This guy is the real deal, picked up the cocktail piano course and was playing around on a store piano when some beatnik looking hipster noticed and said “Man, that is happening!”
Hi Bill... I'm 88 yrs...and nearly all of those have been involved in music some way: as s singer, a commercial words/music writer, and finally, R/TV writer director, stirring it all together. I tried guitars for awhile, and banged out songs/chords with a banjo band for several years...but never really got into the heart and soul of an instrument. Well you're doing/done the trick - you and jazz piano. And this starter lesson reminded me of how much I've appreciated your lessons...and particularly your style/motto of "go slow...and stay with it." So, I'll be going slow...and learning more piano for the count left...thanks to you.
That's great to hear, Dan - I'm really glad to hear that my stuff is helping you, especially given your musical background. Also, at 88 you're still somewhat of a teenager compared to some of the learners I hear from, so I say make the most of your youth and vitality! Obviously if there's ever anything specific I can help with, just give me a yell and I'll be delighted to do what I can for you.
I learned the piano very conventionally for about 7 years as a child. Although I learned lots of pieces - even won a school competition - I never felt I could play the piano. It was like going to a foreign country where I had to make a speech by heart in a language I didn't speak. Doing that several times would make it easier, but didn't mean you could "improvise" your own speach. Now I'm retired and picking it up again, I understand that the "linguistic component" of chord progressions, and especially cutting down the "degrees of freedom" (concentrating on 1 thing at a time to improvise) is exactly what I've been missing. You're such a star! I'm very grateful. I'll be buying some of your publications a soon as I get home.
Thank you! I'm getting increasingly interested in ways of supporting older piano learners (and returners) so please do let me know how you get on, and don't hesitate to give me a shout if you have any questions!
Hi Bill, I want to greatly thank you for introducing me to improvisation. I found your video through one of your shorts, and since then I've found far more great enjoyment in my piano journey, than simply following a sheet. I still aim to learn sheet music, but this also helps me greatly develop my ear function skills as I am able to replicate the notes I want to be able to.
*Remember to check out my books - How To Really Play The Piano, Seven Studies In Pop Piano and An Introduction To Cocktail Piano! Links here:* www.billspianopages.com/how-to-really www.billspianopages.com/seven-studies www.billspianopages.com/cocktail
@@crux1179 They are pretty heavily sheet-music based, and although for the most part the scores are pretty straightforward, if you don’t read music then the value you get out of them is going to be limited. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I wouldn’t want you to buy and be disappointed! I should say that if you wanted to work on your music reading skills (always worth doing) then my piano for beginners series of RUclips tutorials might help - by the time you’re around three quarters through you’d have a skill level that allowed you to get much more out of the books. Here’s the playlist link: m.ruclips.net/p/PLpOuhygfD7QnP46wUgQudOySX_z2UOhXs - shout if there’s anything else I can help you with!
@@crux1179 You’re welcome! Not especially - rather, they cover different areas. Once you have some music reading chops then How To Really Play The Piano might be a useful intro to things like chords and improvisation.
thank you so much this is very helpful. As someone who has been classically taught for the past 10 years, sitting down on the piano with nothing but my imagination is daunting to me. I feel like there is this wall that is blocking me as there is nothing to follow and nothing to perfect. My biggest goal with music is to become comfortable with improvisation and noodling. I want to be able to create something that represents my emotions, the world around me and the music that inspires me but first I need to embrace the vulnerability of making my own sound.
Thanks a lot Bill. I've started keeping a keyboard on my desk next to me to mess with whenever the mood strikes. This exercise is great for that. I'm new to this channel but will definitely check out more.
Bill, thanks a ton for this video! I am relaxing with this one since you have published it. It took me not more than 10min to get the hang of it and it is so much fun. I love the way you set the exercise up without tying to any specific rythm. It makes "mistakes" in chord transition impossible leaving the brain thinking of the next phrase in the right hand. Just amazing! Now I finish all my study sessions with it. Relaxing and uplifting after struggling with my fingers over 2 bars of Chopin for an hour. I have downloaded the PDF but never really got to it yet. It is too much fun as it is in the video!
You're welcome - really glad to hear you like it and it's helping. Keep working on the Chopin, though - there's nothing quite like him for helping your smoothness and jumping!
This video reminds me when I purchased your first book, years ago. Your videos are as simple and welcoming as they were when I first subscribed. Thank you so much for your work it helped me a lot ! Cheers !
Hello Bill this really helps as my previous message to you was about how I struggle with 7th ... Chords have been practicing every day and think I'm improving , this is perfect for me !! Thank you
Hi Bill! Thanks a lot for this great lesson. I've been away from the piano for a while, but ready to pick it up again, with the help of your books and lessons.
I have been struggling with improv and writing melody for a long, long time. The idea of having just a few chords and only playing the notes that are common to all of those chords' scales is mindblowing for me. I have a piece I'm working on composing right now where I have several chords in the bass for the second part of the song, but I've been struggling to write melody for it. I wrote down each scale, then circled all the common notes, and sure enough, those notes make a pentatonic scale. I'll add the flat 3 and see how it sounds!
Thank you Bill. I've been trying to improvise and didn't get anywhere. (Adult student here) Your "no beat" technique is very liberating, because it helps improve in continuous way--no big steps. I have been learning a difficult (for me) new piece for my lessons and about 20 minutes is my limit of concentration. Improvising is a nice way to relax at the piano while still learning. I will also try some no-beat techniques to learn my regular piece fingering. Does it have to be done with a pentatonic scale?
