This post is SO useful! It's not at all easy to teach improvisation on piano. I agree that starting with the blues a great idea for many students. In my journey to improvising on piano, I didn't learn the blues until later--I started with the 16 and 32-bar chorus. And, eventually, when I started playing the blues, it made all of my jazz playing better!
This post is SO useful! It's not at all easy to teach improvisation on piano. I agree that starting with the blues a great idea for many students. In my journey to improvising on piano, I didn't learn the blues until later--I started with the 16 and 32-bar chorus. And, eventually, when I started playing the blues, it made all of my jazz playing better!
Thanks Keith! Yeah, I agree, I tend to prefer teaching the longer forms too, especially for novice improvisers — or even better, free form!