Satin Doll, Solo Piano

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Summary
In this episode, Dr. Bob Lawrence explores how focusing on small musical environments, like two measures, can significantly enhance jazz piano development. He emphasizes the importance of understanding the process over memorizing entire tunes, helping musicians develop independence and deep musical understanding.

Keywords
Jazz piano, solo piano development, musical skills, practice strategies, improvisation, musical environment, education, satin doll, seven stages, musicianship

Key Topics
The seven stages of solo piano development
The importance of small musical environments
How to develop skills using two measures
The difference between practicing material and developing skills
The role of education in musical independence
Applying the process to any tune
The importance of repetition and recognition
How to simplify practice for better results

Takeaways
Practicing less material allows for deeper skill development.
Understanding the process enables musicians to apply skills to new music.
Repetition and recognition lead to independence in playing.
Focusing on two measures can accelerate learning and mastery.
Content and education are not the same; education guides understanding.

Sound Bites
"Less material, more mastery."
"Two measures are more than enough to develop skills."
"Focus on skills, not just the tune."

Transcript

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Dr. Bob Lawrence (00:32.674)

Welcome to Jazz Piano Skills. I'm Dr. Bob Lawrence. It's time to discover, learn, and play jazz piano. Well, here we are, week four of our study of Duke Ellington's Satin Doll, which means it's time to bring everything we've been studying this month together and begin exploring solo piano. You know, over the past three weeks, we've studied the harmony of Satin Doll, we've studied the melody. And last week we used that melody to begin developing our improvisational skills through rhythmic variation. And today we're going to take another important step. We're going to begin integrating those skills into our seven stages of solo piano development.

Now, if you were with me last month when we studied Over the Rainbow, those seven stages should sound very familiar. And that's a good thing. In fact, That's the whole point. The tune has changed, but the developmental process has not. Last month Over the Rainbow, this month Satin Doll. Different tunes, different melodies, different harmonic movement, but the skills required to develop a solo piano approach are the same. And today we're going to take that idea one step further, because we're not going to use all 32 measures of Satin Doll to develop our solo piano skills. In fact, we're going to use two. That's right, the first two measures of Satin Doll.

Because just as we discovered last week that we don't need an enormous collection of notes to begin developing improvisational skills, we don't need an entire tune to begin developing solo piano skills. Sometimes the best way to understand something big is to make the musical environment small. And that's exactly what we're going to do today. Two measures, seven stages, one carefully organized developmental process. We'll simplify it conceptually, begin developing it physically, so that ultimately we can express it musically.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (02:55.734)

And once you understand how those seven stages work within the first two measures, you'll have something far more valuable than simply knowing how I would play Satin Doll. You'll have a process. A process you can begin applying to the next two measures and the next two. And eventually to any tune you want to play. Because remember, our goal has never been simply to learn another song. Our goal is to develop the skills that allow us to confidently navigate music on our own. And today, we're going to discover just how much solo piano development can take place inside of only two measures. So, what exactly are we going to discover, learn, and play today?

Well, today we're going to discover that developing solo piano skills does not require practicing an entire 32-measure tune. In fact, we're going to discover that the opposite approach may be far more beneficial. We're going to intentionally make our musical environment small. Two measures. That's it. Because when we reduce the amount of musical material we're trying to manage. We can increase the amount of attention we're able to give to the skill we're trying to develop. Makes perfect sense, right? We're going to learn how our seven stages of solo piano development systematically transform those first two measures of Satin Doll one stage at a time.

We'll learn what changes from one stage to the next, why it changes. How each stage builds upon the previous one. And most importantly, how the process can be applied to the remaining measures of Satin Doll, and eventually to any tune that we want to play. And we're going to play the first two measures of Satin Doll using all seven stages of solo piano development. Same two measures, same harmony, same melody, but

Dr. Bob Lawrence (05:21.496)

Seven progressively developing solo piano treatments, allowing us to clearly hear, see, and physically experience how solo piano playing develops. That's an important distinction. Our objective today is not to memorize seven different ways of playing the first two measures of Satin Doll. That's not it. Our objective is to understand and develop a process. Because once you understand the process, you don't need me to show you every measure of the tune. You begin knowing what to do next. And that is where education begins producing independence. So whether you're a beginner, an intermediate player, an advanced player, or a seasoned and experienced professional, you're going to find today's Jazz Piano Skills Podcast lesson very beneficial because regardless of your current playing level, the principle we're exploring today remains the same.

