My Lesson Plans
COURSE
Date:
Ron Iannazzi’s Final Lesson Plan
Lesson Plan:
1. Harmonization & Solo Piano
Over the last phase of your studies, you’ve developed a strong touch and a deep sensitivity to solo piano harmony. This ongoing lesson plan will help you keep progressing with clarity and creativity no matter what pace you follow. Use it as a flexible guide to grow your voicings, arrangement skills, and musicality.
Goal: Create full, expressive solo piano arrangements with balance and richness aiming for 4-5 note RH voicings always in a block chord style but played only one with the melody under chord change.
Step #1: Practice spreading right-hand voicings in octaves while filling in middle to include 9ths, 11ths, and 13ths when possible.
Step #2: LH shoot for 1&10 or 1&7. Keep hand LOW and jump to bass notes.
Step #3: When RH moves up above middle G, use tenths in the LH and create big spreads with block chords, not broken until fully controlled.
Step #4: Try separating the voicing and melody during practice: Meaning comp through the tunes first without melody.
A. Play the voicing first, then the melody alone.
Step #5: Practice intros and endings for each tune (48 bars).
Step #6: Focus on calmness, rubato feel, and dynamic contrast.
*Recommended Tunes:
– In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning
– Come Rain or Come Shine
– Blame It On My Youth
– I’ll Be Seeing You
– A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square
2. Improvisation
Goal: Develop comfort soloing over LH rootless voicings.
Step #1: Practice playing LH rootless voicings around or above middle C alone with ireal pro or metronome.
Step #2: RH improvises slowly, using simple phrases and space.
Step #3: Bebop approaches are a must for you. Continue to work on 2-3 note bebop approaches that should be used every measure to get into chord changes.
Step #4: Your rhythm is great. You don’t need work there. You need more RH improv language. Play transcriptions of artists and practice bebop approaches and lines they use.
Step #5: Record and listen back to balance, space, and swing feel.
*Challenge:
A. Solo with no LH just RH
B. Solo with RH, let LH comp
C. Use iRealPro and rotate tempos: 86, 110, 160 bpm
3. Arrangement & Tune Integration
Goal: Play full arrangements in TIME, with strong left-hand support and tempo.
Step #1: Use broken stride or 1 & 7/10 in LH depending on tempo and register.
Step #2: Keep RH melody on top and harmonize under it. Pinky should hold the melody.
Step #3: Focus on voicing density in RH when melody is above the chord.
Step #4: Alternate between rubato and in-time versions to strengthen flexibility.
Step #5: Apply to 2-3 favorite tunes at a time, rotating every few weeks.
Step #6: Use metronome to test consistency:
A. Ballads: steady quarter note pulse
B.Swing: lock in LH stride or 1&7 with the beat.
Step #7: Be able to keep time without a backing track or iRealPro as well.
4. Musicality & Expression
Goal: Build emotional depth and nuance .
Step #1: Prioritize serenity and softness in ballads
Step #2: Think like a singer: sustain lines, use breath, and shape phrases.
Step #3: Use slower tempos to refine pedaling and tone.
Step #4: Leave space between phrases. Silence is part of the music.
Step #5: Try recording 1-minute takes of a tune weekly and listening for feel.
*Recommended Listening:
These recordings emphasize elegant solo piano playing, voicing choices, and time control in ballads:
– Tommy Flanagan *Alone Too Long* (ballad voicings)
– Hank Jones *Tiptoe Tapdance* (solo piano articulation)
– Bill Charlap *All Through the Night* (classic tunes, balance).
– Gene Harris *It’s the Real Soul* (souful comping and melody)
– Bill Evans *Sunday at the Village Vanguard* (sensitivity & phrasing)
*Final Encouragement*
Keep things simple. Trust your ear. The elegance and clarity you’re aiming for comes from consistent, intentional repetition. Let each tune teach you something new. You’re already playing with great heart, now keep polishing the details.
*Sample Weekly Practice Structure
Weekly Rotation:
Mon: Harmonization Rolls
Tues: Ballad Solo Piano
Wed: LH Rootless + RH Improv
Thurs: Any swing standard
Fri: Voicing clarity + comping balance
Sat: Tune arrangement development
Sun: Listening, review, polish.
* Sample Daily Practice:
– 10 min Warm-up:
A. LH 1+7 or 1+10 + RH voicings (extensions) through circle of 4ths.
– 20 min Core:
A. Solo piano ballad with metronome ‘ at 60 bpm)
B. RH melody with voicings, LH stride or tenths.
C. Focus on clarity, time feel, and pedaling.
– 20 min Drill:
A. Practice same tune with LH only, RH only, then together
B. Work on independence and spacing
– 10 min Review:
A. Record a short take
B. Assess the evenness of time and voicing thickness.