You’re welcome! You can try it with pretty much any scale you like - pentatonic is just a good place to start as it’s reasonably “safe” in terms of the musical output you’ll produce. By all means experiment, though!
Thanks for your ideas and the links, Bill. Heard about your RUclips pages at a Doggie Halloween get together in my neighborhood last night - go figure. I’m headed to the piano right now to try out your suggestions! Being a beginner at the piano, I know it’s a slow process (a flutist - the flutes are in their cases right now) - I’m having fun learning the piano, and I love jazz and improv!
You're welcome, Lynn - glad to hear my stuff is helping you. Don't hesitate to give me a shout if you ever have any questions or there's anything I can help you with.
I'm a longtime jazz guitarist but relatively new to piano, so I understand theory but struggling a bit with fingering. I have no problem understanding things when the chords are in the LH and melody in the RH. But I'm at loose ends with how to play the melody when chords are played as part of both LH and RH. Any tips on that would be useful. The 3 part cocktail jazz series that you did is perfect!
What it usually comes down to, Jim, is thinking of the RH as being split into two halves: the lower half is thumb, 2 and sometimes 3 ; the upper half is 4, 5 and sometimes 3. Broadly speaking the lower half adds to the harmony and the upper half deals with the melody. That's a VAST oversimplification, but it kind of describes what usually happens in those circumstances. In practice it makes legato playing tricky, so the sustain pedal winds up being used a lot. Does that help?
Again another great tutorial. Last time I asked you something you responded quickly with a good advice (about the Chanconne piece). Training this piece I got really better in reading notes faster. As you said in your response I am a fan of minimalistic piano but your courses and books helped me a lot understanding the piano and be able to play a wider variety of pieces. I most definately will subscribe to patreon (though I am no fan of patreon. Other similar sites also have a higher share for the creators).
Thanks Andreas, and thanks for signing up - I really appreciate it! Yes, Patreon does take a hefty chunk: at some point I might look at the Google membership model or one of the other crowdfunders. For now, I’m sticking with Patreon because I’ve used it for a while and it’s simpler to stay there right now, when I have lots of other stuff to do. I’m also really glad Chaconne helped your reading - I’m shooting the second tutorial in the series, dealing with the second part of the piece, starting tomorrow, so hopefully it’ll be live by the weekend...
BILL,can i improvise song when singing and playing? because i like imprrovise songs even i don't have learned too much of the musical technical 。how would i improve if want to be qualified with composing。 thank you for your answer .
Yes indeed - the thing to do is really work on your knowledge of chords and your ability to play them. If you can play a good selection of chords in many different positions on the piano keyboard, then you don't need to know loads of music theory: you can improvise accompaniments simply from a song's chord progression.
@Bill Hilton Thank you for you encouragment. I don't know if I understand you clearly. Can i just improvise if I only know a few chords which the way i don't think too much about musical meter as first .I also want to send your some songs that I improvised to you if that is impossible.Thank you for reading.
@@shuying5465 Yes, you can improvise if you only know a few chords! By all means send me some songs: billhiltonmedia at gmail dot com. I get a lot of email, so apologies in advance if it takes some time for me to reply!
@Bill Hilton thank you for your patience , I can't wait to send a song to you ,maybe that is just a short of aduio,because i would take a long time to do it.actuualy the more i do it i think it would be better with these things .by the way , I really think your videos wich efficaly working on me .
A trick that worked for me is I just started playing random notes and chords like I didn't know what I was doing but it sounded beautiful and I made my song from the tune I liked the best and then I started to modify it and it was just amazing. Even now I use this very trick for piano improvisation. Try it out for yourself and if it worked leave a like and a reply. NOTE: You need to know your chords well for playing the chords that consist of black keys or it sounds awful. SUGGESTION: I'd say start of with just white keys at first.
I learned a lot from this one video. What I found interesting is that the scale you used is also the A blues scale. I wonder if that works because C and A are relative?
It certainly shares a bunch of notes with the a blues scales: The overlap is probably a consequence of the blues scale being somewhere between major and minor, and the strong relative relationship between C and A minor :)
I was thinking the same! I don't understand what's not to like about this, considering it is a beginner level and makes things easy for people to get started on what can be a difficult area of piano.
I was a bit taken aback by that, too - it's pretty unusual to get that many likes so soon after an upload. I think it's because I uploaded at a slightly different time of day than usual, which meant a higher proportion of traffic came from non-subscribers. My most active subscribers tend to start coming online early evening UK time/post-lunch east coast US. Anyway, the problem has sorted itself now and the like/dislike ratio is nearly up to my normal level. Lesson learned: upload at the time of day I usually upload!
@@BillHilton Well I think that video was excellent, really good for beginners or even as an exercise for anyone else to do every now and then , and yes I agree, the timing may have been the issue but I wouldn't worry about it, your videos are fantastic, I have learned an enormous amount from them. Shane
I'm in the US. I just downloaded the improv pages. All the pages are cut off at the right edge, the A4 to letter thing. I've pencilled in what's missing so I can use them as is. But, if you have a suggestion how I might correct A4 to letter, I'd appreciate that. So far Hp Envy doesn't seem to have an adjustment for the installation I have on my Mac. If you can't help, and I would understand, my next step would be to call HP. BTW, I'm new here. Not very far along in piano skills, but excited about your content enough to have just bought the 3 book bundle. I'm practicing daily. I loved this improv practice session.
Aarggghhh - sorry about that! When I do these things I often provide files in both A4 and USL sizes to deal with exactly this problem. I thought I would get away with it on this one, but it seems not. When I have some time over the next few days I’ll get a USL version made up and uploaded. Thanks very much for the heads up. It’s good to hear you like my stuff and thanks, too, for buying the book bundle! Give me a shout if you ever have any questions or need any guidance with any of this stuff.
