Category: piano

Piano day (2h 10m)

  • Voicing skills — 1h 20m
    • Quick recap II — V — I — IVs in major + relative minor
    • II — V — I — IV in major + relative minor with embellished chords (m9 — 13 — △9 — △ — m7b5 — 7b9 — m9) — did’t really get through all keys, but boy it was intense anyway
  • Improvisation
    • Minor 12-bar blues in C, F and Bb while using blues, Dorian & Hm scales in RH
  • Harmonic minor
    • Scales with two hands in all keys
    • Harmonising Hm1 in C

Piano day (2h 10m)

  • Voicing skills
    • II — V — Is in major + relative minor (all keys, no stops, with click)
    • Dominant to major (7-3-6 to 3-7-9)
    • Dominant to major (3-7-9 to 7-3-5)
    • Recap all minor to dominant (7-3-5 to 3-7-9 and 3-7-9 to 7-3-6)
    • Recap (real quick) cycling major 7ths, minor 7ths and dominant
  • Improvisation
    • Major & minor 12-bar blues in C, F and — unexpectedly — C#- (just because I needed to play some brain games again :lol:)
    • Trying iv — i — vib5 — iib5 in 3-5-7-9 — 7-9-3-5 — 7-1-3-b5 — 3-b5-7-9 transition in several keys (damn it’s hard, and I didn’t even get to keys like Bb-, lol)

Piano day (2h 15m)

  • Voicing skills (1h)
    • Minor to dominant (7-3-5 to 3-7-9)
    • Minor to dominant (3-7-9 to 7-3-6)
    • Dominant to major (7-3-6 to 3-7-9)
    • Recap cycling major 7ths, minor 7ths and dominant (7-3-5 — 3-7-9 and backwards)
  • Modes of harmonic minor (1h)
    • 3rd mode of H. M.: harmonising in C (A harmonic minor)
    • Recap 1st and 2nd modes (key of C)
    • Improv in 2nd mode (key of C = Bb harmonic minor)
  • All harmonic minor scales with both hands is all keys (15m)

Piano day (2h)

  • Voicing skills
    • Cycling major 7ths: 7-3-5 to 3-7-9 and backwards
    • Cycling minor 7ths: same
    • Cycling dominant 7ths: same idea
    • Minor to dominant (7-3-5 to 3-7-9)
    • Minor to dominant (3-7-9 to 7-3-6)
  • Modes of harmonic minor
    • H. M. scales with both hands in all keys
    • 2nd mode of H. M.: harmonising C & F scales
    • Improv in 2nd mode (keys of F and Bb)

Observations

I should’ve got to this before! Harmonic minor modes are literally a whole new world! I definitely used these chords and colours before, but finally knowing where they come from is so revealing and — well, it just speeds up the writing process so much when you actually know how things work. I’ve been told this during my study in the music school and I repeatedly find more and more evidence to this. Knowing the math is very helpful!

Pano day (2h)

  • 13th chords in all keys (exercise from the “Jazz Language” book by Dan Haerle)
    • Minor, major, dominant in full form (7th + triad polychords)
  • Modes of harmonic minor
    • 1st mode scales in all keys with both hands
    • Harmonising C, F, Bb harm. minor scales
    • Improvisation over diatonic chords with the key scale

Observations

V7 — VImaj7 transition in the harmonic minor sounds absolutely amazing! Feels like it’s about to push my long-time favourite Dorian i — IV7