Piano Technique

Piano inversion practice made musical: three drills to change any major or minor chord on time, with Jason Zac of Nathaniel School of Music. There are just 12 major and 12 minor chords. Master shifting between them with inversions and your creative brain is free for rhythm, melody and improvisation. In this lesson you learn three ways to shift chords — on time, and musically. Method 1 · The chord tree: take one note (F) and play the six major and minor chords that contain it — F, B♭, D♭, D minor, B♭ minor, F minor — with F on the bottom, in the middle and on top. Then go from four beats a chord to two, to one; sing the roots; hit and jump; and finally play with your eyes closed. Method 2 · Cadences: toggle 1 and 5 (the authentic, or perfect, cadence) and 1 and 4 (the plagal, or Amen, cadence) in C — major to major, major to minor, minor to minor and minor to major. Method 3 · Intervals: from C, go up an interval and back, then down the same interval and back — minor 2nd to major 7th, plus the tritone — keeping the notes the two chords share. 🏫 Courses, Workshops or Private lessons ➡️ https://forms.gle/fsbhFKSgJbZ5xZEr8 📹 Everything for Life Bundle ➡️ https://learn-music.nathanielschool.com/ 🎹 Piano Courses ➡️ https://piano.nathanielschool.com ▶️ Related lessons & playlists Piano Chord Voicings & Inversions (playlist) ➡️ https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT9ygtrGwGFmfyvMyGWH52EC Learn All 72 Piano Chord Inversions With ONE Exercise ➡️ https://youtu.be/w1SwhiI__Mo Find Every Chord That Fits Any Melody Note ➡️ https://youtu.be/JDkJp2Y0n48 10 Rhythm Patterns That Make Chord Inversions Easy ➡️ https://youtu.be/DjPqzQqe_NY 🌳 Free Chord Trees app ➡️ https://chord-trees.nathanielschool.com 🎓 https://nathanielschool.com 📚 Free tutorials library — search "inversions" ➡️ https://free-music-lessons.nathanielschool.com ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 Performance 00:11 Three ways to shift chords on time 02:27 Method 1: The chord tree — one note, six chords 04:43 F on the bottom — all six chords 07:03 F in the middle — 4, 2, then 1 beat 08:09 Sing the roots 08:45 F on top 09:10 Level up: pedal, hit and jump, eyes closed 11:20 Method 2: Cadences — authentic and plagal 14:34 Method 3: Intervals up and down 17:02 Thirds — the note that stays 19:12 Perfect 4th, 5th and the tritone 20:08 The flips — 5ths, 6ths and 7ths 21:26 Recap — three ways to master chord changes 💰 PayPal ➡️ https://geni.us/DonatePayPal 📸 Instagram ➡️ https://instagram.com/jasonzac 💬 WhatsApp ➡️ +91 77604 56847 ✉️ music@nathanielschool.com #PianoLessons #PianoTutorial #MusicTheory #ChordInversions

Topics:

Every seventh and ninth chord from one idea: keep the root in the left hand, go up a major or minor third, and play a triad or a seventh chord on top. Piano lesson with Jason Zac of Nathaniel School of Music. Major 7th = a minor triad a major third up (B minor over G). Dominant 7th = a diminished triad a major third up — and the whole blues (G7, C7, D7). Minor 7th = a major triad a minor third up. Then minor-major 7th, augmented, half-diminished and diminished. Ninths: a seventh chord a third up (B minor 7 over G = Gmaj9, B♭maj7 over G = Gm9). Dominant colours: G9, G7♭9, G7♯9. Beyond thirds: G6/9 and G13 from fourths. 🏫 Courses, Workshops or Private lessons ➡️ https://forms.gle/fsbhFKSgJbZ5xZEr8 📹 Everything for Life Bundle ➡️ https://learn-music.nathanielschool.com/ 🎹 Piano Courses ➡️ https://piano.nathanielschool.com ▶️ Related lessons Use SIMPLE Triads to Play COMPLEX Piano Chords: Jazz Extensions ➡️ https://youtu.be/sd7i44NVY3c Use SIMPLE Triads to Play COMPLEX Piano Chords: 7th Chords ➡️ https://youtu.be/1G6uZ0QRKN0 How to Play 9, 11 and 13 Chords on Piano ➡️ https://youtu.be/cX3wMi2jIA0 Quartal Voicings on Piano ➡️ https://youtu.be/S-_VtUP-Frc 🎓 https://nathanielschool.com 📚 Free tutorials library ➡️ https://free-music-lessons.nathanielschool.com ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 Opening performance 02:09 Major 7th 06:07 Dominant 7th 07:17 The blues ecosystem 09:21 Minor 7th 11:10 Minor-major 7th and augmented 11:51 Half-diminished and diminished 13:16 Ninths 14:23 Minor 9 and minor 11 15:24 Dominant colours 16:30 Beyond thirds - 4ths 18:09 The recipe 💰 PayPal ➡️ https://geni.us/DonatePayPal 📸 Instagram ➡️ https://instagram.com/jasonzac 💬 WhatsApp ➡️ +91 77604 56847 ✉️ music@nathanielschool.com #PianoLessons #PianoTutorial #MusicTheory #JazzPiano

Topics:

Play the chord and the melody with one hand: hold a triad, move only the top note a step above or a half step below, and come home. Piano lesson with Jason Zac of Nathaniel School of Music. We start on G major. The top note of a chord is the one the ear follows, so it becomes the melody. Step above in the scale, or slip a half step below — the half step below is a leading tone and pulls you back in; the half step above borrows the flat 6 from G minor and changes the colour. Then every inversion, both neighbours together, what the left hand does, a real song (London Bridge), all seven chords of G major, and rhythm in quavers, triplets and semiquavers. 🌳 Chord Trees (free) — melodies over any chords, with neighbour, enclosure and chromatic-approach ideas ➡️ https://chord-trees.nathanielschool.com/melody 🏫 Courses, Workshops or Private lessons ➡️ https://forms.gle/fsbhFKSgJbZ5xZEr8 📹 Everything for Life Bundle ➡️ https://learn-music.nathanielschool.com/ 🎹 Piano Courses ➡️ https://piano.nathanielschool.com ▶️ Related lessons Play Melody AND Chords in ONE Hand ➡️ https://youtu.be/uPi_uX1Y8GM How to Write a Melody on Piano Using Chord Tones ➡️ https://youtu.be/M6iwapB1iuA Compose & Improvise Better Melodies Using Scale & Chord Tones ➡️ https://youtu.be/h2K0ZqkZViw Iconic Melodic Phrases on Piano Using Chord Inversions ➡️ https://youtu.be/ws36zlXGmJQ 🎓 https://nathanielschool.com 📚 Free tutorials library ➡️ https://free-music-lessons.nathanielschool.com ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 Neighbour notes on one chord 00:27 Two jobs in one hand 01:00 The top note leads the melody 02:05 Upstairs and downstairs 03:35 G major and its three shapes 04:38 One step up: Pa Dha Pa 05:08 One step down, and the chromatic pull 06:19 First inversion: Sa Ni Sa 06:52 Second inversion 07:15 Both neighbours, with a groove 08:17 What the left hand does 08:47 Up and down in one figure 09:28 Real songs: London Bridge 09:47 Writing melodies that land on chord tones 10:23 Chord Trees: melodies over any chords 11:19 The seven chords of G major 12:28 Every chord in every inversion 13:13 The full drill on all seven chords 14:13 Rhythm in quavers 15:46 Rhythm in triplets 16:48 Rhythm in semiquavers 17:20 Practice material and wrap-up 💰 PayPal ➡️ https://geni.us/DonatePayPal 📸 Instagram ➡️ https://instagram.com/jasonzac 💬 WhatsApp ➡️ +91 77604 56847 ✉️ music@nathanielschool.com #PianoLessons #PianoTutorial #MusicTheory #PassingTones

Topics:

Learn Dolly Parton's Here You Come Again on piano — the intro riff, the bass line, every chord, and both key changes, from F# to G to Ab. This sounds like a simple pop song. It isn't. Most of the chords are sevenths, ninths and elevenths, and the whole song goes up a semitone — twice. So if you want to learn 2-5-1 progressions, slash chords and modulation from one song, this is a good one. We start with the intro riff. Your right hand holds an F# major chord and the thumb walks down — F#, F, Eb. Underneath, the left hand plays octaves: F#, Ab, Bb, B. The Ab isn't a chord. It's just the step that gets you to the Bb. The verse uses the same chords without the passing notes, then moves to Ebm7 and Abm7 — with the 7th in the bass — and two climbs over C#. The chorus is a 2-5-1 in A: Bm7, D/E, Amaj7, then G/A, the gospel 11th. Look at Bm7 and D/E. Your right hand doesn't move a single finger. Only the bass steps from B to E. That's the slash-chord rule — what's on the left of the slash goes in your right hand, the note on the right goes in your left. So Bm7 is really just D major over B. Then the song goes up to G, and up again to Ab for the outro. Nothing new to learn — the same shapes, a semitone higher. The one thing to watch: in G, the chorus starts on C minor instead of B minor. And if the licks aren't coming yet, just play through the chords. Here You Come Again was written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, and recorded by Dolly Parton in 1977. 🏫 Courses, Workshops or Private lessons ➡️ https://forms.gle/fsbhFKSgJbZ5xZEr8 📹 Everything for Life Bundle ➡️ https://learn-music.nathanielschool.com/ 🎹 Piano Courses ➡️ https://piano.nathanielschool.com 📺 RELATED LESSONS How to Play Slash Chords With Purpose on Piano (5 Pro Ways) ➡️ https://youtu.be/4LtOItbMiW0 Slash Chords vs Inversions on Piano ➡️ https://youtu.be/UhO-cWQLC-k Use SIMPLE Triads to Play COMPLEX Piano Chords: 7th Chords (Part 1) ➡️ https://youtu.be/1G6uZ0QRKN0 The 2-5-1 Jazz Piano Chord Progression Explained ➡️ https://youtu.be/SAOjr5ejxbs How to Read Chord Charts Like a Pro Musician ➡️ https://youtu.be/4qHUtgJ7XoE 🎓 https://nathanielschool.com 📚 All 1000+ free lessons ➡️ https://free-music-lessons.nathanielschool.com ⏱ CHAPTERS 00:00 - Here You Come Again — performance 00:52 - Why this song: Dolly Parton’s scale changes 02:43 - F# major: six sharps, and one is E# 02:56 - The intro chord: F#, F#maj7/Bb, Bmaj9 03:35 - The intro in three levels 04:56 - Octaves: hold the hand like a divider 05:28 - The bass lick: C#, Eb, Ab, Eb, F# 06:32 - The whole intro, slowly 07:11 - The verse 07:43 - Ebm7, Abm7 and the lick 08:11 - B over C# and the first climb 09:08 - Verse 2 and the second climb 10:04 - The chorus: a 2-5-1 into A 11:14 - Into E major: slash chords galore 11:54 - F#7, A over B, and the whole chorus 12:34 - Up to G: the guitar part 13:38 - Em7, Am7 and C over D 14:03 - The guitar solo on piano 14:58 - The chorus in G 15:47 - C over Bb into Ab: the outro 16:54 - Wrap-up 💛 Support these free lessons (PayPal) ➡️ https://geni.us/DonatePayPal 📸 Instagram ➡️ https://instagram.com/jasonzac 💬 WhatsApp ➡️ +91 77604 56847 · https://wa.me/917760456847 📧 music@nathanielschool.com #PianoLessons #PianoTutorial #MusicTheory #DollyParton

Topics:

