Nathaniel School of Music

    Piano Technique

    575 lessons

    Builds dexterity strength independence and control through structured workouts finger patterns arpeggios exercises and classical foundations adapted for modern players

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    Learn how to improvise on piano with just two notes and two chords: D minor and A7, with the pillar notes D and A, from your first whole note to enclosures, trills and triplets. Beginner to intermediate, with Jason Zac. Pick two chords, D minor and A7, and keep them pumping in the left hand. Then take just two notes, D and A, and let them be the pillars your melody always comes back to. That is the whole idea: land on a pillar, and everything you play around it sounds like it belongs. We build it one level at a time. Level 0 is the pillar notes in whole notes, half notes and off the beat. Then one note below (the leading tone), one down and one up, trills (including a more Indian trill), repeated cells and swing triplets, runs that connect the two pillars, and finally enclosures. Near the end there is a taste of a blues minor colour over the same two chords, and a way to practise it so you can compose your own little pieces. Play along with the chapters below, pause the video, and try each level before moving on. The same plan works in any minor key once you move the two pillars. 🏫 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 ============================= ▶️ Related Lessons 🎹 Simple but Effective Piano Improvisation Using Chord Tones as Pillars ➡️ https://youtu.be/xEqm46HKrBw 🎼 Compose & Improvise Better Melodies Using Scale & Chord Tones (Piano) ➡️ https://youtu.be/h2K0ZqkZViw 🎵 5 Things You Didn't Know About the Harmonic Minor Scale (Piano Theory) ➡️ https://youtu.be/i7dU99lBWAk ============================= 🎓 Learn Music with Nathaniel School of Music & Jason Zac ➡️ https://nathanielschool.com 📚 All our YouTube lessons (1000+) by skill level, topic & genre ➡️ https://free-music-lessons.nathanielschool.com ============================= 00:00 - The two-chord performance 01:06 - The left hand: D minor and A7 03:09 - Level 0: the pillar notes D and A 05:03 - Level 1: one below 07:14 - Level 2: one down, one up 08:09 - Level 3: trills 09:31 - Level 4: repeat it, then triplets 10:28 - Level 5: connect the pillars 12:30 - Level 6: enclosures 13:14 - More notes, and a blues minor colour 14:52 - Putting it all together 16:20 - How to practise this ============================= 💰 Donate on PayPal ➡️ https://geni.us/DonatePayPal 📸 Instagram ➡️ https://instagram.com/jasonzac 📞 Call +91 98454 65411 · 💬 WhatsApp chat +91 77604 56847 📧 Customised & Private Lessons ➡️ music@nathanielschool.com 🎧 Listen to Jason Zac Music ➡️ https://riffs.jasonzacmusic.com/ #PianoLessons #PianoTutorial #MusicTheory #PianoImprovisation

    Piano inversion practice with just two chords, F# major and C# major (the I and the V), shifted on time through every inversion, then put through five rhythm patterns: three rhythms and two bonus seven-hit rhythms. Beginner to intermediate, with Jason Zac. We start with the theory: why F# major has six sharps, and why F# and C# are the I and the V, neighbours on the circle of fifths. Then the shift: keep the common note, C#, and move the other two notes to the nearest shape, so every inversion pairs with its partner. Fingering, floating the inversions up and down, and taking the same shift round the whole circle of fifths (and in fourths). The left hand has two jobs: a carbon copy of the right-hand inversion, or the root of each chord, with the octave for weight. Then articulation (staccato, legato, the pedal) and splitting the hands so one keeps the pulse. Then the rhythms. Rhythm pattern 1 has three hits (two F# and one C#, or one F# and two C#). Rhythm pattern 2 has five hits, split 3 + 2 or 2 + 3, never 4 + 1. Rhythm pattern 3 is in sixteenths. The two bonus rhythms have seven hits, in quavers and then in sixteenths. The piano is a drum here: keep the hands different, like a drum kit or a tabla. 👉 Try it now: tap the pulse on your knee and clap rhythm pattern 1 before you play it. Then make a rhythm of your own and tag me on Instagram. 🔔 Subscribe: new full lessons every Thursday and Saturday, 9:30 pm IST. 🏫 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 ============================= ▶️ Related Lessons 🎹 10 Rhythm Patterns That Make Chord Inversions Easy ➡️ https://youtu.be/DjPqzQqe_NY 🎼 How to Practice Chord Inversions Using the Circle of 5ths (Piano) ➡️ https://youtu.be/VwgRQNBq2uU 🎵 Every Major & Minor Piano Chord in Root Position + 2 Inversions (Circle of Fifths Practice, Part 1) ➡️ https://youtu.be/SOfunteeDXU 🎹 How to Change Piano Chords Smoothly (5 Fixes for Fumbling Hands) ➡️ https://youtu.be/YzFQFfvbIAw ============================= 🎓 Learn Music with Nathaniel School of Music & Jason Zac ➡️ https://nathanielschool.com 📚 All our YouTube lessons (1000+) by skill level, topic & genre ➡️ https://free-music-lessons.nathanielschool.com 🎛 More free music apps ➡️ https://apps.nathanielschool.com ============================= 00:00 - Two chords, two hands 00:29 - F♯ major: six sharps 01:29 - The I and the V 03:12 - The shift — keep the common note 05:05 - Fingering 05:33 - The next inversion + the left hand 06:49 - Articulation and the pedal 07:49 - The last inversion — and float it 08:56 - Round the circle of fifths 10:52 - Pair the shapes 11:53 - Rhythm pattern 1 15:46 - Rhythm pattern 2 18:20 - Rhythm pattern 3 — 16ths 20:12 - Any root and its fifth 20:28 - Bonus 1: seven hits in quavers 21:37 - Bonus 2: seven hits in 16ths 22:20 - The piano is a drum 23:14 - Your practice plan ============================= 💰 Donate on PayPal ➡️ https://geni.us/DonatePayPal 📸 Instagram ➡️ https://instagram.com/jasonzac 📞 Call +91 98454 65411 · 💬 WhatsApp chat +91 77604 56847 📧 Customised & Private Lessons ➡️ music@nathanielschool.com 🎧 Listen to Jason Zac Music ➡️ https://riffs.jasonzacmusic.com/ #PianoLessons #PianoTutorial #MusicTheory #ChordInversions

