Improvising Blues Piano part 1: The basic principles
with Tim Richards
Beginner
48 lessons (1h 35m)
Sheet music included
Mobile, Tablet + Desktop
-
Course Trailer
-
Sample Lesson
Free
- Comping Style #1: Walking bass lines
- The blues sequence, I IV and V chords in C
- Beginner's Blues (performance)
- The On-off rhythm
- Improvising with Triads
- C Jam Blues - Lesson
- C Jam Blues (performance)
- Adding the Blue Third
- Adding the Blue Third
- Yancey and Barrelhouse left-hand patterns
- Blue Third Blues (performance)
- Playing Double Thirds
- Playing Double Thirds
- Five Finger Blues (performance)
- Comping Style #2: RH thirds in triplets
- Right-hand thirds in triplets
- New Orleans Triplet Workout (performance)
- The Famous Lick
- The Famous Lick
- On-Off Boogie (performance)
- Comping Style #3: The Shuffle
- Sixth Chords
- Jump Shuffle (performance, accompaniment pattern)
- Left Hand run-ups, right-hand ideas
- Jump Shuffle (second chorus performance)
- More ideas and practice tips
- Combining the 6th and the Blue 3rd
- Sixth Blues (performance)
- The Major Pentatonic Scale
- Mid-course performance review
- Walking Bass: Two-bar Patterns
- Walking Bass - Two-bar Patterns
- Riff Blues (performance)
- One and two-bar patterns in the right hand
- Riff Blues (performance with improvisation)
- The Off-On/On-Off Rhythm
- The Off-On and On-Off Rhythm
- Barrelhouse Blues (performance)
- Improvisation and practice tips
- The Seventh Chord
- Seventh Chords
- Seventh Blues (performance)
- Improvising with 7ths
- Seventh Blues (improv performance)
- More improvisation and practice tips
- Three-note chord fragments
- Three-note fragments
- Blues for Sal (performance)
- Practicing the Barrelhouse left hand
- Thickening the melody
- Using 7ths in the left hand
- See See Rider (performance)
- Thickening melodies
- See See Rider (performance with thickening)
- Comping Style #4: Including the 7th
- The Scale of the 7th Chord
- Smooth Blues (performance and analysis)
- Classic blues ending #1
- Forward Motion
- Blues in Thirds
- End of course review
- Varying the Left Hand & Parting Thoughts
- Inspirational performance by Tim
Lesson plan (1h 35m)
Tim's been playing the blues since the 1980s and our improvising blues piano course draws on his experience touring and recording with UK and US legends such as Otis Grand, Earl Green, Dana Gillespie, Larry Garner, Joe Louis Walker and many more.
By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:
-
Play authentic blues piano in the keys of C, F & G
-
Improvise using a range of great sounding right-hand ideas and licks.
-
Play several left-hand bass patterns
-
Know useful two-handed accompaniment styles
-
Level up your coordination & independence with Tim’s tricks
The course is for any intermediate pianist who wants to start playing the blues and improvising in the style. You don't need any knowledge of blues scales or harmony before starting the course, everything's included!
The blues is one of the most loved, and most influential forms of music in history, and forms the basis of a lot of today’s contemporary music. Learning the blues piano is also a great way into playing jazz, as the skills and concepts are common to both.
So, if you want to learn to play authentically and improve your overall musicianship then the improvising blues piano course is the one for you!
Tim composed all pieces in this blues piano course except where otherwise indicated. Many of the pieces and examples in this course are taken from Tim's best-selling book 'Improvising Blues Piano'. The book is not required to take the course but contains additional material and is the perfect book for your piano or music stand.
Discover the world of blues piano, and level up your piano skills today! Be sure to check out part 2 to Tim’s course once complete.
Access all courses
- Start with Improvising Blues Piano part 1: The basic principles
- Access all courses on MusicGurus
- Pick & mix your learning
- Learn 24/7 on desktop, tablet or mobile
- Cancel anytime
-
