Tim Richards

Beginning Jazz Piano 1

Beginning Jazz Piano is aimed at players with little previous knowledge who enjoy exploring jazz-related music. With lots of melodious pieces - his own compositions, traditionals and new melodies of well-known jazz songs - Tim Richards introduces the blues, funk and Latin American music and explains the most important techniques for the right and left hand. The selection of pieces by the experienced teacher and author of the critically acclaimed Blues Piano and Jazz Piano textbooks is also guided by the requirements of the ABRSM exam catalogue, among others, making the textbook an indispensable source of practising and learning. Volume 1 (ED 23374) explains in a simple way how to play spontaneously and freely over harmonies. Starting with triads in the left hand, pentatonic scales and arpeggios as well as the blues scale are explained here and tried out in specific pieces. Peppered with typical rhythms and bass grooves from swing to Latin, Volume 2 (ED 23379) then whets the appetite for the piano as an accompanying instrument and also shows how to arrange a melody in a jazz context. The two volumes both have the same level of difficulty and can be used consecutively or simultaneously. The audio files include full versions and play-along tracks, with Tim Richards on the piano, an additional bass line and drums. Particularly recommendable, not only for self-taughts, is the interactive feature Replay: In cooperation with MusicGurus, a provider of high-quality online lessons, interactive sheet music can be accessed online for all pieces free of charge, making practising easier and guaranteeing a fast learning success.