How To Play Jazz Piano

During an interview for his Radio 4 series "Jamie Cullum's Piano Pilgrimage" I was surprised when Jamie told me that he does not read music but plays everything by ear. It is of course, possible to learn to play jazz in this way and by doing so you would certainly develop your aural skills to a very high level. Indeed some of the jazz greats learned their craft by listening to and watching other jazz musicians. However, most of us would find this to be simply too daunting a task,  and prefer to have some guidance as to how to approach this subject. I have aimed this website primarily at those who are already reasonably competent pianists, but who feel lost without sheet music.

I hope to demistify the process of jazz improvisation and explain how a knowledge of chords, scales, rhythmic patterns and song structure can help you on the way to becoming a competent improviser. I will show you how to 'comp' (accompany), reharmonise songs, play walking bass lines and improvise in different jazz styles. You don't need to be hugely talented to play jazz but you do need to put a lot of time in to regular practice and listening to jazz.