From Lead Sheet to Arrangement - "Misty"

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.

One of the most requested tunes for pianists, "Misty" is an essential standard that should be in every player's repertoire. It's ubiquity makes it the perfect subject for this lesson where it is treated to some gentle reharms realized with a range of voicing techniques, among them four way close, drop two and upper structure triad voicings.

Watch and listen as this jazz staple is reinvigorated and revitalized into a performance-ready solo piano piece perfect for your next turn at the piano bar.

After the lesson, download and play the fully annotated piece then use the techniques presented in the lesson to transform a tune of your choice. 

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

Contact me with questions at any time.

Start a discussion with fellow students by clicking on the discussion link in your student control panel to leave a message or search previous conversations.

Consult the Lesson Road Map to for a suggested sequence of lessons.

To continue your study of this topic, face-to-face, live webcam lessons are available.