Somebody asked me today, “how can I learn to play piano like you?”

Where are you starting from?

“I can improvise in C”.

Start simple. Pick two chords that you like and transpose that relationship in all 12 keys.

“I don’t know the circle of fifths”.

Start with 3 keys then. Play a simple melody over those chords. And transpose that melody. You gotta start somewhere. And make sure you keep a constant rhythm, that is important.

When I’m practicing, I’m always looking for a simple sound. The most important thing is it sounds good to me. Today I am practicing two things, all with three voices.

  1. Around the circle of fifths alternating major and dominant 7 chords (playing 3 and 7 and either the 1 or the 5 as the third voice), with a voicing with “approximately” a fifth between each voice (e.g. E C G for a C major chord or E A# F# or A# E C# for an F# dominant 7). Aim for two goals: good voice leading and a balanced sound. To achieve both, you end up having to use all the inversions of the chords — that is, if you use the same inversions you end up going out of range of where these 3-note voicings sound balanced. More or less, it means to stay in the two octaves around middle C. Additionally, since there are 12 keys, alternate which one of the two groups serves as the major chord. (By the way, this sound is very inspired by sections of Bill Evans’ Waltz for Debby.)
  2. Earlier (still with three voices), hearing the sound of the #4-3 suspension in the bass voice in major chords in all keys, and getting that under my fingers.

I’m always inventing (or discovering) exercises like this for myself. Something that helps me improve my physical ability while exploring small aspects of sound that are beautiful.

The next iteration of #1 above is to add a walking bass line.