Classical -> Jazz Piano

SooTyLaD

SooTyLaD

SooTyLaD

Soldato
Joined
19 Oct 2002
Posts
3,480
How Do :)

I am a classically trained pianist but (tragically) have not played much at all in the last 6-7 years... to re-kindle my skills i have decided to move to jazz piano for which i think i have quite a good ear...

what i would like is recommendations of jazz books to start me off on that route, preferably one which accommodates for people who are already pretty good but in other fields (like classical), i was grade 8 so am not a stranger to the technicalities etc...

any advise very much welcome :)
 
How is your chord knowledge? Many classical musicians (and I'm sure you are aware of this) only read music from a stave, and look at it as notes joined together, rather than chords. If this is the case with you, then try to brush up on your chord knowledge, then get your hands on a real book, or a set of. The real book is basically a big dictionary of jazz standards. All the music is written out as a standard jazz chart, meaning the melody is printed in traditional notation, with the chords being written above it. My girlfriend is a grade 7 pianist who can sight read very well, but as soon as I gave her a jazz chart so I could play along to her, she was stuck. The right hand (melody) was fine, but she was lost without having a left hand part scored out.

If you already have a half decent chord knowledge, then the next step would be to learn to improvise. This is something that I doubt you'll have dabbled in if you have been studying exclusively classical music. However, you will have learnt all of the tools that you will need, ie arpeggios and scales, studying grades. Now you just need to learn how to use them in this context. As mentioned above, the real books are unbeatable for practising with. They're fantastic for sight reading, improvisation and as they aren't scored out to the nth degree, every single person will play them differently. In the jazz band that I play piano in, we never play the same song the same way twice, which is why I love playing to a jazz chart rather than a score.

I really didn't mean to sound patronising, but I realise that I may have a little. Sorry about that. However, I hope that there is something of use to you in there. :)
 
hmm very interesting... thanks very much :)

my chords aren't very good at all, i was always taught from the score...

i've never even heard of this "real book" had a look round some book sites and is it the one by Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation that i need? I am aware you can't give me a link but could you recommend one via ISBN?

(is it this?: 978-1423424512)

i was going to get this also to start me off: Jazz Piano from Scratch, ISBN: 978-1860960154... what do you reckon?

<edit> christ there are loads of real books one for each key! </edit>
 
Last edited:
Yes, that's the real book I was talking about. :)

I've sent an email to your trust with a scan of a page from the real book. That's what your average jazz chart looks like, and that's how the pieces are written out in the book.

As for the other book mentioned, it would be for people that really are beginners. If you have grade 8 then I imagine you'd be way ahead of some of the concepts mentioned in the book. However, if like you said, you do need to start a bit from scratch again, then it maybe appropriate. Just to break it in gently. As I said, most of the tools you need for jazz you will have already learnt, the tricky part is learning how to use those tools in jazz. :)
 
I suggest:

1. Train yourself to play along to some jazz standards. Get a copy of the album 'Kind of Blue' by Miles Davis and see if you can play along by ear, just 'comping' the chords and the head melodies.

2. Get hold of some Jamey Aebersold jazz exercises, or an introductory book by him. I rate him. Read :)

3. Learn just a single piece from a chart - Autumn Leaves is a good one to start with - and then learn to play it in every key. Once you've got the hang of playing one tune in many keys, picking up other ones will be easier, particularly if you're rusty.

4. When you're feeling more confident, see if you can get hold of a backing CD of standards and solo along to them - don't worry about comping as they usually have a guitar / piano in the backing.

5. Get really, really good at scales, particularly in your right hand. Aebersold will probably cover this.

6. Once you've got used to playing along to a backing and feel reasonably confident, see if you can find a local jam night at a pub and go along. Even if you don't feel like getting up the first time, after a few visits you might feel comfortable enough to have a go. People are usually very relaxed at them so don't worry about making mistakes or whatever. If you can become a regular you'll learn a great deal from them.

7. Build up your knowledge of recordings by getting tons of albums. I think playing jazz is all about listening, and the better you can get at listening the better the jazz musician you'll make :)

I've been going through the classical -> jazz piano process for about 5-6 years now and the above are just what I've found. I'm still learning, but music is one continuous learning experience so there you go.

arty
 
thankyou very much for that advise arty, i'll take it all on board :)

i have however just bought a "real book" and a "jazz piano from scratch" book to kick off... i'll have a look at those and maybe get the books you advised in a few weeks... can't afford it all at once :p
 
Arty is has pretty much covered what you need to do to get started. A couple of other books that might be helpful are:

"the Jazz piano book"
"the Jazz Theory book"

Both of these are by Mark Levine and will help you get off on the right foot with regards to jazz theory, something which is really critical in learning to improvise. The jazz piano theory book also gives some great example of chord voicings as well.

Hope that helps.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom