In this course, Jonny will walk you through the piano lead sheets of 8 different chord progressions and show you how to utilize various piano techniques to create a richer and more interesting sound. You’ll learn how to implement piano chord shells, guide tones, and right hand filler harmony in the top 3 jazz styles: jazz swing, bossa nova, and jazz ballad.
By the end of the course, you will be confident in adding your own personal style to a lead sheet.
Course Objectives
Discover the top 8 chord progressions used in fake books
Color the root position chords with shells and guide tones
Create rich chords with right hand filler harmony
Explore the top 3 jazz styles: jazz swing, bossa nova, and jazz ballad
Learning Focus
Analysis
Chords
Lead Sheets
Featured Reviews
View PWJ member reviews of this course!
Thorough and inspiring.
Jonny has a way of presenting intricate information in a very clear, thorough, thoughtful manner. I always love to hear him "go off" in the style he is presenting at the end of the chart.
Lead Sheet & Guide Tones
Very thorough explanation of guide tones, stride play, and how to select and spread notes when reading a lead sheet. Obviously, Jonny has mastered every aspect of jazz and improvisation, but he has an encouraging style of teaching that inspires you to try it all.
Chord shells and guide tones
Struggled with the stride technique at first, but it’s becoming more natural now
Good step-by-step buildup with multiple examples
Every time I’ve tried to learn jazz in the past it starts off well but the. I quickly reach a point where it either suddenly jumps to more advanced level without understanding what’s going on or it burdens you with hours and hours of practicing the same exercise in different keys and you feel like you’re never going to get anywhere. This course is great because it builds up in layers so you can understand incrementally how you get from basic block chords in the left hand, to stride rhythms with bass and shell chords and harmonies in the right hand, whilst also learning several common progressions
Jonny has a way of presenting intricate information in a very clear, thorough, thoughtful manner. I always love to hear him "go off" in the style he is presenting at the end of the chart.
Lead Sheet & Guide Tones
Very thorough explanation of guide tones, stride play, and how to select and spread notes when reading a lead sheet. Obviously, Jonny has mastered every aspect of jazz and improvisation, but he has an encouraging style of teaching that inspires you to try it all.
Chord shells and guide tones
Struggled with the stride technique at first, but it’s becoming more natural now
Good step-by-step buildup with multiple examples
Every time I’ve tried to learn jazz in the past it starts off well but the. I quickly reach a point where it either suddenly jumps to more advanced level without understanding what’s going on or it burdens you with hours and hours of practicing the same exercise in different keys and you feel like you’re never going to get anywhere. This course is great because it builds up in layers so you can understand incrementally how you get from basic block chords in the left hand, to stride rhythms with bass and shell chords and harmonies in the right hand, whilst also learning several common progressions
Learn the essential building blocks of Jazz harmony with chord shells and guide tones. Master these voicings with exercises for major, dominant, and minor 7th chords in all 12 keys.
In this lesson for all playing levels, you'll transform the lead sheet Autumn Trees into a fun swing tune using the essential techniques of swing. Fills, walking bass lines, and rootless voicings are all covered.
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This page allows you to filter by content type, skill level and learning focus.
Piano With Jonny offers three core content types:
Courses
Courses are comprised of lessons and are based on selected styles of music and learning focus topics. PWJ offers regular courses, workshops which include teacher interaction, and challenges which are divided into a 4 week learning format.
Lessons
Lessons are combined into courses. Most lessons build upon concepts of the previous lesson, with the exception of Quick Tips which stand alone.
Smartsheets
Smartsheets use the Soundslice sheet music player to give students digital access to all arrangements and lesson sheet music.
Content Types
Piano With Jonny offers three core content types:
Courses
Courses are comprised of lessons and are based on selected styles of music and learning focus topics. PWJ offers regular courses, workshops which include teacher interaction, and challenges which are divided into a 4 week learning format.
Lessons
Lessons are combined into courses. Most lessons build upon concepts of the previous lesson, with the exception of Quick Tips which stand alone.
Smartsheets
Smartsheets use the Soundslice sheet music player to give students digital access to all arrangements and lesson sheet music.
Course Types
Courses are comprised of lessons and are based on selected styles of music and learning focus topics. PWJ offers regular courses, workshops which include teacher interaction, and challenges which are divided into a 4 week learning format.
Lesson Types
Lessons are combined into courses. Most lessons build upon concepts of the previous lesson, with the exception of Quick Tips which stand alone.
Sheet Types
Smartsheets use the Soundslice sheet music player to give students digital access to all arrangements and lesson sheet music. Smartsheets provide audio playback, light-up key notation, transposition, looping, and other learning tools.
Lessons sheets break down a song into smaller learning sections. They are all instantly downloadable.
Arrangements are through-composed pieces that are fully notated. They are available for digital viewing and print purchase.
Skill Levels
Beginner: You have never played piano or are just starting your learning journey.
Intermediate: You have some familiarity with the basics of music, and have learned a few pieces.
Advanced: You are more confident with music theory and can play several challenging pieces.
Learning Focus
Select a specific music learning objective to work on.