Week 4 of our Embraceable You tune study focuses on solo piano approaches — how to harmonize the melody step-by-step from one note to four-note shapes.

Stop running scales and start speaking jazz. This week’s Embraceable You improvisation development explores melodic pathways, target notes, and phrase awareness to build authentic jazz improvisation.

This week’s Embraceable You melodic analysis focuses on learning the melody by ear, mapping phrases, identifying target notes, and applying ballad, bossa nova, and swing treatments.

February is here, which means a brand new Jazz Piano Skills tune study is officially underway. This month, we’re diving into George Gershwin’s Embraceable You using our proven four-week format: harmonic analysis, melodic analysis, improvisation development, and solo piano. In this week’s episode, we map the harmonic architecture — form, chord changes, function, common progressions, and practical voicings — so you can practice with clarity, purpose, and direction.

Learn the 3 non-negotiables of solo jazz piano—time, harmony, and melody—and a strum, stride, slide approach using Stars Fell on Alabama.

Freeze when the melody ends? Learn how to improvise by continuing the melody using “melodic pathways.” Dr. Bob Lawrence breaks it down with Stars Fell on Alabama.

It’s Week Two of our January tune study, which means one thing in the Jazz Piano Skills world: It’s melodic analysis week. Last week, we kicked off 2026 with a harmonic deep dive into the classic standard Stars Fell on Alabama—form, changes, harmonic function, common movement, and, of course, our voicings (block voicings, traditional shells, contemporary shells, and two-handed structures). And now, this week, we follow that harmonic foundation with the next step in our mon

Welcome back, Jazz Piano Skills family — Happy New Year! We’re officially kicking off Season 8, and I cannot tell you how pumped I am to start 2026 with all of you. There is something powerful about a new year. It’s a chance to reset, refocus, and recommit — and that’s exactly what we’re doing at Jazz Piano Skills. And we’re doing it with a big upgrade. The Big News for 2026: A Four-Week Tune Study Format 🎹 For years, our monthly tune study has followed a three-week form

As we arrive at the final Jazz Piano Skills episode of 2025, this moment feels different — and intentionally so. This episode wasn’t about a tune study, voicings, harmonic analysis, or improvisation development. It was about something more profound. Reflection.Gratitude.Vision It was about pausing long enough to acknowledge how far we’ve come together as a community, and then looking ahead with clarity and purpose toward what’s next.

Merry Christmas from Jazz Piano Skills! With Christmas Eve just around the corner and the holiday season in full swing, this week’s podcast episode was designed to do exactly what music does best — bring joy, reflection, and inspiration. A Jazz Piano Christmas is both a celebration of the season and a meaningful look ahead at what’s coming next at Jazz Piano Skills. Before diving into Christmas music, it’s worth taking a moment to reflect on where we’ve been.

Week three of our monthly tune study has arrived — and as always at Jazz Piano Skills, week three means improvisation development. This month, we’ve been exploring Vince Guaraldi’s beloved Christmas classic, Christmas Time Is Here. During week one, we completed a thorough harmonic analysis, examining the form, harmonic function, common movement, and essential voicing structures. Last week, we followed with a melodic analysis, focusing on transcription, fingerings, phrasing,

This month’s tune is the beloved Vince Guaraldi Christmas classic, “Christmastime Is Here.” Last week, we completed our harmonic analysis—examining the form, traditional changes, harmonic function, common harmonic movement, and our full range of voicings: block voicings, traditional shells, contemporary shells, and two-handed structures. Now it’s time to shift our focus to melody.

Welcome to a new month of discovery, learning, and playing at Jazz Piano Skills! December has arrived, and with it comes one of the most beloved seasonal jazz classics ever written: “Christmas Time Is Here” by the great Vince Guaraldi, first featured in the 1965 TV special A Charlie Brown Christmas. This tune is more than a holiday favorite—it is a masterclass in subtle harmony, lyrical melody, and expressive jazz phrasing. And, as always, we will use it to reinforce one key

Every jazz musician has heard the advice: “You need to practice your arpeggios and scales.” Good advice—but incomplete. Arpeggios and scales are inseparable. Two sides of the same coin. Two elements of a single musical skill: melody. Arpeggios outline the chord tones. Scales fill the space between those chord tones with passing tones. Together, they produce the raw material of improvisation. If you want to improvise, you must practice these two elements as one musical m

Why Etudes? Improvisation is not random inspiration—it’s controlled musical decision-making rooted in: Harmonic awareness Melodic motion Rhythmic vocabulary Balance of scale + arpeggio movement Etudes allow us to isolate specific aspects of improvisation and develop them with intention. Rather than simply “soloing over the tune,” we construct lines that reinforce essential musical behaviors. For this episode, four short harmonic phrases from A Beautiful Friendship were se

Welcome to week two of our monthly jazz journey! I’m Dr. Bob Lawrence, and this week on Jazz Piano Skills, we continue our exploration of the timeless standard “A Beautiful Friendship” with a melodic analysis. If you’ve been following along, you know our process — every month, we study one tune from three critical perspectives: Harmonic Analysis Melodic Analysis Improvisational Application

A new month means one of my favorite things—we begin exploring a brand-new tune. And as I like to remind all of you: new tune, same comfortable, familiar, skill-centric approach. It’s the consistency of this approach—thorough, organized, structured, and most importantly, logical—that allows us to learn jazz piano the right way. Because learning tunes isn’t really about the tunes at all. It’s about the skills that tunes illuminate.

As we wrap up another exciting month here at Jazz Piano Skills, I’m diving into one of my favorite topics — improvisation development. Over the past few weeks, we’ve explored the harmonic and melodic structures of the 1941 jazz classic Tangerine. Now, it’s time to pull everything together and focus on how to intentionally build melodic ideas through a concept I call Improvisation Trees. Improvisation Trees are a simple, structured way to develop authentic jazz vocabulary.

This week, I want to revisit a Podcast Episode I did on July 22, 2025, addressing the use of Inverted Arpeggios for developing jazz vocabulary to improve improvisation skills. Improvisation requires a multi-dimensional understanding — the ability to see and hear chords from every possible angle. That’s why this episode, Inverted Arpeggios, deepens our harmonic awareness and expands our jazz vocabulary.

Welcome to Jazz Piano Skills! I’m Dr. Bob Lawrence — and this week, we’re diving into Week Two of our monthly study of the classic 1941 standard, Tangerine. If you’re a regular listener, you know what Week Two means — it’s Melodic Analysis Week. Last week, we dissected Tangerine harmonically — form, changes, harmonic function, common movement, voicings, shells, and two-handed structures. This week, we shift our focus to the melodic side of the tune — learning the melody by e