Four simple chords can sound painfully ordinary on the piano... or surprisingly sophisticated. In this real piano coaching session, Isabelle and I take a simple I–vi–IV–V progression and gradually turn it into something richer, jazzier and more cocktail-piano-ish.
Rather than starting with a finished arrangement, we work through the choices in real time: chord voicings, extensions, rhythm, texture, and what happens when you stop treating the chord symbols as rigid instructions and start experimenting with them.
We also talk quite a bit about something that comes up again and again in music-making: how to experiment without second-guessing yourself into paralysis, and how to get more confident about trusting your ears.
If you’re a songwriter, producer, band musician or pianist looking to develop your practical piano, harmony or improvisation skills, I offer one-to-one coaching here:
https://billspianopages.com/1-to-1
If you’re an adult piano learner and would prefer something lower-cost and more community-based, my Patreon includes regular articles, videos, music and access to coaching at selected tiers:
https://www.patreon.com/billhilton
Huge thanks to Isabelle for being willing to have a real coaching session filmed — including the moments when neither of us quite knew where it was going.
#piano #pianotutorial
00:00 Pop chords to cocktail jazz chords - how?
07:38 Trying out some chord ideas
10:42 The bass is boss
15:41 Beating the “sameness”
19:08 Practising these chords on the piano