I love how it's down to business from the beginning. Nothing infuriates me more when you have to wait and wait listening to some one talking about nothing. A complete toss. Great stuff Michael..a total smorgasbord of info.
This guy is pouring out a wealth of knowledge to us for free. You have to wonder what inspires some people to click the thumbs down button. Such great instruction. Thank you for making it available to everyone!
Been playing jazz piano for 23 years, and I'm still learning and constantly humbled by its complexity, beauty and mathematical nature. Even if you don't listen to Jazz, how can one see this video and not appreciate it's awesomeness ? Just watching this makes me wanna get my piano tuned
Glad I found these videos. Good lesson. One thing I think bears mentioning to more inexperienced players is his use of running up and down the scales: I frequently advise people not to do this. I realize it's being used here to illustrate the harmonic concepts, but I would not dwell too long on the overlaying scales. Start coming up with some melodic ideas. That's what solos are (melodic ideas), they often derive from scales, but are not merely the scales themselves. Motivic development is a hallmark of great improvising. If you begin with some simple, short melodic ideas (just a couple to begin with), you can experiment with the harmonic concepts and begin to develop motive and rhythm as well. this kind of gets into a whole other area of development, and I'm not trying to start a new class in the comments, just an observation, and my reason for mentioning it. Thanks again for the video!
Very true Bob. Some of the best runs in a modality are things that cant be taught. They are born from the mind as to where the music is going. Some of the most complex scales or runs have such ridiculously wonderful timing, intervals, and note choice that I have spent my life mastering are just "otherwordly" if I may. Kit Watkins of Happy The Man comes instantly to mind.
when i was learning about modes in school, i remember always having trouble finding ways to apply them. this is very enlightening and simplifies the idea of soloing. it also really opens up my way of thinking about how much i can integrate into a jazz solo alongside a chord progression. being creative with modes and scales can create very nice and colorful sounds.
Some one that knows the real shit, done his homework, and is explaining, and using fantastic examples how to apply this stuff in your playing! I have BIG respect for you Micheal! Thanks you're doing a good thing!
Wow this was an excellent lesson. I play improv piano and play by ear which is all about trying to be creative and think outside the box. When he started saying think of it as two chords instead of getting all technical, damn. incredibly basic but powerful and something most wouldn't think of.
Mike just shared such a wealth of knowledge I have to watch this all the time. This is the most informative video I've ever seen. I've been copying other musicians for 23 years and although many non-musicians say I'm amazing, I don't agree because I can't improv. This video is the key to breaking me out of that pattern and start expressing my own personality through the piano for the first time in my life. I just didn't understand the beauty of the piano until recently and Mike was the catalyst.
The two chord thought process is amazing. What sounded so complicated initially became an "AHA" moment for me when I instead related it to two overlapping chords. Thanks for sharing!
I use to watch and listen to this video all the time back in the day! Glad to have stumbled on this video! Thanks! I understand way more than what I did back then.
OMGG! Ugh the dissonance and harmony is amazing! i love this video! I have this song on my electric piano on the demo feature. Thanks so much for this.
As a former professional composer and arranger, I have gradually learnt that there is only one way to climb the slippery slopes of jazz improvisation skills. I had to develop a love of sufferance. You have to practice many hours a day and visualize all sort of melodic and harmonic patterns before they become part of you for ever after. Michael's excellent presentation is helpful but making it part of your playing will take much time and effort.
You know what...you're freakin' awesome! Thank you for breaking stuff apart to see it more clearly! I'm a bassist and I just picked up some great tips! Thanks again!
Ok, this shit is too advanced for me, but I do love it and it does drive me with excitement about learning and someday knowing how to play like this (I've been playing for a year haha). thnx!
I just love going over chords to the point that it seems impossible to not sound creative. That lovely feeling where it's stuck in your head and you can go to work doing everything with grace and style lol
The bi-chordal thing seems like something very cool to try out. Thanks. Also, I could tell instantly that you were playing on a Steinway, as your harp and red felt looks exactly like mine.
one of the best posting ever on jazz! just 9min55 to change my play. I am going to subscribe I am going to apply it to stella by starlight and see how it sound
Are you kidding me? I was right along with you in the beginning of that bichordal section, but once you dropped B Major on top of F7 I almost fell out of my seat. Awesome work, great food for thought. Thanks for posting!
this is fantastic, Michael, thank you! I'm guitarist..I like to develop my own arrangements of tunes, and improvise over them. A lot of the type of stuff you are doing here ( and explaining so well, I might add.), I have been playing by ear, and I have recently decided that I had better learn the names of things, and the name(s) of the concepts related to them. There are some new tidbits in here as well, that I had touched on ( i.e. poly chords..) and thought; "This sounds cool, but in no way can it be theoretically correct.." Now I see that it is, and that is very reassuring. I can't wait to learn more of what I used to think was very abstruse material. A word to the wise, esp. guitarists- If you want to really know this stuff on a high level, you MUST know where all the notes are on the guitar, and what their intervalic relations are. Thanks again, Michael, and great improvisations, by the way. Not only do you know your stuff, but you are a fantastic player!
