My Jazz Piano Journal

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My Jazz Piano Journal

Table of Contents

Confusing my hands

Note Clusters

  • Prefer 4 note clusters
  • Clusters of >4 can be broken down into 4/3/2 clusters
  • If you land on finger 5 you are going the other way

Standard Chromatic

333

Chromatic Cycles

4 Note Cycles

Permutations
  • Starting with 1
    • 1234
    • 1243
    • 1324
    • 1342
    • 1423
    • 1432
  • Starting with 2
    • 2134
    • 2143
    • 2314
    • 2341
    • 2413
    • 2431
  • Starting with 3
    • 3124
    • 3142
    • 3214
    • 3241
    • 3412
    • 3421
  • Starting with 4
    • 4123
    • 4132
    • 4213
    • 4231
    • 4312
    • 4321

3 Note Cycles

3

Use index and third finger

5 Note Cycles

6 Note Cycles

7 Note Cycles

Chromatic Cycles on C Thirds

5

Chromatic Cycles on Chromatic Scale

Repeat previous drills on all major scales

Advanced Cycles

Interval Cycles on C scale

  • semitone+tone
    • tone-semitone-semitone
    • semitone-tone-semitone
    • semitone-semitone-tone
    • tone-tone-semitone
    • semitone-tone-tone
    • tone-tone-tone

4 Note Cycles on Diminished Scale

Built from notes in C7b9 + Cdim7 + C#dim7

Chord Cycles

  • 2 octave Chord Cycles on C scale
    • 7th
      • dim7: m3-m3-m3
      • halfdim7: m3-m3-3
      • maj7: 3-m3-3
      • dom7: 3-m3-m3
      • min7: m3-3-m3
    • 9th
      • halfdim7 b9: m3-m3-3-m3
    • 11th
      • halfdim7 b9 11: m3-m3-3-m3-3
    • 13th
      • halfdim7 b9 11 b13: m3-m3-3-m3-3-m3
    • Add more chords

Hand Independence

Bud Powell's Un Poco Loco

Right Hand Independence

Permutations (Invert everything to )

  • Whole Note on 1st beat (understand how RH moves parallel to down beat for rythmic resolution)
    • C4 on thumb
    • C4 on thumb C5 on pinky
    • Resolve to different fingers: Thumb on C4, pinky on G4
      • 1 5, 1 3, 2 4, 3 5
    • Play Cmadd2 with big leaps
  • Quarter Notes
    • Single note: C4 on thumb
    • 2 Note Cycles
      • Chromatic intervals (C4 C5, C4 B4, ...)
      • Fixed Interval Walks (maj7, dom7, 6, b6, ...)
    • 3 Note Cycles
      • C-G-C
      • Chromatic walk
    • Quarter Notes with Rests
      • Two crotchet rests between every note
        • Single Note
        • 2 Note Cycles
        • 3 Note Cycles
    • Quarter Notes with scales (can you play crossovers anywhere?)
      • Major scales
        • Starting on 1
        • Starting on 2
        • Starting on 3
        • Starting on 4
    • Eighth Notes
      • Thumb on C, third on G
        • Inverse by playing C on up beat (on the n, not the 1)
        • Accent up beats
        • Switch between C on up beat and down beat
      • Change interval
      • Change fingers
        • 1 4
        • 2 5
        • 1 3
        • 3 5
      • 3 Note Cycles
        • G Bb C
        • Different fingering
        • chromatic walk up
        • Accent Variation
        • Rest on the second note
      • Crossovers
        • C7 Bebop
          • Start on different eighth notes of the bar
          • Accenting
            • every four notes
            • only the thumb
        • Major scale
          • C -> C# ...
    • Dotted quarter notes

Left Hand Independence

  • Async with Right Hand
    • Draw circles
    • Swipe back and forth, left and right

All scales are just a permutation of the following clusters

3333
Permutations
  • Wiggle through each cluster
    • Wiggling should not be async, not strictly on meter
  • Combine clusters
  • Alternate between wiggling and within meter rhythms

Adding more Complexity

Add physical transposition to Fm7

Add physical transposition to G7

Permutations
  • Repeat previous exercises with the F pattern only
  • Then repeat with C and F cycle
  • Repeat previous exercises with the G pattern (resolving to second finger instead)
  • Then repeat with C and G cycle
  • Invert fingering
  • Then try two five one

Two Handed Voicings

Pentatonic Voicings

  • Stack perfect fourths until you reach the 2nd octave
  • Start from C (F minor / Ab pentatonic scale)
  • Play inversions ascending/descending
  • Start from different notes in the scale
  • Change direction every x notes
  • Skip notes
  • Improvise
    • Wiggle fingers differently
    • Make rhythmic variations
    • Sustain F and/or Ab in the left hand and improvise
    • Reset hands after every chord by moving each hand to extreme end of keyboard
  • Passing notes
    • Chromatic Outer Voicing
      • Right pinky does chromatic walk, all other fingers stack fourths towards the left
      • Left pinky does chromatic walk, all other fingers stack fourths towards the right
    • Chromatic Inner Voicing
      • One of the inner fingers does chromatic walk, all other fingers stack fourths towards the left and right

Licks / Runs

Whole Tone

  • Resolve chords
  • Move between phrases

There are only two whole tone scales on the piano

Permutations
  • Normal Run, thumb on C and E
  • 4 Note Cycles on C, D, E
Permutations
  • Normal Run
    • Thumb on A and F
    • Thumb on G and B
    • Thumb on F and B
  • 4 Note Cycles on C, D, E
  • Resolve to different harmonies, e.g. third of the chord
    • AbMaj7
    • EMaj7

Oscar Peterson - Body and Soul

  • Built from notes in F7b9 + Fdim7 + F#dim7.
  • Play F7b9 in left hand.
  • Alternate between E and Eb for different fingering permutations
33

Art Tatum - Tea for Two

  • Diatonic 3rds from Db scale
  • Start from F on right hand + C7 on left hand
Permutations
  • Motions in Parallel
    • Ascend
    • Descend
  • Contrary Motion
  • 3 note cycle permutations
  • Left Hand on different beat
    • 1st note
    • 2nd note
    • 3rd note
  • Increase interval between thumb and 3rd

Bud Powell - Bouncing with Bud

  • 6 Note Cycle of Gbdim7 + Bdim
Permutations
  • Normal Run
  • 4 Note Cycles on A, D, F Thumb Positions
  • 6 Note Cycles
    • Two, Three, Four Octaves
    • Squash notes onto one scale, and play six notes on every note of the scale
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