You don't always need more music to develop more musicianship. Sometimes you need less music. So today we're going to discover, learn, and play, two measures, seven stages, and the world of solo piano development. Okay, you know. I received an email this past week from Jazz Piano Skills member Diane Sutton that absolutely made my day. And with her permission, I'd like to share a portion of it with you. Diane wrote, after a hectic several months, I sat down today and looked back at songs from the last year. Specifically the lessons on improvisation. I printed out a few pages of this month's improv lesson for the current song. That sent me down the rabbit hole of looking at previous improv lessons.

And there it was, on paper, in front of my eyes. I could see what you talk about over and over.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (07:49.784)

The improv drills were pretty much the same. The songs are different. I know you say that every time. The songs change, the skills stay the same, but when I could print out pages and see them side by side, well it all made sense. Wow. Diane I cannot thank you enough. Because what you experienced sitting there with those lessons spread out in front of you is exactly what I hope every Jazz Piano Skills student eventually experiences. You didn't simply hear me say the tunes change, but the skills remain. You've heard me say that hundreds of times. This time You saw it, and there's a big difference. You recognize the same developmental process inside different tunes.

And that's when something very important begins happening in our musical development. We stop seeing every tune as an entirely new musical problem that has to be solved from scratch. We begin recognizing Familiar relationships, familiar movements, familiar sounds, familiar skills, familiar processes. In other words, we stop simply learning songs and begin learning music. And Diane's email could not have arrived at a better time. Because today we're going to do exactly what she discovered. Last month we studied the seven stages of solo piano development using Over the Rainbow. This month, we're going to study those same seven stages using satin doll.

Different tune, same developmental process. Why? Because we're not trying to collect solo piano arrangements. We're trying to develop solo piano skills. And there is an enormous difference between the two. You know, we live in a time.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (10:16.098)

When we're surrounded by musical content, every day, another video, another lick, another voicing, another scale, another exercise, another ten things you need to know. And some of that content can certainly be useful, but content and education are not the same thing. Content can show you something interesting. Education has a much greater responsibility. Education has to help you understand. Why am I learning this? Where does where does it fit? What came before it? What comes next? How do I practice it? How does it become physical? And ultimately, how do I learn to use it independently? That's curriculum. That's education. And that's precisely what.

Diane discovered when she placed those lessons side by side, she could finally see where everything fit. And here's something else I want us to think about today. We have somehow developed the idea that musical progress requires more, more material, more exercises, more notes, more tunes. More information, definitely. We need more information, but more material does not necessarily produce more development. Sometimes more material simply gives us more material to manage. And when we're trying to develop a specific skill, that can actually get in the way. We discovered this last week with improvisation. I didn't give you 32 measures of Satin Doll and tell you, hey, go ahead, improvise.

I gave you two notes. Two notes from the first melodic phrase. And then we explored 12 different rhythmic possibilities using those same two notes. Why? Because we weren't trying to practice an entire tune. We were trying to develop a skill. So we simplified the musical environment.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (12:42.358)

so that we could clearly understand the skill conceptually, begin developing it physically, and ultimately learn to express it musically. And today we're going to do the exact same thing with solo piano. I'm not going to ask you to practice all 32 measures of Satin Doll through all seven stages of solo piano development. Well, not yet, at least, but Instead, I'm going to give you two measures. The first two measures of satin doll. That's our laboratory. Same harmony, same melody, same two measures. And we're going to take those two measures through each of our seven stages of solo piano development. One stage at a time. Why? Because I want you to clearly see what changes.

I want you to clearly hear what changes. And I want you to understand why it changes. And then I want you to begin physically developing those changes at the piano. The goal, we're going to make the musical material small enough to understand deeply. Because here's something I want you to remember. The amount of material you're practicing does not determine the magnitude of the skill you're developing. Let me say that again. The amount of material you're practicing does not determine the magnitude of the skill you're developing. You can develop enormous musical skill using a very small amount of musical material. Two notes can teach you how to improvise.

Two measures can teach you how. solo piano develops. One tune can teach you skills that eventually transfer to hundreds of tunes. That's why less really can be more. And perhaps we need to begin measuring our practice differently. Instead of finishing a practice session and saying, wow, I got through all 32 measures today. Maybe the better question is what skill

Dr. Bob Lawrence (15:09.112)

That I actually developed today. Because getting through music and developing musicianship are not the same thing. And here's where all of this eventually has to lead. I don't want you forever waiting for me to show you the next measure. I don't want you forever needing another Jazz Piano Skills packet before you know what to do. Great education doesn't simply answer the question sitting in front of you. Great education prepares you to answer the next question yourself. Last week I gave you 12 rhythmic variations, and then I told you, hey, variation 13 belongs to you. Today I'm going to help you work through the first two measures of Satin Doll using our seven stages of solo piano development.

