Here is a great example of a rather complex, advanced jazz piano solo played on a keyboard. The player exhibits great mastery not only in the playing of the piano, but in the art of improvisation.
At my studio here in Portland, Or, students who are taking piano lessons or keyboard have varying interests. Some of the material we cover at lessons includes; learning to read music, play by ear, theory, accompanying voice, blues and jazz improvisation. Learning to play jazz is one of the more complex areas of playing piano. At the lessons, for students expressing an interest in jazz, we often start out with an introduction to blues improvisation. This gives students a great opportunity to develop their playing skills independent of reading music. They gain the valuable ability to hear melodies and chords and be able to play them on the keyboard. Some student own a piano and some have a keyboard, but teaching to play piano is the same.
Jazz is a uniquely American style of playing the piano. It’s a technique applied to virtually any type of music with emphasis on rebuilding the chord structure of a piece to make it more complex and detailed, as well as varying the melody with new and fresh improvisations from that melody. There are many forms of jazz piano from music eras beginning way back at the turn of the 20th century with ragtime piano, thru the 1930s with bebop and stride piano, big band in the 1940s, and the more avant garde styles from the 1950s, and more contemporary styles since.
Many of my piano students love playing New Age music. It can be learned fairly quickly and is lots of fun to play. The music flows with a relaxed, evolving soundscape. New Age piano music often brings a sense of peace and tranquility to the listener. It gives students an exceptionally natural connection to the piano. For a piano teacher, this is a perfect kind of music to give students to sharpen their focus on their listening skills.