Tritone substitution explained on the piano: one two-note shell voicing plays two dominant seventh chords. Keep F♯ and C in your right hand, move only the bass from D to A♭, and D7 becomes A♭7 — the jazz chord substitution behind countless ii–V–I progressions. In this lesson you start with a ii–V–I in C and hear what happens when D♭7 takes the place of G7. Then you build the shell voicing on D7 — the root and 5th in the left hand, the 3rd and ♭7 in the right — and see why those two notes are a tritone apart, whichever way round you play them. That is the whole trick: keep the same shell, change the bass, and the 3rd and ♭7 simply swap jobs. You practise it with a Charleston rhythm (then displaced), learn why it works for dominant 7th chords, and walk through all six shapes that cover the twelve dominants — with a tip for bass players on using the tritone as an ornament. To finish, you play the ii–V–I in G with A♭7 in place of D7. 🎹 Practise the tritone sub free in the Jazz Harmony Lab: https://jazz.nathanielschool.com/#tritone-sub 🏫 Courses, Workshops or Private lessons ➡️ https://forms.gle/fsbhFKSgJbZ5xZEr8 📹 Everything for Life Bundle ➡️ https://learn-music.nathanielschool.com/ 🎹 Piano Courses ➡️ https://piano.nathanielschool.com ▶ Related lessons • Shell Voicings on Piano: Why C7 and F#7 Are the Same Two Keys: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxnZBXL-1PA • Jazz Piano Chords: The Voicing Exercise That Teaches Every 7th Chord and Its Tritone Sub: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHLV3iA-56s • Reharmonize Hallelujah on Piano: Secondary Dominants & Tritone Subs (Part 3): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLWdZDcQugs • Beyond V–I: 8 Piano Cadences That Change How Music Ends: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9Zdkdxd_HY • Free practice apps: https://apps.nathanielschool.com 🎓 https://nathanielschool.com 📚 All 1000+ lessons ➡️ https://learning-portal.nathanielschool.com ⏱ CHAPTERS 00:00 - What is tritone substitution? One shape, two dominant chords 01:30 - The ii–V–I in C, and the D♭7 swap 02:24 - Shell voicings: building D7 03:25 - The 3rd and ♭7 are a tritone 03:44 - Same shell, new bass: D7 becomes A♭7 04:43 - The tritone workout: the Charleston rhythm 05:25 - Why it works: the 3rd and ♭7 swap jobs 05:58 - Six shapes for all twelve dominant chords 07:43 - The ii–V–I in G with the tritone sub 08:49 - More lessons: modulation and reharmonisation 09:25 - Recap 💛 PayPal: https://geni.us/DonatePayPal 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jasonzac 💬 WhatsApp: +91 77604 56847 📧 music@nathanielschool.com #PianoLessons #PianoTutorial #MusicTheory #JazzChords

Topics:

How to play piano fills between chords — octave licks over modern pop voicings, in one two-bar exercise you can take to any key. Three rich chords in the right hand — Dmaj9, F♯m7(11) and E(add4) in A major — octaves in the left, and two beats at the end of the loop for a fill in octaves. You'll learn four octave licks, a triplet fill and a semiquaver fill, B minor as a filler chord, a second F♯ minor shape, and a voicing template that moves the whole exercise to A♭ major and any other key. 🏫 Courses, Workshops or Private lessons ➡️ https://forms.gle/fsbhFKSgJbZ5xZEr8 📹 Our Video Courses (Everything for Life Bundle) ➡️ https://learn-music.nathanielschool.com/ 🎹 Piano Courses & Private Lessons ➡️ https://piano.nathanielschool.com 🎛️ FREE PRACTICE TOOLS — no signup Runway — build fills, licks and runs over a chord ➡️ https://runway.nathanielschool.com Metronome with swing, triplets and semiquavers ➡️ https://metronome.nathanielschool.com ▶️ Related Lessons 🎹 Stop Playing 1-5-8 In Your Left Hand (Pop Piano) ➡️ https://youtu.be/XWGhJMxhcE4 🎹 5 Fancy Piano Chord Hacks to Transform a Simple Triad ➡️ https://youtu.be/qTkiqeE2jw0 🎓 Learn Music with Nathaniel School of Music & Jason Zac ➡️ https://nathanielschool.com 📚 All our YouTube lessons (1000+) by skill level, topic & genre ➡️ https://learning-portal.nathanielschool.com 🆓 Free tutorials website — every lesson sorted by topic and level ➡️ https://free-music-lessons.nathanielschool.com ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 Performance: modern pop voicings with octave fills 01:14 Welcome: a full workout — voicings, octaves, time feels 03:05 The chords in A major: D, F♯m, E 04:10 Left hand: the root and the octave 04:43 The E chord is a placeholder for the filler 05:23 Swap in B minor: a ii–V to E 05:40 Right hand: Dmaj9 voicing (5 7 9 3) 06:04 F♯m7(11): A B E A under one thumb 07:04 E(add4): A B E G♯ 08:31 Bm7 as a filler chord on beat 3 09:15 Ghost notes and swing in the left hand 10:13 The simple three-note version 11:22 Octave fills: Lick 1 (A B A E → F♯) 12:18 Lick 2 and Lick 3, with the pedal 13:30 Recovery: land back on beat 1 14:08 The new lick 14:23 Dotted notes, triplets and semiquavers 15:45 Lick 4: A B C♯ G♯ → F♯ 15:57 Put it all together 16:27 Recap and the alternate F♯m shape 17:31 Play the whole etude again 18:29 Voicing templates: key numbers vs chord numbers 20:14 Transpose to A♭ major 21:07 A♭ improvisation with octave fills 21:43 Practice it in all 12 keys 💰 Donate on PayPal ➡️ https://geni.us/DonatePayPal 📸 Instagram ➡️ https://instagram.com/jasonzac · the school ➡️ https://instagram.com/nathanielschool 📞 +91 77604 56847 (Mobile & WhatsApp) 📧 Customised & Private Lessons ➡️ music@nathanielschool.com #PianoLessons #PianoTutorial #MusicTheory #PianoFills

Topics:

Piano left hand patterns that actually sound modern — swap the root-5-octave for 9ths and 10ths, and put two cluster shapes in the right hand. Full play-along lesson in E flat major. There's an app with playback so you can keep practising long after the video is over — you don't need to come back to this video at all. When students send me demo or audition material for the intermediate courses at our school, the left hand is almost always the same thing: root, five, octave. It's a decent pattern. It grooves. But it adds no harmonic flavour, because you're still just playing one, five and one. So in this lesson we fix exactly that. The left hand moves to open 9th voicings — a perfect fifth, then another perfect fifth, with no third in it at all — on A flat, B flat and C minor. Then the chord you land on takes a 10th instead: G minor, or E flat major if you want a happier ending. In the right hand there are two shapes, and each one grows from three notes to four to five. Shape one is D, E flat, B flat. Shape two is F, B flat, D. Over an A flat chord those notes become the 13th, the 9th and the sharp 11 — which is where the colour comes from. We cover the pedal, the dynamics, and how to count the semiquavers. 🎹 LEARN WITH US — https://nathanielschool.com Online piano and music theory, beginner to advanced. 📚 EVERYTHING FOR LIFE — https://learn-music.nathanielschool.com Our full video course bundle. 🆓 A THOUSAND FREE LESSONS — https://free-music-lessons.nathanielschool.com Sorted by topic, so you can go straight to what you're stuck on. CHAPTERS 00:00 - Performance 00:32 - Introduction & Soulful Pop Piano Preview 🎹 00:58 - Why Lower-Register Chords Sound Muddy 02:07 - Moving Beyond Root-Fifth-Octave 02:46 - Setting Up the Key of E Flat Major 03:40 - E Flat Major and Its Relative Minor 04:53 - Left-Hand Open Ninth Voicings 05:59 - The Four-Chord Progression 07:33 - Alternating G Minor and E Flat Major 08:04 - Pedalling Across Wide Intervals 🦶 08:36 - Reviewing the Left-Hand Progression 08:49 - Arpeggiating Right-Hand Shape 1 09:51 - Semiquavers Against Left-Hand Gaps 10:40 - Exploring Right-Hand Shape 2 11:34 - Using Dynamics to Shape Arpeggios 12:13 - Adding C to Shape 1 13:27 - Adding E Flat to Shape 2 14:15 - Alternative Four-Note Combinations 14:46 - Adding F or G to the Middle Voice 15:32 - Copying the Root at the Octave ☕ SUPPORT — https://www.paypal.me/jasonzac 📸 INSTAGRAM — https://www.instagram.com/nathanielschoolofmusic 💬 WHATSAPP — +91 96323 33288 ✉️ music@nathanielschool.com #LeftHandPiano #PopPiano #PianoVoicings

Topics:

Full lesson: https://youtu.be/w1SwhiI__Mo Every major and minor chord, every inversion — 72 shapes — from one note. Keep D where it is, play the six chords that contain it (bottom, top, middle), then do the same on its tritone, A♭. Not one chord repeats. 36 of the 72 already, and the rest gets exponentially easier. 🌳 Chord Trees — every chord that has your note in it, free: https://chord-trees.nathanielschool.com 🎹 LEARN WITH US — live online lessons, Bangalore centres: https://nathanielschool.com 🛠 25+ free practice tools: https://apps.nathanielschool.com 💛 Support: https://geni.us/DonatePayPal · UPI jasonzac-1@okhdfcbank 📩 WhatsApp https://wa.me/917760456847 · Instagram https://instagram.com/jasonzac #Shorts #PianoChords #ChordInversions #PianoLessons #MusicTheory

Topics:

The third and the seventh are all you need. In this jazz piano tutorial we build the shell voicing for a dominant 7th chord, discover that those two notes are a tritone — so the same two keys give you TWO chords — and take the whole thing round the circle of fifths with the Charleston rhythm. Most of us learn chords the regular way — all four notes, every inversion. Here we do the opposite. A shell is a smaller set of notes: you keep the ones that matter and leave the rest out. For a dominant 7th that is the 3rd and the flat 7th. The bass player has the root, and the fifth does nothing. C7 is C E G Bb. Drop the C and the G and you are left with E and Bb — and those two notes are a tritone, the one interval that turns into itself when you flip it. So the same two keys are also the 3rd and the flat 7th of F#7. Twelve dominant 7th chords collapse into six tritone pairs, and we practise them as pairs, counter-clockwise round the circle of fifths, with the two shells 3–b7 and b7–3 sliding down chromatically while the left hand takes the roots. Then the groove. Once the shell is in your hand the tensions are one step away — b9, 9, #9, even a #5 — and you can play licks over it (you will hear where I stole one from). We put the Charleston rhythm on the shell, then the displaced Charleston, then both at once, and finish with a hand-independence ladder: the left hand holds the Charleston while the right climbs from semibreves to minims to crotchets to the 2 and the 4 — plus the cascade, and the snaps and claps that take your hands off the keys and teach you to come back in. Get your keyboard out and play along. Every exercise transfers to any key. 🎹 LEARN WITH US Live online lessons, Bangalore centres and the Everything For Life bundle: https://nathanielschool.com Piano, guitar or vocals, any level — message us on WhatsApp and our course advisor will get back to you: https://wa.me/917760456847 ▶️ WATCH NEXT 🎹 Jazz Piano Chords: The Voicing Exercise That Teaches Every 7th Chord and Its Tritone Sub — https://youtu.be/sHLV3iA-56s 🎹 10 Piano Exercises on ONE Chord (E7) — Dominant Seventh Chords Explained — https://youtu.be/22fTJTAE9WI 🎶 The Subdivision Exercise That Makes One Chord Groove — https://youtu.be/v2wMT78ZAlg 🗂️ Chord Voicing & Inversions — https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT9ygtrGwGFmfyvMyGWH52EC 📚 Making Chord Practice FUN with Circle of Fifths — https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT-D6G1jDe18TFflopjjnxRG 🎶 Hand Independence — https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT-On4vodpAoZqTlWDCS5jv7 🛠 FREE PRACTICE TOOLS The Jazz Harmony Lab — dominant cycles, ii–V–I and altered voicings, free in the browser: https://jazz.nathanielschool.com Master Key — the diminished seventh laboratory, for dominant 7ths and tritone substitution: https://masterkey.nathanielschool.com Groove Metronome — for the Charleston and the displaced Charleston: https://metronome.nathanielschool.com 25+ free browser tools for rhythm, chords, inversions, notation and ear training: https://apps.nathanielschool.com 📚 All our YouTube lessons (1000+) sorted by level, topic and genre: https://free-music-lessons.nathanielschool.com ⏱ CHAPTERS 00:00 The regular way: four notes, four inversions 01:14 What a shell is 02:04 The dominant 7th: 1, 3, 5, flat 7 03:20 Why shells: pick and choose 04:41 Building the C7 shell 05:40 The 3rd and the flat 7th are a tritone 06:46 The first drill: semibreves over minims 07:15 Two shells: 3–b7 and b7–3 08:13 One shell, two chords: C7 = F#7 09:15 The six tritone pairs 10:40 Round the circle of fifths, counter-clockwise 12:58 Improvising on the shell 13:21 One step away: b9, 9, #9 and #5 15:04 Licks on the shell 16:01 The Charleston rhythm 16:54 The other Charleston: displaced 17:15 Both Charlestons together 18:27 The ladder: left hand holds, right hand climbs 19:33 The goal: right hand on the 2 and the 4 20:58 The cascade 22:15 Snap on the 2 and the 4 23:27 Clap at the four, then recover 24:46 In a nutshell 25:21 The app, the notes and the study guide 25:55 Thanks for watching 💛 SUPPORT THESE FREE LESSONS PayPal: https://paypal.me/jasonzac?locale.x=en_GB&country.x=IN UPI: jasonzac-1@okhdfcbank (Jason Zac) 📩 TALK TO US WhatsApp: https://wa.me/917760456847 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jasonzac · https://instagram.com/nathanielschool #ShellVoicings #TritoneSubstitution #JazzPiano

Topics:

Shell voicings are the two notes that actually describe a chord — the 3rd and the 7th — and in this jazz piano tutorial we run them through one long 2-5-1 chord progression until every 7th chord type and its tritone substitute is under your hands. The right hand plays two notes and nothing else. The left hand takes the root and the fifth. That split is how most working pianists actually voice a 7th chord, and it leaves your right hand free to improvise. The progression is deliberately long: Am7, D7, Gmaj7, Cmaj7, F#m7b5, B7, Em7, E7 — a major 2-5-1 running straight into the relative minor's 2-5-1, then a secondary dominant to send you round again. Every chord falls a fifth, so one finger stays put and the other steps down a semitone or a tone. Play it twice and you will have played both arrangements of all eight chords — the complete shell vocabulary of the key — because the hand keeps descending into the other shape by itself. Then we add the things that make it music: singing the roots, the chord names and the shells; five rhythms including the Charleston and its displaced cousin; and tritone substitution, where the same right-hand shape serves two different dominants because the 7th of one is the 3rd of the other. 📘 STUDY GUIDE + PRACTICE APP The Companion has the whole exercise notated, the crown-note table, the five rhythm grids and a practice log for all twelve keys. The practice app plays it back at any tempo with a metronome, in every key, with the regular dominants or the tritone substitutions. 🎹 LEARN WITH US Live online lessons, Bangalore centres and the Everything For Life bundle: https://nathanielschool.com Piano, guitar or vocals, any level — message us on WhatsApp and our course advisor will get back to you: https://wa.me/917760456847 🛠 FREE PRACTICE TOOLS The Jazz Harmony Lab — major and minor ii–V–I, dominant cycles and altered voicings, free in the browser: https://jazz.nathanielschool.com Master Key — the diminished seventh laboratory, for dominant 7ths and tritone substitution: https://masterkey.nathanielschool.com Groove Metronome — for the Charleston and the five rhythms in this lesson: https://metronome.nathanielschool.com 25+ free browser tools for rhythm, chords, inversions, notation and ear training: https://apps.nathanielschool.com ⏱ CHAPTERS 00:00 Performance 00:10 The Eight-Chord Practice Progression 00:56 G Major and E Minor Key Signature 02:44 Right-Hand Shells and Left-Hand Support 04:17 Building an Am7 Open Voicing 04:38 Building a D7 Open Voicing 05:58 Connecting Am7 to D7 06:20 Circle-of-Fifths Voice Leading 06:50 Major ii–V–I: Am7–D7–Gmaj7 09:08 Minor ii–V–i in E Minor 09:34 Lap 2: Switching to 7–3 Shapes 10:10 E7 as a Secondary Dominant 11:02 Lap 1: Descending 3–7 Shapes 11:39 Singing Chord Names and Chord Tones 12:39 Singing the Right-Hand Shells 13:03 Singing the Chord Roots 🎧 13:42 Writing and Visualising Inversions 14:09 One-Finger Common-Tone Exercise 15:49 Rhythm 1: Blocks and Alternating Fifths 16:07 Rhythm 2: Cascading the Chord Tones 17:06 Rhythm 3: Salsa-Like Syncopation 18:46 Charleston Rhythm Pattern 19:03 Swinging the Shell Voicings 20:17 Broken-Chord Ensemble Rhythm 21:56 Tritone Substitution Explained 24:50 Final Practice Plan 💛 SUPPORT THESE FREE LESSONS PayPal: https://paypal.me/jasonzac?locale.x=en_GB&country.x=IN UPI: jasonzac-1@okhdfcbank (Jason Zac) 📩 TALK TO US WhatsApp: https://wa.me/917760456847 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jasonzac · https://instagram.com/nathanielschool #ShellVoicings #TritoneSubstitution #JazzPiano

Topics:

Part 4 of our E7 piano workout series! Explore pyramid sets with accent groupings and the challenging 'crunch' exercise in contrary motion. 🎹 🎹 Take one chord and build ten gym-style piano workouts around it. In this practical lesson we use a single E7 (dominant seventh) chord and turn it into a full technique session that transfers to any chord you like. First we break down the E7 shape — root, major third, fifth and flat seventh — with sensible fingering for both hands and all four positions: root, first, second and third inversion. Then we run the ten drills: the inversion ladder, the siren, piano jumping jacks, the horn throw, the dead hang, the speed bag, the rope climb, the pyramid set, the crunch and a cool-down stretch. Along the way you'll practise arpeggios against block chords, alternating two-note patterns, tritone swaps between the third and flat seventh, finger-by-finger lifts, speed work with a bouncing wrist, hand-crossing and accent groupings in twos, threes, fives and sevens. This is for pianists who can build chords but want them to feel musical and coordinated. Get your piano out, start slow and try every workout on other chords around the circle of fifths — then tell us your favourite gesture for the horn throw in the comments. 🏫 Courses, Workshops or Private lessons ➡️ https://forms.gle/fsbhFKSgJbZ5xZEr8 ============================= 📹 Our Video Courses (Everything for Life Bundle) - https://learn-music.nathanielschool.com/ 🏡 Visit our Channel for more Tutorials & Performances - https://geni.us/NathanielYouTube ============================= ▶️ Related Videos & Playlists 📂 Improvise over ONE chord - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT9oizLJPiwwH_gvSH-IFu_V 📚 Making Chord Practice FUN with Circle of Fifths - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT-D6G1jDe18TFflopjjnxRG 🗂️ Chord Voicing & Inversions - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT9ygtrGwGFmfyvMyGWH52EC 📋 Arpeggios - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT-BCpTe-KKSdiKlAFMvYNsH 🎶 Hand Independence - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT-On4vodpAoZqTlWDCS5jv7 ============================= 🎓 Learn Music With Nathaniel School of Music & Jason Zac: https://nathanielschool.com 📚 All our YouTube lessons (1000+) categorised by skill level, topic & genre all in one place: https://free-music-lessons.nathanielschool.com 💰 Donate on PayPal: https://geni.us/DonatePayPal 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/jasonzac 📞 +917760456847 (Mobile & WhatsApp) 📧 Customised & Private Classes: music@nathanielschool.com 🎧 Listen to Jason Zac Music: https://riffs.jasonzacmusic.com/ #PianoLessons #PianoTutorial #MusicTheory #PianoChords #ChordInversions #PianoPractice

Topics:

Part 3 of our Piano Gym series! We tackle the Speed Bag drill (eighth notes, triplets, semiquavers on E7♯) and the Rope Climb pattern. Practice along and level up your chord fluency. Watch part 4 for the pyramid sets breakdown! 🎹 Take one chord and build ten gym-style piano workouts around it. In this practical lesson we use a single E7 (dominant seventh) chord and turn it into a full technique session that transfers to any chord you like. First we break down the E7 shape — root, major third, fifth and flat seventh — with sensible fingering for both hands and all four positions: root, first, second and third inversion. Then we run the ten drills: the inversion ladder, the siren, piano jumping jacks, the horn throw, the dead hang, the speed bag, the rope climb, the pyramid set, the crunch and a cool-down stretch. Along the way you'll practise arpeggios against block chords, alternating two-note patterns, tritone swaps between the third and flat seventh, finger-by-finger lifts, speed work with a bouncing wrist, hand-crossing and accent groupings in twos, threes, fives and sevens. This is for pianists who can build chords but want them to feel musical and coordinated. Get your piano out, start slow and try every workout on other chords around the circle of fifths — then tell us your favourite gesture for the horn throw in the comments. 🏫 Courses, Workshops or Private lessons ➡️ https://forms.gle/fsbhFKSgJbZ5xZEr8 ============================= 📹 Our Video Courses (Everything for Life Bundle) - https://learn-music.nathanielschool.com/ 🏡 Visit our Channel for more Tutorials & Performances - https://geni.us/NathanielYouTube ============================= ▶️ Related Videos & Playlists 📂 Improvise over ONE chord - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT9oizLJPiwwH_gvSH-IFu_V 📚 Making Chord Practice FUN with Circle of Fifths - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT-D6G1jDe18TFflopjjnxRG 🗂️ Chord Voicing & Inversions - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT9ygtrGwGFmfyvMyGWH52EC 📋 Arpeggios - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT-BCpTe-KKSdiKlAFMvYNsH 🎶 Hand Independence - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT-On4vodpAoZqTlWDCS5jv7 ============================= 🎓 Learn Music With Nathaniel School of Music & Jason Zac: https://nathanielschool.com 📚 All our YouTube lessons (1000+) categorised by skill level, topic & genre all in one place: https://free-music-lessons.nathanielschool.com 💰 Donate on PayPal: https://geni.us/DonatePayPal 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/jasonzac 📞 +917760456847 (Mobile & WhatsApp) 📧 Customised & Private Classes: music@nathanielschool.com 🎧 Listen to Jason Zac Music: https://riffs.jasonzacmusic.com/ #PianoLessons #PianoTutorial #MusicTheory #PianoChords #ChordInversions #PianoPractice

Topics:

