Exploring Jazz Piano: Functional Harmony & Modes
CoursePianoJazzIntermediatePart 1 of 2
Part ofPiano

Exploring Jazz Piano: Functional Harmony & Modes

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Duration1h 51m
Modules29
LevelIntermediate
LanguageEnglish

Lesson Plan (1h 51m)

About this course

Tim Richards has been a leading voice in UK jazz piano teaching for over thirty years. This course is part of his graded method, also published by Schott Music as a textbook of the same name. Full bio on Tim's artist page.

This is Chapter 4 (the opening chapter of Exploring Jazz Piano Pt 2), picking up where the first volume left off - and the most theory-rich chapter in the series. You'll work through seventh chords inside the major scale, the diatonic cycle of fifths, the II-V-I progression in depth, and a full review of the seven modes of the major scale.

By the end you'll understand functional harmony from the ground up, play II-V-I in every key with multiple voicing approaches, and choose the right mode to improvise over any diatonic chord. Chapter 5 (Ninth Chords) is the natural next step.

Who it's for

  • Intermediate pianists ready for the theory under jazz harmony
  • Self-taught players who can play II-V-I but want to understand it
  • Returning pianists studying functional analysis

What you'll learn

  • Play II-V-I in every key with three different voicing approaches
  • Navigate the diatonic cycle of fifths confidently
  • Choose the right mode to improvise over any diatonic chord

What you'll need

  • A piano or weighted-key keyboard
  • Comfort with seventh chords from Exploring Jazz Piano Pt 1
  • A few minutes most days at the keys

Explore the series · Exploring Jazz Piano · Pt 2

Based on Exploring Jazz Piano by Schott Music

  1. Exploring Jazz Piano: Functional Harmony & Modes
    01
    Exploring Jazz Piano: Functional Harmony & Modes
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  2. Exploring Jazz Piano: Ninth Chords
    02
    Exploring Jazz Piano: Ninth Chords

Meet the Guru

Tim Richards

Tim Richards

Critically acclaimed jazz pianist and composer Tim Richards is one of Britain’s most experienced jazz educators, teaching piano privately for over 30 years, as well as at Morley College, Goldsmiths College, the University of Surrey, Premises Studios and other venues in the UK and abroad. He has produced numerous titles for Schott Music, including the best-selling two-volume Exploring Jazz PianoBlues, Boogie & Gospel Collection and the acclaimed Improvising Blues Piano. He is also co-author, with John Crawford, of Exploring Latin Piano and Brazilian Piano Collection.

More recently Schott have published Jazz, Latin & Modern Collection (15 pieces for solo piano), comprising Tim Richards originals alongside pieces by Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk, and the two volume set Beginning Jazz Piano (now a two-part MusicGurus course).

“The real joy of Tim’s music… is that it is both hugely educational but also such great fun to play. Anyone with the slightest interest in learning to play or teach jazz piano should really acquire a set of Tim’s books.” PianoDao

As a performer Tim has been a presence on the UK jazz scene since the 1980s, also playing the blues with UK and US legends such as Otis Grand, Earl Green, Dana Gillespie, Larry Garner, Joe Louis Walker and Mojo Buford. He has released over a dozen albums as a leader (featuring many of London’s best jazz musicians including Pete King, Gilad Atzmon, Tony Kofi, Jason Yarde, Seb Rochford, Ed Jones, Dick Pearce and many others), and toured all over Europe with line-ups ranging from duo to nine-piece. His latest recording, the album ‘Telegraph Hill’ by the six-piece Hextet, was described in The Observer as "A true joy from beginning to end".

More info can be found on his website www.timrichards.ndo.co.uk

Published with

Schott Music

Founded by Bernhard Schott in Mainz in 1770, Schott Music is one of Europe's oldest and largest music publishers, with a catalogue of more than 30,000 titles. Over its 250-year history Schott has issued first editions of Mozart, Beethoven and Wagner, championed 20th-century voices from Hindemith and Schoenberg to Ligeti and Henze, and today publishes sheet music, books and educational materials from offices in Mainz, London, New York, Tokyo and beyond.
Schott Music

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