@@BillHilton I'll look forward to the upload. Thank you. I say or type aaaarrrggghhhh on a regular basis. I don't get away with anything. BTW, I don't suppose you can do that for the three book bundle...
Bill I have a special request, if you get the chance at all, could you do a video where you improvise a modal improv, say over a C tonal centre, then use and mix the different modes in the right, thinking it would be a fantastic exercise and at least you wouldn't have to be worried about changing chords or timing?
I've been toying with something like that for a while ("here are all the modes in one improv - listen to the differences!"). I might start knocking some ideas around and think about this for one of my December tutorials. Thanks for the suggestion!
Can really recommend the Patreon subscription to everyone! You get a lot for whatever amount you choose to give. Bill's tips have really helped me get past my total improv block 👍🏼
Hey Bill, good tutorial btw. I was wondering that it's great to know how to improvisation but it's boring to play the same chord progression. How do you guys know other chord progression on jazz or pop or r&b genre? Do you guys remembered it all of them or make it your own? If you remember all of it, how do you memorize it, I need to know.
Hi Barb! There are a few things you can do with it. To start with, I'd see the RH chords as "for information", as it were, and use the shell chord shapes scored in the left hand with the scale suggested in each case. Beyond that, the right hand chord can be useful if you want to thicken up the right hand improv. To start with, though, just think about that score as information - a kind of framework you can experiment with. Does that make sense?
Thanks Jan! The URL's mentioned at 11:57 - it's www.billspianopages.com/improv2020 . Apologies for the delayed reply - this one slipped through the net!
Hi Megha: I'm afraid I don't usually do tutorials about specific songs, for two reasons. First, copyright law here in the UK is really strict (in particular, there are far fewer opportunities to use copyrighted material under "fair use" exceptions). Second, I think it's better to teach you the underlying skills so you can work songs out for yourself. Thanks for the comment, though, and sorry to be a downer!
Could u tell me the relationship or difference between the minor scales and minor modes? Do minor scales have minor modes or vice-versa? Does the same concept apply to major scales and it's modes (built off the major scale)?
@@BillHilton I read your response. You said you will post it sometime in December (if my memory serves me right)! Or is it up already? I didn't see or receive a notification though I'm subscribed to your channel, plus I did hit the notification bell! 🔔 😕 Edit: I think I see what u mean. Never mind! lol
@@mishioedward808 Yep, early December probably - so in about a month.Though I may swap things around and do it earlier... watch out for the notification, and if I remember I'll message you! :)
Many thanks for all the great information and for your clear explanations. A question about the download pdf progressions. Is the purpose to improvise using only the notes given for the right hand or are theses an extra resource just to get used to playing right hand chords? Thank you
You're welcome Rod - glad you like it. Re: the PDF, it's very much up to you. Certainly I'm anticipating you'll do some sort of right-hand melodic improvisation (the right hand chords are really just there in the scores to demonstrate full voicings in each case, as some of the notated left-hand chords are just two-note shells). The notes given in each case (pentatonic major+flat third or pentatonic minor+flat fifth) would be a good starting point for such improvisation, as discussed in the tutorial: feel free to play them in any octave of the piano keyboard, and indeed across octaves. However, by all means go beyond them an incorporate other notes into the right hand improvisation - you can either explore other scales (blues, for example) or just start off by using your ear to find interesting sounds (which I'd recommend before you dig too much into the theory: the time at the piano using fingers and ears, the better!)
I've bought the book "how to really play the piano", but I must say... It's rather heavy in terms of getting my head around the notes etc. Even though I do manage? It's obviously easier to see you do it and play along/imitate... And expand... So is this playlist the right place to start off instead of working my way through the book?
I would say do both, Jeremy: have a run through some of my improvisation tutorials and dip into the relevant parts of the book - maybe getting stuck into the stuff on blues would be a good start. One thing to bear in mind is that I wrote the book before I really got going on RUclips, so the two resources don’t always cross-reference that well (that’s a job for the second edition, which I’m going to start work on as soon as I’ve finished my current book). But my basic thinking has stayed the same. Needless to say, if you have any questions/confusion/requests for guidance, just send them my way - I’m always happy to help, even if it sometimes takes me a day or two to reply!
Yes it is, David - the page will just have got lost during the recent website rebuild. Sorry about that! It should be live again now - let me know if you're still getting 404'd!
@@BillHilton Thanks so much! And thank you so much for your fantastic content. I'm learning so much here. As soon as I'm a bit better reading music, you'll have me as a reader of your books.
Great video. Thank you. Every time I see someone play a weighted keyboard though. So jealous of not having that feel. I've got to shell out and get the m-audio hammer (cheap in comparison, I know) would you recommend it?
I haven't actually played one yet, so I couldn't tell you for sure. In general I rate M-Audio gear (good build quality, long lasting: I've been using the same M Audio mic and MIDI controller for more than a decade). In that kind of price range, though - a bit more expensive, but not much if you hunt around - do check out the Roland FP-30, which is an absolute gem of a piano for the price. In exactly the same price range as the M-Audio is the Casio CDP S-100, which I have played, and which is surprisingly good for the price. Let me know what you go for!
@@BillHilton Thanks for your advice. I'll check these out. I've had a number of m-audio controllers over the years and they're great. I've been tinkering with production for too long without basic theory and now learning on a 25-key! I'm going to have to get to store and feel some again before I purchase. (if we're allowed!) Thanks again and great vids.
