Learning chords on piano -- recommended starting point?

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bimmerman
Posts: 183
Joined: Wed Apr 04, 2018 5:15 pm
Location: Menlo Park

Learning chords on piano -- recommended starting point?

Post by bimmerman »

Hi all,

one of the main takeaways from the adult jazz camp I just came back from was that every instructor there, regardless of instrument, could comp changes on a piano. They unanimously recommended learning how to recognize and comp changes, well enough to not have to think very hard about it.

I studied piano for maybe a month or two when I was 6, and, as you'd expect, I don't know anything about the instrument except what key is what. Luckily my brother is a pianist (classical), and is lending me a keyboard to mess around with to start playing and hearing chords.

My question for you all, since I'm betting I'm not the only late-in-life piano learner: do you have any recommendations for books for learning jazzy chords on a piano? I'm not looking to be a great pianist nor am I very concerned with technique....I would just like to be able to see, say, F#mi9 or something like that and press the appropriate keys to hear what that sounds like in various octaves/voicings.

On a basic level I can figure it out, but I'd imagine there has to be a good reference book out there for learning this sort of thing. Any ideas? Bonus points if it mentions scales for the appropriate jazz chord bingo.
Gatt
Posts: 36
Joined: Thu Mar 22, 2018 11:53 pm

Re: Learning chords on piano -- recommended starting point?

Post by Gatt »

Doug Mckenzie has a youtube channel 'jazz 2511' which I think is brilliant.
Pre59
Posts: 370
Joined: Sat May 12, 2018 2:51 am
Location: Devon UK

Re: Learning chords on piano -- recommended starting point?

Post by Pre59 »

I'd put this in the "better sources elsewhere" category along with audio and recording. There's plenty of dedicated sites and content on YouTube, and the fact that you're a trombonist has little to do with it.

"Dedicated sites" being key IMO.
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