Again, we'll simplify it conceptually. We'll begin developing it physically. We'll work toward expressing it musically. And when we're finished, I'm not going to give you my answer for everything that follows, because eventually the teacher has to get out of the way and the student has to begin using the process. So when we're finished today with measures one and two, you know what's waiting for you? Measures three and four. And those measures belong to you. That's education, that's independence. And ultimately, That's how we learn to become musicians. Different measures, different tunes, different musical situations, but underneath all of them, the skills remain.

Diane, you saw it. And today we're going to help everyone else see it too. All right. Before we go any further, it's time to, as always, revisit our seven musical facts. And after everything we've just discussed, I want you to think about something. How many times have you heard me present these seven facts? If you've been listening to Jazz Piano Skills for any length of time, the answer to that is a lot. And yet, here they are again. Why? Because education isn't always about introducing something new. Sometimes, you know, education is about returning to something fundamental. Again.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (17:34.932)

And again and again until one day you don't simply remember it, you begin to see it, you begin to hear it, you begin to recognize it. And ultimately, you begin to use it without needing someone else to point it out. Sound familiar? That's exactly what Diane described in her email. She had heard me say the tunes change, but the skills remain over and over and over again. But then one day She saw it for herself. And that's exactly what I want to happen with these seven musical facts. So here we go. Fact number one: music is the production of sound and silence. Sound being our primary sounds, right? Major, dominant, minor, half diminished, and diminished.

Fact number two, sound is produced harmonically and melodically. Fact number three: harmonic sounds equal chords, or what we often refer to as voicings. Fact number four, melodic sound equals arpeggios and scales. Fact number five, harmony and melody have motion. Circle motion, diatonic motion, chromatic motion, ascending motion, and descending motion. Fact number six, movement is decorated with tension, or what we call chromaticism. And fact number seven: rhythm. Rhythm gives everything life. There you have it. Seven facts. That's it. Look what we've done with those seven facts this month. When we studied Satin Doll harmonically, were we studying something outside these seven facts?

I don't think so. We were studying harmonic sound, chords, voicings, motion, tension. When we studied the melody, Did we suddenly enter an entirely different musical universe? I don't think so. We studied melodic sound, pitch, motion, tension, rhythm. Last week when we studied improvisation, did we suddenly need to invent an eighth musical fact? Absolutely not. We took pitch and created rhythm. Same musical facts, different application.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (20:01.59)

And now today, solo piano, harmony, melody, motion, tension, rhythm, sound, and silence. It's all there. And that's precisely why we keep coming back to these seven facts. Because the more sophisticated our playing becomes, the more important it is that our understanding remains simple. Remember, if music is complicated upstairs, you don't have much of a chance of getting it out. Downstairs. And the seven musical facts help us organize an enormous musical world into a handful of relationships we can actually understand. Which means today, when we take the first two measures of Satin Doll through our seven stages of solo piano development, we are not adding seven new categories of musical information.

We're simply learning to manipulate, combine, develop, Musical relationships that have been sitting inside these seven facts all along. That's important because solo piano can appear enormous. You've got melody, harmony, bass movement, voicings, rhythm, improvisation, two hands trying to do different things, 32 measures of music. Good grief, right? And immediately we think, the student thinks, how am I? supposed to manage all of that? Well, today you're not. You're not. We're going to shrink the musical environment, two measures, and then we're going to ask what happens to the sound? What happens to the harmony? What happens to the melody? What happens to the motion?

What happens to the tension? What happens to the rhythm? And what happens to the silence? Seven musical facts, seven stages of solo piano development, two measures of Satin Doll, and suddenly something that appeared enormous begins looking a whole lot more understandable. That's why we review these facts every single week. I'm not repeating them because I've run out of things to say, believe me. I'm repeating them because repetition creates recognition.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (22:29.142)

And recognition eventually creates independence. Again, that's the point of education. And that is why these seven musical facts aren't going anywhere. All right, before we move on, I want to take a moment to welcome all of our new Jazz Piano Skills listeners. If you're joining us for the very first time, welcome. I'm thrilled you've decided to spend some time with me today, and I hope you're enjoying the episode. Most importantly, I hope you're finding our discussion helpful, encouraging, musically enlightening. If you're new to Jazz Piano Skills, I want to personally invite you to become a Jazz Piano Skills member. As a member, you'll have access to the entire Jazz Piano Skills podcast episode each week. including the second half of today's episode where I'll be at the piano working through our seven stages of solo piano development, of course, using Satin Doll.

