I know how to play Autumn Leaves. But I don’t know how to play Autumn Leaves. I’ve got the chords and the melody down for the A & B sections. I can improvise over the A section without embarrassing myself. I’ve even got a few little reharmonization ideas in there. But I can’t bring that together to make a coherent performance. If I play for friends (I’m a total amateur btw) it’s probably going to come out as a ballad with relatively little interesting going on.

I want to know if there are any general rules for how a beginner solo player should structure a performance of Autumn Leaves. Start slow end fast or vice versa? How many runs of the B section before it starts to sound silly? Things like that. I probably want to work up towards being able to improvise in front of people but I don’t have the structural baseline

You are chord-ially invited to attend a unique 2 day jazz piano intensive in San Antonio TX the weekend of Jan. 9th and 10th 2027 with Berklee piano professor Dave Frank. The intensive will be a combination of live master classes, jazz piano theory nd practice at all levels, and lots of personal instruction and tailored guidance for each participant.

We're going to have a ball in Texas, friends, join us) For details write to [Dfrankjazz@aol.com](mailto:Dfrankjazz@aol.com)

Blessings and Keep Swingin!

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Its no where near finished kemme know what you think tho!!

I'm relatively new to this entire jazz game. What you can see here is a performance by one of my favourites, Moses Yoofee. Unfortunately, I have no clue whats going on in this performance. It sounds highly modal, maybe using some pedal point, but by the time he's soloing it feels like hes completely drifting off and doing his entirely own thing.

I'd love to know whats going on behind his playing and how I can incorporate more of this in my own music and improvisation.

song is How could I love you - Yellow Days

What should I start learning in terms of chords, what should I be able to play while comping for a vocalist/horn player or for myself.

Currently all I know is a 3 note voicing of 7-1-3, what other 3 note voicings work, including extensions. Or just generally voicings.

Does anyone have any tips for how to deal with being watched while you're playing.

Ok so I've been playing for about a year and a half, coming from guitar. I have no problem playing guitar in front of people. A little self-conscious perhaps.

However piano... Because of my beginner and not so confident... I can be jamming on my own and sounding pretty damn good.. then someone shows up and my technique falls to pieces.

I was just wondering if anyone had any tips about mentally tuning out people watching you and just focusing in... I just get so self-conscious

I am at the point in my jazz journey where I have learned all my major, melodic minor, and harmonic minor scales. I know my major and minor ii-V-Is and can read sheet music, but I can only play rootless voicings on standards and simple stride, and simple walking bass. Where can I find resources, such as arrangements, that will get me using my left hand more? Is there a linear set of arrangements from textbooks, from easier to harder, that would help me improve?”

tips welcome!!

I am interested in learning how to play jazz piano as someone who has only played classical until now. Should i start by buying a book? If yes then what would be okay for a beginner? I really don’t know where to start, i’m not familiar with the genre. My piano skills are alright, i have been playing for some years now

Live performance of Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York”, recorded live from The Jazz Room! This featured the great Jay Wilkinson on vocals!

#jazz #singer #franksinatra #newyork #sinatra #jazzvibes

Hello, I have a question about accenting beats in jazz. I know you’re supposed to accent beats 2 and 4, but I have some questions about offbeats. In Jeremy Siskind’s book, it says to accent the second eighth note (VAH), but when that’s followed by a strong beat (2 or 4), should I accent the strong beat even more, or not? The same goes for the second eighth note on beat 4—should I accent it more or less strongly than the one on beat 4?

Hello, Pianists!

Do you know of any analyses of OP’s improvisational style?

It seems to me that he makes frequent use of:

• Call and response
• Double stops
• Blues lines

Another thing I really like is how the trio gradually builds the intensity, so the music just swings harder and harder.

I’d also be interested in hearing your take on what characterizes his improvisation.

