Piano Solo

Have you ever walked by a piano and wondered “how can anyone make sense of all those keys?” If that’s you, then you’re going to love this.

Listen, 16 years ago I was in the same boat. You see, I was a guitar player and the thought of actually making music at the piano seemed way out there. In fact, the whole idea that anyone could make heads or tales of all those keys always amazed me.

But, I did enjoy the piano - especially the solo piano music of George Winston. I loved his music and wondered if I could create like that. I then started my journey of musical discovery. At that time, it led me to all my local

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A student once asked me; “Can I determine what my favorite piano player is actually doing on the keyboard just by listening?” An excellent question and one that can be answered in the affirmative. Here’s how to do it.

First, figure out what the left-hand is doing. This is the key to understanding what is being done by any piano player, no matter what the style. Let’s take New Age pianist David Lanz as an example. Lanz’s style usually revolves around a left hand that plays an ostinato pattern while the right hand improvises. Very few pianists base their compositions on the right-hand.

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Did you know that there are two styles of New Age piano playing? One style is more percussive and staccato ala George Winston. The other, much softer and quieter. You should learn both styles! Why? Because there are times when you want to really “bang on the keys” so to speak and other times when a gentler mood takes over. Let’s explore both styles and see how they’re created.

First the George Winston style. When Winston came on the scene in the early 1980’s, he introduced the world to a new piano style. His debut album December (still widely ordered today) put solo piano back on the map. His style, though varying throughout his career, is a percussive one, especially for

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Piano improvisation in a classical music way is an interesting complement to ordinary piano improvisational practicing. Let me suggest a way to practice!

Piano sheet music is a means and not an end. It’s a way to notate what to play on the piano.

You can find a lot of interesting passages in classical piano solos. These solos can help you collect improvisational material to work on to make your piano improvisations more interesting.

How to develop your classical piano improvisational skills?

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Jazz. Just the word alone sounds musical. If you’re looking for jazz piano lessons and a new way to play jazz piano, read on!

For the most part, jazz piano lessons begin with the study of chords. And that’s a good thing! But chords alone will not help you make music. Sure, chords are important. But so is the other half of learning piano improvisation and that has everything to do with TRUSTING YOUR INTUITION!

This is where the usual jazz piano lesson routine falls apart. You’re taught chords yes. But what do you do with these chords? You create music with them.

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