    How to end a song on piano: the long cadence is a five-chord ending — G, D/F♯, E7, A7sus4 and D — played under one held D, six beats round. Use it as the last bar of almost any song in D, and see three cadences hiding in it: plagal, perfect and secondary dominant. 🔓 Want to play this in every key, at your own speed? You start by hearing it, then build it. The right hand plays B, A, G♯, G, F♯ — that is 6, 5, ♯4, 4, 3 in D major — and the left hand follows underneath in thirds. Then the D on top comes in as eighth notes, and the chords appear by themselves: G, D over F♯, E7, A7sus4, back home to D. Then the theory. G is the subdominant, D/F♯ is an inverted tonic, E7 is a secondary dominant (a dominant chord from outside the key that resolves to its fifth) and A7sus4 pulls magnetically home. You hear plagal (IV–I), perfect or authentic (V–I) and the secondary dominant in one cycle, and why the held D is a different note in every chord: the 5th, the root, the ♭7, the sus4, the root again. You also sing the top line and the bass, which turns it into an ear-training exercise as well. Then the fun: anticipation, swing, bass movement, a trill, the left hand keeping the pulse, a blues-scale lick to fill the bar (with no pedal), the same exercise in D♭ major, and a small Bohemian Rhapsody twist with G♯°7 and Em7. 🏫 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 • The Plagal Cadence on Piano: The 'Amen' Move That Adds Instant Emotion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioscYupDYko • Beyond V–I: 8 Piano Cadences That Change How Music Ends: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9Zdkdxd_HY • How to Use Secondary Dominant Chords to Write Colorful Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do-FwFW2Eag • Slash Chords on Piano: Turn Plain Triads Into Moving Progressions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjkwbSe5Xuc • Blues Scale Piano Workout: Major & Minor Blues Scales: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p46g4HXjtj0 • Free practice apps: https://apps.nathanielschool.com 🎓 https://nathanielschool.com 📚 All 1000+ lessons ➡️ https://learning-portal.nathanielschool.com ⏱ CHAPTERS 00:00 - The Long Cadence — play it first 00:27 - Welcome — what’s in this lesson 01:54 - An ending for any song 02:21 - Three cadences in one cycle 02:45 - One note that never moves: D 03:18 - Right hand: B A G♯ G F♯ 03:47 - Left hand: thirds underneath 04:44 - Ear training: sing the top and the bass 05:55 - Add the D on top — eighth notes in 6 06:55 - The D in the left hand too 07:16 - Name the chords: G · D/F♯ · E7 · A7sus4 · D 07:58 - What each chord does 09:18 - Tension and resolution 09:30 - The D plays a different role in every chord 09:58 - Basic rhythm done — now have fun 10:13 - Don’t play the D too loudly 10:52 - Bass movement and swing 11:17 - Anticipation: 1 e & a 11:53 - Left hand keeps the pulse 12:58 - Add a trill 14:15 - Bass walk: F♯ G G♯ A in thirds 15:26 - Sixteenth-note feel 15:54 - The D on top — thicken it up 16:27 - More options: the ♭7, plain diatonic 17:13 - Left hand follows like a hawk 17:54 - Your spice — or the old faithful 18:07 - All 12 keys — try D♭ major 19:21 - Fill the bar: D major blues licks 21:19 - No pedal on the licks 21:42 - The Bohemian Rhapsody twist 22:21 - Practice app · subscribe · see you next time 💛 PayPal: https://geni.us/DonatePayPal 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jasonzac 💬 WhatsApp: +91 77604 56847 📧 music@nathanielschool.com #PianoLessons #PianoTutorial #MusicTheory #PianoCadence

