How to Practice Jazz Piano Improvisation

Practice doesn’t make perfect. Only ‘perfect practice’ makes perfect.

As a jazz pianist, you need to practice the right things in order to get results (practice alone doesn’t guarantee success).

In this article I’ll show you a proven formula that jazz pianists can use to learn improvisation.

The #1 Chord Progression In Jazz

Most jazz songs are built on the ii-V-I chord progression (‘2-5-1’), played through various keys.

Since this is the most common chord progression, this is what I use to practice.

Here’s how the ii-V-I looks in C major - and these are the left hand chord voicings you can use:

IMAGE - 2-5-1 in C maj. Literal left hand voicing pattern

You can also add the VI chord (A7) after the I chord - this creates another very common chord progression called the ii-V-I-VI (‘2-5-1-6'). Again, here are some simple chord voicings you can use:

IMAGE - 2-5-1 in C maj. Literal left hand voicing patterns

NOTE: Over the VI chord (A7) it’s common to add a flat 9 (Bb) which means you’ll play A7b9.

Both of the above chord progressions are ideal for you to practice improvisation on.

Master your left hand chord voicings first - before you start improvising in your right hand. Your left hand needs to be automatic.

Start In One Key

Practice improvising in one key to begin with - I suggest using the key of C major.

By sticking to one key, you’ll be able to focus on one thing at a time - in this case, improvisation itself. You can always transpose your lines out to other keys later.

Practicing in one key will also help you to see which patterns you’ve already tried, versus which patterns you haven’t tried yet (whereas when you switch between keys, you can easily find yourself rediscovering the same patterns without realizing it).

Practice Slowly

Improvisation requires slow practice - you have to learn to walk first, before learning to run. You can’t skip straight to running unfortunately.

If you’re new to improvisation, I suggest you practice freely at first, without using a metronome. You’ll find yourself slowing down at times (while you think) which is okay - for now we’re just focusing on the composition of lines. Rhythm and playing in time can come later.

Later on, when you’re ready, it’s good to practice to a slow metronome beat - and gradually speed up over time.

Think ‘Chord Tones’ - Not Scales

When I first began practicing improvisation, I used to think in terms of ‘scales’. So for every chord, I would map out a seven-note scale which I would improvise from. Sometimes I’d even write these scales above the chords in the music.

Now while it’s important to understand how chords and scales are related - I’ve since changed my approach to improvisation, and this has lead to much better results.

Instead of thinking in terms of ‘scales’, I now like to think in terms of ‘chord tones’ - and I suggest you do the same. The ‘chord tones’ are the root, 3rd, 5th and 7th of the chord (you can add the 9th to this group of notes too). These notes will always sound strong over any chord.

‘Chord tone soloing’ is when you compose melodic lines using the four (or five) chord tones - 1 3 5 7 (9). Most great jazz solos are built heavily on, and around these ‘chord tones’.

So instead of playing from seven-note scales for each chord, practice finding these chord tones instead - 1 3 5 7 9 - and then later we’ll add a number of decorative patterns which can be used to precede any of these chord tones (called ‘approach patterns’, and ‘enclosures’). This way we’ll branch out to the surrounding notes, but everything will be built in relation to the chord tones.

So to begin with, practice composing your own lines using the chord tones of each chord. Practice over the ii-V-I or the ii-V-I-VI in C major:

IMAGE - Chord tone soloing over ii-V-I-VI in C major. With left hand voicings

Approach patterns

Once you get the hang of playing the chord tones, you can now start to branch out to the surrounding notes.

Each of the chord tones (1 3 5 7 9) can be preceded in a number of ways:

  • The ‘half-step below approach’ - precede any chord tone with a half-step below (e.g. C# - D, or G# - A). This simple trick always sounds strong, even when it takes you outside the notes of the key.

IMAGE - half-step below approach pattern. Applied to D min 7

  • The ‘chord-scale-above approach’ - precede any chord tone with a note above, taking your notes from the notes of the scale (e.g. E - D, or B - A). Unlike the half-step below approach, when approaching from above it’s usually best to keep your ‘above’ notes within the scale you’re in.

IMAGE - chord scale above approach pattern. Applied to D min 7

TIP: When using approach patterns, play the approach note on an off-beat (the weaker beat), then resolve to the chord tone on an on-beat (the stronger beat).

