2 Essential Jazz Piano Exercises

[@bootsieragansings]

I love diatonic 7 chords- they so soothing to my ears. 💜

[@culturedslob]

These exercises have utterly humbled me

[@mrmadamhy]

Great set of exercises well explained I'm in!

[@jdiaz4877]

Thannks I will try these and see how I like it!

[@noeljones854]

Thanks G💯

[@adrianpolley9419]

Thanks Simon, will give it a go. 😉

[@cskeys9297]

Thank you sir ❤

[@hensonindembukani5528]

Awesome, I love that technique.

[@lekingm5642]

very nice video and interpretation well done my friend good evening leking m

[@ShenSang]

Very useful information. 👍Great lesson . Thank you 🌹🙏

[@richarpadilla1891]

Great video as always Simon ! I'm following your advice, trying to make melodic lines using the notes of a scale,i'm practicing this over some progressions from your own tutorials ! ,i'm a classical trained pianist, this have been hard for me , thanks for your advice !

[@Piano_Pig]

That's great to hear Richar! Keep up the good work 🎹🐷

[@christloen4077]

Yes!!

[@MoritzFriedemann]

As with all Jazz exercises, how fast should you play these to still be able to apply the technique in actual playing ? I feel like if you play the arpeggios as quickly as you in the video, it just becomes muscle memory for this one exercise. Thanks

[@Piano_Pig]

Start off very slowly! If you're playing these exercises and keep making mistakes, then you're practicing too quickly!

[@debford2836]

Thx Simon. In terms of using the exercises as a warmup - assume I don't have any other warm up exercises - how long would you suggest doing this each day before starting in on whatever else is on the practice agenda?

[@Piano_Pig]

Depends on what your goals are, but I recommend spending around 20% of your total practice time on things such as these exercises.

[@debford2836]

@@Piano_Pig that helpful 🙏

[@debford2836]

*is 😊🎶

[@LoveAllReality]

Jazz Hanon 😊

[@Joe7pack]

Simon, great tutorial. You packed some really powerful exercises into a short and concise video. Bravo! My only problem, I'm Jewish, we don't eat pork, is Piano Turkey or Duck ok?

[@Piano_Pig]

That’s man! I don’t eat pigs either - they’re pretty cool guys 🐖

[@coloaten6682]

Great, everyone's favourite, scale exercises! 🤣 j/k...these do actually look interesting :)

[@Piano_Pig]

They may not be the most exciting thing to practice - but they are very effective at making you a better player

[@jonahdavid8887]

Would you alter the fingerings for the diatonic 7th chords as you changed the keys?

[@Piano_Pig]

Yes, some keys require the fingering to be changed. But many keys will have very similar fingering

[@stoneonethou8284]

🙏❤

[@Joe7pack]

I noticed that when playing the appegios in exercise 1, it appeared that you were alternating between using your middle finger and ring finger. So it's ok to use either fingering?

[@seseemmanuel6386]

Years of practice

[@Piano_Pig]

Yeah literally!

[@jade8538]

Hi Simon -- quick question: On exercise # one, in your left hand you ascend using the fingering 1-2-3-5, but descending you're using 5-4-2-1. Any particular reason for the switch? (Love your site!)

[@blissrae-ul3qk]

Two things: Thumbs are actually both 1. So ascending is 5-4-3-1 and descending is 1-2-4-5. Now for your actual question. Piano fingering is a very personal thing that has been deliberated over for a long time. If you watch Simon he actually switches his fingering up a bit depending on the chord/key. Like if he has to hit an F# that would just be a bit uncomfortable with 2 (index finger) he may use 3 (middle) instead. Some pianists (Herbie Hancock, notably) use one fingering scheme for every chord and key. This is very consistent but you need to either be fairly dexterous or have at least mid sized hands. The main thing is to experiment and watch pianists you like and take note of the choices they make based on the context of the music. If it feels good to play, you can do it consistently, and it sounds good too, there is no reason to change anything. Otherwise, take information from the pianists you admire until you develop fingering models that work for you. This is the perfect way to start!

[@jade8538]

@@blissrae-ul3qk Thx for that. Yes, I realize thumbs are both 1; I mistakenly had the ordering incorrect -- I meant 5-3-2-1 and 1-2-4-5, which is what I thought I saw in his LH when I slowed the vid down. But your larger point about fingering in general is well taken ...(and I had no idea Herbie used one fingering scheme for every chord and key.) Thx!

[@blissrae-ul3qk]

@@jade8538 No problem! It's an easy mistake to make, I have for years haha. Herbie is great, that tidbit came from his MasterClass if you are curious. Happy playing :)

[@maestrodito]

The struggle to "think" the chord starting with the 7th always make my brain stop to figure what chord I'm in. like start with B but you're in c7+ chord, not B something So brain pain

[@Piano_Pig]

Brain pain is good - just means you’re getting better

[@emmykeys4197]

How can I learn jazz to be part of me?

[@Joe7pack]

Embrace your inner Coltrane.

[@Piano_Pig]

Listen

[@timjohnson2186]

Pig here

[@Piano_Pig]

🐷🐷🐷

[@marcopepe4046]

This is candidate for the most boring exercise you've ever recomnended! Lol Sorry Simon!

[@Piano_Pig]

😂😂 no worries! They might be boring but they are very useful and will make a huge difference to your playing!

[@christloen4077]

This is for beginner actually, you can just go if you already that good

[@s.j.intveld]

Basically Hanon but easier and less effective

[@mariahearn9512]

Too fast

[@ViralNationPH]

coz u d@mb