Good question! A lot of people ask me variants of it - like, "if all major keys sound the same, why not just use C, which is easiest?". There are several answers. Here goes: 1. If you have a set of ten songs and you play all of them in the same key, it'll sound boring; 2. If you're playing with other musicians, and especially singers (or if *you're* singing) then you often need to play in keys that are easier for them, but harder for you. 3. It's handy to be able to transpose between keys within songs to create variety. 4. Different keys have different characters, even though they are technically the same sets of intervals just at different pitches - keys with flats are slightly darker and richer, those with sharps are brighter and glassier. (There's a lot of disagreement about this, but it's always seemed that way to me). Does that help?
@@BillHilton Yes, thank you. I wonder if it has much to do with the fingering arrangement of some music, particularly for piano. Is solfeggietto easier in a different key or was it discovered because CPE was experimenting in Cm?
O shit this is just like the Blocking technique but the note version, oh my god thanks for making this video. OH MY GOD WHY DIDNT I THINK OF THIS METHOD!!! SILLY ME!!! AAAAAAA
Yeah, this is a best tutorial, but the problem is... I am an overcomplicated person, who complicates my works, and this is also included, I got stuck at Piano Improv...
Thank you! The trick is to take it a small amount at a time - just focussing in on a tiny number of notes on the keyboard to get started can make a difference!
Me: Really!?! I can’t just flop around playing beat free forever.” Also me: Listens to Bill playing the “beat-less” version Also also me: Ooh. Yeah. I get it now. 🥴
Cheer up - everyone's improv skills are terrible to start with, or until you find the right way to make them better. It's certainly true that no tutorial will help them. But consistent, regular practice might. Shout if you have any questions/need any specific guidance...
Sorry to disappoint you dear, if you want to teach someone how to drive a car, to start with, you must prove you can drive a car yourself. This demonstration can be very misleading. Please give your students a clear demonstration and let them listen to what you can play and sound like first. Very very important.
This guy is the real deal, picked up the cocktail piano course and was playing around on a store piano when some beatnik looking hipster noticed and said “Man, that is happening!”
😂 Comment of the month!
ALWAYS LOVED THE BEATNIKS.
Lmfao! As an American I read this with a British accent in my head, and it made it easily 1000 times funnier!
Hi Bill... I'm 88 yrs...and nearly all of those have been involved in music some way: as s singer, a commercial words/music writer, and finally, R/TV writer director, stirring it all together.
I tried guitars for awhile, and banged out songs/chords with a banjo band for several years...but never really got into the heart and soul of an instrument. Well you're doing/done the trick - you and jazz piano. And this starter lesson reminded me of how much I've appreciated your lessons...and particularly your style/motto of "go slow...and stay with it." So, I'll be going slow...and learning more piano for the count left...thanks to you.
That's great to hear, Dan - I'm really glad to hear that my stuff is helping you, especially given your musical background. Also, at 88 you're still somewhat of a teenager compared to some of the learners I hear from, so I say make the most of your youth and vitality! Obviously if there's ever anything specific I can help with, just give me a yell and I'll be delighted to do what I can for you.
I learned the piano very conventionally for about 7 years as a child. Although I learned lots of pieces - even won a school competition - I never felt I could play the piano. It was like going to a foreign country where I had to make a speech by heart in a language I didn't speak. Doing that several times would make it easier, but didn't mean you could "improvise" your own speach.
Now I'm retired and picking it up again, I understand that the "linguistic component" of chord progressions, and especially cutting down the "degrees of freedom" (concentrating on 1 thing at a time to improvise) is exactly what I've been missing.
You're such a star! I'm very grateful. I'll be buying some of your publications a soon as I get home.
Thank you! I'm getting increasingly interested in ways of supporting older piano learners (and returners) so please do let me know how you get on, and don't hesitate to give me a shout if you have any questions!
Hi Bill, I want to greatly thank you for introducing me to improvisation. I found your video through one of your shorts, and since then I've found far more great enjoyment in my piano journey, than simply following a sheet. I still aim to learn sheet music, but this also helps me greatly develop my ear function skills as I am able to replicate the notes I want to be able to.
Can't wait to get home and start playing with this. Thank you for all you do!
You're welcome!
Cutting out the beat is a great idea! Thanks for the easy to follow video!
You're welcome, Scott!
Thanks -- fabulous level of depth: not too easy, not too hard, juuuuust right.
You’re really welcome - I’m glad you liked it. It’s kind of hard to pitch tutorials at the right level, so it’s good to hear this one is working!
Amazing tutorial. I've already ordered the book. Can't wait to follow the jazz piano tutorial. You're the best!
Thanks Elizabeth, and thanks for ordering the book - let me know do you have any questions/anything I can help with!
*Remember to check out my books - How To Really Play The Piano, Seven Studies In Pop Piano and An Introduction To Cocktail Piano! Links here:*
www.billspianopages.com/how-to-really
www.billspianopages.com/seven-studies
www.billspianopages.com/cocktail
Hey, are your books also useable for people who cant really read sheet music, or is it sheet music based?
@@crux1179 They are pretty heavily sheet-music based, and although for the most part the scores are pretty straightforward, if you don’t read music then the value you get out of them is going to be limited. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I wouldn’t want you to buy and be disappointed! I should say that if you wanted to work on your music reading skills (always worth doing) then my piano for beginners series of RUclips tutorials might help - by the time you’re around three quarters through you’d have a skill level that allowed you to get much more out of the books. Here’s the playlist link: m.ruclips.net/p/PLpOuhygfD7QnP46wUgQudOySX_z2UOhXs - shout if there’s anything else I can help you with!
