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Incorporating Improv Into Your Piano Practice

Jordan Leibel  /  Practice  /  UPDATED Jan 10, 2023

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Alright, alright… I’ve got a confession to make. I LOVE improvisation. I think it’s one of the best ways to discover your voice as a musician. As players, we’ve all got to dedicate time to practicing technique and grinding away at those chords, scales, and other exercises to learn to ‘walk’ and move around at the keyboard. But, we should never lose sight of the truth that music is about expression and exploration.  

With that in mind, we should ask ourselves “How do you incorporate improvisation into a practice session?”

Luckily, it’s as easy as embracing that childlike creativity we all have within ourselves. And you don’t have to be a pro player to do it!

Jazz master Keith Jarrett is a titan of improvisation.

One of the biggest challenges new players face with all those scales and chords we’ve got to practice is in finding ways to make those exercises inspiring and musical. And the best way to do that is to practice within the context of a chord progression. 

If you keep your practice within one key, things are going to start sounding pretty stale, no matter how good a player you are! Instead of playing your major scales and triads in just the key of C, try playing your exercises in C, F and G all in one pass.  

This will get you acquainted with that most useful chord progression, the I – IV – V progression, which is used in countless songs.

Brad Mehldau – another legend of modern improv.

Once you get practicing your exercises in each key, listen to how it starts to sound like music, not just homework. Experiment with how it sounds to jump from your C chord to your F chord, or how that G chord adds something new entirely because it’s made up of all new notes. Improvising is as simple as being curious about the music you’re making, and the instrument you’re using to make that music.

Improvisation isn’t just for jazz players – many of neoclassical pianist Nils Frahm’s songs contain improv elements.

Never forget that we call it playing an instrument for a reason!

When you start to get a feel for how these chords work together, try making little melodies in the right hand based on the tones those chords are made up of.  You’ll be shocked how quickly you start to find your creative voice this way!

I hope these tips help you discover some new ways to think about your practice and your creativity. Share your success stories with me! Just leave a comment below, or email me directly at [email protected]

Cheers,

Jordan   


Jordan Leibel is passionate about songwriting, improvisation, and helping you become a creative musician! He’s worked as a composer for film, commercial, and theatre projects as well as a session musician and producer for recording work.

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