š¹ First Lesson Plan: Introduction to Jazz & Classical Piano
Goals:
Introduce the piano layout and basic technique
Explore differences/similarities between Jazz and Classical
Start developing rhythmic and melodic awareness
Spark excitement and curiosity
1. Welcome & Student Check-In (5ā10 min)
Introduce yourself and ask about their musical background, goals, and favorite styles/artists
Share what they can expect from the course (both jazz & classical focus)
2. Piano Orientation (10 min)
Introduce the keyboard layout (groups of black and white keys, C-D-E pattern)
Identify Middle C, and the names of all white keys
Basic hand position and posture
Finger numbers (1ā5)
3. Technique Foundations (10 min)
Classical: Simple 5-finger exercise in C major (hands separately)
Jazz: Call-and-response rhythm clapping or tapping on keys (using simple syncopation)
4. Sound Exploration: Classical vs Jazz (10 min)
Play short examples of each style:
A classical piece (e.g., Bach Prelude in C or a simple Mozart excerpt)
A jazz piece (e.g., a blues or a swing-style improvisation)
Discuss what makes them sound different (rhythm, harmony, feel)
5. First Pieces / Improvisation (10 min)
Classical: Play a short pre-written piece like āOde to Joyā (right hand only)
Jazz: Try simple improvisation over a C major drone or basic C7 chord vamp
Encourage using only the C major pentatonic scale for simplicity
6. Wrap-Up & Homework (5 min)
Review what they learned:
Note names
Finger positions
Two styles explored
Assign light practice:
5-finger warmup in C
Right-hand melody (e.g., āOde to Joyā or āWhen the Saints Go Marching Inā)
Optional: improvise with 3 notes (C-D-E) freely
š¹ Lesson 11: Introduction to Chord Progressions & Musical Form
Theme: "How Music Moves" ā Understanding Progressions and Structure
Goals:
Learn basic chord progressions (IāIVāVāI and iiāVāI)
Recognize and play musical forms (ABA, 12-bar blues, etc.)
Develop phrasing and dynamics for expressive performance
Continue improvisation with better voice leading
1. Warm-Up (10 min)
Play C major and G major scales hands together
Chord review: IāIVāVāI in C and G
Add A minor and D minor chords
Arpeggiate IāviāIVāV (CāAmāFāG)
2. Theory Spotlight: Common Progressions (10 min)
Introduce iiāVāI progression (e.g., Dm7āG7āCmaj7)
Discuss its importance in jazz and classical cadences
Play it with simple LH block chords and RH melody or improvisation
Ear-training: play progressions and ask students to identify resolution
3. Repertoire Work (15 min)
Classical: Work on phrasing and form recognition in a piece (ABA structure)
Discuss repeat signs, contrasting sections
Jazz: Learn or continue a jazz standard or blues form
Identify chord progression structure (12-bar blues or AABA form)
Focus on voicing chords more smoothly
4. Improvisation Lab (10ā15 min)
Improvise over a iiāVāI progression using C major or C mixolydian/blues scale
Experiment with:
Call-and-response phrasing
Melodic repetition with variation
Playing over backing track or with teacher accompaniment
5. Wrap-Up & Practice Plan (5 min)
Review Topics:
Chord progressions: IāIVāVāI, iiāVāI
Form: ABA, 12-bar blues
Scales: C major, G major, A minor
Listening assignment: identify form in a jazz/classical recording
Homework:
Practice iiāVāI in C and G
Continue current pieces
Compose an 8-bar melody using a chosen progression
Improvise daily using one chord progression with different rhythms
Lesson 4: Hands Together & Intro to Arpeggios
Focus:
Play with both hands together confidently
Begin arpeggios and broken chords
Explore dynamics and phrasing in classical style
Activities:
Review: C major scale (hands together), C-F-G chords
Classical: Begin a new two-hand piece (e.g., āAllegroā from Piano Adventures)
Jazz: Improvise RH over LH arpeggios (C, F, G)
Introduce dynamics: play phrases soft ā loud ā soft (crescendo/decrescendo)