@@BillHilton thank you, i will dive into it. Your ebooks, is there an order of difficulty in them?
@@crux1179 You’re welcome! Not especially - rather, they cover different areas. Once you have some music reading chops then How To Really Play The Piano might be a useful intro to things like chords and improvisation.
You’re the real deal Bill. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience with us!!
You're welcome, Kevin - thanks very much indeed!
I find your instructions very, very helpful. Thank you, Mike Hortens
Thanks Mike - I'm glad you liked the tutorial, and I appreciate you taking the time to say so!
thank you so much this is very helpful. As someone who has been classically taught for the past 10 years, sitting down on the piano with nothing but my imagination is daunting to me. I feel like there is this wall that is blocking me as there is nothing to follow and nothing to perfect. My biggest goal with music is to become comfortable with improvisation and noodling. I want to be able to create something that represents my emotions, the world around me and the music that inspires me but first I need to embrace the vulnerability of making my own sound.
Thanks a lot Bill. I've started keeping a keyboard on my desk next to me to mess with whenever the mood strikes. This exercise is great for that. I'm new to this channel but will definitely check out more.
Bill, thanks a ton for this video!
I am relaxing with this one since you have published it. It took me not more than 10min to get the hang of it and it is so much fun. I love the way you set the exercise up without tying to any specific rythm. It makes "mistakes" in chord transition impossible leaving the brain thinking of the next phrase in the right hand. Just amazing! Now I finish all my study sessions with it. Relaxing and uplifting after struggling with my fingers over 2 bars of Chopin for an hour.
I have downloaded the PDF but never really got to it yet. It is too much fun as it is in the video!
You're welcome - really glad to hear you like it and it's helping. Keep working on the Chopin, though - there's nothing quite like him for helping your smoothness and jumping!
This video reminds me when I purchased your first book, years ago. Your videos are as simple and welcoming as they were when I first subscribed. Thank you so much for your work it helped me a lot ! Cheers !
That's good to hear - thanks very much indeed!
Appreciate this, you made this to understand really easy. Well done.
Thanks and blessings
Taking your right hand advice and applying to saxophone. Thank you.
Came across this recently & yesterday ordered the book from Amazon… amazing RUclips content.
Thanks very much, David - let me know how you get on, and shout if you have any questions!
Hello Bill this really helps as my previous message to you was about how I struggle with 7th ... Chords have been practicing every day and think I'm improving , this is perfect for me !! Thank you
You're welcome - glad it helped!
Thank you so much for this video. This helped me connect a lot of dots.
You're really welcome, David - glad it helped!
This is awesome. Thank you so much!
You're very welcome!
Great tutorial! Your book is awesome. Thank you for all the amazing content you are uploading.
You’re welcome Raz, and thanks for buying the book!
Thank you, Bill, for this well-explained video on improvising. Makes learning improv less daunting! 😎🎹
You're welcome Mike!
Very helpful, thanks!
Thanks Bill, Great teaching. Works great for me. Complex made simple.
Hi Bill! Thank you for making this video and for your books! You make it so easy to understand and to learn 🥰 sending gratitude and love!!!
You’re welcome, Kimblerly - I hope they’ve been useful. I like the Short you’ve posted, by the way - sounds great!
Thank you Bill, more great ideas to add to my confidence. Hope I can now sound like I am really playing a piano.
Glad you like it! :)
Many thanks for the great explanation.
This is great, I'm definitely making this part of my regular practice sessions.
Hi Bill! Thanks a lot for this great lesson. I've been away from the piano for a while, but ready to pick it up again, with the help of your books and lessons.
You're very welcome - and thanks for buying the books!
Merci beaucoup Bill. Excellent video.
Very helpful thanks.
Great stuff!
Thanks, Neil! Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you very much sir for sharing your knowledge
You're really welcome - I hope it's helped with your improvisation!
I have been struggling with improv and writing melody for a long, long time. The idea of having just a few chords and only playing the notes that are common to all of those chords' scales is mindblowing for me. I have a piece I'm working on composing right now where I have several chords in the bass for the second part of the song, but I've been struggling to write melody for it. I wrote down each scale, then circled all the common notes, and sure enough, those notes make a pentatonic scale. I'll add the flat 3 and see how it sounds!
🎹 Your strategic approach to improvisation and melody creation is inspiring! Keep pushing boundaries and exploring new sounds. 🎶
amazing insights!!! I really appreciate your tipps. Thank you from Germany 🇩🇪
This is an awesome lesson Bill. You went over things that I struggle with. Thanks for keeping it real.
Glad it was helpful Mario!
Great. Thanks for the good works, , Sir. God Bless, ever more !
You're welcome - and you!
Thanks Bill, I'll give it a go.
You're welcome, Mike - I hope you find it useful!
Simple, but some great tips too ! Thanks Bill.
Thanks Stephen - glad you like it!
Very helpful advice ... Thanks Bill 👍👍👍👍
You're welcome!
Nice tutorial. Great tips.Thanks!
Glad it was helpful Scott!
Thanks for another great video, Bill. Very helpful! I can't wait to try this.
You're welcome - glad you think it's helpful. Let me know how you get on when you sit down and try it on the piano!
It's good to see other keys apart from C. There is a lot out there explained only over a C key.