Practice all 72 piano chord inversions — every major and minor triad, in every inversion — with one exercise. Piano chord inversions become automatic when you stop drilling them chord by chord and start anchoring one note. Here is the whole idea. There are 12 major chords and 12 minor chords — 24 chords, three positions each, so 72 shapes. Instead of learning them one at a time, take a single note like D and ask which triads contain it. A triad only has a root, a third and a fifth, so the answer is six chords: D is the root of D major and D minor, the fifth of G major and G minor, and the third of Bb major and B minor. Now keep D exactly where it is and play all six chords around it — first with D at the bottom, then on top, then in the middle. The note forces the right inversion on you every time, so you practise chord inversions without ever deciding which inversion to play. That is 18 shapes from one note. Put the roots in the left hand, try a carbon copy in both hands, run it in reverse, and sing the roots for ear training. Then the part that makes the whole thing finish: take the polar opposite of D — its tritone, Ab — and do the same six chords. Not one of them repeats. That is 36 of the 72 already, and from there every new anchor note repeats chords you own, so it gets exponentially faster. A week for the first 36, two days for the rest. This piano inversion practice is for players who know their basic chords but want inversions to feel natural in real music, not as an exercise. 🌳 Chord Trees - the free app I demo at 4:36. No signup, runs in your browser: https://chord-trees.nathanielschool.com Pick any note and it shows you the six triads that contain it, with every inversion laid out. 🏫 Courses, Workshops or Private lessons ➡️ https://forms.gle/fsbhFKSgJbZ5xZEr8 ============================= 📹 Our Video Courses (Everything for Life Bundle) - https://learn-music.nathanielschool.com/ 🏡 Visit our Channel for more Tutorials & Performances - https://geni.us/NathanielYouTube ============================= ▶️ Related Videos & Playlists 📂 Chord Voicing & Inversions - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT9ygtrGwGFmfyvMyGWH52EC 📚 Making Chord Practice FUN with Circle of Fifths - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT-D6G1jDe18TFflopjjnxRG 🗂️ Cadences & Chord Progressions - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT_sKjWd1c7K_S55cZ15jAKI 📋 Spread Chords (Open Voicing) - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT_K6G85ibBIRn4K63BDlbTE 🎶 Ear Training - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT-GHvpugWvYgEuLAL4f01ZK ============================= 🎓 Learn Music With Nathaniel School of Music & Jason Zac: https://nathanielschool.com 📚 All our YouTube lessons (1000+) categorised by skill level, topic & genre all in one place: https://free-music-lessons.nathanielschool.com ⏳ Chapter markers 00:00 - Performance 00:17 - Introduction: 72 Chord Shapes 🎹 00:31 - The Goal: Every Major & Minor Inversion 00:53 - Start With a Single Note (D) 01:04 - Which Triads Contain This Note? 01:14 - D as the Fifth: G Major & G Minor 01:43 - D as the Third: Bb Major & B Minor 02:11 - Working Out the Inversions 🔁 02:39 - Why Not Play Major to Minor First 02:49 - A Musical Order for the Six Chords 03:26 - Full Sweep With D at the Bottom 04:36 - Chord Trees App Overview 📱 06:21 - Anchoring the Note at the Bottom 06:31 - Carbon-Copy the Chords in the Left Hand 07:09 - Playing the Roots in the Left Hand 07:29 - Reverse Order Practice 07:46 - Anchoring the Note at the Top 07:58 - Choosing the Right Inversion Up Top 08:48 - Anchoring the Note in the Middle 09:06 - Recap: Bottom, Top & Middle Anchors 09:18 - How to Move Forward 10:29 - Taking It to All 72 Shapes 10:40 - Using the Tritone Anchor (D to Ab) 10:57 - Six Options for Ab / G# 12:18 - Getting to 36 Unique Shapes 12:39 - Any Tritone Pair Works 13:09 - Why the Rest Gets Exponentially Easier 13:58 - Applying This in Real Songs 14:08 - Study Guide & Chord Trees App 💰 Donate on PayPal: https://geni.us/DonatePayPal 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/jasonzac 📞 +917760456847 (Mobile & WhatsApp) 📧 Customised & Private Classes: music@nathanielschool.com 🎧 Listen to Jason Zac Music: https://riffs.jasonzacmusic.com/ #ChordInversions #PianoTriads #PianoExercises

Topics:

Ten piano exercises, one chord, and nothing else. Everything in this lesson happens on E7 — and every single drill transfers to any dominant 7th you own. Treat it like a gym: same equipment, ten different movements. ✏️ Correction: at 1:44 I misspeak - a dominant 7th is 1, 3, 5, ♭7, so E7 is E, G#, B, D. 🎹 Take one chord and build ten gym-style piano workouts around it. In this practical lesson we use a single E7 (dominant seventh) chord and turn it into a full technique session that transfers to any chord you like. First we break down the E7 shape — root, major third, fifth and flat seventh — with sensible fingering for both hands and all four positions: root, first, second and third inversion. Then we run the ten drills: the inversion ladder, the siren, piano jumping jacks, the horn throw, the dead hang, the speed bag, the rope climb, the pyramid set, the crunch and a cool-down stretch. Along the way you'll practise arpeggios against block chords, alternating two-note patterns, tritone swaps between the third and flat seventh, finger-by-finger lifts, speed work with a bouncing wrist, hand-crossing and accent groupings in twos, threes, fives and sevens. This is for pianists who can build chords but want them to feel musical and coordinated. Get your piano out, start slow and try every workout on other chords around the circle of fifths — then tell us your favourite gesture for the horn throw in the comments. 🎛️ The Circle of Fifths app from 25:38 — Fifth Harmony. Free, no signup: https://circle-of-fifths.nathanielschool.com Try Foundations → Piano Mode → filter by Dominant 7th to see the white/black shape of all twelve. 🏫 Courses, Workshops or Private lessons ➡️ https://forms.gle/fsbhFKSgJbZ5xZEr8 ============================= 📹 Our Video Courses (Everything for Life Bundle) - https://learn-music.nathanielschool.com/ 🏡 Visit our Channel for more Tutorials & Performances - https://geni.us/NathanielYouTube ============================= ▶️ Related Videos & Playlists 📂 Improvise over ONE chord - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT9oizLJPiwwH_gvSH-IFu_V 📚 Making Chord Practice FUN with Circle of Fifths - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT-D6G1jDe18TFflopjjnxRG 🗂️ Chord Voicing & Inversions - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT9ygtrGwGFmfyvMyGWH52EC 📋 Arpeggios - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT-BCpTe-KKSdiKlAFMvYNsH 🎶 Hand Independence - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT-On4vodpAoZqTlWDCS5jv7 ============================= 🎓 Learn Music With Nathaniel School of Music & Jason Zac: https://nathanielschool.com 🎹 All 25 free practice apps: https://apps.nathanielschool.com 📚 All our YouTube lessons (1000+) categorised by skill level, topic & genre all in one place: https://free-music-lessons.nathanielschool.com ⏳ Chapter markers 00:00 - Performance 00:47 - Introduction: Gym Workouts for Piano 💪 00:57 - The One Chord: E7 01:39 - What Is a 7th Chord? 1, 3, 5, ♭7 02:01 - Fingering for Both Hands 🎹 02:24 - Building the Inversions with the Circle Trick 02:36 - Root, 1st, 2nd & 3rd Inversion Shapes 05:01 - Exercise 1: The Inversion Ladder 🪜 06:17 - Swapping Hands: Arpeggio vs Blocks 06:40 - Exercise 2: The Siren 🚨 06:59 - Alternating 3rd & ♭7th with Root & 5th 07:10 - Adding Pitch Bend for Fun 07:42 - Siren Through the Inversions 08:41 - Left-Hand Block Chord Challenge 09:13 - Exercise 3: Jumping Jacks 🤸 09:26 - Outer Notes vs Inner Notes 09:59 - Using Your Wrist to Swing It 11:09 - Exercise 4: The Horn Throw 📯 11:26 - Splitting Tritones Across the Hands 13:02 - Add a Gesture Between Jumps 14:45 - Exercise 5: The Dead Hang 16:07 - Two-Finger Patterns & Combinations 16:48 - Exercise 6: The Speed Bag ⚡ 17:33 - Bouncing the Wrist to Reduce Pain 18:19 - Exercise 7: The Rope Climb 🧗 18:46 - Expanding Across the Whole Piano 19:03 - Crossing Hands Over Each Other 19:26 - Exercise 8: The Pyramid Set 🔺 19:32 - Adding the Repeated E on Top 19:51 - Accents in Sets of 2 and 3 21:03 - Accents in Sets of 4, 5 and 7 22:31 - Exercise 9: The Crunch 22:48 - Hands Meeting from the Extremes 23:14 - Hands Meeting from the Extremes 23:42 - Exercise 10: The Stretch & Cool Down 🧘 24:02 - Inversion Toggle with Eyes Closed 25:30 - Taking It Around the Circle of Fifths 25:38 - The Circle of Fifths App 🎛️ 28:04 - Courses & Semesters at Our School 💰 Donate on PayPal: https://geni.us/DonatePayPal 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/jasonzac 📞 +917760456847 (Mobile & WhatsApp) 📧 Customised & Private Classes: music@nathanielschool.com 🎧 Listen to Jason Zac Music: https://riffs.jasonzacmusic.com/ #PianoLessons #PianoTutorial #MusicTheory #PianoChords #ChordInversions #PianoPractice

Topics:

One chord. One finger. That's the whole exercise. The left hand plays a single arpeggio — Low, High, Middle, High on E, B, G# and B — and never changes. It's the engine. Then the right hand does nothing but land single notes in the gaps: the "e" and the "a" of "1 e & a". That's it. No chord changes, no new shapes. The groove comes from WHERE you put the note, not how many you play. In this short version: the engine, targeting the e's, targeting the a's, walking the E major scale on those hit points, adding diatonic thirds underneath, then switching the whole thing into triplets and swing. Full lesson here: https://youtu.be/v2wMT78ZAlg — it goes much deeper, including the chord colours (E major 7 → E7 → E6) and all eight diatonic thirds in E major. 🎹 LEARN WITH US Music Method Live, our Bangalore centres and the self-paced Everything For Life bundle: https://nathanielschool.com 🛠 FREE PRACTICE TOOLS 25+ free browser tools for chords, inversions, rhythm, notation and ear training: https://apps.nathanielschool.com 📘 STUDY GUIDE 💛 SUPPORT THESE FREE LESSONS PayPal: https://paypal.me/jasonzac?locale.x=en_GB&country.x=IN UPI: jasonzac-1@okhdfcbank (Jason Zac) 📩 TALK TO US WhatsApp: https://wa.me/917760456847 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jasonzac · https://instagram.com/nathanielschool #PianoLessons #LearnPiano #MusicTheory #HandIndependence #PianoPractice

Topics:

Correct piano posture and hand position are the difference between playing fast and playing in pain — and most pianists never get taught either. In this lesson Jason Zac shows you how to sit at the piano, where your wrist, elbow and shoulder actually belong, and the stretches that stop forearm and thumb pain before it starts. Speed with no control is worthless — on the road and at the piano. This lesson breaks down piano posture so you can play fast without pain, with more control and more musicality. We start with hand shape (a rounded, cupped palm like you're holding a ball — never a claw), wrist parallel to the keys, and the dining-table height test for setting your stool and keyboard stand. Then the core idea: a floating wrist spreads the load across the arm, while a fixed wrist dumps it all on the forearm. You'll see the wrist move up and down for block chords, circular for arpeggios, and the elbow sweep to cover a wide range without straining. We cover the forearm-power / wrist-control relationship, staccato by flicking the fingers, back and core strength, small-hand octave reach (the wrist buys about 1.5 inches), plus wrist rotations, thumb and shoulder stretches. This is for anyone whose hand hurts chasing speed, and for parents of young players. Before speed, tick the boxes: no pain, control, do I know the chord, musicality, accents, dynamics. Get your piano out, try it as you watch, and tell us your own stretches in the comments. 🏫 Courses, Workshops or Private lessons ➡️ https://forms.gle/fsbhFKSgJbZ5xZEr8 ============================= 📹 Our Video Courses (Everything for Life Bundle) - https://learn-music.nathanielschool.com/ 🏡 Visit our Channel for more Tutorials & Performances - https://geni.us/NathanielYouTube ============================= ▶️ Related Videos & Playlists 📂 Arpeggios - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT-BCpTe-KKSdiKlAFMvYNsH 📚 Chords with Dynamics - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT_hmM5DRkJLgp4BgGaKPSdY 🗂️ Play Great Songs on Piano - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT8y1l2P68dI_DHadRyMgt3N 📋 Hand Independence - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT-On4vodpAoZqTlWDCS5jv7 🎶 Chord Voicing & Inversions - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT9ygtrGwGFmfyvMyGWH52EC ============================= 🎓 Learn Music With Nathaniel School of Music & Jason Zac: https://nathanielschool.com 📚 All our YouTube lessons (1000+) categorised by skill level, topic & genre all in one place: https://free-music-lessons.nathanielschool.com ⏳ Chapter markers 00:00 - The Car & Bike Metaphor 🏎️ 00:16 - Speed With No Control Is Worthless 00:26 - Two Boxes: Control & No Pain 01:29 - What Proper Posture Buys You 02:31 - Hand Shape: Avoid the Claw 🖐️ 02:48 - Rounded Fingers — Holding an Orange 03:01 - The Dining Table Height Test 🍽️ 03:39 - Setting Keyboard & Stool Height 04:10 - Keyboard Stands & Sit-Stand Desks 04:31 - Standing to Play Piano 05:13 - The Shoulder as Support 05:31 - Why Not to Lift the Shoulder 05:54 - Anchoring the Elbow 06:05 - Wrist Controls, Forearm Powers 06:38 - Playing Chords Softly vs Loud 06:53 - Staccato: Lift vs Fist-Flick ✊ 07:59 - Martial Arts & Piano Technique 08:09 - Strengthen Your Back & Core 💪 08:48 - The Ecosystem: Back & Shoulders 09:11 - Never Stiffen the Wrist 09:46 - Floating vs Fixed Wrist Load 09:58 - Circular Wrist for Arpeggios ⭕ 10:25 - Don’t Overdo the Elbow 11:06 - Toto’s Hold the Line F# Minor Story 🎸 11:46 - Fixing Tension in the Left Hand 12:04 - Transferring the Fix to Blues 12:22 - Inside-Outside for Chord Changes 12:53 - The Elbow Sweep for Wide Ranges 13:41 - What Actually Hurts: The Forearm 14:16 - The Muscle at the Base of the Thumb 14:34 - The Pre-Speed Checklist ✅ 15:10 - Speed Need Not Always Happen 15:25 - Your Wrist Is Musical, Not Mechanical 15:58 - Small Hands: Buy 1.5 Extra Inches 16:41 - Take Care of Your Body 16:55 - Intense Practice Comes at a Cost 17:15 - Wrist Rotations & Forearm Punches 18:05 - Neck, Back & Shoulder Stretches 18:34 - When to See a Physio 18:56 - Piano Is a Sport 🏋️ 19:28 - Mental Breaks: Balcony & Walks 🚶 20:10 - Sleep 8–9 Hours for Your Mind 😴 💰 Donate on PayPal: https://geni.us/DonatePayPal 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/jasonzac 📞 +917760456847 (Mobile & WhatsApp) 📧 Customised & Private Classes: music@nathanielschool.com 🎧 Listen to Jason Zac Music: https://riffs.jasonzacmusic.com/ #PianoPosture #PianoTechnique #WristPain