You'll also have access to the podcast packets that accompany each lesson, including the educational illustrations, the lead sheets, the and play-alongs that I develop and produce for every podcast episode. Now your membership also provides you access to our library of online Jazz Piano Skills courses. Our weekly Jazz Piano Skills masterclass. You have a reserved seat every Thursday. You have access to Lisa's listening list, our online community forums, and of course, ongoing support whenever you have questions or need some help with your musical development. So if you're enjoying the Jazz Piano Skills podcast and you're looking for a structured and supportive way to continue developing your Jazz Piano Skills, I would Love to have you become a member.

And again, just visit jazzpianoskills.com to learn more. And I hope you'll continue joining us each week as we discover, learn, and play jazz piano. All right, let's take a look at this week's question of the week. This week's question of the week comes from Michael in Portland, Oregon. And Michael writes,

Dr. Bob Lawrence (24:49.442)

Doctor Bob, I've been working on playing jazz standards as solo piano pieces, but I'm struggling with how to practice them. When I sit down at the piano, I usually start at the beginning. Always a good spot. I usually start at the beginning of the tune and try to work my way through the entire lead sheet. The problem is that I spend so much time trying to remember the chords, melody, voicings, and what both hands are supposed to be doing. That I never really feel like I'm improving at solo piano. I feel like I'm practicing the tune, but I'm not necessarily getting better at playing solo piano. Does that make sense? How should I be practicing? Well, Michael, I think you know why I selected your question for this week.

And not only does your question make sense, I think you have Identified one of the most common problems musicians encounter when trying to develop solo piano skills. And interestingly, you've already identified the problem yourself. You said, I feel like I'm practicing the tune. That's awesome. But I'm not necessarily getting better at playing solo piano. Bingo. Because those are not necessarily the same thing. There's a big difference between practicing musical material and developing a musical skill. I mentioned that earlier. If your primary objective is to get from one measure to the next measure, to the next measure, to get through all 32, then a tremendous amount of your mental and physical energy is being spent simply trying to manage the tune.

What's the next chord? What's the melody? Where does my left hand go? What voicing am I supposed to play? What measure am I in? What's coming next? And before long, right, your practice session becomes an exercise in trying to successfully navigate 32 measures of information. Now.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (27:09.986)

There's certainly a time and place for practicing an entire tune. So don't take me the wrong way here. But if your objective is to develop a specific solo piano skill, you may actually be practicing too much music. Think about that. Sometimes the solution isn't more practice, sometimes the solution is less material. And we explored. This exact idea last week when developing our improvisational skills. We didn't try to improvise through all 32 measures of Satin Doll. We took the first melodic phrase, two notes, and used those two notes to develop our rhythmic vocabulary. We intentionally, again, we intentionally reduced the amount of musical material so that we could increase our attention to the skill that we are trying to develop.

And Michael, I'm going to recommend that you approach. approach solo piano the exact same way. Instead of taking an entire 32-measure tune through all seven stages of solo piano development, take two measures. That's it. Two measures. Now the harmony remains constant, the melody remains constant, the musical environment remains manageable. And because you're no longer spending all of your energy trying to survive, right? We've all been there trying to survive the entire tune. You can begin focusing on what actually changes from one solo piano stage to the next. You can see it, hear it, understand it, and most importantly, you can begin developing it physically.

This is something I want everyone listening today to remember. I mentioned it earlier, I repeated it earlier, and it's worth mentioning again. The amount of musical material that you practice does not determine the magnitude of the musical skill you can develop. In other words, you can develop an enormous skill using very, using a very small amount of musical material. In fact, sometimes that's the most efficient way to do it. So, Michael, instead of measuring today's practice session by saying, I got through the entire tune.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (29:33.368)

Try asking yourself, what solo piano skill did I actually develop today? That's a very different measurement of progress. And there's another benefit. Once you truly understand and physically develop a skill using two measures, you now have something you can begin applying to the next two measures and the next two and the next two. And eventually you'll certainly play the entire tune. But now you're You're bringing developed skills to those thirty-two measures. That's a huge difference, right? Having thirty-two having developed skills for all thirty-two measures rather than hoping that repeatedly struggling through thirty-two measures that somehow will develop the skills for you.

You know, that's an important distinction. And Michael, you can Couldn't have asked your question at a better time because today we're going to practice exactly what I'm suggesting to you. Right. We're going to put it into action. We're going to take the first two measures of Duke Ellington's Satin Doll and work through our complete seven stages of solo piano development. Same two measures, same seven stages. And we're going to discover just how much solo piano development can take place without ever going to measure three. And then once we've learned the process, well, you know what comes next. Measures three and four. And those belong to you.