Thank you Bill. I've been trying to improvise and didn't get anywhere. (Adult student here) Your "no beat" technique is very liberating, because it helps improve in continuous way--no big steps. I have been learning a difficult (for me) new piece for my lessons and about 20 minutes is my limit of concentration. Improvising is a nice way to relax at the piano while still learning. I will also try some no-beat techniques to learn my regular piece fingering. Does it have to be done with a pentatonic scale?
You’re welcome! You can try it with pretty much any scale you like - pentatonic is just a good place to start as it’s reasonably “safe” in terms of the musical output you’ll produce. By all means experiment, though!
Thanks for posting this!
Thanks for your ideas and the links, Bill. Heard about your RUclips pages at a Doggie Halloween get together in my neighborhood last night - go figure. I’m headed to the piano right now to try out your suggestions! Being a beginner at the piano, I know it’s a slow process (a flutist - the flutes are in their cases right now) - I’m having fun learning the piano, and I love jazz and improv!
You're welcome, Lynn - glad to hear my stuff is helping you. Don't hesitate to give me a shout if you ever have any questions or there's anything I can help you with.
I'm a longtime jazz guitarist but relatively new to piano, so I understand theory but struggling a bit with fingering. I have no problem understanding things when the chords are in the LH and melody in the RH. But I'm at loose ends with how to play the melody when chords are played as part of both LH and RH. Any tips on that would be useful. The 3 part cocktail jazz series that you did is perfect!
What it usually comes down to, Jim, is thinking of the RH as being split into two halves: the lower half is thumb, 2 and sometimes 3 ; the upper half is 4, 5 and sometimes 3. Broadly speaking the lower half adds to the harmony and the upper half deals with the melody. That's a VAST oversimplification, but it kind of describes what usually happens in those circumstances. In practice it makes legato playing tricky, so the sustain pedal winds up being used a lot. Does that help?
Thanks for the free lesson.
Hi brother can you please also do it in f# major
Again another great tutorial.
Last time I asked you something you responded quickly with a good advice (about the Chanconne piece). Training this piece I got really better in reading notes faster. As you said in your response I am a fan of minimalistic piano but your courses and books helped me a lot understanding the piano and be able to play a wider variety of pieces. I most definately will subscribe to patreon (though I am no fan of patreon. Other similar sites also have a higher share for the creators).
Thanks Andreas, and thanks for signing up - I really appreciate it!
Yes, Patreon does take a hefty chunk: at some point I might look at the Google membership model or one of the other crowdfunders. For now, I’m sticking with Patreon because I’ve used it for a while and it’s simpler to stay there right now, when I have lots of other stuff to do. I’m also really glad Chaconne helped your reading - I’m shooting the second tutorial in the series, dealing with the second part of the piece, starting tomorrow, so hopefully it’ll be live by the weekend...
@@BillHilton about Patreon: Totally understandable. There are so many minor things to handle in ones life. No person can fix them all I guess.
Brilliant and simple! Love it! Merci!🖤
De rien - glad you like it!
I just love my Nord!
Me too, Brenda!
Thanks from Florida
Nice tutorial Bill.Also, that's a gorgeous looking red piano you got there!
Thanks Rebin! When I bought it, it was a toss-up between the Nord (red) and one of the Roland digital pianos (grey). The red swung it...
@@BillHilton It really makes your tutorials very nice to look at 😊
BILL,can i improvise song when singing and playing? because i like imprrovise songs even i don't have learned too much of the musical technical 。how would i improve if want to be qualified with composing。
thank you for your answer .
Yes indeed - the thing to do is really work on your knowledge of chords and your ability to play them. If you can play a good selection of chords in many different positions on the piano keyboard, then you don't need to know loads of music theory: you can improvise accompaniments simply from a song's chord progression.
@Bill Hilton Thank you for you encouragment. I don't know if I understand you clearly. Can i just improvise if I only know a few chords which the way i don't think too much about musical meter as first .I also want to send your some songs that I improvised to you if that is impossible.Thank you for reading.
@@shuying5465 Yes, you can improvise if you only know a few chords! By all means send me some songs: billhiltonmedia at gmail dot com. I get a lot of email, so apologies in advance if it takes some time for me to reply!
@Bill Hilton thank you for your patience , I can't wait to send a song to you ,maybe that is just a short of aduio,because i would take a long time to do it.actuualy the more i do it i think it would be better with these things .by the way , I really think your videos wich efficaly working on me .
Thank you bill
You're welcome, Tim!
A trick that worked for me is I just started playing random notes and chords like I didn't know what I was doing but it sounded beautiful and I made my song from the tune I liked the best and then I started to modify it and it was just amazing. Even now I use this very trick for piano improvisation. Try it out for yourself and if it worked leave a like and a reply.
NOTE: You need to know your chords well for playing the chords that consist of black keys or it sounds awful.
SUGGESTION: I'd say start of with just white keys at first.
thank you 🙏
You're welcome 😊
The best 😊
Thanks Anda - glad you liked it!
Your video is very helpful. How do the right hand notes relate to the left hand chords? Thanks
I learned a lot from this one video. What I found interesting is that the scale you used is also the A blues scale. I wonder if that works because C and A are relative?
It certainly shares a bunch of notes with the a blues scales: The overlap is probably a consequence of the blues scale being somewhere between major and minor, and the strong relative relationship between C and A minor :)
Good instruction
Thank you!
Those six notes make me think of a G maj6/dim scale (Barry Harris), missing the F# and the B.
Loved the video !!! Thank you
You're welcome, Gaurav!
excellent, thank you
You're welcome - glad you liked it!
4 dislikes = 4 people who don't appreciate what this guy does to help people
I was thinking the same! I don't understand what's not to like about this, considering it is a beginner level and makes things easy for people to get started on what can be a difficult area of piano.