Topics:

Learn blues piano with Jason Zac — one left hand pattern, and both blues scales on top of it, in the key of B♭. The left hand runs a shuffle engine: root with its 5th, then root with its 6th — 1 5 1 6 — struck together, staccato, wrist bouncing like a trampoline. Add the ♭7 and it becomes 5 6 ♭7 6. That engine never stops while the right hand plays the B♭ major blues (1 2 ♭3 3 5 6) and the B♭ minor blues (1 ♭3 4 ♭5 5 ♭7), one octave and then two, in eighth notes and then triplets. Three notes live in both scales — B♭, D♭ and F. That's the door you improvise through. ▶️ Full lesson ➡️ https://youtu.be/p46g4HXjtj0 🏫 Courses, Workshops or Private lessons ➡️ https://forms.gle/fsbhFKSgJbZ5xZEr8 📹 Everything for Life Bundle ➡️ https://learn-music.nathanielschool.com/ 🎹 Piano Courses ➡️ https://piano.nathanielschool.com 🎛️ Free practice tools ➡️ https://apps.nathanielschool.com 🎓 https://nathanielschool.com 📚 All 1000+ lessons ➡️ https://learning-portal.nathanielschool.com 💛 https://geni.us/DonatePayPal 📸 https://instagram.com/jasonzac 💬 +91 77604 56847 · music@nathanielschool.com #PianoLessons #PianoTutorial #MusicTheory #BluesPiano

Topics:

Piano hand independence and rhythm, taught with one chord: keep a steady left-hand arpeggio going while your right hand plays the subdivisions in between. This is the coordination exercise I come back to constantly. 🎛️ All our free practice tools — chords, inversions, rhythm, notation and ear training, no signup: https://apps.nathanielschool.com 🥁 Keep the “1 e & a” grid honest while you drill this — our free Groove Metronome does subdivisions, swing and triplets: https://metronome.nathanielschool.com We spend the whole lesson on ONE chord — E major — and never change it. The left hand plays a single arpeggio shape, Low–High–Middle–High (E, B, G#, B), rolling in steady quavers. That hand never changes. It is the engine, and it does the same job a fingerstyle guitarist's thumb or a banjo roll does. Then we look at what happens in the gaps. Count semiquavers as "1 e & a" and your left hand is already covering the 1 and the &. So the question the whole lesson asks is: what do you play on the "e" and the "a"? The answer, for a long stretch, is one single note with your thumb. One finger is genuinely all you need — and it turns a static chord into a groove. From there we colour the chord (major 7th, flat 7, major 6th), change the time field into triplets (tha-ki-ta, three against two), drop the middle subdivision to get swing, and finally add diatonic thirds in the left hand so the harmony floats while a melody sits on the hit points. 🏫 Courses, Workshops or Private lessons ➡️ https://forms.gle/fsbhFKSgJbZ5xZEr8 ============================= 📹 Our Video Courses (Everything for Life Bundle) - https://learn-music.nathanielschool.com/ 🏡 Visit our Channel for more Tutorials & Performances - https://geni.us/NathanielYouTube ============================= ▶️ Related Videos & Playlists 📂 Folk Arpeggios - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT-cGUjDuor0KK4XtYSQWRMP 📚 Improvise over ONE chord - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT9oizLJPiwwH_gvSH-IFu_V 🗂️ Arpeggios - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT-BCpTe-KKSdiKlAFMvYNsH 📋 Hand Independence - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT-On4vodpAoZqTlWDCS5jv7 🎶 All Things Rhythm - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT8AILe58QHSRI7c3I6LKcWI ============================= 🎓 Learn Music With Nathaniel School of Music & Jason Zac: https://nathanielschool.com 📚 All our YouTube lessons (1000+) categorised by skill level, topic & genre all in one place: https://free-music-lessons.nathanielschool.com ⏳ Chapter markers 00:00 - Intro Performance 🎹 00:32 - What Are Subdivisions? 00:44 - The Goal: Groove in One Hand, Steady in the Other 01:00 - Setting Up the E Major Chord 02:23 - Left Hand Arpeggio: Low-High-Middle-High 03:06 - Meet the Semiquavers 🎵 03:23 - What to Do at the E’s and As 03:33 - Targeting the E’s with a Single E 03:51 - Hands Flowing as One 04:11 - Targeting the A’s with a Single E 04:26 - Humming a Melody Over the Pattern 04:52 - Why It Sounds Groovier 05:03 - One Finger Is All You Need 05:39 - Combining E’s and Ands 05:47 - Coloring the Chord: Major 7th,b7 and Major 6th 06:07 - Accessing Different Time Fields 06:20 - Introducing Triplets 🎶 06:55 - Changing the Time Field with Swing 07:10 - How Swing Drops the Middle Subdivision 07:40 - First Exercise: E Major Scale on Hit Points 08:15 - Pivoting the Third and Fifth 08:34 - Back to Semiquavers: Picking the ‘A’s 08:56 - Adding Diatonic Thirds in the Left Hand 09:23 - All the Diatonic Thirds in E Major 09:41 - Floating Thirds Freely 10:24 - Thirds Plus Melody on the A Points 10:43 - Into the Triplet World Again 11:14 - Recap: The Practice Methodology 11:29 - Related Folk & Floating-Thirds Lessons 11:56 - Study Guide & Practice Apps 12:18 - Learn With Us at NSM 💰 Donate on PayPal: https://geni.us/DonatePayPal 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/jasonzac 📞 +917760456847 (Mobile & WhatsApp) 📧 Customised & Private Classes: music@nathanielschool.com 🎧 Listen to Jason Zac Music: https://riffs.jasonzacmusic.com/ #PianoLessons #PianoTutorial #MusicTheory #Arpeggios #PianoRhythm #handindependence

Topics:

Learn the blues scale on piano with Jason Zac of Nathaniel School of Music — major and minor blues plus a 12 bar two-hand workout in Bb. Learn the blues scale on piano the practical way — a two-hand workout built entirely around the major blues and minor blues. Both are hexatonic (six-note) scales, and we form them step by step in the key of Bb. We start from the major and natural minor, strip the tritone to get the pentatonic, then add the blue note to make it bluesy. For the major blues you add the flat 3 to the major third; for the minor blues you add the tritone (E) from the root. We cover fingering, why Bb suits blues and horn players, and how to blend both scales for improvisation. The left hand learns the bouncy 1-5-1-6 shuffle engine, its flat-7 variation and how to run it over the 12 bar blues in a loose, staccato swing. We break down wrist and forearm technique so the left hand plays on autopilot. The right hand runs the scales one and two octaves, up and down, in swing and full triplet feels — with accents on the 2 and 4. Great for pianists who know major and minor scales and want to actually sound bluesy for jamming, composing or backing singers. Try it slowly with a shuffle backing track, then tell us in the comments if you'd like more blues lessons. Watch our left-hand blues patterns and improvisation lessons in the dedicated blues playlist too. 🏫 Courses, Workshops or Private lessons ➡️ https://forms.gle/fsbhFKSgJbZ5xZEr8 ============================= 📹 Our Video Courses (Everything for Life Bundle) - https://learn-music.nathanielschool.com/ 🏡 Visit our Channel for more Tutorials & Performances - https://geni.us/NathanielYouTube ============================= ▶️ Related Videos & Playlists 📂 Bass Lines on Piano - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT_bA-24IkQ31GFjbWaN5qf8 📚 Piano Improvisation Tutorials - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT-b9x0Hk6hTmgkFoRoHalH_ 🗂️ Riffs with Backing Tracks - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT-2jApHIXHL_bkmCH2wNNFe 📋 Hand Independence - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT-On4vodpAoZqTlWDCS5jv7 🎶 Jazz Lessons - Chords, Standards & Exercises - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT9ZCriHyNonJasffWWSCS_E ============================= 🎓 Learn Music With Nathaniel School of Music & Jason Zac: https://nathanielschool.com 📚 All our YouTube lessons (1000+) categorised by skill level, topic & genre all in one place: https://free-music-lessons.nathanielschool.com ⏳ Chapter markers 00:00 - Performance 01:03 - Introduction: Two-Hand Blues Workout 01:37 - What We’ll Cover: Major & Minor Blues 🎹 01:54 - Why We Use the Key of Bb 02:23 - Flats, Horn Players & Different Keys 03:01 - Why Pianists Must Know All Keys 04:02 - Hexatonic Explained: Six Notes 04:23 - From Bb Major to the Pentatonic 04:35 - Knocking Off the 4th & 7th (Tritone) 04:59 - Adding the Flat 3: The Blue Note 05:11 - Fingering the Major Blues Scale 05:41 - Using the Blue Note Sparingly 06:03 - Building the Minor Blues Scale 06:22 - From Bb Natural Minor to Pentatonic 07:08 - Understanding Tritone Inversions 08:14 - 🔗 Watch Our Other Blues Lessons 09:00 - Left Hand Pattern 1: 1-5-1-6 09:36 - 1-5-1-6 Over the 12 Bar Blues 09:55 - Playing Two Notes Together Cleanly 10:13 - Loose Wrist & the Trampoline Bounce 10:48 - 1-5-1-6 Over the 12 Bar Blues 11:20 - Doubling the Pattern: Straight vs Swing 12:05 - Left Hand Pattern 2: Adding the Flat 7 12:45 - Getting the Left Hand on Autopilot 13:13 - Wrist, Forearm & Attack Technique 14:40 - Right Hand: Major Blues Fingering 16:01 - Articulation: Accenting 2 & 4 16:20 - Emphasising the ‘And’ of Every Bar 17:04 - Major Blues Over the Full 12 Bar 17:35 - The Swing Feel as Triplet Permutation 18:05 - Right Hand: Minor Blues Fingering 19:07 - Chapter 34 19:32 - Minor Blues with Triplets 20:12 - From Scale to Lick: Real Song Context 20:47 - Major Blues Across Two Octaves 21:28 - Thumb Crossover on the Octave 21:59 - Minor Blues Two Octaves: Black-Note Thumb 23:46 - Putting It Together Slowly with Both Hands 24:52 - Two Octaves with Triplets & Accents 25:23 - Bass Line Variations for the Left Hand 25:50 - More Blues Lessons Coming: Licks & Improv 26:01 - Live Classes at Nathaniel 💰 Donate on PayPal: https://geni.us/DonatePayPal 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/jasonzac 📞 +917760456847 (Mobile & WhatsApp) 📧 Customised & Private Classes: music@nathanielschool.com 🎧 Listen to Jason Zac Music: https://riffs.jasonzacmusic.com/ #PianoLessons #PianoTutorial #MusicTheory #BluesPiano #BluesScale #12BarBlues #BluesScale #BluesPiano #PianoTechnique

Topics:

Part 2 of our thirds exercise series. Climb the G major scale in thirds and sharpen your semiquaver rhythm feel. The exercise uses G major and G harmonic minor, where the augmented second gives the harmonic minor its wider leap, and works on both closed thirds and spread thirds. The rhythm patterns use 16th notes, dotted notes, tied notes and rests in 4/4, with one rhythm figure for descending thirds and another for ascending thirds, starting from different scale degrees each time. For the left hand there are three options: hold the pulse on the starting note, mirror the right hand in thirds, or play the scale notes underneath the right-hand thirds.