š¹ Lesson 5: Rhythm & Swing Feel
Focus:
Deeper rhythmic understanding
Introduce swing feel in jazz
Learn dotted rhythms and ties in classical music
Activities:
Clap/tap rhythms: quarter, eighth, dotted quarter
Jazz: Introduce swing vs. straight feel (listen & play)
Classical: Apply dotted rhythms in a short classical Ʃtude
Jazz: Blues melody (e.g., āC Jam Bluesā), hands together if possible
š¹ Lesson 6: New Key ā G Major
Focus:
Play in a new key
Understand F⯠and key signatures
Extend improvisation vocabulary
Activities:
G major scale (RH, LH, both)
Classical: Simple piece in G major (e.g., āLightly Rowā)
Jazz: Improvise in G using G major pentatonic
Chord practice: G major, D7, C major (I-IV-V in G)
š¹ Lesson 7: Musical Storytelling ā Expression & Phrasing
Focus:
Musical expression and emotion
Phrasing like a sentence: where to breathe and shape
Create original ideas from mood or imagery
Activities:
Classical: Learn a lyrical piece with phrasing (e.g., āMorningā by Grieg simplified)
Jazz: Improv with emotional prompts (āplay something joyful,ā āmysterious,ā etc.)
Introduce pedal use (half-pedal and legato pedal for classical tone)
š¹ Lesson 8: Lead Sheets & Left Hand Patterns
Focus:
Intro to lead sheet playing (melody + chord symbols)
Left-hand jazz patterns (stride, rootā5th, walking bass intro)
Activities:
Play melody from a lead sheet (e.g., āAutumn Leavesā or āSummertimeā simplified)
LH: practice root + fifth bass movement in time
Classical: continue current repertoire and refine phrasing, pedal
š¹ Lesson 9: Minor Keys & Blues Scale
Focus:
Introduce A minor & relative minor concept
Use of A minor and C blues scale
Discuss mood change in minor tonality
Activities:
A minor scale (no sharps/flats)
Classical: short piece in A minor
Jazz: Improv using A minor pentatonic and C blues scale
Compare major vs. minor emotional feel
š¹ Lesson 10: Student Composition & Review
Focus:
Combine skills to write short piece
Review all learned keys, chords, rhythms
Perform for class or record
Activities:
Compose a 4ā8 bar melody with chords (classical or jazz style)
Perform 1 classical and 1 jazz piece
Review: C & G major scales, A minor scale, chords CāFāGāAm
Celebrate progress and give feedback
š¹ Second/Third Lesson Plan: Building Technique, Sound, and Style
Goals
Reinforce note names and keyboard geography
Introduce basic rhythm and chord concepts
Begin hands-together playing
Explore melody & harmony in both jazz and classical
1. Warm-Up & Review (10 min)
Review:
Note names (quiz using keyboard)
Finger numbers
C 5-finger scale (hands separately, then together if ready)
Rhythmic call-and-response (clapping or on keys)
Add quarter notes and half notes (introduce notation visually)
2. Technique Development (10 min)
Classical:
C major 5-finger pattern, both hands
Practice legato and staccato touches
Basic coordination (parallel and contrary motion intro)
Jazz:
Left-hand simple rhythm (e.g., steady quarter notes on C) while right hand improvises freely on C-D-E-G
3. New Repertoire Piece (10ā15 min)
Choose one short piece from each style:
Classical:
Beginner piece like "Minuet in G" (simplified), or Alfredās āOde to Joyā both hands
Jazz:
12-bar blues pattern intro (CāFāG chords), right hand improvises with C pentatonic/blues scale
Teach the C major chord (CāEāG) and use it in basic rhythm
4. Harmony Introduction (10 min)
Teach root-position triads: C, F, and G
Show how chords support melody (play a melody + chord accompaniment together)
Compare harmonic approach in classical (written) vs. jazz (interpreted/improvised)
5. Improvisation Game (5 min)
Choose a rhythmic groove or background chord
Student improvises right-hand melodies using limited notes (e.g., C-D-E)
Encourage dynamic changes and rhythmic variation
6. Wrap-Up & Practice Goals (5 min)