I thought this song was In Ab. I really like your chord extensions! Never had any time or patience for modes. No time to think about it when improvising at any speed.
Excellent... Thanks for sharing your knowledge... The theory will really help me improvise... My right hand is way stronger than my left hand... I need to get my chord voicings down. I'm doing a lot of straight 1, 3, 5, 7 voicings. I need to get those open or shell voicings down... Thanks again for this! Please do many more...
You're right and I stand corrected! I'm wracking my brain to remember which famous pianist's hands were small-ish with rather stubby fingers. I'll be back when I can find that artist, but I remember, years ago, being surprised to see that. Thanks for the correction! :-)
You've just told the story of my life in 2 videos...most of my achievements in here xd i would rate those videos as "THE BEST TUTORIALS FOR A JAZZ MUSICIAN!!!"
superb video. Best of it´s kind IMHO. With respect to the solo line concept around 2.07, what are the best practice patterns/exercises to get that concept down? Many thanks!
just roll your hand from the bottom root note to the 10th on top. You can't stretch that far, maybe, but you can roll your hand and hit the 10th just a fraction of a second after the bottom note. Hit the 5th in the middle on the way up to the 10th. So, you'll hit 3 notes in sequence very quickly and it'll be fine.
Thanx 4 the lesson Michael. Lot of upper structure triads at the end. I'm not that fluid yet. I'm not sure how you get that much music out of a simple triad. That might be a good lesson. :)
You don't have to stretch & literally spread all the way to the extensions. The 9th is the 2nd...a 13th is a 6th, etc. Oscar Peterson had smallish hands & short fingers.
I love how it's down to business from the beginning. Nothing infuriates me more when you have to wait and wait listening to some one talking about nothing.
A complete toss.
Great stuff Michael..a total smorgasbord of info.
This guy is pouring out a wealth of knowledge to us for free. You have to wonder what inspires some people to click the thumbs down button.
Such great instruction. Thank you for making it available to everyone!
Jealousy
arrogance
dont pay attention to the thumbs down. it doesnt mean anything on youtube..
***** it's a hip way nowadays to show appreciation the hipster way. thumbs down man. fuck authority. yknow? NOPE.
The world is full of retards !
Michael Wolff is one of the BEST piano tutors whom I have ever viewed.
I am also of the opinion that this is one of the best jazz lessons on TH-cam.
You kept it short and simple and clarified the use of modes and upper triads better than many a book I've bough and read. Many thanks.
Thanks for taking the time Michael, you are obviously a great pianist. Nice of you to take the time to do this. Thanks again.
Been playing jazz piano for 23 years, and I'm still learning and constantly humbled by its complexity, beauty and mathematical nature. Even if you don't listen to Jazz, how can one see this video and not appreciate it's awesomeness ? Just watching this makes me wanna get my piano tuned
Glad I found these videos. Good lesson. One thing I think bears mentioning to more inexperienced players is his use of running up and down the scales: I frequently advise people not to do this. I realize it's being used here to illustrate the harmonic concepts, but I would not dwell too long on the overlaying scales. Start coming up with some melodic ideas. That's what solos are (melodic ideas), they often derive from scales, but are not merely the scales themselves. Motivic development is a hallmark of great improvising. If you begin with some simple, short melodic ideas (just a couple to begin with), you can experiment with the harmonic concepts and begin to develop motive and rhythm as well. this kind of gets into a whole other area of development, and I'm not trying to start a new class in the comments, just an observation, and my reason for mentioning it. Thanks again for the video!
Very true Bob. Some of the best runs in a modality are things that cant be taught. They are born from the mind as to where the music is going. Some of the most complex scales or runs have such ridiculously wonderful timing, intervals, and note choice that I have spent my life mastering are just "otherwordly" if I may. Kit Watkins of Happy The Man comes instantly to mind.
when i was learning about modes in school, i remember always having trouble finding ways to apply them. this is very enlightening and simplifies the idea of soloing. it also really opens up my way of thinking about how much i can integrate into a jazz solo alongside a chord progression. being creative with modes and scales can create very nice and colorful sounds.