Topics:

Part 1 of our thirds exercise breakdown — G major and G harmonic minor scales worked in diatonic thirds with two rhythm patterns. Practice this daily. We also cover three left-hand approaches: holding the pulse on the starting note, mirroring the right hand in thirds, or playing the scale notes underneath the thirds in the right hand.

Topics:

Turn your boring scale practice into a full workout — triads ascending and descending in F major and F harmonic minor, with speed and rhythm variations. Watch till the end for the thirds pattern on G major. Follow @NathanielSchoolOfMusic for more piano drills! Welcome to Part 2 of our triad workout! In Part 1 we formed the triads of the F major and F harmonic minor scales along with their first and second inversions, ascending and descending. Now we take those same shapes and make them musical by focusing entirely on rhythm. We start by revising one chord every two counts, then explore rhythmic anticipation — playing chords on the off-beats instead of the predictable 1, 2, 3, 4. You'll learn to displace chords to the "and" of beats, shift the chord itself on off-beats, and combine block chords with arpeggios and broken chords for variety. From there we move into quaver (eighth note) scale drills, add a swing feel, and tackle popular rhythm patterns like the tresillo, the clave and the 3-3-2 grouping. We also gamify the exercise across time signatures, starting at 8 beats per chord and shrinking down to 7, 6, 5, 4 and 3 — pushing you to change chords faster while staying in the groove. Your left hand gets a workout too: single octaves, perfect fifths (with the diminished fifth on the leading tone), broken chords, and cascading two-hand patterns. We even show how to borrow a song's rhythm to keep your practice fun and creative. Underneath all the groove, you're really drilling root position, first inversion, second inversion and even spread voicings. If you found this piano tutorial useful, do watch Part 1 and our related music lessons linked in the description. Thanks for practising with us, and I'll catch you in the next one! 🎹

Topics:

Learn 3 go-to left hand rhythm patterns - umpah, arpeggio, and power chord - that unlock almost any song on piano. Beginner and intermediate versions included. The umpah pattern takes a chord like D minor and moves between the root and fifth. The arpeggios cover seventh chords and slash chords like C/E, and the power chord uses the root, fifth and octave to drive rock grooves.

Topics:

Learn 3 go-to left-hand piano rhythm patterns — umpah, arpeggio and power chords — that work across ballads, rock and pop genres. 🎼 Is your left hand the weakest part of your playing? In this piano tutorial, Jason Zac from Nathaniel School of Music breaks down three go-to left-hand rhythm patterns that hold their ground across ballads, old-school pop, rock and heavier music. We start with the umpah (or accordion) pattern — taking a chord like D minor and moving between the root and fifth. You'll learn the crucial staccato-legato articulation, how to modify it for beat three and four, and how to shift the bass for a more modern feel. Next up are arpeggios, one of the most useful accompaniment techniques for a huge variety of music. Jason demonstrates the basic four-note shape, how to add octaves for a more advanced sound, and why dynamic swells and volume control are essential. You'll also see how to handle seventh chords and slash chords like C over E. The final pattern is the power chord — root, fifth and octave played powerfully in the left-hand zone. From four-on-the-floor to driving eighth-note accents and snare-hit patterns on beats two and four, these ideas will fuel any rock song. We also touch on floating fifths and breaking up the pattern for variation. Throughout the lesson you'll pick up practical advice on transposing these patterns into any key, using proper wrist and forearm technique to play fast without pain, and trusting your left hand so you can focus on the music. This lesson is aimed at beginner-intermediate players and upward. Don't forget to like and subscribe to help this human channel grow! 🎹 🏫 Courses, Workshops or Private lessons ➡️ https://forms.gle/fsbhFKSgJbZ5xZEr8 ============================= 📹 Our Video Courses (Everything for Life Bundle) - https://learn-music.nathanielschool.com/ 🏡 Visit our Channel for more Tutorials & Performances - https://geni.us/NathanielYouTube ============================= ▶️ Related Videos & Playlists 🎬 Melodic Arpeggios: Accents & Progressions - https://youtu.be/DbL4DJnwIhA 🎯 Piano Ballad: Chords & Arpeggios - https://youtu.be/XTxBoGf7LP0 🔑 Melody with 5 Left Hand Techniques - https://youtu.be/awy6ZIGrXyY 💡 Rock Piano: Plagal Chord Patterns - https://youtu.be/libPulphrYs 📂 Minor Scales - Theory, Exercises & Compositions - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT_8KkjOUBofqzyhbgGkROE- ============================= 🎓 Learn Music With Nathaniel School of Music & Jason Zac: https://nathanielschool.com 📚 All our YouTube lessons (1000+) categorised by skill level, topic & genre all in one place: https://free-music-lessons.nathanielschool.com ⏳ Chapter markers 00:00 - Performance 01:07 - Welcome & Lesson Overview 02:09 - Who This Lesson Is For 02:48 - Pattern 1: The Umpah (Accordion) Pattern 03:00 - Root & Fifth Movement Explained 03:20 - Playing the Umpah Faster 03:44 - First Melody Demonstration in the Right Hand 🎵 04:07 - Trying Another Melody 04:20 - Umpah on Major Chords 04:32 - Modifying Umpah to 3/4 04:57 - A More Modern Umpah Variation 05:22 - Bass Shifting on the Umpah 05:41 - Umpah Articulation: Staccato vs Legato 05:59 - Umpah on Different Chords 06:15 - Simplified Broken Umpah for Beginners 06:36 - Pattern 2: The Arpeggio 06:44 - Trying the Arpeggio in E Major 07:10 - Advanced Arpeggio: Adding the Octave 07:28 - Making Arpeggios Dynamic with Swells 🌊 08:00 - Practising Arpeggios Over Chords 08:45 - Handling Seventh Chords in Arpeggios 09:17 - Playing Songs With Arpeggios 10:18 - Slash Chords: C Over E Explained 10:54 - Minor 7 Flat 5 With the Seventh 11:16 - Arpeggios on Nursery Rhymes 11:25 - Pattern 3: The Power Chord 11:42 - Contrasting Power Chord Rhythms 12:00 - Driving Eighth-Note Accents 12:38 - Breaking Up the Pattern 13:09 - Focusing on Beats 2 & 4 (Snare Hits) 13:33 - Floating the Fifth 13:42 - Your Practice Challenge: Name a Song per Pattern 14:09 - Transposing Patterns Into Any Key 14:35 - Wrist & Forearm Technique to Play Without Pain 15:02 - Trusting Your Left Hand 15:16 - When All Else Fails: Nursery Rhymes & Improv 💰 Donate on PayPal: https://geni.us/DonatePayPal 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/jasonzac 📞 +917760456847 (Mobile & WhatsApp) 📧 Customised & Private Classes: music@nathanielschool.com 🎧 Listen to Jason Zac Music: https://riffs.jasonzacmusic.com/ #LeftHandPiano #PianoPatterns #PianoAccompaniment

Topics:

Part 2 triad workout: practise F major & harmonic minor triads with off-beats, swing, tresillo, clave & time signatures on piano. 🎹🎶 Welcome to Part 2 of our triad workout! In Part 1 we formed the triads of the F major and F harmonic minor scales along with their first and second inversions, ascending and descending. Now we take those same shapes and make them musical by focusing entirely on rhythm. We start by revising one chord every two counts, then explore rhythmic anticipation — playing chords on the off-beats instead of the predictable 1, 2, 3, 4. You'll learn to displace chords to the "and" of beats, shift the chord itself on off-beats, and combine block chords with arpeggios and broken chords for variety. From there we move into quaver (eighth note) scale drills, add a swing feel, and tackle popular rhythm patterns like the tresillo, the clave and the 3-3-2 grouping. We also gamify the exercise across time signatures, starting at 8 beats per chord and shrinking down to 7, 6, 5, 4 and 3 — pushing you to change chords faster while staying in the groove. Your left hand gets a workout too: single octaves, perfect fifths (with the diminished fifth on the leading tone), broken chords, and cascading two-hand patterns. We even show how to borrow a song's rhythm to keep your practice fun and creative. Underneath all the groove, you're really drilling root position, first inversion, second inversion and even spread voicings. If you found this piano tutorial useful, do watch Part 1 and our related music lessons linked in the description. Thanks for practising with us, and I'll catch you in the next one! 🎹 🏫 Courses, Workshops or Private lessons ➡️ https://forms.gle/fsbhFKSgJbZ5xZEr8 ============================= 📹 Our Video Courses (Everything for Life Bundle) - https://learn-music.nathanielschool.com/ 🏡 Visit our Channel for more Tutorials & Performances - https://geni.us/NathanielYouTube ============================= ▶️ Related Videos & Playlists 🎬 Minor Chord Inversions & Circle of Fifths - https://youtu.be/Xnsr4u1iC2A 🎯 Major & Minor Piano Triads - https://youtu.be/PAEz0Y82P1s 🔑 Major Scales with Chords Piano Exercise - https://youtu.be/lCcPEuF0X48 💡 Sixteenth Notes Practice Tutorial - https://youtu.be/0eYCe2Wtt8c 📂 Minor Scales - Theory, Exercises & Compositions - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT_8KkjOUBofqzyhbgGkROE- ============================= 🎓 Learn Music With Nathaniel School of Music & Jason Zac: https://nathanielschool.com 📚 All our YouTube lessons (1000+) categorised by skill level, topic & genre all in one place: https://free-music-lessons.nathanielschool.com ⏳ Chapter markers 00:00 - Performance 00:29 - Welcome to Part 2 🎹 00:36 - Recap of Part 1: Triads & Inversions 00:54 - What We’ll Cover: Rhythm Concepts 01:14 - F Major Triads Up & Down 01:46 - Introducing Rhythmic Anticipation 🥁 02:23 - The ‘And’ of Two Explained 02:44 - F Harmonic Minor Triads Review 03:14 - The ‘And’ of Three Explained 04:05 - Shifting the Chord on the Off-Beat 04:22 - Combining Blocks & Arpeggios 05:01 - Quaver Scale Drill Setup 05:45 - Two Hits Per Chord Practice Tip 06:14 - Adding the Swing Feel 06:38 - The Tresillo Rhythm Pattern 07:06 - Shifting Chords at Tresillo Speed 07:20 - The Clave Rhythm Pattern 07:51 - The 3-3-3-4 Grouping 08:20 - Jumbling Up the Order 08:28 - Playing at Melody Speed 🎵 08:48 - Try It With Different Inversions 09:09 - Time Signature Game: 8 Beats Per Arpeggio 09:53 - Reducing to 7 Beats Per Chord 10:36 - Phrasing 7 as 4 + 3 10:58 - Dropping Down to 6 Beats 11:14 - Left Hand: Playing Fifths 11:35 - Parallel Fifths Over 6 11:56 - Time Signature of 5 12:12 - Time Signature of 4 & 3 12:51 - Left Hand Broken Chords 13:02 - Two Hands, Two Different Rhythms 13:52 - Cascading the Triads 14:35 - Ascending & Descending in One Hand 14:58 - Borrowing a Song’s Rhythm 🎶 15:48 - Polyrhythms & Endless Options 15:58 - Wrap Up & Thanks 💰 Donate on PayPal: https://geni.us/DonatePayPal 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/jasonzac 📞 +917760456847 (Mobile & WhatsApp) 📧 Customised & Private Classes: music@nathanielschool.com 🎧 Listen to Jason Zac Music: https://riffs.jasonzacmusic.com/ #PianoTriads #Tresillo #ClaveRhythm