  • Enclosure patterns - you can precede any chord tone with a series of surrounding notes - both from below and above (e.g. C# - E - D, or E - C# - D, or E - Eb - C - C# D). Enclosures usually take you chromatically out of scale - this sounds great as long as you resolve to your ‘target note’ at the end. These need to be pre-written - spend some time composing your own enclosure patterns.

IMAGE - enclosures applied to D min 7 -

All of the above approach patterns are written backwards in time - you must decide on a ‘target note’ (1 3 5 7 9) and then precede that note by playing a pre-composed melodic shape - either a single approach note, or a series of notes (an enclosure).

These two elements make up most of my improvisation - chord tone soloing, and approach patterns. They create a nice balance between ‘in scale’ notes (the chord tones), and ‘outside’ chromatic notes which resolve back into the scale in a natural way.

IMAGE - chord tone soloing with approach patterns - Dm7 - G7 - Cmaj 7 - A7b9

Want to download my top improvisation lines for jazz piano? I’ve put together some free sheet music that notates my favorite lines for a ii-V-I.
Click hereto download the Jazz Tutorial Improvisation Cheat Sheet (free).

Write Down Your Best Ideas

Start a ‘jazz piano journal’ where you write down your favorite improvised lines over the ii-V-I.

Keep your journal open, above the piano, and write down your favorite lines, as you discover them.

Later on, you can come back to your notes and play through each line repeatedly, to ingrain it and make it second nature. You can also practice playing your lines through all twelve keys.

Click hereto download some of my favorite improvised lines - get the Jazz Tutorial Improvisation Cheat Sheet (free).

Thinking Practice

Improvisation can also be practiced in your head, when you’re away from the piano.

I’ll often compose lines in my head, when I wake up in the morning (before getting out of bed), or when going to bed.

In many ways, ‘thinking practice’ allows you to focus more clearly on the melody - because there are less visual distractions than when you’re sitting at the piano (especially if you close your eyes). You don’t have any visual clutter to look at when you practice in your mind, and you can remove the chords and pedaling from the process too while you focus on the melody itself.

Practice in Twelve Keys

So far I’ve shown you how to practice improvisation in the key of C major. Use the ii-V-I, or the ii-V-I-VI, practice slowly, and write down your best lines.

You can practice in one key for as long as you like. There’s no rush to start practicing in other keys. In fact, most of the innovation and breakthroughs will probably happen while playings in your ‘home key’ (the key that you do most of your practice in).

That said, when you’re ready to branch out and practice soloing in other keys - there’s two ways you can do this:

    1. Take the same ii-V-I exercises and transpose it through the twelve keys. Spend a good amount of time in each key, at least 30 seconds per key (don’t rush to the next key constantly).
    1. Improvise over your favorite jazz songs. Go to your real book and choose a song to practice on. First, learn the chords by heart, as well as ingraining the voicings you’re going to use. Then, start composing lines over the song’s chords, using the techniques we’ve looked at - chord tone soloing (1 3 5 7 9), and approach patterns (especially the ‘half-step below’ approach). Practice slowly to begin with, then speed up over time.

Don’t know which songs to use? I’ve made a list of recommended jazz songs for beginners, plus my advice on which real books to buy.
Click here to download the Jazz Tutorial Guide to Songs & Real Books (free).

Summary

Today we covered … tips to help you practice jazz piano improvisation:

    1. Use the ii-V-I or ii-V-I-VI progressions to practice on.
    1. Practice in one key to begin - I suggest using the ii-V-I in C major.
    1. Practice slowly to begin with.
    1. Think ‘chord tones’ (1 3 5 7 9) - not ‘scales’.
    1. Approach patterns - each chord tone can be preceded with a note above or below, or with enclosure patterns. In each case, you’re working backwards from your chosen chord tone.
    1. Write down your best ideas.
    1. Thinking practice - don’t do all of your practice at your instrument. Get in the habit of practicing improvisation in your head too.
    1. Practice in 12 keys - finally, the last thing to practice is to venture into the different keys, using the same techniques.

Free Jazz Piano Resources

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About the Author

Julian Bradley is a jazz pianist and music educator from the U.K. He has a masters degree in music from Bristol University, and has played with and composed for a variety of big bands.
Julian runs the popular Jazz Tutorial YouTube channel and writes educational jazz lessons at JazzTutorial.com