Practice can be tedious, unrewarding, and overwhelming. It's for that reason that I recorded the following videos. I discuss techniques that bring life into your playing. Whether you're a beginner or a pro, I think you'll find joy in these simple chord patterns.

Below is a direct video response to a student.

In the video below I show you three chord progressions that sound good, are easy to play, and are based on the "circle of fifths" pattern. My right hand is playing the same chords as the left hand, but playing them as triads, solid chords, harmony, and improvising on simple melodies. I move up and down the keyboard with the above techniques.

I am improvising over the following chords:

Dm Gm C F
Dm Gm C F | Dm Gm A Dm
Dm Gm C F | Gm Dm E A

In the video below I show an easy way to make your music sound French. It's a perfect choice for improvisation at a sidewalk cafe. I use major sevenths chords. Two of them. C Major 7 to an F Major 7.The major 7 transforms a chord to feel light and airy. Where C Major is solid, C Major 7 is ethereal. Where G Major feels strong and connected, G Major 7 feels like it wants to drift off. When you connect two Major 7 chords (especially in a distance of 4, like the C to the F, or G to the D), you get that French sidewalk sound… airy chords that are unobtrusive.

You build a Major 7 chord by playing the 7th note of the major scale. So in a C Major 7, the notes would be C E G and B. You don’t have to play the C, so it’s just E G and B.For an F Major 7, the notes are F A C and E, or just A C and E. You can also think of it as an A minor (and the Major 7 of the C is the E minor).

Give it a try!

Cmaj7 to Fmaj7 Improv Ideas - Sheet Music

Improvizing over a few chords, coming up with melody, and melody workshop

Below is a video of a workshop explaining HOW to come up with a melody for a set of chords.

Bringing Creativity and Improvisation Into Your Playing

You must be logged in to access this course