Topics:

Learn to play every triad and inversion of F Major and F Harmonic Minor with block chords, spread shapes and speed drills. In this comprehensive piano lesson, Jason Zac walks you through every triad and inversion of F Major and F Harmonic Minor. If you've been running scales note-by-note, this is the workout that will shift your thinking into chord shapes across the keyboard. We start by harmonizing both scales — building all 7 diatonic triads. In F Major you'll get the familiar 1-4-5 major, 2-3-6 minor and 7 diminished pattern. In F Harmonic Minor we tackle the trickier chord formula: minor 1 and 4, diminished 2 and 7, major 5 and 6, and the augmented ♭3 chord. We also break down the augmented 2nd interval between the ♭6 and 7. Next, we drill root position, first inversion and second inversion as block chords — ascending and descending. Then we ramp up the speed: one chord per bar, then every two beats, then every single beat. This is where real chord fluency is built. We also explore spread shapes (open-voiced triads) — reading the chord tones in a circular pattern to unlock new voicings. Along the way, Jason encourages singing the chord tones to train your ear alongside your fingers. This piano tutorial covers music theory, chord progressions, inversions, ear training and practical piano exercises all in one focused session. Hit subscribe for Part 2, where we take these same triads into creative rhythmic patterns, arpeggios and groove-based movements. 🎹 🏫 Courses, Workshops or Private lessons ➡️ https://forms.gle/fsbhFKSgJbZ5xZEr8 ============================= 📹 Our Video Courses (Everything for Life Bundle) - https://learn-music.nathanielschool.com/ 🏡 Visit our Channel for more Tutorials & Performances - https://geni.us/NathanielYouTube ============================= ▶️ Related Videos & Playlists 🎬 All Major & Minor Piano Chord Triads - https://youtu.be/PAEz0Y82P1s 🎯 Major Scales with Chords - Piano Exercise - https://youtu.be/lCcPEuF0X48 🔑 Major Scales with Chords - Piano Exercise - https://youtu.be/_WQhdGSyQ-4 💡 Chord Inversions: Facts & Music Theory - https://youtu.be/SSc19Czmvzg 📂 Minor Scales - Theory, Exercises & Compositions - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT_8KkjOUBofqzyhbgGkROE- ============================= 🎓 Learn Music With Nathaniel School of Music & Jason Zac: https://nathanielschool.com 📚 All our YouTube lessons (1000+) categorised by skill level, topic & genre all in one place: https://free-music-lessons.nathanielschool.com ⏳ Chapter markers 00:00 - Performance 00:48 - Welcome & Lesson Overview 🎹 01:02 - What We’ll Cover: F Major & F Harmonic Minor 01:25 - Why These Two Scales? 01:33 - F Harmonic Minor: ♭3, ♭6 and Major 7th Explained 02:22 - Part 1: Building the Chords of F Major 03:42 - Diatonic Triads of F Major (I to vii°) 04:07 - Writing Chords in a Circle: A Practice Tip ⭕ 04:32 - Introducing Spread Shapes / Open-Voiced Triads 05:40 - Chord Formula 06:35 - Part 2: Building the Chords of F Harmonic Minor 07:00 - Watch Out: The Augmented 2nd Interval ⚠️ 07:12 - The Augmented ♭3 Chord 07:29 - Part 3: The Speed-Increment Practice Ladder 08:06 - Block Chords Explained: Right Hand + Left Hand Root 08:34 - F Major Root Position — 4 Beats Per Chord 09:19 - F Major Root Position — 2 Beats Per Chord 09:53 - F Major Root Position — 1 Beat Per Chord 11:43 - First Inversion of F Major (All Triads) 13:25 - Second Inversion of F Major (All Triads) 13:57 - F Harmonic Minor: Root Position Block Chords 15:08 - F Harmonic Minor: First Inversion Drill 15:19 - Why Augmented Chord Inversions Stay Augmented 15:58 - F Harmonic Minor: Second Inversion Drill 16:08 - Tricky Fingering: White Note Between Black Notes 🎹 16:44 - Part 4: Spread Shapes in F Major 17:00 - Playing Spread Triads With Both Hands 18:12 - Journeying Through the Thirds of Each Chord 18:55 - Spread Shapes Starting From the 5th 19:27 - Spread Shapes in F Harmonic Minor 19:42 - Ear Training: Sing the Chord Tones 🎤 20:24 - Part 5: Creative Variations Preview 20:32 - Broken Chord Pattern 1: Top Two + Bottom 20:54 - Broken Chord Pattern 2: Outer Two + Inside 21:05 - Arpeggios: Low-Middle-High Movement 21:32 - Adding Groove & Rhythm to Triads 21:45 - What’s Coming in Part 2 of This Lesson 💰 Donate on PayPal: https://geni.us/DonatePayPal 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/jasonzac 📞 +917760456847 (Mobile & WhatsApp) 📧 Customised & Private Classes: music@nathanielschool.com 🎧 Listen to Jason Zac Music: https://riffs.jasonzacmusic.com/ #ChordInversions #Triads #PianoWorkout

Topics:

Learn to practise piano thirds in G major and G harmonic minor with unique ascending and descending rhythm patterns for both hands. In this piano lesson, Jason Zac from Nathaniel School of Music walks you through a comprehensive exercise on thirds using two essential scales — G major and G harmonic minor. This is a scale-practice drill with a twist: unique rhythm patterns built into every ascent and descent. You'll learn how thirds are formed by writing scales in a circle and skipping notes, plus how the augmented second interval in the harmonic minor creates that signature three-step leap. We break down both closed thirds and spread thirds, giving intermediate pianists a real technical workout. The rhythm patterns include 16th notes, dotted notes, tied notes, and rests — organised in a 4/4 pulse. You'll practise descending thirds with one rhythm figure and ascending thirds with another, starting from different scale degrees each time. This retrains your brain to think of scales beyond just root-to-root, which is essential for improvisation and sight reading. We also cover three different left-hand approaches: holding the pulse on the starting note, mirroring the right hand with carbon-copy thirds, or playing linear scale notes underneath the thirds in the right hand. For advanced players, Jason introduces spread third voicings that produce beautiful triad harmonisations across both hands. Practise minimum three scales a week, count out loud, move your body with the pulse, and enjoy building real technical fluency at the piano. 🏫 Courses, Workshops or Private lessons ➡️ https://forms.gle/fsbhFKSgJbZ5xZEr8 ============================= 📹 Our Video Courses (Everything for Life Bundle) - https://learn-music.nathanielschool.com/ 🏡 Visit our Channel for more Tutorials & Performances - https://geni.us/NathanielYouTube ============================= ▶️ Related Videos & Playlists 🎬 Major Esque vs Minor Esque — 8 Scales Explained (Part 1) - https://youtu.be/bmy_bXpE900 🎯 Major-Esque Scales You NEED To Know (Part 2) - https://youtu.be/9aKo3JsXkMo 🔑 Minor-Esque Scales Decoded: Exotic to Traditional (Part 3) - https://youtu.be/_DbME-fKHiI 💡 Understand Any Scale Instantly: Major-esque & Minor-esque Framework (full lesson) - https://youtu.be/M88ABjQn0Lo 📂 Scales & Modes - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT_8KkjOUBofqzyhbgGkROE- ============================= 🎓 Learn Music With Nathaniel School of Music & Jason Zac: https://nathanielschool.com 📚 All our YouTube lessons (1000+) categorised by skill level, topic & genre all in one place: https://free-music-lessons.nathanielschool.com ⏳ Chapter markers 00:00 - Performance 00:28 - Introduction 🎹 00:54 - Ascending & Descending Thirds 01:24 - Why Practise Thirds? 01:39 - What You’ll Learn in This Lesson 02:21 - The Two Scales: G Major & G Harmonic Minor 02:38 - Understanding Harmonic Minor 🎼 02:53 - The Augmented 2nd Interval Explained 03:21 - How to Form Thirds: The Circle Method 04:21 - Piano Shapes 04:41 - Part 1: The Descending Rhythm Pattern 🥁 05:17 - Descending from different points 06:32 - Counting 16th Notes: 1 e and a 07:23 - Applying the Rhythm to G Major Thirds 07:59 - Left Hand Option 1: Hold the Pulse 09:22 - Left Hand Option 2: Carbon Copy Both Hands 10:16 - Left Hand Option 3: Linear Scale Descent 11:01 - All 3 LH Patterns 11:27 - Descending Thirds in G Harmonic Minor 13:04 - Both Hands Carbon Copy Practice 14:05 - The Ascending Rhythm Pattern 🎵 15:09 - G Major Thirds Ascending 16:01 - Ascending from Every Scale Degree 16:58 - G Harmonic Minor Ascending Thirds 17:12 - Retraining Your Scale Knowledge 🧠 18:05 - Fingering Tips for Thirds 18:20 - Intro to Spread Thirds (Advanced) 🎼 18:50 - Harmonising with Spread & Closed Thirds Together 19:36 - Jumbling the Order for Creative Practice 20:01 - Homework: Three Scales a Week 20:20 - Recap & Final Thoughts 💰 Donate on PayPal: https://geni.us/DonatePayPal 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/jasonzac 📞 +917760456847 (Mobile & WhatsApp) 📧 Customised & Private Classes: music@nathanielschool.com 🎧 Listen to Jason Zac Music: https://riffs.jasonzacmusic.com/ #PianoThirds #RhythmDrill #PianoTechnique

Topics:

