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Jeff
Brent's
Free Piano Materials Page
Table
of Contents
On
this page you'll find lessons and
educational articles I've written on the subject of piano.
Included
here are:
riffs & licks,
scales, chords,
the pianist's left hand,
practical techniques
Lessons with Audio Examples
Alphabetical Listing:
The 7 Blind Men and the Elephant
The importance of a well-rounded musical education.
Advanced
Piano Fingerings for the Chromatic Scale and Diminished Scales
This article covers advanced fingering techniques such as Liszt's "Thumb
Over", Seth Griener's "Speed Fingering", "Thumb on a Black Note", etc.
Blues CESH
This article deals with chromatic embellishments of a static 7th chord in the Blues idiom. PDF file.
Bopology 101
Learn to solo in the BeBop idiom. Complete with MIDI audio examples.
C# minor Blues Pentatonic
Fingerings
The three main fingering postions for C# minor blues pentatonic illustrated.
Complete with MIDI audio examples.
Comping
The "Dues and Don'ts" of accompaniment.
Creating Melodies using "The Suggestive
Method"
The natural path to melodic construction.
Diatonic Tertian Mega-Scale
A cool and useful idea for improvising over ii-V7-I changes. Complete
with MIDI audio examples.
Exploring 9th Voicings
Some interesting uses of LH chord stuctures utilising a major 9th interval
span.
Fast Extended Chromatic
Piano Runs
The very fastest way to do an extended chromatic run. Complete with
MP3 audio example.
Piano Fingerings
for Eb minor pentatonics & Bbm Blues modes
How to get around these "tricky" scales.
Fowler-Brent Shorthand
A precise and intuitive way of notating chords and scales.
Generic Slash Bass Notation
Generic "Slash Bass" Leadsheet Notation Codified.
"Giant Steps" Analysis
Demystifies John Coltrane's "Giant Steps".
History
of the Jazz Pianist's Left Hand
A brief synopsis of the history of the Jazz pianist's left hand.
Internalizing Rhythm
Find where it lives.
Jazzing Up a Simple Tune
Some ideas for reharmonizing non-Jazz songs.
Left Hand Closed Voicings
for Piano
Where to play closed chord voicings in the left hand.
Left Hand Stride Piano
Tenths
An article dealing with 10ths in the left hand and their use in Jazz.Complete
with MIDI audio examples.
Melodic
Tendencies
Note choices based on psycho-acoustic factors
Mystery vs. Mastery
Musical evolution and the loss of innocence.
Piano
Rootless Drop Voicing 251s
Drop2 and Drop3 voicings are presented within the context of both
major and minor rootless 2-5-1 progressions (along with their most common
altered dominants) in all twelve keys.
Piano Tablature
My system of tablature for piano and its symbols explained. Complete
with MIDI audio examples.
Piano Tuning in a Nutshell
Too cheap to hire a piano tuner?
Positional Visualization
vs. Thumb Crossings
An alternate way of thinking about efficient piano fingerings.
Practicing
How long should I practice every day?
The
Relationship of the Fundamental to its Fifth and Fourth
The physics of perfect 4ths and 5ths.
Rootless Chord Voicings for Piano
A concise explanation of Bill Evans' "Rootless Chords" system.
The
Secret Saxophone Scale
A Jazz/Blues scale that you hear all the time, but so secret (shhhh...!)
that it has no name. Complete with MIDI audio examples.
Shearing Style Bock
Chords for the Right Hand
Some ideas for which notes to put inside the octave.
Sidewinder Patterns
Sidewinder patterns consist of a sequence of identical fixed melodic
intervals chromatically ascending or descending.
Spelling
Diminished Scales
Conventions for diminished scale spellings: Fraternal Chromatics, Stacked
Minor Tetrachords.
The Subconscious and Maximizing Practice Time
Getting the most bang for your buck when practicing by taking advantage of how the subconscious works.
Thoughts on Modes
Some insights into modes.
Tips on Transcribing
Practical advice on doing transcriptions.
Understanding Walking
Bass Lines
Explanation of walking bass lines for non-Bassists.
Universal Scale over iii-VI7-ii-V7-I
progressions
Using the last four notes of minor 7th chords or dominant 7th chords
as melodic soloing choices. Complete with MIDI audio examples.
back to Table of Contents
Riffs & Licks:
Bopology 101
Learn to solo in the BeBop idiom. Complete with MIDI audio examples.
Universal Scale
over iii-VI7-ii-V7-I progressions
Using the last four notes of minor 7th chords or dominant 7th chords
as melodic soloing choices. Complete with MIDI audio examples.
C# minor Blues Pentatonic
Fingerings
The three main fingering postions for C# minor blues pentatonic illustrated.
Complete with MIDI audio examples.
Fast Extended Chromatic
Piano Runs
The very fastest way to do an extended chromatic run. Complete with
MP3 audio example.
The
Secret Saxophone Scale
A Jazz/Blues scale that you hear all the time, but so secret (shhhh...!)
that it has no name. Complete with MIDI audio examples.
Sidewinder Patterns
Sidewinder patterns consist of a sequence of identical fixed melodic
intervals chromatically ascending or descending.