Review:
C major scale (hands separately)
Chords: C major, F major, G major
Begin a classical melody and a blues/jazz groove
Continue improvisation practice using limited notes
Homework:
Practice C major scale and triads
Classical piece: hands separately, then together
Try 4 bars of 12-bar blues with LH chords and RH improv
Optional: write your own melody with 3ā5 notes
š¹ Advanced Lesson 1: Technique Meets Interpretation
Theme: āPrecision, Personality, and Perspectiveā
Goals:
Refine technique through expressive and stylistic control
Analyze and interpret advanced harmonic progressions
Begin integrating improvisation and written music fluently
Explore tone, articulation, and voicing at a high level
1. Technical Warm-Up (15 min)
Focus: Control, Clarity, and Tone
Scales in 3 and 4 octaves: C, G, D, A major and minor (harmonic & melodic)
Vary articulations (legato, staccato, slurred groups of 4)
Practice with dynamic shaping
Arpeggios in hands-together octaves (root, 1st, 2nd inversion)
Hanon or Czerny variation: with rhythmic and dynamic variation
2. Repertoire Development (20 min)
Choose one piece from each style:
Classical:
Example: Chopin Prelude, Debussy Arabesque, or a movement from a sonata
Focus: tone color, pedal control, phrase shaping
Analyze form, thematic development, and key modulations
Jazz:
Example: āAutumn Leaves,ā āBlue in Green,ā or a bebop head (e.g., āDonna Leeā)
Focus: voice leading in chords, phrase contour, swing feel vs rubato
3. Harmonic Study & Improvisation (20 min)
Goal: Fluid improvisation and harmonic awareness
Analyze iiāVāI progressions in different keys
Discuss upper extensions (9ths, 13ths), altered dominants
Practice improvising over:
iiāVāI in 3 keys
One full chorus of a standard
Add left-hand shell voicings while RH solos
Experiment with modal vs tonal improvisation (Dorian vs major)
4. Ear Training & Transcription (10ā15 min)
Sing and play chord progressions (recognize by ear)
Begin transcribing a jazz solo or a classical motif
Dictation: short melodic/rhythmic fragments by ear
Encourage students to bring audio clips for analysis
5. Wrap-Up & Practice Planning (5 min)
Focus Areas:
Targeted technique (articulation or tempo goal)
Phrase-by-phrase repertoire refinement
Improvisation: new concept or solo segment
Listening assignment: compare two recordings of the same piece (one classical, one jazz)
š¹ Lesson 11: Advanced Improvisation ā Motivic Development & Thematic Variation
Theme: āBuilding Stories from Small Ideasā
Focus:
Developing improvisations from small motifs
Techniques: sequence, inversion, augmentation, diminution
Applying motivic development to jazz and classical phrases
Activities:
Extract a motif from a classical or jazz piece
Improvise variations using rhythmic and melodic transformations
Compose a short improvisational piece based on a motif
Analyze how famous soloists develop motifs in their solos
š¹ Lesson 12: Extended Techniques & Tone Colors
Theme: āExpanding Your Sonic Paletteā
Focus:
Using pedaling creatively (half pedal, flutter, syncopated pedaling)
Touch and articulation variations to create color
Inside-the-piano effects (muting strings, sympathetic resonance)
Activities:
Experiment with different pedaling on a lyrical piece
Practice dynamic shading with varied touch and articulation
Explore inside-the-piano effects in an improvisation or composition
Record and evaluate tone color choices
š¹ Lesson 13: Advanced Jazz Harmony & Reharmonization
Theme: āTransforming the Tuneā
Focus:
Substitutions (tritone, diminished, modal interchange)
Altered chords and chromatic approaches
Reharmonizing standards with personal voice
Activities:
Analyze reharmonizations by great jazz pianists
Practice reharmonizing a simple tune (e.g., āAutumn Leavesā)
Improvise over substituted changes
Compose a reharmonized version of a standard