Learn to play Someone Like You by Adele on piano - full tutorial covering intro, verses, pre-chorus, chorus, bridge & outro in A major. ❤️ Learn to play Someone Like You by Adele on piano in this complete, section-by-section tutorial. Jason Zac walks you through every verse, pre-chorus, chorus, bridge and outro - transcribed exactly as the original pianist played it. The song lives in A major and is built around a beautiful arpeggio pattern (low-middle-high-middle) that runs through almost the entire track. You'll learn how to navigate the stretchy hand shapes, black-and-white note transitions, and the subtle variations the original pianist used across each section. This lesson covers some incredible musical concepts - slash chords in the bridge (E/B, F#m/C#, A/C#, E/D), power chord voicings in the left hand, octave build-ups in verse two, and the dramatic broken chord patterns in the final chorus. It's a brilliant workout for pianists of any level looking to improve voicing, inversions and two-hand independence. Whether you want to accompany a singer, play in a band, or simply grow as a pianist, this tutorial gives you everything you need. If you'd like structured training in piano, ear training, theory and technique, join our 6-month Music Method semester at Nathaniel School of Music. Hit subscribe and the bell for more piano tutorials! 🏫 Courses, Workshops or Private lessons ➡️ https://forms.gle/fsbhFKSgJbZ5xZEr8 ============================= 📹 Our Video Courses (Everything for Life Bundle) - https://learn-music.nathanielschool.com/ 🏡 Visit our Channel for more Tutorials & Performances - https://geni.us/NathanielYouTube ============================= ▶️ Related Videos & Playlists 🎬 Slash Chords vs Piano Inversions - https://youtu.be/UhO-cWQLC-k 🎯 Melodic Arpeggios: Accents & Progressions - https://youtu.be/DbL4DJnwIhA 🔑 Arpeggios, Inversions & Hand Independence - https://youtu.be/e9Xqa_ibLeg 💡 Chord Inversion Facts - Music Theory - https://youtu.be/SSc19Czmvzg 📂 Jazz Lessons - Chords, Standards & Exercises - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT9ZCriHyNonJasffWWSCS_E ============================= 🎓 Learn Music With Nathaniel School of Music & Jason Zac: https://nathanielschool.com 📚 All our YouTube lessons (1000+) categorised by skill level, topic & genre all in one place: https://free-music-lessons.nathanielschool.com ⏳ Chapter markers 00:00 - Performance 00:24 - Introduction & Welcome 🎹 00:36 - Why Learn Someone Like You? 01:19 - What This Lesson Covers 02:54 - A Major Key Signature Basics 03:06 - Chords in A Major (Triads Overview) 03:36 - Understanding Slash Chords 03:45 - The Iconic Arpeggio Pattern (L-M-H-M) 04:05 - Tempo & Rhythm Discussion 04:52 - Intro Right Hand Breakdown 05:31 - Intro Left Hand Semibreves 06:38 - Intro - Full Playthrough 🎵 07:13 - Verse 1 Right Hand 07:30 - Verse 1 D Chord Variations 08:35 - Verse 1 Full Playthrough Slowly 09:06 - Pre-Chorus 1 Chords (Eadd2, F#m7, D) 09:41 - Pre-Chorus 1 Left Hand Fifths 10:23 - Pre-Chorus Cycle Length Explained 11:28 - Chorus 1 - The 1-5-6-4 Progression 11:49 - Chorus 1 Right Hand Arpeggios 12:20 - Chorus 1 E Major Second Inversion 🎶 13:14 - Chorus 1 Five-Line Structure 14:34 - Verse 2 Shorter Structure 14:38 - Verse 2 Left Hand Octaves 15:26 - Pre-Chorus 2 with Octave Depth 16:52 - Chorus 2 Power Chords in Left Hand 17:45 - Chorus 2 Voicing Details 19:16 - The Pinky Octave Variation 20:05 - Bridge Slash Chords (E/B, F#m/C#) 20:53 - Bridge Chord Progression Breakdown 21:21 - Bridge Build-Up to Final Chorus 21:58 - Final Chorus - Block Chords 22:50 - Final Chorus Broken Chord Pattern 23:30 - Final Chorus Left Hand Triads 24:30 - The Stoggling Four-Note Pattern 25:28 - Epic Chorus Explosion 🔥 27:46 - Tapering Down - The Outro 28:01 - Penultimate Line Dynamics 28:59 - Final Resolution & Ending Chord 29:42 - Why This Song is a Great Workout 30:12 - Hand Shapes & Stretching Tips 💰 Donate on PayPal: https://geni.us/DonatePayPal 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/jasonzac 📞 +917760456847 (Mobile & WhatsApp) 📧 Customised & Private Classes: music@nathanielschool.com 🎧 Listen to Jason Zac Music: https://riffs.jasonzacmusic.com/ #SomeoneLikeYou #Adele #PianoTutorial

Topics:

Train your ear with Bach's Prelude No. 1 in C Major — sight-singing, chord analysis & arpeggio breakdown in Bobby McFerrin style. 🎼✨ Bach's Prelude No. 1 in C Major is one of the most recognised pieces in classical piano — but what if you sang it instead of played it? In this lesson, Jason Zac takes inspiration from Bobby McFerrin's legendary Ave Maria performance to turn this beloved arpeggio study into the ultimate ear training workout. Rather than just reading and playing the notation, you'll learn to collapse each arpeggiated bar into a stacked chord, identify the harmony (D minor 7, G7, F major 7, and that mysterious diminished voicing nobody can name), and then sing each note back. This trains your intervals, voice leading awareness, register switching, and chord recognition all at once. This approach works for pianists, singers, and any music student who wants to genuinely HEAR what they're playing. We cover sight-singing technique, transcription thinking, harmonic analysis, and how to use Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier as a serious ear training resource — not just a piano study book. Throughout the lesson, Jason demonstrates how to use the piano as a reference, find the lowest or highest note first, name notes as scale degrees (1-2-3-4-5), and gradually move away from the instrument so your voice becomes the piano. You'll also explore voice leading between chords — like how F resolves down to E and E down to E♭ in parallel motion. Hit subscribe, ring the bell, and share this with a musician friend who's ready to take their listening skills to the next level! 🎹🎼 🏫 Courses, Workshops or Private lessons ➡️ https://forms.gle/fsbhFKSgJbZ5xZEr8 ============================= 📹 Our Video Courses (Everything for Life Bundle) - https://learn-music.nathanielschool.com/ 🏡 Visit our Channel for more Tutorials & Performances - https://geni.us/NathanielYouTube ============================= ▶️ Related Videos & Playlists 🎬 Compose with Dorian Mode & Chord Progressions - https://youtu.be/NCFZhIyG0Y8 🎯 Piano: Sing Harmony Over Chord Progressions - https://youtu.be/Mi_k69JLyGg 🔑 Melodic Arpeggios on Piano with Accents - https://youtu.be/DbL4DJnwIhA 💡 Connect Music Theory and Ear Training - https://youtu.be/f5Fs0VQe8Ps 📂 Jazz Lessons - Chords, Standards & Exercises - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT9ZCriHyNonJasffWWSCS_E ============================= 🎓 Learn Music With Nathaniel School of Music & Jason Zac: https://nathanielschool.com 📚 All our YouTube lessons (1000+) categorised by skill level, topic & genre all in one place: https://free-music-lessons.nathanielschool.com ⏳ Chapter markers 00:00 - Introduction: Ear Training with Bach 🎹 00:29 - Why Prelude No. 1 in C Major? 01:39 - The Bobby McFerrin Inspiration 🎤 02:02 - Three Options: Analyse, Play, or Train the Ear 02:40 - The Well-Tempered Clavier Book Recommendation 📖 03:30 - Notation Tools & Nathaniel School Resources 05:10 - Bar 1: The First C Major Stack 05:28 - Technique: Collapse the Arpeggio into a Chord 06:12 - Finding the Lowest & Highest Notes 06:57 - Singing the Arpeggio with Numbers (1-2-3-4-5) 07:15 - Using the Piano as an Assist 08:00 - Bar 2: C, D, A, D, F — D minor 7 over C 08:47 - Tricky Leaps in the Voice 09:12 - Bar 3: B, D, G, D, F — G7 over B Bass 09:55 - Bar 4: Back to D minor 7 10:03 - Stacking & Singing Four Bars Together 10:50 - Crossing an Octave and a Half 12:29 - A minor 7 Open Voicing with High C 13:10 - Range Challenges: Two Octaves and Beyond 13:51 - Making Notes on Tough Intervals 📝 14:13 - D, A, D, A, F# — Register Switching 14:44 - G Major & G Diminished 7th Voicing 15:54 - End of Page 1 Recap 16:14 - Page 2: C, G, C — The Tough 5th Chord 16:31 - F Major 7 with E Bass 17:01 - Revisiting D minor 7 and G7 17:32 - The Mysterious F# Diminished Chord 🤔 18:03 - Voice Leading: F → F# and E → E♭ in Parallel 19:49 - Putting Page 2 Together on Piano 21:16 - The Calando Ending: Slow Down & Soften 21:31 - Singing the Upper Notes When Range Gets Tough 22:02 - Why Bobby McFerrin’s Version is Superhuman 22:39 - The Final C Major Resolution 23:18 - Takeaways: You Don’t Have to Perform It 24:04 - Three Applications of Notation: Play, Sing, Transcribe 24:33 - These Aren’t Jazz Chords — Just Bach 24:43 - Final Practice Tips for Your Ear 🎯 25:35 - Outro: Thanks for Watching! 👋 💰 Donate on PayPal: https://geni.us/DonatePayPal 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/jasonzac 📞 +917760456847 (Mobile & WhatsApp) 📧 Customised & Private Classes: music@nathanielschool.com 🎧 Listen to Jason Zac Music: https://riffs.jasonzacmusic.com/

Topics:

Learn every 7th chord on piano with cascade, legato & staccato drills using a 2-5-1 progression in D major plus inversions. Learn every essential 7th chord on the piano in one focused workout! In this lesson, Jason Zac walks you through major 7, minor 7, dominant 7, minor 7 flat 5, and diminished 7 chords using the 2-5-1 progression in D major. You'll work through three powerful articulations — cascade, legato, and staccato — designed to bring real expression and control to your chord playing. These drills are essential for anyone who wants their voicings to sound smooth, intentional, and professional. We also break down all four inversions of each chord with a focus on smooth voice leading. You'll learn how to identify common tones, shift efficiently between chords, and stop making awkward jumps across the keyboard. This approach makes your chord changes effortless in both hands. The lesson then moves into the minor 2-5-1 progression in E harmonic minor, introducing the half-diminished chord, minor-major 7, and minor 6 voicings. These are essential colours for jazz, ballad, and modern piano playing. Whether you're an intermediate pianist learning jazz harmony, a self-taught player working on chord theory, or a student building your improvisation vocabulary — this is a workout you'll return to again and again. Get your keyboard out, practise along, and let us know in the comments what 7th chord topic we should cover next! 🏫 Courses, Workshops or Private lessons ➡️ https://forms.gle/fsbhFKSgJbZ5xZEr8 ============================= 📹 Our Video Courses (Everything for Life Bundle) - https://learn-music.nathanielschool.com/ 🏡 Visit our Channel for more Tutorials & Performances - https://geni.us/NathanielYouTube ============================= ▶️ Related Videos & Playlists 🎬 Compose with Dorian Mode & Chord Progressions - https://youtu.be/NCFZhIyG0Y8 🎯 Build Chords from the Major Scale - https://youtu.be/7sv_vrg8XTg 🔑 Practice Scales with Major-Minor Chord Pairs - https://youtu.be/kak4hvdjsY0 💡 Extend 7th Chords with Jazz Voicings - https://youtu.be/uuefI0cJcV4 📂 Jazz Lessons - Chords, Standards & Exercises - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT9ZCriHyNonJasffWWSCS_E ============================= 🎓 Learn Music With Nathaniel School of Music & Jason Zac: https://nathanielschool.com 📚 All our YouTube lessons (1000+) categorised by skill level, topic & genre all in one place: https://free-music-lessons.nathanielschool.com ⏳ Chapter markers 00:00 - Performance 00:44 - Welcome & Lesson Overview 🎹 01:10 - What You’ll Learn: Every 7th Chord Type 01:20 - Choosing the Key of D Major 01:31 - The 2-5-1 Progression Explained 01:45 - Adding the Secondary Diminished Chord 02:30 - Preview of the Minor 2-5-1 03:49 - The Three Articulations: Cascade, Legato, Staccato 👐 04:56 - Building E Minor 7th Chord 🎵 06:22 - Cascade Drill on E Minor 7 06:42 - Legato Drill on E Minor 7 07:11 - Staccato Drill on E Minor 7 08:03 - Building A Dominant 7th Chord 08:34 - Articulation Drills on A7 08:52 - Building D Major 7th Chord 09:12 - Articulation Drills on D Major 7 09:24 - Splitting Hands: Legato Left, Staccato Right 09:36 - The D# Diminished 7th Passing Chord 10:00 - All Diminished 7ths Are Inversions of Each Other 10:22 - Why Inversions Improve Voice Leading 🔄 10:46 - Visualising Chord Shapes on the Keyboard 12:40 - Ṛoot Position 15:36 - First Inversion: E Minor 7 to A7 to D Major 7 16:40 - Finding Common Tones Between Chords 19:21 - Second Inversion of the 2-5-1 20:57 - Third Inversion of the 2-5-1 22:28 - Quick Chord Changes Within the Bar 23:03 - Moving to the Minor 2-5-1 in E Harmonic Minor 🎶 24:28 - Building F# Minor 7 Flat 5 (Half Diminished) 25:06 - Building B Dominant 7 25:20 - Introducing E Minor Major 7 and E Minor 6 26:44 - Quick Change Between Minor 6 and Minor Major 7 26:58 - Inversions of the Minor 2-5-1 27:37 - Practice Tips & MIDI Visualizer App 💰 Donate on PayPal: https://geni.us/DonatePayPal 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/jasonzac 📞 +917760456847 (Mobile & WhatsApp) 📧 Customised & Private Classes: music@nathanielschool.com 🎧 Listen to Jason Zac Music: https://riffs.jasonzacmusic.com/ #SeventhChords #JazzPiano #PianoExercises

Topics: