Sound slice is a fantastic software that allows you to see and interact with the music and video. In this step, I’ll walk you through how to use it. 

The RH Melody is arguably the most important element. We’re going to want to spend a lot of time learning with it so we can internalize it into our musical soul. 

LH bass notes are going to be the foundation to the harmony. The bass notes are going to support all the colorful voicings and extensions we throw on top of it. Even the melody!

In this step, we’ll be working on learning the melody to “All The Things You Are” in our right hand, while our left hand plays bass notes. This is not only important to the tune, but where the melody is in relation to the bass note will dictate the solo piano arrangement you play.

In this step, we’ll be working on LH chords alone. These are clearly important to provide the sound of the harmonies to the tune. 

Most people overlook this because they don’t think the RH needs to play chords. But when you’re arranging for solo piano, your RH is actually going to do the MAJORITY of the harmonization.

This is the step where things actually start to sound like a tune. Everything comes together here to produce a beautiful sound because we’re playing all the components. 

Bass notes only is a great option for LH components. The bass note is the bottom end of the harmony and provides great support. 

The bass note to shells LH component will be used during stride, medium, and fast tunes. This is a great way to get the foundation in and the most important harmonies of the chord. 

Bass note to full chord is building off the bass note to shells. The full chord gives us a thicker sound and harmony for slower tunes. However in medium fast and fast tempos, this LH component isn’t that useable. 

This is an easy LH component that is widely used even by the pros in lots of situations. Let’s check it out. 

The root to 3rd LH component is small but mighty. This is going to be used more in the middle of the piano to create a nicely balanced sound. 

This LH component can be a life saver and before you jump to conclusions about playing a tenth just know that you can roll it or make a quick jump in order to play the large interval. 

Because of the way we’ll be utilizing the shells of a chord in later steps, we’re going to practice them alone here.

In this step, we’ll learn about harmonizing a non shell melody note. The process is the same but there are a couple of things to be aware of. 

In this step, we’ll be harmonizing a melody note that is a shell note. There isn’t much to this and it will be an easy process.

Adding the root and fifth below the melody will thicken up the sound and reinforce the harmony. In fact, any chord tone is a great way to thicken up your voicing. 

This step we’ll be an intro into extensions and the colors and sounds they produce. As we move more into voicings, extensions will be necessary to create the authentic jazz sounds you’re looking for. 

In this step, we’re going to be learning the rootless voicing structure 1. These voicings are very important for all the future voicings and extensions work we will be doing. 

In this step, we’re learning the rootless voicing structure 2 which is very similar to structure 1 but just inverted. 

In this step, we’ll cover the minor 7th extensions available to use when creating our voicings. 

In this step, we’ll learn the traditional dominant extensions that are available for us to use in the voicings. 

In this step, we’ll cover the major 7th extensions available to use when creating solo piano voicings. 

In this step, we’ll learn how to incorporate extensions into our  voicings. This is a fantastic step that will benefit every aspect of your playing. 

In this step, I’ll be introducing a systematic process to solo piano arranging that will become extremely useful and allow you to follow a step by step flowchart. 

This is a rather easy step. Here we’re simply noticing where the melody is and picking a bass note from the options we have available. 

We’re combining the essential solo piano components in this step. RH melody, bass note, and our LH component selection. This will give us everything we need to start diving deeper into our arrangement. 

In this step, we’re going to begin adding RH harmonization when the melody note is a shell of the chord. Let’s go!

Harmonization of non shell notes takes on a similar approach but there are a couple of details you want to watch out for. Let’s check it out. 

There are specific places in a melody that lend themselves to be harmonized. The better you can recognize these spots, the easier it will be for you to add harmonizations. 

In this conclusion step, we’ll cover all the important aspects we’ve gone over and tie everything together.

In this step, we’re going a step further and adding extensions using the flowchart process we’ve learned. 

In this step, we’ll learn how to harmonize a non shell melody note. What we do and how to approach this. 

