Goldsmiths University of London Courses

Learn Jazz Piano: Advanced and Solo Playing

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Master scale and chord theoryJazz is just as much about solo playing as it is about playing in a group, but both require very different skill sets.This more advanced jazz improvisation course will focus on solo jazz piano.Gain confidence playing solo jazzYou’ll learn through a combination of theory and practice, delving into the challenges of playing solo piano, as well asanalysing and playing two jazz standards.You’ll then go more in depth into root position, otherwise known as playing solo. You’ll learn new techniques, andanalyse and play three jazz standards.Explore a range of beginnings and endings and advance your knowledge of scale theoryWith the help of waltz vamp intros, you’llfocus on the devices used by jazz piano musicians for the beginning and ending of tunes.You’ll explorescale theory, before learning about theIonian and melodic minor ascending scales.Understand chord theoryYou’ll finish the course with anexamination of chord theory. You’ll look at how to re-harmonise a chord sequence andplay and analyse some classic jazz piano tracks.By the end of the course, you’ll be able to apply your understanding of modulation devices, scale theory and chord theory to your solo playing. And feel equipped to play and improvise on jazz waltzes.This course is for any keen pianist, but will be particularly useful for university or college piano students. The course requires a basic ability to read music and play the piano, and expects a familiarity with scales.

Learn Jazz Piano: Begin with the Blues

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Learn to play jazz piano, from the blues to a jazz standard.On this course, you’ll get started with jazz piano by learning the basic concepts and prepare to play modern jazz piano in a group.You’ll delve into the four routes to improvisationg and deepen your understanding of the nature of jazz and blues to build the knowledge, skills, and confidence to improvise on piano.Explore the blues on jazz pianoImprovisation may look off the cuff, but it requires a lot of foundational knowledge. To learn jazz improvisation, you’ll need to understand its influences and different styles first.This course will get you well acquainted with blues, and you’ll learn why it’s so integral to jazz piano.You’ll learn and compare the three principal chords and scales of jazz and classical music, and play open sevenths in root position. You’ll get acquainted with the F blues and voiced sevenths, and play along using the F American blues scale, seventh scales, and full blues scale.Grow your knowledge of jazz improvisation theory, including the four ways to improviseUsing the diminished chord and scale will take your improvisation to the next level.You’ll learn about motivic, scalic chordal and special improvisation, along with some more fundamentals: the major seventh, the lonian scale and basic voicings, before playing and improvising.Further exercises will include playing along with jazz standards like the Blue Room and working to improvise on the themes using your new knowledge and skill set.By the end of this course, you’ll have a foundational understanding of the blues, and how it relates to jazz improvisation –which is crucial to properly learn jazz piano.This course is for any keen pianist, but will be particularly useful for university or college piano students. The course requires a basic ability to read music and play the piano, and expects a familiarity with scales.You’ll need to have access to a piano or keyboard and a computer, tablet or smart phone set up next to it.

Learn Jazz Piano: Final Topics and Two Concerts

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Combine everything you’ve learned with the final course in the Jazz Piano seriesOn this course you’ll expand your jazz piano repertoire and put your improvisation skills to the test in this final course in the Learn Jazz Piano ExpertTrack. On this final course in the series, you’ll combine everything you’ve learned up to now, and add some cool new skills to your musical reserves.Learn ballads, Latin jazz and draw on other musical influencesYou’ll be introduced to four advanced blues sequences and the conventions involved in playing ballads. You’ll also look at Latin jazz, Afro-Cuban influences, Brazilian influences and bossa novas.You’ll then dive into other jazz influences - often referred to as crossovers - such as jazz funk, third steam, indo-jazz, free jazz and improvised music.Grow your confidence in jazz comping and improvisationYou’ll then learn about a fourth route to improvisation, followed by ways to support the soloist, otherwise known as ‘comping’. There’s an opportunity to apply those new devices to ‘Beautiful Love’ and ‘My Romance’.Put it all togetherBy the end of this course, you’ll have developed an arsenal of techniques, influences, and your own personal responses to each exercise to help you improvise and develop your musical style. You’ll explore pianistic and non-pianistic influences, learn some tips on the practicalities of how to practice, how to learn standards by heart, transcribe, compose, and even form a group and get gigs.The course concludes with two programmed concerts, a solo concert and a concert from My Piano Trio to inspire you to take your music to the next level.This course requires a basic ability to read music, play the piano and familiarity with scales. They may be of particular interest to university and college piano students studying music or jazz piano. You’ll need access to a piano or keyboard, and have a computer, tablet or smartphone set up next to it.

Learn Jazz Piano: Improvising on Jazz Standards

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Start improvising jazz pianoGood improvisation draws on a range of tools and techniques to respond to existing beats and music whilst adding your own unique interpretations.Understand and apply the basics of jazz improvisationThis course will teach you the art ofimprovisation in modern jazz, and give you the skills to improvise over a minor blues sequence and through rhythm changes.You’ll respond to different pieces of music, and build your confidence and fluency when improvising.Explore blues and jazz theoryYou’ll delve into both the practical and theoretical side of music as you study tracks by John Coltrane.You’ll also discover modal jazz and its importance, with a specific focus on the songs ‘The Clock of Keys’ and its application in ‘All the Things You Are’.Discover jazz standardsThe final sections of the course will introduce you to, two jazz standards anddevelop your understanding of the inner workings of improvisation to a higher level.By the end of the course, you’ll have a good understanding of how to improvise on jazz standards, through a mix of theory and practice. You’ll get to grips with improvising over rhythm changes and playing left hand voicings in three different ways.This course requires a basic ability to read music, play the piano, and familiarity with scales. It may be of particular interest to university and college piano students studying music or jazz piano.You’ll need access to a piano or keyboard, and have a computer, tablet or smartphone set up next to it.You’ll need to have access to a piano or keyboard, and have a computer, tablet or smart phone set up next to it.