Melodic Tendencies
Note choices based on psycho-acoustic factors
Creating Melodies using "The Suggestive Method"
The natural path to melodic construction.
back to Table of Contents
Modes, Scales and
Megascales:
Positional Visualization vs. Thumb
Crossings
An alternate way of thinking about efficient piano fingerings.
Advanced
Piano Fingerings for the Chromatic Scale and Diminished Scales
This article covers advanced fingering techniques such as Liszt's "Thumb
Over", Seth Griener's "Speed Fingering", "Thumb on a Black Note", etc.
Thoughts on Modes
Some insights into modes.
Bopology 101
Learn to solo in the BeBop idiom. Complete with MIDI audio examples.
C# minor Blues
Pentatonic Fingerings
The three main fingering postions for C# minor blues pentatonic illustrated.
Complete with MIDI audio examples.
Fast Extended Chromatic
Piano Runs
The very fastest way to do an extended chromatic run. Complete with
MP3 audio example.
Piano
Fingerings for Eb minor pentatonics & Bbm Blues modes
How to get around these "tricky" scales.
The Secret Saxophone Scale
A Jazz/Blues scale that you hear all the time, but so secret (shhhh...!)
that it has no name. Complete with MIDI audio examples.
Spelling Diminished
Scales
Conventions for diminished scale spellings: Fraternal Chromatics, Stacked
Minor Tetrachords.
Universal Scale over iii-VI7-ii-V7-I
progressions
Using the last four notes of minor 7th chords or dominant 7th chords
as melodic soloing choices. Complete with MIDI audio examples.
Diatonic Tertian Mega-Scale
A cool and useful idea for improvising over ii-V7-I changes. Complete
with MIDI audio examples.
Fowler-Brent Shorthand
A precise and intuitive way of notating chords and scales.
back to Table of Contents
Chords, Chords, Chords:
Rootless Chord Voicings for Piano
A concise explanation of Bill Evans' "Rootless Chords" system.
Exploring 9th Voicings
Some interesting uses of LH chord stuctures utilizing a major 9th interval
span.
Piano
Rootless Drop Voicing 251s
Drop2 and Drop3 voicings are presented within the context of both
major and minor rootless 2-5-1 progressions (along with their most common
altered dominants) in all twelve keys.
Shearing
Style Bock Chords for the Right Hand
Some ideas for which notes to put inside the octave.
Jazzing Up a Simple Tune
Some ideas for reharmonizing non-Jazz songs.
Fowler-Brent Shorthand
A precise and intuitive way of notating chords and scales.
back to Table of Contents
The Jazz Pianist's Left Hand:
Generic Slash Bass Notation
Generic "Slash Bass" Leadsheet Notation Codified.
History of the Jazz Pianist's
Left Hand
A brief synopsis of the history of the Jazz pianist's left hand.
Rootless Chord Voicings for Piano
A concise explanation of Bill Evans' "Rootless Chords" system.
Left Hand Closed Voicings for
Piano
Where to play closed chord voicings in the left hand.
Understanding Walking Bass Lines
Explanation of walking bass lines for non-Bassists.
Left Hand Stride Piano Tenths
An article dealing with 10ths in the left hand and their use in Jazz. Complete
with MIDI audio examples.
Exploring 9th Voicings
Some interesting uses of LH chord stuctures utilising a major 9th interval
span.
back to Table of Contents
Practical Musical Advice:
The 7 Blind Men and the Elephant
The importance of a well-rounded musical education.
Practicing
How long should I practice every day?
Comping
The "Dues and Don'ts" of accompaniment.
Tips on Transcribing
Practical advice on doing transcriptions.
Creating Melodies using "The Suggestive
Method"
The natural path to melodic construction.
Melodic Tendencies
Note choices based on psycho-acoustic factors
Internalizing Rhythm
Find where it lives.
Mystery vs. Mastery
Musical evolution and the loss of innocence.
Piano Tuning in a Nutshell
Too cheap to hire a piano tuner?
The
Subconscious and Maximizing Practice Time
Getting the most bang for your buck when practicing by taking advantage
of how the subconscious works.
back to Table of Contents
Lessons with Audio:
Bopology 101
Learn to solo in the BeBop idiom. Complete with MIDI audio examples.
Piano Tablature
My system of tablature for piano and its symbols explained. Complete
with MIDI audio examples.
C# minor Blues Pentatonic
Fingerings
The three main fingering postions for C# minor blues pentatonic illustrated.
Complete with MIDI audio examples.
Fast Extended Chromatic Piano Runs
The very fastest way to do an extended chromatic run. Complete with MP3 audio example.
Diatonic Tertian Mega-Scale
A cool and useful idea for improvising over ii-V7-I changes. Complete
with MIDI audio examples.
Left Hand Stride Piano Tenths
An article dealing with 10ths in the left hand and their use in Jazz.Complete
with MIDI audio examples.
The Secret Saxophone Scale
A Jazz/Blues scale that you hear all the time, but so secret (shhhh...!)
that it has no name. Complete with MIDI audio examples.
Universal Scale over iii-VI7-ii-V7-I
progressions
Using the last four notes of minor 7th chords or dominant 7th chords
as melodic soloing choices. Complete with MIDI audio examples.
back to Table of Contents
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