Sneak Peek #8: You Are Too Beautiful

Over 40 minutes of harmonic creativity & improvisational freedom
Instant access
Over-the-shoulder
First 4 measures
41 minutes
Chord voicings
Improvisation
Hello and Thank You! The generous input I have received regarding our Sneak Peeks sessions from people like yourself has inspired me to say the least! Here we continue our ventures with a special session that I am so happy to be able to present to you.

I like to view the piano keyboard as a "harmonic palette" just waiting to have its colors experimented with and enjoyed. As a child, if you ever had the pleasure of indulging in a set of fingerpaints and enjoying the feeling of using your fingers in a fashion that knew no limits, you have an idea of where I am coming from. Those ivories are inviting you to have a ball when it comes to "tickling" your way to your personal harmonic creativity!

To help you along with realizing some of that creative harmonic potential (that does in fact exist within you), I am presenting you with this "over the shoulder" session that I know can make a genuine positive difference for you.

You can benefit from this session regardless of what you consider your current playing level to be as long as, to some degree, you are already having some fun with playing some of your favorite melodies and complementing them with some 7th chords. In other words, you're at a point where you're playing some tunes and you know, for example, what a G7 is... an Fmaj7.... a Dmin7... an Amin7... you get the idea.

"Artistry reduced to basics"

Perfect for those who want to enhance their harmonic creativity
and develop greater freedom at the keys!

Some of the things we have fun with

  • Give that left hand some "freedom of choice" when it comes to accompanying that melody
  • Assign a more proactive role to that right hand when it comes to enhancing your accompanying style
  • Allow yourself to make "random" choices when it comes to spicing up those ballads
  • Place some attention on those colorful altered tones
  • Develop an appreciation for being able to "mix it up" when it comes to that left hand approach
  • Make simple improvisational motifs mean something to your listener
  • Enhance your desire to inject some tension in those chords to add "juice"
  • Allow yourself to make your own choices regarding doubling chord tones
  • ...and more!
Play it Over and Over: You'll want to play this video session over and over again to take advantage of so many subtle ideas that you can incorporate into your own playing as you develop your own personal playing style!
What is my chief aim for you when it comes to this video session? To stimulate your creative juices when it comes to utilizing those chords you already know, resulting in your enjoying a more confident command at those keys while having fun with your favorite ballads.

We even take a look at a neat little chord substitution maneuver that adds more of a dramatic effect to those ballads. Of course, as with learning just about anything, application of these concepts can be used to effectively enhance your playing, whatever the style happens to be.

In addition, we'll see how there really is something to be said for simplicity as it applies to improvisation. You've heard the expression, "little things mean a lot," haven't you? Well, we place some focus on this.

The four measures explored

You Are Too Beautiful - First 4 Measures
The first four measures used throughout the session
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Session excerpts

A sample so you can get a feel for the pacing, sound, and perspective.