Exploring Jazz Piano - Volume 1 (Schott Pop Styles)

Tim Richards' book "Exploring Jazz Piano 1" is probably the most thorough tome that I have ever worked through on this subject. Most jazz method books tacitly assume that you have already been seriously studying music for several years, so they skip over the elementary and delve headlong into the tricks of the trade (which can be daunting for those with a patchy knowledge).This book makes no such assumption. If you don't have your basic theory and chops down when you begin this book, don't worry, you certainly will by the time you've finished it!For those who have been playing classical and/or pop, etc for some time and know about intervals, inversions, scales, etc, it can be tempting to skip over all the stuff in the beginning of the book and dive straight into the meat of the course. However, I would still recommend that even those with a good foundation take the time to look through those early pages - you'll very probably find a few "Easter Eggs" that the author has tucked into the pages all over this book. Little morsels of wisdom and cool stuff that you might not be aware of abound.Once you've gotten your feet wet, and begin looking deeper and deeper into this volume, you'll find a carefully crafted and logical progression of lessons that eases you smoothly into the jazz experience.Many styles are covered, and the transcriptions are priceless! The function of the LH is also dealt with as being equal in importance to the role of the right. This is not just a collection of RH bebop licks to be regurgitated and thrown about like so much musical confetti, it is a serious curriculum that takes you to where you need to be with the least amount of pain possible - so that you can soon begin make your own music using the detailed principles meticulously outlined within.If you really want to learn jazz piano, and you want to make sure that you know the subject inside-out "Exploring Jazz Piano 1" is one of the finest beginner's books I've ever encountered. Just buy it, you'll see!Jeff Brentauthor of  Modalogy - scales, modes & chords: the primordial building blocks of music (music theory / Hal Leonard 2011)

It saddens me greatly that I did not know about this book 10 years ago.I have a small bookshelf of highly-rated jazz books and dvds and this book eclipses them all. Jazz must be one of those subjects where it's difficult to find good teachers amongst the practitioners.I've been working with this book for about a month and have already seen a marked increase in my hand independence. What really sets it apart are the musical pieces themselves. I'm no jazz aficionado, but many of them sort of have a Peanuts-like Vince Guaraldi vibe to them. You want to play them, and you want to figure out the solos, as well.There's so many bogus reviews on amazon these days - they have a real problem. This is the real deal. I'll probably pick up Volume 2 just to make sure I have a copy waiting when I'm ready.Also, don't be afraid to work a couple of the beginning chapters concurrently. He even mentions this in the book.Unfortunately, I'm also having problems with the binding on one side becoming unglued, but the information contained is so stellar that I refuse to subtract a star for that.

It is a great book for someone who is at an intermediate level. I really like the way it progresses. Mr. Richards is a great pianist who is very versatile.I am one of his fans; his recordings are excellent.He makes sure that each concept is thoroughly covered and gives wonderful advice and audio examples. I have studied and taught music for many years and bought many books on jazz piano. Most of the jazz piano books I bought are great for learning theory, but they fail to provide basic exercises to help you internalize the material. I just started reading the book and I am particularly impressed with the way that Mr. Richards uses notes from the C major scale, in basic hand positions, to create a "hip" improvised solo; he stresses the fact that one can be creative by not trying to do too much because there is also beauty in simplicity. It is the clearest explanation I have come across regarding the uses of chords/scales. I highly recommend this book to all serious students who have basic music reading skills.

After buying several books and exploring some of the online jazz piano instruction sites, I have to say this book has been the best so far. I especially like that the author introduces tunes to learn, and possibly bring to jam sessions, not just pages of comp patterns, etc., but I would prefer more familiar tunes. Nevertheless, I am developing a repertoire already. There is a nice balance here of many concepts.. As an intermediate pianist with a jazz theory background and experience playing jazz bass, this book is right at my level and I am not only progressing nicely, but looking forward to the next practice session. This book is also nicely laid out with nice print and graphics, and one does not have to force the pages to stay open. Best purchase I made, miles ahead of the others, and I have Volume 2 to look forward to, and then Tim's Latin and Blues books as well. But, for now I am more looking for a book that has written out comping I can study and listen to of familiar tunes, along with using this book.

This is an excellent book about jazz and an excellent method. I was trained as a classical pianist as a teenager and have only played on and off for about 25 years. About 18 months ago I decided to go back to piano seriously but this time from a jazz point of view. After a few months updating my skills I bought Tim Richards book and started this step by step approach. Not skipping lessons before I understood the key technique taught in each piece. I have been now through all the pieces after 11 months, practicing 15-30 minutes per day and more on the week end (I have a non musical day job and demanding young kids at home). I am not able to improvise like a pro obviously but I can fill gaps and change the chords based on the principles presented. I can also read leadsheets and develop my own work. This book is really enjoyable and effective. The pieces are beautiful. Unlike one of of the reviewer below I really like the pieces from Tim Richards. I much prefer playing pieces not heard before and the range of difficulties are widespread. You can apply different layer of complexity to the same piece, and that really takes your piano skills to a different level. I have now a repertoire that I will polish this summer before starting the volume 2.

Thank you to Tim Richards for writing such a brilliant, rich and approachable book on jazz piano. It approaches learning the vocabulary of jazz in a logical and easily understandable way.There are other great books which will help more advanced learners but Tim Richards’ book is the best I know for anyone starting off. It's clarity and user-friendly nature is very persuasive. The CD and YouTube clips mean you will never be alone whilst learning. There are also in-depth written explanations which reinforce what you have learned.I think some reviewers have been a bit churlish. I like the material and the content. It will be very helpful in opening up the mystery of jazz improvisation for many pianists. I thoroughly recommend this book.

As a beginning jazz musician, I've found this book to be a superb tutorial and practical guide. The step-by-step approach is very comprehensive, with each new concept being introduced in a structured way.By far the best practical jazz guide I've found (and I've bought a lot of them). The book's layout and editing is also excellent.The only criticism I would have is that many of the pieces he uses as practice material are quite boring (often his own studies). I think it would have been better to have used more jazz standards to maintain interest.

Excellent introdution to jazz piano improvisation. A lot of detail which can seem overwhelming at first, but stick to the authors' advice and you will get a lot from this book: skip bits, move on, and go back to them after you've got to the end and everything will slowly start making sense.

Love this book It is helping me with my piano. My teacher introduced me to this book.