Some one that knows the real shit, done his homework, and is explaining, and using fantastic examples how to apply this stuff in your playing! I have BIG respect for you Micheal! Thanks you're doing a good thing!
This is just...awesome. These are practical concepts that can be immediately applied. I am indebted and so are so many other musicians, I'm sure.
I'd never seen this before! Gold, pure gold! thank you!
Thank you so much for this, when you started hitting the modal improv it was like hearing lightening shoot out of the piano
Wow this was an excellent lesson. I play improv piano and play by ear which is all about trying to be creative and think outside the box. When he started saying think of it as two chords instead of getting all technical, damn. incredibly basic but powerful and something most wouldn't think of.
Mike just shared such a wealth of knowledge I have to watch this all the time. This is the most informative video I've ever seen. I've been copying other musicians for 23 years and although many non-musicians say I'm amazing, I don't agree because I can't improv. This video is the key to breaking me out of that pattern and start expressing my own personality through the piano for the first time in my life. I just didn't understand the beauty of the piano until recently and Mike was the catalyst.
The two chord thought process is amazing. What sounded so complicated initially became an "AHA" moment for me when I instead related it to two overlapping chords. Thanks for sharing!
Utterly brilliant. Especially love the bichordal stuff where we're breaking into hybrid key signatures.
GREAT VIDEO, I HAVE A LOT OF RESPECT FOR THIS GUY, SEEMS LIKE A GENUINE PERSON AND GREAT TEACHER
This video changed my life...
I've never felt so much freedom while improvising....
I use to watch and listen to this video all the time back in the day! Glad to have stumbled on this video! Thanks! I understand way more than what I did back then.
OMGG! Ugh the dissonance and harmony is amazing! i love this video! I have this song on my electric piano on the demo feature. Thanks so much for this.
This is a real serious Jazz piano playing analysis, that covers a lot and can help a lot! Thanks :--)
As a former professional composer and arranger, I have gradually learnt that there is only one way to climb the slippery slopes of jazz improvisation skills. I had to develop a love of sufferance. You have to practice many hours a day and visualize all sort of melodic and harmonic patterns before they become part of you for ever after. Michael's excellent presentation is helpful but making it part of your playing will take much time and effort.
SNAP!!! Im exactly the same. Watching these kind of videos is very inspiring but also makes us amateurs release how little we know.
Excellent concepts, some very serious playing. Thanks for posting - looking forward to more!
Excellent and informative video! Thanks for sharing,
Great systematic and mathematical explanation. Opens eyes, thanks!
Michael, this is REALLY good lesson. Thank you so much. I need to work more on dexterity, but it's so nice to have infinate options of creation.
You know what...you're freakin' awesome! Thank you for breaking stuff apart to see it more clearly! I'm a bassist and I just picked up some great tips! Thanks again!
You are a very good teacher. Thank you for your posts.
old videos are always gold, for some reason
Gracias por subir estos videos, no conocía a Michael Wolff, sus lecciones son excelentes
Ok, this shit is too advanced for me, but I do love it and it does drive me with excitement about learning and someday knowing how to play like this (I've been playing for a year haha). thnx!
Thanks for this awesome yet easy to understand lesson. Means a lot to self learner(beginners) like myself.
The best lesson on you tube period. Thanks alot...Im lost but this will help.
How generous of Michael Wolff to give us a treasure trove of musical info for free.
Those bitonal sounds at the end were totally badass! A major on a Bb major 7 ends up sounding like Ritchie Beirach.
I just love going over chords to the point that it seems impossible to not sound creative. That lovely feeling where it's stuck in your head and you can go to work doing everything with grace and style lol
Gotta love Michael Wolff!
The bi-chordal thing seems like something very cool to try out. Thanks.
Also, I could tell instantly that you were playing on a Steinway, as your harp and red felt looks exactly like mine.
one of the best posting ever on jazz! just 9min55 to change my play. I am going to subscribe I am going to apply it to stella by starlight and see how it sound
I love this blokes playing..and i love this tutorial too..excellent.
Bravo Michael!
like ur way explaining....great.. grande Mr. Wolff!!!!!
Are you kidding me? I was right along with you in the beginning of that bichordal section, but once you dropped B Major on top of F7 I almost fell out of my seat. Awesome work, great food for thought. Thanks for posting!
this is fantastic, Michael, thank you! I'm guitarist..I like to develop my own arrangements of tunes, and improvise over them. A lot of the type of stuff you are doing here ( and explaining so well, I might add.), I have been playing by ear, and I have recently decided that I had better learn the names of things, and the name(s) of the concepts related to them. There are some new tidbits in here as well, that I had touched on ( i.e. poly chords..) and thought; "This sounds cool, but in no way can it be theoretically correct.." Now I see that it is, and that is very reassuring. I can't wait to learn more of what I used to think was very abstruse material. A word to the wise, esp. guitarists- If you want to really know this stuff on a high level, you MUST know where all the notes are on the guitar, and what their intervalic relations are. Thanks again, Michael, and great improvisations, by the way. Not only do you know your stuff, but you are a fantastic player!
high level... and a great music talent.
I thought this song was In Ab. I really like your chord extensions! Never had any time or patience for modes. No time to think about it when improvising at any speed.
That was very clear, and very musical. Thank you.
really enjoyed this presentation....quite usefu!
Absolutely brilliant.
excellent ideas and explanation...it all makes sense...greatly appreciated...thanks!
Great Tutorial! Bless you. Thanks for sharing
Excellent... Thanks for sharing your knowledge... The theory will really help me improvise... My right hand is way stronger than my left hand... I need to get my chord voicings down. I'm doing a lot of straight 1, 3, 5, 7 voicings. I need to get those open or shell voicings down... Thanks again for this! Please do many more...
excellent! the lesson and right example i was looking for. excellent explanation really. thanks.
Great lesson! Thanks for posting! This'll get me werking on my improv!
yea ,definately need these lessons for the intermediate to advance players...keep it up man definately subscribing...
I wouldnt watch your video without saying thanks for all you share.
Great stuff mike !
Falling leaves! I love that song :)
This song sets jazz in its essence. for me is the best jazz music in the world.
Superb information! Thanks!
Nice! Good review, plus I never though about playing two chords on top of each other. Thanks!
This man is quite competent. Pretty good teacher too.
Fantastic information. Thanks
Fast but very nice instructional video. Thanks Michael....
Super dope my dude. Thanks for the inspiration.
So awesome!
Really dig this! Thanks!
You're right and I stand corrected! I'm wracking my brain to remember which famous pianist's hands were small-ish with rather stubby fingers. I'll be back when I can find that artist, but I remember, years ago, being surprised to see that. Thanks for the correction! :-)
Michel Petrucciani?
Vince Guaraldi?
dayum you are good! right nao im majoring in classical music but i wanna learn something different and this is really amazing
Finally someone doing stuff on here properly. :-)
You've just told the story of my life in 2 videos...most of my achievements in here xd i would rate those videos as "THE BEST TUTORIALS FOR A JAZZ MUSICIAN!!!"
Please make more videos!
Nice lecture!
Mike I heard you in Baltimore with Johnny Griffin ,years ago. You were really playing. Good to see you!
Merci pour partager ces petits secrets simplement et efficacement expliquées.
Wow.. you really talented and nice video
Good stuff thanks for sharing
Amazing !
hank you dear Michael Wolff
Wow. In these two videos I found out what I was hearing in my head but didn't know how to play!! Stand back everybody!
thank you dear Michael Wolff his class is extremely didactic and unfortunately not everyone has a reasoning as well rapidon big hug Tadeu Santos!!
...thanks Michael, First class Tutorial.....I learned so much.....SwissBruno
Awesome, Thank you!!!
Best lesson ever
it has always mystified me how pianist comp under a soloist; especially themselves. Thanks 4 posting this
superb video. Best of it´s kind IMHO. With respect to the solo line concept around 2.07, what are the best practice patterns/exercises to get that concept down? Many thanks!
great stuff!!! Very helpful! Any room for whole tone scales? Always seem to add a nice colour to a solo
Thanks for uploading
Just plain sick! ARSENIO NEEDS YOU BACK!!!!!
Very usefull, thanx!
Some day u know i will play like u, Amazing videos, greetings
Thanks, you're awesome.
THNKS SIR..PLS UPLOAD MORE VIDEOS..
just roll your hand from the bottom root note to the 10th on top. You can't stretch that far, maybe, but you can roll your hand and hit the 10th just a fraction of a second after the
bottom note. Hit the 5th in the middle on the way up to the 10th. So, you'll hit 3 notes in sequence very quickly and it'll be fine.
Thank you!
Thanx 4 the lesson Michael. Lot of upper structure triads at the end. I'm not that fluid yet. I'm not sure how you get that much music out of a simple triad. That might be a good lesson. :)
I never can play these since my maximum physical reach is one octave. I'm so envious of you guys that can reach like 14 or 15 semitones.
You don't have to stretch & literally spread all the way to the extensions. The 9th is the 2nd...a 13th is a 6th, etc. Oscar Peterson had smallish hands & short fingers.
pyannaguy Are you kidding me? His hands were huge.
You the man!