Lesson Description
At the heart of solo jazz piano playing lies the use of spread and rootless voicings. But to truly transform a simple lead sheet into a captivating piece of music involves digging deeper into the jazz player's bag of tricks and employing an array of arranging and reharmonization techniques to develop and intensify the underlying character of the melody and harmony of the tune. Each lesson in this series features a comparison of a fully realized two-handed arrangement of a tune with it's basic lead sheet that will reveal the techniques and devices used to transform the piece from a melody and chord symbols to a finished arrangement.
A range of voicing, reharmonization and arranging techniques are used to create the arrangement of this "beautiful" Jimmy Van Heusen ballad. In this lesson, watch as each device is implemented to elevate the already gorgeous melody and harmony of this 1947 jazz standard into an engaging solo jazz piano arrangement. After the lesson, download and play the fully annotated piece.
Preview
Watch this short video for an overview of the content of this course.
Prerequisites
Upper Structure Triads
Solo Jazz Piano
Rootless Voicings with Added Tension
Study Support
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Testimonials
"Also want to compliment you on the website and the instructional courses. Outstanding stuff thus far in my search for more jazz knowledge. But I like your approach the best thus far. I need to see stuff live and explained concisely and in a graduated methodical fashion and then practice accordingly." -Paul
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Course Curriculum
What's included?
Bill Rinehart
About the instructor
Bill did undergraduate work at the Berklee College of Music and holds the M.Mus. degree in Jazz Studies from the Boston Conservatory/Berklee College of Music where he studied with Ray Santisi and Charlie Banacos. Bill taught and played extensively around the Boston area for the better part of two decades appearing everywhere from the legendary Ryles Jazz Club in Cambridge MA to a long stand at the Hampshire House on Beacon Hill in Boston before relocating to the Raleigh-Durham NC area where he teaches full-time on JazzPianoOnline.com.