeggio scale movement through the sounds, tension, and so on. It's right, pretty simple approach, pretty thorough, pretty complete, organized, structured. Right. So this week, after doing our harmonic analysis this week, we are turning our attention to melodic analysis. Right. So we're going to be focusing on melody phrases,
various treatments. Right? So the educational agenda for today is as follows. Number one, we are going to listen to definitive recordings of what a difference a day makes. Number two, we will learn the melody of what a difference a day makes. We will do most of the grunt work by ear. Number three, we will look at my suggested fingerings for the melody of what a difference a day makes.
Number four, we will identify the melodic phrases found within the melody of what a difference a day makes. Number six, we will, I'm sorry, number five, we will apply the voicings, the voicings from, oh, I should say we will look at the target notes of those phrases as well. Number five, we will apply the voicings to the melody that we did last week with our harmonic study, our shell voicings.
And then finally, number six, we will check it all out. We will explore three different treatments to this tune. Typically the three standard jazz treatments, a ballad, some kind of Latin like bossa groove, and then of course, the traditional swing groove, right? So if you are a Jazz Panel Skills member, want you to just hit the pause button. I want you to take just a few minutes to download.
Dr. Bob Lawrence (27:46.659)
and print your podcast packets. Again, these are the illustrations, the lead sheets, the play alongs, the backing tracks. Again, your membership grants you access to this material. And I say it every week, you want these packets in your hands when listening to the podcast to get the most out of it. And of course, you want this material sitting on your piano as well when practicing.
Okay, so now that you have your podcast packets, I want you to grab your lead sheets. You should have six of them. I want to go through them quickly before we dig into each one. Number one lead sheet one, it's kind of the fill in the blank of what a difference a day makes. This is where we're going to learn that melody. We're going to do it using our ears. Lead sheet one, I give you some guide tones to help you along the way. But we're going to
we're going to learn the majority of this melody, if not all the melody by ear. Number two, lead sheet two is a clean melodic lead sheet with the melody included. This is where you can kind of see how well you did, right? With finding the melody of what a difference a day makes. Lead sheet three, my fingerings, my suggested fingerings for the melody. Lead sheet four identifies the phrases. Lead sheet five,
identifies, illuminates the target notes of those phrases. And then lead sheet six, we take the left hand shell voicings from last week. And we place the melody on top of those voicings, right? So we have a lot to get done today, you know. So let's get after this. Typically, at this time, I would play a definitive recording of our tune. But you know what? This year, as you know,
I've decided to place my listening suggestions in the Jazz Panel Skills Community Forums. And again, there's a couple of reasons for this. Number one, I want to be able to suggest more than one listening example. And number two, I want to preserve as much time as in the podcast for educational content, right? So head on over to the community, spend some time listening to the recordings that I've posted there.
Dr. Bob Lawrence (30:09.983)
Enjoy those and then we're ready to get to work. And once you've listened right to the recommended recordings, make sure you have your lead sheets, your illustrations, and let's get after this. So grab lead sheet number one. Lead sheet number one is, as I mentioned, kind of a fill in the blank exercise, right? So what I've done here is I've
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