Jazz Piano School

This was the very first, live stream podcast I recorded with a live audience. It was so much fun, and I can't wait to do it again! If you're looking to become a part of the live audience and get your questions answered by me after I record, go to https://jazzpianoschool.com/livepodcast to get on the email list so you receive the links. Enjoy!

I had an epiphany at the end of 2021. It was time to change some things. For the better! I want to connect with you. I want to help you MORE! In different ways. Here's how.

"Plopping and Dropping" left hand voicings can only get you so far. Developing architectural left hand chord lines creates a beautiful backdrop for your right hand to improvise over. In today's podcast we will break down some key techniques to creating your own left hand chord lines!

Block chords are one of jazz piano's unsolved mysteries. This style made famous by George Shearing and Nat King Cole was once ubiquitously used by jazz pianists of the 20th century who came after them. In part two of this jazz piano tutorial, we will cover two more advanced strategies to integrate this style of playing into your repertoire.

Most the time we feel like we're inadequate players. That's rough, and I know because I've been there. But the truth is, the tools we currently possess are usually more than enough to make and play beautiful jazz piano music. You just need 3, very simple, yet powerful things. In this episode I'll share with you what those 3 things are and how they will instantly bring your playing to life, no matt...

Block chords are one of jazz piano's unsolved mysteries. This style made famous by George Shearing and Nat King Cole was once ubiquitously used by jazz pianists of the 20th century who came after them. In this jazz piano tutorial, learn how to use this technique in your improvising, comping, and more!

Setting restraints forces us to play things we never would have thought of on our own. By limiting our choices, we actually drastically increase the amount of creativity in our lines. Restraints help us to bypass muscle memory and create new pathways through the harmonies. Check out these 3 strategies to implement restraints into your practice routine and jumpstart your creativity!

In honor of Thelonious Monk's 103rd birthday this October, we will be taking a deep dive into his musical style in this podcast lesson! Follow along as we explore two Monk compositions and examine what makes them tick. By the end of this lesson, you will have a new appreciation for Monk's style and discover new ways to incorporate it into your own personal creativity!

It's hard to break out of habits. A lot of times we play on autopilot but guess what, in order to make progress we need to STOP. We need to pay close attention to what we're playing and analyze it. Then after we're AWARE of what we're doing, we need to play the opposite texture. This episode will show you an easy process you can use to instantly break out of your improv norms.

In honor of our 200th Lick of the Week, we are bringing you Cory Henry's famous Lingus solo! The solo from Snarky Puppy's "Lingus" off of the album We Like it Here (2014) has gone down in history as one of the best. Want to know what makes this solo so great? Check out this solo analysis in this week's podcast to find out!

Jazz Piano School 3.0 including upgraded features, content, design annd more is being released on Monday, September 28th at 6am EST during our Open Enrollment period for new students. We've been closed for 11 months now and this release party is sure to be a doozy! Until then, dig into this week's podcast on filling space with these 3 easy strategies. I dive deep here in to specifics. The when, th...

This week we are bringing you a sneak peek into our exclusive member content! This podcast lesson is an excerpt from our "JPS Pratice Workouts," and discusses how to develop your own repertoire list. Developing your own repertoire list is essential to becoming a complete jazz pianist. Follow along for the inside scoop on how to get started!

Jazz Piano School 3.0 Launch and OPEN Enrollment Date is here!!! Mark you calendars folks! Monday, September 28th at 6am eastern! Check your inbox for more details. Lots of people dive into all sorts of voicings. Myself included. What are 3 note voicings? What do they do? Why are they important? When should you learn them? How do you integrate them and use them? I'll answer all these questions in...

Have you been looking for a way to take your Bebop jazz playing to the next level? In this edition of Bebop Secrets, we will discuss how to use Enclosures in your jazz improvisation. Great pianists from Bud Powell to Oscar Peterson utilize Enclosures in their playing, and you can too with the help of these exercises!

In the classical piano world, it's all about how you play the notes. Players like Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett applied classical voicing techniques to jazz piano to create beautiful sounding melodies. You can do the same with these exercises! There are no practice materials for this week's podcast. Leave us a comment or question in the section below!

Do you ever feel tired of using the same techniques in your piano playing over and over? This week's podcast lesson can help you shake things up by thinking of the piano as an orchestra. Great players such as Jelly Roll Morton, Earl Hines, and Roland Hanna all had this technique in common: they played the piano like an arranger would write for an orchestra! Check out these techniques, and you migh...

You can't get very far without actually practicing. That's why in this podcast episode, we take a "Practice Workout" directly from inside our members area and give it to you on practicing blues riffs! It's a great one and I know you'll love it!

When playing a bossa nova, what is the best way to accompany a solo instrument in a latin jazz style? Look no further, this video will give you a clear step-by-step tutorial on how to do it right! Follow along as we explore the music of A. C. Jobim in this week's podcast.

We pianists often imitate the voice or horn when improvising, but in this lesson we explore the capabilities unique to the piano. Playing lines with 1, 2, and all the way up to 6 notes at a time! Once you start exploring this area of improvisation, a whole new world of concepts will open up to you.

Are you wondering how to capture the real sound of Bebop in your jazz playing? Tune into this week's podcast as we reveal how to use approach notes to sound like the best bebop pianists. This simple exercise will add a new dimension to your improvising!

Go to https://jazzpianoschool.com/podcast200 for a collection of ALL of our previous podcast materials bundled into one, easy, pdf. On our celebratory, 200th podcast, special guest, Emmet Cohen joins us to do an analysis lesson video of his own arrangement on "Like Someone In Love". At a young age, Emmet Cohen is already carving out a place for himself among the jazz piano greats and leaving a spe...

Simple 15-20 minute routine to get 4th chords under your fingers! In this podcast, we walk you through a simple practice routine to get the powerful diatonic 4th chords ingrained into your musical concept. With consistent practice of these exercises, your fingers will naturally start falling into beautiful shapes based on 4ths. If you have questions or suggestions for a podcast lesson you would li...

What is the Power of the "And?" In this podcast, we show you one of the best kept secrets of swing: the "and." With these 3 exercises, you can take your swing feel to the next level. Follow along to harness the Power of the "And!" If you have questions or suggestions for a podcast lesson you would like us to do, please leave them in the comments down below.

Lots of people dive into all sorts of voicings. Myself included. What are 3 note voicings? What do they do? Why are they important? When should you learn them? How do you integrate them and use them? I'll answer all these questions in this podcast to give you all the necessary information you need.

This week I, Brenden Lowe, owner and founder of Jazz Piano School make a statement about how we as a company stand for #BLM. We also are gathering blues tributes from as many people as possible in honor of George Floyd, BLM, jazz, the blues, and the resilience, fortitude, oppression, suffering, courage and bravery the African American people went through to deliver the great music of jazz. If you...