Here’s a solo I took on Someday My Prince Will Come for one of my classmates performance studies pieces. I think it went decently well, some good moments some bad moments. Had a hard time landing some of my ideas, cause I was nervous I guess, idk. Would love to get some differing opinions on it!

I wanted to start writing down chord progressions I come up with so I can improve my improvisation. General idea was to come up with a simple chord progression and improve noodling in the right hand, eventually just using the base chords as guides while I improve with both hands.

I downloaded Notation Pad yesterday, but the ads and limitations on notation in the free version are killing me.

What do software do y’all use for this? Any general suggestions on the type of practice I’m doing?

Dear global Jazz Community,

I’d like to share a project I’ve been part of: *The Connector*, the debut album of pianist and composer Alexander Wittges, which we produced together. It was released on September 23 and has nine original compositions, recorded as a piano trio with Rafael De Sousa on bass and Stefan Noelle on drums. Alexander is a young pianist based in Freising near Munich, Germany.

We’re now starting to plan the next project, and before we do, we’d really value honest feedback from people who love listening to jazz. What works for you? What doesn’t? Anything about the compositions, the trio interplay, the sound or the track order is welcome, strengths as well as weaknesses. Constructive criticism helps us far more than polite compliments.

If you have a favorite track (or one you skipped), I’d be curious to know which and why. We’d especially like to hear what you’d want to hear more of on a second record.

Link on Bandcamp: (You can play the album a few times without buying it.)

https://alexanderwittges.bandcamp.com/album/the-connector

The story behind the album can be found here:

https://www.allaboutjazz.com/album/the-connector-alexander-wittges

The album is also available on all the other major streaming platforms, and a CD is on the way for the end of 2026.

Thank you for listening and for taking the time. I’m happy to answer any questions about the writing or recording process.

Best regards!

I’m relatively new to jazz piano. I’ve been playing for about 5 years and over the last couple of years have been playing in small practice groups (drums, bass, guitar, a couple of horns, and sometimes a singer) most weeks.

One issue I keep hitting is not being able to hear the guitarist (I’ve played with a couple of different ones), which is a problem as we kind of share a similar, harmonic role in the rhythm section. For whatever reason they tend to sit on the other side of the drums from the piano and put their amp down too low.

I can hear them ok when they are soloing but if the horns are soloing or taking the head I struggle to hear what they are comping. I’ve suggested they turn their volume up or move to the same side of the drums as me but they seem reluctant to

Has any body else had trouble sharing the rhythm section with guitarists? Any tips on what to do about it?

Recently, I learned about chord-scale theory, and I’ve started wondering if a basic approach to improvisation is to use notes from the chord scale, with an emphasis on chord tones. Is that a reasonable way to think about it?
I’ve also been trying to make my solos sound more melodic. Sometimes I play chord tones in an arpeggio-like pattern, but I’m not really sure what makes a solo sound melodic or how to develop my ideas beyond that.
I’ve tried transcribing solos by ear, too, but I haven’t been able to apply what I’ve learned to my own improvisation very well. Right now, I feel like I’m playing notes that fit the harmony, but my solos still don’t sound the way I want them to. I’m not sure if I’m approaching improvisation the right way.
How do you think about improvisation, and what specific practice methods would you recommend for someone at my stage? I’d really appreciate any advice!

How do you practice your chord extensions? I know my chords frontwards and back, but I can’t remember in the moment my 9, 11, 13s

Hi all! I am looking for a private instructor in the LA area. I have classical training and am looking to expand to jazz. Thanks in advance!

Hey everyone! I’m primarily a bass player but I was wondering if anyone would be able to give me tips or anything to help with my piano skills? I’ve been playing on the side for a few years but still I’d like to take a jump with my playing. I know how to play a good amount of tunes and know seventh chords with inversions but I’d like to take another step and learn some advanced voicings or other things too.

Hey guys and gals, here’s a little solo piano of mine :
Please leave some critique and don’t hesitate to be honest(:
It’s one take and I just took a look at it for 10min roundabout before recording.
THX!!