I was a bit taken aback by that, too - it's pretty unusual to get that many likes so soon after an upload. I think it's because I uploaded at a slightly different time of day than usual, which meant a higher proportion of traffic came from non-subscribers. My most active subscribers tend to start coming online early evening UK time/post-lunch east coast US. Anyway, the problem has sorted itself now and the like/dislike ratio is nearly up to my normal level. Lesson learned: upload at the time of day I usually upload!
I'm glad you think it does the job, Col! See my reply to TM for my thoughts on this. Hope you're well, btw!
@@BillHilton Well I think that video was excellent, really good for beginners or even as an exercise for anyone else to do every now and then , and yes I agree, the timing may have been the issue but I wouldn't worry about it, your videos are fantastic, I have learned an enormous amount from them. Shane
@@BillHilton Yeah I'm good thanks, hope you and your family are too!
Nice... Thank you, Bill =D
You're welcome, Anthony!
I'm in the US. I just downloaded the improv pages. All the pages are cut off at the right edge, the A4 to letter thing. I've pencilled in what's missing so I can use them as is. But, if you have a suggestion how I might correct A4 to letter, I'd appreciate that. So far Hp Envy doesn't seem to have an adjustment for the installation I have on my Mac. If you can't help, and I would understand, my next step would be to call HP. BTW, I'm new here. Not very far along in piano skills, but excited about your content enough to have just bought the 3 book bundle. I'm practicing daily. I loved this improv practice session.
Aarggghhh - sorry about that! When I do these things I often provide files in both A4 and USL sizes to deal with exactly this problem. I thought I would get away with it on this one, but it seems not. When I have some time over the next few days I’ll get a USL version made up and uploaded. Thanks very much for the heads up. It’s good to hear you like my stuff and thanks, too, for buying the book bundle! Give me a shout if you ever have any questions or need any guidance with any of this stuff.
@@BillHilton I'll look forward to the upload. Thank you. I say or type aaaarrrggghhhh on a regular basis. I don't get away with anything. BTW, I don't suppose you can do that for the three book bundle...
Bill I have a special request, if you get the chance at all, could you do a video where you improvise a modal improv, say over a C tonal centre, then use and mix the different modes in the right, thinking it would be a fantastic exercise and at least you wouldn't have to be worried about changing chords or timing?
I've been toying with something like that for a while ("here are all the modes in one improv - listen to the differences!"). I might start knocking some ideas around and think about this for one of my December tutorials. Thanks for the suggestion!
@@S24W2 No worries! Have you just changed your RUclips username, btw?
@@BillHilton yep, I had another account but I'll just use this one from now on
@@BillHilton I'm 0.1 percent of what TM was, but I enjoy it
Can really recommend the Patreon subscription to everyone! You get a lot for whatever amount you choose to give. Bill's tips have really helped me get past my total improv block 👍🏼
Thanks very much indeed, Bethany - and thanks also for your contributions to the growing community I've got on Patreon!
Amazing!! Subscribed!
Hey Bill, good tutorial btw. I was wondering that it's great to know how to improvisation but it's boring to play the same chord progression. How do you guys know other chord progression on jazz or pop or r&b genre? Do you guys remembered it all of them or make it your own? If you remember all of it, how do you memorize it, I need to know.
HI BILL, The pdf shows 4 note chords in the RH. Do I play that chord in the LH and improvise over it?
Hi Barb! There are a few things you can do with it. To start with, I'd see the RH chords as "for information", as it were, and use the shell chord shapes scored in the left hand with the scale suggested in each case. Beyond that, the right hand chord can be useful if you want to thicken up the right hand improv. To start with, though, just think about that score as information - a kind of framework you can experiment with. Does that make sense?
Great video! Where can I find the pdf with the chord progressions?
Thanks Jan! The URL's mentioned at 11:57 - it's www.billspianopages.com/improv2020 . Apologies for the delayed reply - this one slipped through the net!
Hai Bill, will u please play a tutorial for the song "My Christmas Tree"(from Home alone).
Regards Megha
Hi Megha: I'm afraid I don't usually do tutorials about specific songs, for two reasons. First, copyright law here in the UK is really strict (in particular, there are far fewer opportunities to use copyrighted material under "fair use" exceptions). Second, I think it's better to teach you the underlying skills so you can work songs out for yourself. Thanks for the comment, though, and sorry to be a downer!
Could u tell me the relationship or difference between the minor scales and minor modes? Do minor scales have minor modes or vice-versa? Does the same concept apply to major scales and it's modes (built off the major scale)?
See my response to your question on the "How Do I Change Key?" tutorial, Mishio!
@@BillHilton I read your response. You said you will post it sometime in December (if my memory serves me right)! Or is it up already? I didn't see or receive a notification though I'm subscribed to your channel, plus I did hit the notification bell! 🔔 😕
Edit: I think I see what u mean. Never mind! lol
@@mishioedward808 Yep, early December probably - so in about a month.Though I may swap things around and do it earlier... watch out for the notification, and if I remember I'll message you! :)
Many thanks for all the great information and for your clear explanations. A question about the download pdf progressions. Is the purpose to improvise using only the notes given for the right hand or are theses an extra resource just to get used to playing right hand chords? Thank you
You're welcome Rod - glad you like it. Re: the PDF, it's very much up to you. Certainly I'm anticipating you'll do some sort of right-hand melodic improvisation (the right hand chords are really just there in the scores to demonstrate full voicings in each case, as some of the notated left-hand chords are just two-note shells). The notes given in each case (pentatonic major+flat third or pentatonic minor+flat fifth) would be a good starting point for such improvisation, as discussed in the tutorial: feel free to play them in any octave of the piano keyboard, and indeed across octaves. However, by all means go beyond them an incorporate other notes into the right hand improvisation - you can either explore other scales (blues, for example) or just start off by using your ear to find interesting sounds (which I'd recommend before you dig too much into the theory: the time at the piano using fingers and ears, the better!)
