The plagal cadence is perhaps the most iconic sound of rock music, permeating the sound of almost any classic rock band you can think of, from The Beatles to The Rolling Stones, ELO to Guns and Roses, Elton John to Queen, ZZ Top to AC/DC. In this video I'll show you how this seemingly simple idea can be used in a myriad of different variations, each giving a unique harmonic progression or sound. The video will conclude with a musical demonstration that will put all of the idea in context. Enjoy! TABLE OF CONTENTS 0:00 Preview 0:12 Introduction 1:03 Part I 3:11 Part II 7:13 Part III 8:56 Part IV 10:03 Part V 12:02 Part VI 14:22 Demonstration

In this Jazz Piano online course I will bring you from the level of a complete jazz beginner up to the level of an intermediate/advanced pianist. We will talk about both theory and applications, and cover concepts ranging from chords and scales, to diatonic harmony, voicings, substitutions, soloing, tensions, and much more. Course playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLP9cbwDiLzdIDidDGpu327FLlo9rYJPpB In the third lesson I will teach you about scales: how to construct them, and, more importantly, what they are good for. Along the way we'll discuss the different types of scales, soloing, associating between scales and chords, and generally laying the foundation for future lessons. Scales aren't "exciting", but they are extremely important. Just like brushing your teeth. I'll also show you how to apply the concepts we learn to solo over our ballad from the first lesson, and give you some tips on how to practice scales. TOC 0:00 Preview 0:12 Introduction 0:40 Constructing scales 2:56 Some observations 5:48 Three uses of scales 15:38 Applications 16:52 Playing the scales 18:36 Demonstration 19:39 Practicing scales 22:15 Plans for upcoming lessons

In this Jazz Piano online course I will bring you from the level of a complete jazz beginner up to the level of an intermediate/advanced pianist. We will talk about both theory and applications, and cover concepts ranging from chords and scales, to diatonic harmony, voicings, substitutions, soloing, tensions, and much more. Course playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLP9cbwDiLzdIDidDGpu327FLlo9rYJPpB In this second lesson I will explain what chords are and how to play them. We'll cover eight different types of essential "jazz" chords - more accurately called "7th chords" - including major, minor, dominant, diminished, half diminished and more. Then I'll show you how to apply this knowledge to accompany yourself playing a simple ballad from sheet music. I'll conclude by giving you some tips on how to practice the dizzying number of chord combinations. Table of Contents 0:00 Theory 1:36 The anatomy of a chord 2:00 Different types of chords 5:08 Application to a ballad 7:54 Constructing a few chords 10:28 How to practice chords

In this Jazz Piano online course I will bring you from the level of a complete jazz beginner up to the level of an intermediate/advanced pianist. We will talk about both theory and applications, and cover concepts ranging from chords and scales, to diatonic harmony, voicings, substitutions, soloing, tensions, and much more. Course playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLP9cbwDiLzdIDidDGpu327FLlo9rYJPpB In this first lesson I will just give you an overview of what I plan to cover and also get you familiarized with a jazz ballad - we will return to this ballad many times to illustrate many of the theoretical and abstract concepts you will pick up along the way. You can just listen to it now, or try and learn to play it by copying what I do (this is not required for the remainder of the course, and just a "bonus challenge" for those of you up to the task). I hope this course inspires and motivates younger pianists who want to master this fascinating art form. Table of Contents 0:00 Introduction 1:50 A jazz ballad 2:41 Discussing the ballad 3:52 Playing the chords (optional) 6:30 Slow version (optional)

In this video I will give you an overview of what I have planned and my upload schedule for the next couple of months. I've already hinted at this in a community post: I'll be starting a comprehensive course for pianists who want to understand and play jazz piano (and jazz in general!). Have a listen at how the course will be structured and what to expect.

I explain why some pianists get "stuck" while learning piano, and present a high level map for aspiring pianists who want to break through from the beginner to the intermediate to the advanced stages of playing. 0:00 Introduction 1:16 What is "Better?" 2:54 The roadmap 4:56 From beginner to intermediate 10:18 From intermediate to advanced 16:04 Beyond advanced

In today's video I will lay out five skills which I consider to be essential for all pianists, from beginners to advanced. These are important from either a technical or theoretical standpoint, or both. We'll cover scales, octaves, stride piano, arpeggios, and the circle of fifths, and I'll give you some simple and great exercise ideas for working on them. TABLE OF CONTENTS 0:00 Introduction 0:23 Skill 1 (Scales) 1:02 Exercise 1 2:50 Skill 2 (Octaves) 3:55 Exercise 2 5:02 Skill 3 (Arpeggios) 5:57 Exercise 3 8:00 Skill 4 (Stride Piano) 9:13 Exercise 4 12:32 Skill 5 (Circle of Fifths) 14:45 Exercise 5

Let me show you three methods for finding the key of a song easily and accurately (there's an old joke: easy, accurate and quick, pick any two). Well, the first will be quick and dirty and not very accurate, and the next two are pretty accurate and will serve you well in mastering this simple but highly important skill. You don't need ANY theory to follow along - results guaranteed! TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Introduction 0:16 What IS a key? 1:06 Another definition 1:56 Method 1 (Quick and dirty) 5:32 Method 2 (Slow and accurate) 10:20 Method 3 (Slow and accurate)

0:00 Introduction 0:29 Listening to the melody 0:45 Trivial harmonization 1:15 Example 1:37 Pentatonic melodies 2:58 Example 4:15 Relative minors 4:56 Before reharmonization 5:36 After reharmonization 6:11 Borrowing chords 6:56 Example 7:18 Adding dissonance 8:29 Example 8:52 Adding tensions 9:22 Example 9:44 Sus4 chords 11:12 Example 11:33 Conclusion In this lesson we're going to take a simple vocal melody and harmonize it. This means we're going to add chords to it! We're going to start very very simple and slowly, slowly expand our repertoire and variety, until we get to advanced concepts like tensions, sus chords, borrowed chords and lots of other goodies. As always, bonus points for any viewers who spot any cat cameos!

0:00 Demonstration 1:09 Lesson Outline 1:46 Minor Chords 4:40 Map Room Theme 6:08 Approach 1 12:12 Approach 2 17:13 Playing Tips It's not Halloween yet, but here is a tutorial on how to play scary, ominous, haunting, creepy, chilling, eerie, bloodcurdling, spooky, hair-raising melodies and accompaniments on your piano (I paid good money for that thesaurus). You might even scare yourself! Extra points for anyone who spots any cat cameos. Especially black ones.