Lesson notes. July 8, 2025.
Welcome to your lesson notes Timothy!
Here are some details before we get into the lesson comments:
Scheduling:
Here are some details before we get into the lesson comments:
Scheduling:
- I contacted the administration and requested our room to be available for our lesson at 12:15 on July 22. I will email you with the answer as soon as I receive a response.
- If this option is not available, I will arrange for 3:45 to 4:30 or 3:30 to 4:15.
- You can consult my lesson schedule and check your lesson time at this link: https://www.gabrielpianostudio.com/
- Technique: as described below
- Reading
- Sight-reading. Check out the melodic reading exercises I added to the page, starting from the super-simple Kohler, then try reading through harmonic exercises. If confusing, no problem, we will do them at the lesson.
- Fully-written piece. Jazz Etude #2. Start preparing this and go as far as you can. If you are able to play the entire thing accurately in one week, contact me and I will send you a second piece.
- Mercy, Mercy, Mercy
- Theme -1-. Bb7 RH incorporate the 7th, slide the entire chord for gospel effect. Eb7 the 7th may need to be on the LH
- Theme -2-. Good
- Break. F7sus chord is Eb on the RH, F on the LH
- Last theme in Cm. I would play it on the lower (tenor) range of the piano for better character.
- Jordu
- -A- Theme. Kick rhythm a little bit ahead for great effect.
- Try accompanying the theme with full chords (just like you already do), but also start using 3-7 reduction
- -B- Playing this section with full chords is a great exercise, but difficult. Still, do it so you learn to switch chords quickly. Then exercise playing with 3-7 in chromatic motion, which is much easier for the LH and you can then focus better on the RH melody
- Improvisation. We will start very simple.
- -A- Play around the C minor scale and listen to the dissonances it creates. Hold each chord indefinitely and improvise on top of it. We will practice this at the lesson.
- -B- This section is much more difficult to prepare because the chords change quickly. Let's start with a simple idea: Try a blues scale. I would personally try G blues scale because the notes are a bit more compatible with the chords in the environment of flats. Below is the C Blues scale. See if you can build a G blues scale from this model
- Transcription.
- I am going to listen to the recordings and see which may be best for your level. I will post here the one we may be starting next lesson.