š¹ Lesson 14: Classical Modernism & Impressionism
Theme: āBeyond Tonalityā
Focus:
Study impressionistic harmony (Debussy, Ravel)
Explore modal, whole tone, and synthetic scales
Analyze modern harmonic language and texture
Activities:
Play and analyze impressionist excerpts
Compose a short piece using impressionistic techniques
Improvise using whole-tone or modal scales
Compare impressionist and jazz approaches to harmony
š¹ Lesson 15: Composition & Arrangement
Theme: āYour Musical Voiceā
Focus:
Structure and thematic development in composition
Arranging jazz tunes for solo piano or small ensembles
Combining jazz and classical elements creatively
Activities:
Compose an original piece or arrangement
Present and perform compositions for feedback
Analyze scores of jazz-classical crossover works
Develop a practice plan for integrating composition into daily work
š¹ Lesson 16+: Masterclass & Performance
Theme: āConfidence and Communicationā
Focus:
Preparing for public performance and recordings
Stage presence, set programming, and audience connection
Masterclass format: peer feedback and self-evaluation
Activities:
Perform pieces and improvisations in lesson or recorded sessions
Critique and refine performance habits
Plan a recital or recording project
Explore live or virtual collaboration opportunities
š¹ Lesson 4: Advanced Voicings & Texture
Theme: "Voicing the Story"
Focus:
Drop 2 voicings, close vs. open voicing
Classical texture: polyphony, voicing inner lines
Activities:
Practice Drop 2 chords on iiāVāI in 3 keys
Classical: Analyze Bach or Brahms excerpt ā bring out middle voice
Jazz: Comp with varied textures (rootless LH, RH clusters, two-hand voicing)
Improvise using just chord tones and upper extensions
š¹ Lesson 5: Modal & Tonal Contrast
Theme: "Exploring Color Through Modes"
Focus:
Modes: Dorian, Mixolydian, Lydian
Classical modality (Debussy, early music influence)
Activities:
Build and play modes from a single root
Improvise over modal vamp (e.g., D Dorian, C Lydian)
Classical: Play and analyze modal phrases in Debussy or Bartók
Compose a short modal improvisation or motif
š¹ Lesson 6: Contrapuntal Thinking & Independence
Theme: "Two Hands, Two Minds"
Focus:
Develop LH/RH independence for contrapuntal clarity
Bach, fugue excerpts, jazz counterlines
Activities:
Practice simple 2-part inventions or original two-voice exercises
Jazz: Add counterlines under melody (Wynton Kelly-style)
Create your own two-voice groove or line
Transcribe 4 bars of a contrapuntal passage from jazz or classical source
š¹ Lesson 7: Advanced Form ā AABA, Sonata, Through-Composed
Theme: "Architecture of Sound"
Focus:
Analyze and navigate complex forms
Internalizing form through listening and performance
Activities:
Break down a jazz standard (AABA) and classical piece (Sonata form or binary)
Map improvisation over each section with contrast and development
Classical: Play and mark formal cadences and themes
Jazz: Solo with clear contrast in each section (melodic, rhythmic, dynamic)
š¹ Lesson 8: Polyrhythm & Metric Modulation
Theme: "Rhythmic Play"
Focus:
Cross-rhythms (3 over 4, 5 over 4)
Classical: metric ambiguity in Chopin, Ravel
Jazz: modern rhythmic improvisation (e.g., Mehldau, Tyner)
Activities:
Polyrhythm exercises (hands in different meters)
RH triplets over LH eighths ā slow and controlled
Classical: Ravel rhythmic displacement
Jazz: improvise with rhythmic motifs that shift time feel
š¹ Lesson 9: Interpretation vs. Innovation
Theme: "Where Tradition Meets Voice"
Focus:
Explore interpretation in classical performance
Jazz: innovate within a tune, reharmonize, change time feel
Activities:
Play one classical piece traditionally, then interpretively
Jazz: reharmonize a standard or shift to 3/4 or Latin groove
Compare two recordings of the same piece (rubato, voicing, etc.)
