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DISCOVER • LEARN • PLAY
Complete the Weekly Learning Cycle
Each week at Jazz Piano Skills begins with discovery, develops through focused study, and ultimately leads to playing.
The Blog Recap brings the week together—revisiting the essential concepts introduced in the Podcast and developed through the Masterclass, while highlighting the musical ideas and practical skills that matter most at the piano.
DISCOVER the concept. LEARN the skill. PLAY the music.
Jazz Melody Analysis: Music Is Movement With Purpose (Sunny)
How much music can you find inside a third? Discover how jazz melody analysis reveals the scale fragments, arpeggio motion, melodic phrases, and rhythmic relationships that make Bobby Hebb's Sunny so memorable. Five notes. One pentatonic pattern. An extraordinary opportunity to develop your jazz piano musicianship.
Dr. Bob Lawrence
7 days ago10 min read
Jazz Harmony Analysis: Why Simplicity Reveals the Musician (Sunny)
What makes a simple 16-measure song with just six unique chords so appealing to jazz musicians? Discover how jazz harmony analysis reveals the harmonic function, motion, and relationships within Bobby Hebb's *Sunny*—and why musical simplicity may be the perfect environment for developing creativity, confidence, and personal expression.
Dr. Bob Lawrence
Oct 1011 min read
Jazz Piano Solo Playing: Develop the Skills to Create Your Own Arrangements (Our Love Is Here to Stay)
Solo piano doesn't begin with a sophisticated arrangement. It begins with developing the skills that make arrangements possible. Discover seven stages of jazz piano solo playing that bring harmony, melody, rhythm, stride, and improvisation together—and help you develop the independence to create musical performances of your own.
Dr. Bob Lawrence
Oct 39 min read
Jazz Harmony Analysis: Learn the Harmony, Not Just the Chords (Our Love Is Here to Stay)
Learning the chords to a jazz standard is not the same as understanding its harmony. Discover how jazz harmony analysis reveals function, motion, and recurring relationships inside Our Love Is Here to Stay—and develops skills you can carry into every tune you learn.
Dr. Bob Lawrence
Sep 119 min read
Jazz Harmony Analysis: Why Great Musicians See Relationships, Not Chords (Satin Doll)
Most jazz students see a lead sheet as a collection of chord symbols to memorize. Great musicians see relationships. Discover how jazz harmony analysis reveals the harmonic connections inside Satin Doll—and why recognizing those relationships makes every tune easier to understand.
Dr. Bob Lawrence
Aug 85 min read
Jazz Piano Solo Playing: How to Organize Harmony, Melody, and Rhythm
Solo piano often feels overwhelming because you're responsible for everything at once—harmony, melody, rhythm, and improvisation. In this lesson, discover why jazz piano solo playing is really the art of organization and learn four practical solo piano approaches that help you sound complete, musical, and confident at the piano.
Dr. Bob Lawrence
May 304 min read
Jazz Piano Harmonic Analysis: I've Got the World on a String
Solo jazz piano doesn’t have to feel overwhelming. Learn how to organize harmony, melody, and rhythm in real time using a simple, structured approach. This lesson shows how to practice jazz piano solo playing with clarity, control, and confidence using I Got Rhythm.
Dr. Bob Lawrence
May 95 min read
Sweet Lorraine — Harmonic Analysis
This week at Jazz Piano Skills, we begin our new monthly tune study with a harmonic analysis of Sweet Lorraine. Explore the form, chord changes, harmonic function, common progressions, and practical voicings that create the foundation for melodic study, improvisation, and solo piano development.
Dr. Bob Lawrence
Mar 86 min read
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