Piano Lessons: Who’s Afraid of Improvisation?
Want to know a secret about piano improvisation?
Here it is: The ability to improvise at the piano is a skill like any other – and like any other skill, it can be taught!
The big question is, why do so many musicians think with regard to improvisation, “You’ve either got it or you don’t”? Why are so few pianists taught this skill during the many, many years they may have taken piano lessons?
Have you taken many years of lessons? Have you mastered a respectable amount of repertoire – yet you still feel paralyzed with fear if you do not have your music handy? If friends make impromptu requests for you to play, do you lack confidence?
Believe it or not, I understand! I had exactly the same experience. I was so embarrassed at one such request that my mind went blank and I froze at the piano. Eventually I told my friends I didn’t feel well and slunk off. I was so upset after this, I vowed I would not let it happen again. I started on my quest to learn improvisation skills.
Now, I can play for my friends on request – I can even play in front of the entire congregation of my church! Now, I have added improv skills to the lesson plan for all my students. And, I developed a home study course to enable literally any pianist to learn this skill.
I recommend my course, and not just to make a sale; I really want to help people learn a skill that, deep down, nearly all pianists wish they had. That’s why I went into piano teaching in the first place – to help others learn. The great thing about the internet, and digital technology in general, is that now I can teach people who can’t make it to my studio in person.
The skill of improvisation is best taught by an example that you can watch and hear – whether a lesson in a studio, or on the DVDs that come with my study course. But although what I can teach you from just written words is somewhat limited, I’ll mention a few of the principles here, and in my next post.
The main thing you need to know in order to improvise is that improvisation is not completely spontaneous! It builds on tiny pieces of musical repertoire that you can learn – beginning with chords and scales. (Ah-hah! A good reason to practice your scales!)
So, knowing that, the first few steps to improvisation are…
1. Know your scales. If you don’t know them yet, learn them!
2. Learn about chords. Start with triad chords (chords that contain 3 notes).
3. Spend some creative time at the piano — without music in front of you. Play around with the notes and your technical skills.
Just like when you’re learning a language, you need to spend time on writing essays and composing sentences with vocabulary learned. Set aside some practice time during which you set aside your sheet music. At first, you will probably find it difficult and awkward, maybe even boring. But if you push through the challenge and keep practicing anyway, it will become natural and even fun. You’ll be improvising!
Once you learn the principles of improv, you can explore jazz playing. But you can also add flair to popular music, hymns, and so on. If you learn the skill of improvisation at the piano, it will enhance your own enjoyment as a musician – and will make you the life of any party!
Tags: improv, improvisation, improvising on the piano, jazz, jazz improv, learning piano, music, musical instruments, piano, piano improv, piano improvisation, piano lessons, piano students, studying piano