In this step, we’ll learn where to harmonize with extensions. It can be difficult to choose and find a good spot. Let’s take a look.

In this step, we’ll dive deep into the details of harmonizing without the melody and with comps. 

Bass lines are an integral part of solo piano. Without it, there is no bottom end structure to the harmony and no bottom foundation.

In this step, we’re integrating more bass line movements such as chord scale above, half step below, half step above, and more.

Learning to play a 2 feel is a great way to leave an open, airy atmosphere at the beginning of tunes. This allows you to go into a regular quarter note swing and have it serve as a contrasting texture which makes it sound so much better!

The broken bass is a fantastic texture to use that allows your LH to leave space and get a rest for a little bit as well. 

Harmonization of non shell notes takes on a similar approach but there are a couple of details you want to watch out for. Let’s check it out. 

Using the melody and improvisation to hold tempos works like a charm. Most students overlook the use of the melody to keep the time going during the space but it’s the perfect way because it’s the most important component of the head. 

This strategy is like comping for another musician except that other musician is yourself! In this step, we’re just switching roles for a split second, and comping for ourselves in the space of the melody. 

RH chords with LH bass notes creates a fantastic texture that sounds full and supportive. We’ll explore this texture further in this step. 

In this step, we’ll cover the no bass texture while RH and LH comp together to produce a big bandish sound. 

Comping is probably the first strategy that comes to mind when filling the space. This is easy and sounds great! We’ll cover what to do in this step. 

I like to call this strategy bass line stabs. This is great for packing some punch into your fill. I love the texture it creates!

Passing chords are a fantastic way to fill space. In this step, we’ll go over passing chords, how to use them, and how to create them. 

This is a simple and easy trick to use that creates an amazing sound and atmosphere. 

Improv in the spaces is a great way to fill space. Knowing what to play is another question. That will depend on your improv skills. We’ll also cover this in this step. 

I may sound like a broken record but the LH components are going to be the most important aspect of medium swing tempos and up. 

The slow swing style integrates the LH components but also combines some stride aspects along with pedal and space. We’ll check all of this out in this step. 

Ballads are always fun because of the slow tempo. They give us the time to grab harmonies we want and create movements with intention. 

The swing ballad is different then the other styles we’ve looked at. This will take on more of a “cocktail” atmosphere and sound. 

The fast tempo is all about playing what’s necessary to reflect harmony while holding the tempo. And believe it or not…it doesn’t require that much. 

In this first step, we’ll talk about some basic concepts that are needed for accompaniment during improvisation. 

Accompanying yourself during a ballad usually takes on more of a stride approach in order to capture the bass notes and chords. In this step, we’ll take a look at what needs to be done

The slow swing style is one of those in betweeners that can take on a lot of different options. Let’s check it out! 

Improvisation accompaniment at medium swing tempos will utilize everything we’ve worked on in the previous lessons. Lots of the same strategies. 

Obviously, with the fast tempos, it’s going to be more challenging to offer your RH improv support but these tips should help you immensely. 

“Just Friends” is a great slow swinger to work on your solo piano skills. There are lots of gaps to fill and it also gives you time to play what you intended.

“There Will Never Be Another You” is a great medium swinger. LH solo piano components are in full effect here and you’re sure to learn a lot.

The tune “Stella By Starlight” is a classic that is played in many ways. I chose to go with medium swing here, although you can play it as a ballad too. Great things to learn in this analysis!

“All Of Me” is a fantastic medium swing jazz standard that makes for a great solo piano analysis. Lots of nuggets to be learned here!

“Billie’s Bounce” is a classic blues to learn from. If you’re looking to pick up some amazing blues solo piano strategies, this is the step for you.

This is one of my favorite ballads to play in a solo piano system because of the simplicity and beautiful melody.

This is a great tune to practice in the fast swing style. Be sure to focus on how and where I’m harmonizing the melody with my LH. Since everything is moving so fast, you really have to pick and choose your spots.