Compose a short variation on a known piece (classical or jazz)
š¹ Lesson 10: Final Project & Performance Prep
Theme: "Integration & Personal Voice"
Focus:
Performance readiness
Showcase of style, technique, and creativity
Activities:
Final polish of one jazz and one classical piece
2-chorus improvisation over complex changes
Original composition or arrangement (can combine styles)
Optional recording for feedback and review
š¹ Advanced Lesson 2: Chord Color & Interpretation
Theme: āHarmony as Expressionā
Duration:
Goals:
Refine use of extended chords and voicings
Deepen harmonic analysis in both classical and jazz works
Improve interpretive decisions based on harmony and form
Develop left-hand control in both solo and accompaniment settings
1. Technique Warm-Up (10ā15 min)
Arpeggios with extended chord tones (maj7, min9, dom13)
Practice scales in 6ths or 10ths (e.g., C major, A melodic minor)
Articulation focus: staccato in one hand, legato in the other
2. Repertoire Refinement (15ā20 min)
Classical:
Focus: harmonic tension and release, e.g., Chopin Nocturne, Beethoven Sonata movement
Practice shaping a phrase by following chord direction (dominant ā tonic)
Jazz:
Analyze voicings in a tune like āMistyā or āMy Funny Valentineā
Explore rootless LH voicings (guide tones and tensions)
3. Harmony & Voicing Lab (15 min)
Build lush voicings with 9ths, 11ths, and 13ths
Apply to a tuneās progression (e.g., "Autumn Leaves" or āBody and Soulā)
Practice comping with varied textures (block vs. broken chords)
4. Improvisation (15ā20 min)
Improvise over iiāVāI in multiple keys
Use upper chord extensions purposefully
Challenge: build solo that grows dynamically and harmonically
5. Wrap-Up & Assignment (5 min)
Transcribe 4ā8 bars of a favorite pianistās voicing/phrase
Record and critique your voicing choices over a ballad
Practice 3 tunes: 1 classical, 1 jazz, 1 for sight reading
š¹ Advanced Lesson 3: Rhythm, Pulse & Independence
Theme: āTime Feels and Phrasing Across Stylesā
Duration: 60ā75 minutes
Goals:
Develop rhythmic precision and flexibility
Understand polyrhythms and rubato in interpretation
Improve coordination between hands for rhythmic independence
Explore groove and phrasing in solo and group contexts
1. Technical Warm-Up (15 min)
Scales in polyrhythm (RH triplets, LH duplets)
Hanon/Czerny with rhythmic displacements
Left-hand rhythmic ostinato while RH plays melodic lines
2. Classical Focus: Rubato and Flexibility (15 min)
Piece with expressive tempo control (e.g., Chopin, Ravel, Debussy)
Practice controlled rubato: stretch and return
Shape a phrase without losing pulse integrity
3. Jazz Focus: Swing & Groove Depth (15 min)
Explore jazz phrasing behind/on/ahead of the beat
Analyze a solo that plays with rhythmic displacement (e.g., Herbie Hancock, Oscar Peterson)
Comp with subtle rhythmic variation (avoid mechanical comping)
4. Rhythmic Improvisation (20 min)
Start solo with rhythm only, then add pitch
Restrict pitch set (e.g., C blues scale) and vary only the rhythm
Advanced challenge: improvise using rhythmic motifs over multiple chord changes
5. Wrap-Up & Practice Challenge (5 min)
Practice shifting time feels: straight ā swing ā Latin
Assignment: create a 4-bar phrase that contrasts rhythmically with the LH
Listening: study rhythmic feel differences in Bill Evans vs McCoy Tyner