My Lesson Plans
COURSE
Date:
Cherie Chooljian’s Final Lesson Plan Part 1
Lesson Plan:
1. Solo Piano Development
Goal: Build expressive, full solo piano arrangements with balance and richness.
Step #1: Choose a tune and build it from the ground up
A. Harmonize every melody note that sits over a chord change
B. Use 45 note right-hand voicings
C. Left hand can use 1+7, stride, or root +10th.
Step #2: Explore both dense and sparse textures.
Step #3: Practice very slowly.
A. Pedaling
B. Voicing Clarity
C. Time and Space
Step #4: Sing the melody as you play to internalize phrasing and emotion.
*Repertoire Suggestions:
– The Nearness of You
– My Foolish Heart
– Darn that Dream
– Embraceable You
– You Must Believe in Spring
– Any Ballad At All
2. Improvisation Language
Goal: Expand your vocabulary and integrate it smoothly into your solos.
Step #1: Keep practicing
A. All bebop combinations
B. Chord tone half step below scale tone above
C. Triplet Skips (1357, 3579,)
Step #2: Practice these tools through 2-5-1 progressions in all keys. 5-1 and 2-5.
– Be mindful of:
A. Starting phrases on different beats
B. Playing over bar lines
C. Leaving space and breathing
*Improv Challenge Prompt Examples:
– Solo using only chord tones
– Solo with only triplets
– Solo using just one rhythmic motif for 8 bars
– Solo without playing on beat 1
3. Tune Integration
Goal: Connect your skills to full tunes in real time.
Step #1: Use iReal Pro to practice improvising
A. No left hand
B. Slow tempos first, then increase gradually.
– Focus on:
A. Swing feel
B. Pacing and Phrasing
C. Lyrical ideas over long sections
Step #2: Try different tunes each month and revisit old ones to stay fresh.
*Tunes Rotations Ideas:
– Four
– This I Dig of You
– All The Things You Are
– There Will Never Be Another You
– I Thought About You
4. Transcription & Listening
Goal: Internalize great phrasing and feel from masters.
Step #1: Transcribe 8-16 bars from solos you love
A. Focus on vocalists and lyrical pianists
B. Absorb their phrasing, tone, and rhythm.
Step # 2: Play it back, then try incorporating one idea into your own soloing.
* Transcription Targets:
– Sarah Vaughan
– Nat King Cole
– Wynton Kelly
– Red Garland
– Bill Evans
*Recommended Listening:
These albums will deepen your feel for lyrical ballads, bebop phrasing, and solo piano form:
– Wynton Kelly *Kelly Blue* (swing feel, motivic soloing).
– Marian McPartland *Portrait of Marian McPartland* (solo piano texture)
– Bill Evans *You Must Believe in Spring* (emotional time + space)
– Chet Baker *It Could Happen to You* (melodic improvisation)
– Hank Jones *For My Father* (swing + ballads, balanced articulation)