So, Michael, great question. And I think today's lesson is going to completely change the way you think about practicing solo piano. In fact, I hope it changes the way we all think about practicing solo piano. Okay, so let's take a look at today's educational agenda. All right, as we've been discussing throughout today's episode, our objective today is not to work through all 32 measures of Satin Doll. Instead, we're going to take the first two measures and use those two measures as our musical laboratory for exploring and developing our seven stages of solo piano development. Stage one, we begin with harmony and melody together, rubato, single note melody, no time, no groove, no fancy accompaniment, just

Dr. Bob Lawrence (31:57.122)

The harmony supporting the melody. Again, that, I believe, is the purest form of solo piano. Stage two, we remain with harmony and melody, still rubato, but now we harmonize that melody to become, you know, so that it becomes a richer, fuller sound. Stage three, we will introduce time. Harmony and melody remain, but the rubato approach gives way to a steady pulse, and immediately the music begins taking on an entirely different. character. Stage four, we introduce simple stride. The left hand begins becoming a stronger musical partner, right? Supporting the melody, supporting the harmony, supporting the time. Stage five, we develop our stride approach with what I call an enhanced stride.

Now the accompaniment begins becoming more conversational, more expressive. And then And less predictable. And stage six, we introduce harmonic motion and now the harmony itself begins helping us tell the musical story. We're creating movement and supporting the melodic phrases. And then finally, stage seven, we arrive at improvisation. And remember improvisation does not mean abandoning the melody, it means developing it. And of course, stage seven also means expanding our Two measures into measures three and four and so on. Okay? So that's the curriculum. Those are our seven stages. And here's what makes today's study so valuable. We're going to apply every one of those seven stages to the exact same two measures, which means we're removing the distraction of trying to navigate an entire tune and allowing ourselves to focus on the developmental process itself.

As we move through each stage, I want you asking some very simple questions. What changed? Why did it change? And can I physically execute that change? We're going to see it, we're going to hear it, we're going to play it one stage at a time, two measures at a time. Don't underestimate what we're doing simply because the amount of musical material is small. Again, remember, I'm going to pound this home today.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (34:24.353)

The amount of musical material you're practicing does not determine the magnitude of the musical skill you're developing. Today, two measures are more than enough. More than enough to understand the seven stages conceptually, more than enough to begin developing them physically. And certainly more than enough to begin discovering how they eventually allow us to express ourselves musically. And once we've worked through those first two measures together. You know what happens next? I get out of the way. I step aside because measures three and four belong to you, as does the rest of the tune. Now, that's a pretty cool educational agenda. All right, if you are a Jazz Piano Skills member, now is the perfect time to download your podcast packets.

As always, today's packets contain everything you'll need to get the most from today's lesson. You're going to have the educational illustrations and the lead sheets. Remember, no play-alongs. It's solo piano week. These packets, the illustrations, the lead sheets are designed specifically for our solo piano study of satin doll. And as you work through the packets this week, remember we're keeping things intentionally small. Two measures, seven stages. Again, that's more than enough. Use the materials to clearly see each stage, hear each stage, and most importantly, begin physically developing each stage at the piano. And don't forget, visit the Jazz Piano Skills online community forums and spend some time with Lisa's listening list.

So download your podcast packets, check out Lisa's listening list, and get ready to put all of this into practice. If you're not yet a Jazz Piano Skills member, I want to thank you for joining us today. I hope you've enjoyed the first half of today's episode and found our discussion helpful. encouraging, and most importantly, musically enlightening. In just a moment, we're going to transition into the second half of today's episode, where I'll be at the piano working through our seven stages of solo piano development. And of course using the first two measures of Duke Ellington's Satin Doll. Two measures, seven stages, and a whole lot of solo piano development.

So if you'd like to join us for the complete lesson and gain access today's

Dr. Bob Lawrence (36:51.416)

Podcast packets, our complete library of educational resources and interactive courses, and of course, the weekly masterclass, Lisa's listening list, and our supportive online community of jazz pianists. I invite you to once again visit jazzpianoskills.com and become a member. I'd love to have you join us. And whether you decide to become a member or simply continue enjoying the first half of our podcast each week, please know that I'm grateful you're listening. And I sincerely hope Jazz Piano Skills continues helping you make music more understandable and helping you realize that becoming the musician you want to become is absolutely achievable.

For now, thank you again. And as always, continue to discover, learn, and play jazz piano.