I've bought the book "how to really play the piano", but I must say... It's rather heavy in terms of getting my head around the notes etc. Even though I do manage? It's obviously easier to see you do it and play along/imitate... And expand... So is this playlist the right place to start off instead of working my way through the book?
I would say do both, Jeremy: have a run through some of my improvisation tutorials and dip into the relevant parts of the book - maybe getting stuck into the stuff on blues would be a good start. One thing to bear in mind is that I wrote the book before I really got going on RUclips, so the two resources don’t always cross-reference that well (that’s a job for the second edition, which I’m going to start work on as soon as I’ve finished my current book). But my basic thinking has stayed the same. Needless to say, if you have any questions/confusion/requests for guidance, just send them my way - I’m always happy to help, even if it sometimes takes me a day or two to reply!
Is that PDF still available somewhere? The link described in the video does not seem to work anymore.
Yes it is, David - the page will just have got lost during the recent website rebuild. Sorry about that! It should be live again now - let me know if you're still getting 404'd!
@@BillHilton Thanks so much! And thank you so much for your fantastic content. I'm learning so much here. As soon as I'm a bit better reading music, you'll have me as a reader of your books.
This is what I’ve been looking for…..
Hi there Bill, what’s your address again to download the PDF…
Glad to hear it, Patricia! You should be able to find everything at www.billspianopages.com :)
I must be a backwards learner, I can improvise so easily. But- trying to learn/copy piano pieces of popular songs takes me forever.
Great video. Thank you. Every time I see someone play a weighted keyboard though. So jealous of not having that feel. I've got to shell out and get the m-audio hammer (cheap in comparison, I know) would you recommend it?
I haven't actually played one yet, so I couldn't tell you for sure. In general I rate M-Audio gear (good build quality, long lasting: I've been using the same M Audio mic and MIDI controller for more than a decade). In that kind of price range, though - a bit more expensive, but not much if you hunt around - do check out the Roland FP-30, which is an absolute gem of a piano for the price. In exactly the same price range as the M-Audio is the Casio CDP S-100, which I have played, and which is surprisingly good for the price. Let me know what you go for!
@@BillHilton Thanks for your advice. I'll check these out. I've had a number of m-audio controllers over the years and they're great. I've been tinkering with production for too long without basic theory and now learning on a 25-key! I'm going to have to get to store and feel some again before I purchase. (if we're allowed!) Thanks again and great vids.
Hello Where do i get the page?
Please show more examples of what you are explaining
Bill Hilton: 9:25
My wife: Hold my beer...
😂 And you'd better remember every single word, because she'll be testing you on it later!
@@BillHilton I see you two know each other! XD
Hi Bill, Why use Ab major over Cmagor.
Good question! A lot of people ask me variants of it - like, "if all major keys sound the same, why not just use C, which is easiest?". There are several answers. Here goes:
1. If you have a set of ten songs and you play all of them in the same key, it'll sound boring;
2. If you're playing with other musicians, and especially singers (or if *you're* singing) then you often need to play in keys that are easier for them, but harder for you.
3. It's handy to be able to transpose between keys within songs to create variety.
4. Different keys have different characters, even though they are technically the same sets of intervals just at different pitches - keys with flats are slightly darker and richer, those with sharps are brighter and glassier. (There's a lot of disagreement about this, but it's always seemed that way to me).
Does that help?
@@BillHilton Yes, thank you. I wonder if it has much to do with the fingering arrangement of some music, particularly for piano. Is solfeggietto easier in a different key or was it discovered because CPE was experimenting in Cm?
O shit this is just like the Blocking technique but the note version, oh my god thanks for making this video. OH MY GOD WHY DIDNT I THINK OF THIS METHOD!!! SILLY ME!!! AAAAAAA
Garzie mille !
Prego!
Yeah, this is a best tutorial, but the problem is... I am an overcomplicated person, who complicates my works, and this is also included, I got stuck at Piano Improv...
Thank you! The trick is to take it a small amount at a time - just focussing in on a tiny number of notes on the keyboard to get started can make a difference!
Hi Bill...still at it.🤔
Cool - keep going!
Who the faq dislike this vid he's great!!!
Keep it up my guy😆
Thank you! 😁
No sir i will thank you instead.
Sorry for my bad grammar tho😅
Me: Really!?! I can’t just flop around playing beat free forever.”
Also me: Listens to Bill playing the “beat-less” version
Also also me: Ooh. Yeah. I get it now. 🥴
You better not steal any of my copyright jazz riffs mate
Honestly...listen to this guy. He REALLY knows his stuff.....
He learned at the feet of TEH MASTERRRR
Make an example of song, so it become clear
Sadly, I don’t think any tutorial will help my terrible improv skills
Cheer up - everyone's improv skills are terrible to start with, or until you find the right way to make them better. It's certainly true that no tutorial will help them. But consistent, regular practice might. Shout if you have any questions/need any specific guidance...
Sorry to disappoint you dear, if you want to teach someone how to drive a car, to start with, you must prove you can drive a car yourself.
This demonstration can be very misleading. Please give your students a clear demonstration and let them listen to what you can play and sound like first. Very very important.