    Circle of fifths piano practice, rhythm workout: play every major and minor chord around the whole circle, in every inversion, with arpeggios, the tresillo and the son clave. Piano lesson with Jason Zac of Nathaniel School of Music. This is Part 2. Part 1 gave you the shape of every chord in root position, first inversion and second inversion. Now the rhythm comes in, and your two hands start sharing the beat. First, one chord through its inversions while the left hand holds a root or plays a pattern of its own: 1 hit against 4, 2 against 4, 3+1, 1+3, and only beats 2 and 4. Then three broken-chord orders: low-middle-high-middle, high-middle-low-middle and high-low-middle-low. Then the tresillo over a left-hand root and stride, so you have to find the root and the inversion at speed. After that, the journeys: the same shape from chord to chord (white-black-white, black-white-black), then the whole circle of fifths and the whole circle of fourths. The last two rhythms are a first-inversion circle with the modified tresillo and a second-inversion circle with the son clave over a stride. 🏫 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 Part 1: every major and minor chord in root position + 2 inversions ➡️ https://youtu.be/SOfunteeDXU Circle of Fifths (playlist) ➡️ https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT-FzWCgbLnhEXKrulYDxLQJ Triads That Move: Piano Rhythm Workout With Swing, Tresillo & Clave ➡️ https://youtu.be/CNsXfo9D9RE The Tresillo: Pop's Most-Used Piano Rhythm, Explained ➡️ https://youtu.be/knJebrulzRI 10 Rhythm Patterns That Make Chord Inversions Easy ➡️ https://youtu.be/DjPqzQqe_NY 🎡 Free Fifth Harmony circle of fifths app (24 modes, including the piano mode) ➡️ https://circle-of-fifths.nathanielschool.com 🎓 https://nathanielschool.com 📚 Free tutorials library ➡️ https://free-music-lessons.nathanielschool.com ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 - Intro 01:18 - One chord through its inversions 03:47 - Hand ratios: 1:4, 2:4, 3+1 06:04 - Arpeggios: three patterns 08:23 - Tresillo with stride 11:11 - Same-shape journeys 14:45 - The whole circle in fourths and fifths 16:47 - First inversion + modified tresillo 18:29 - Second inversion + son clave 20:17 - Wrap-up 💰 PayPal ➡️ https://geni.us/DonatePayPal 📸 Instagram ➡️ https://instagram.com/jasonzac 💬 WhatsApp ➡️ +91 77604 56847 ✉️ music@nathanielschool.com #PianoLessons #PianoTutorial #MusicTheory #PianoRhythm

    Piano rhythm exercises for the left hand: three notes in every two beats, the first note always on beat 1 — and every rhythm pattern that one rule gives you. Piano lesson with Jason Zac of Nathaniel School of Music. The rule: your left hand plays three notes in two beats. Any three notes you like — C D E, a chord in spread position, a closed triad, a power chord. The first note always lands on beat 1; only the other two move. In 4/4, copy the first two beats into beats 3 and 4. Start with E♭ in the bass — root, 5th, octave (E♭ B♭ E♭) — and divide each beat by two: 1 & 2 &. Then try root, 5th and 9th (E♭ B♭ F). Divide the beat by four (1 e & a 2 e & a) and the tresillo turns up; move to F (F C G) for a sixteenth-note drill. Last, triplets (1 & a 2 & a): a whole new playground, and your right-hand tune may have to change with it. Count the options. Divide by 2 and there are 3 spaces for your two moving notes → 3 patterns. Divide by 3: 5 spaces → 10 patterns. Divide by 4: 7 spaces → 21 patterns. Play each one as a drill first, then put a nursery rhyme or a tune you know on top in the right hand, then improvise — and keep checking you can still play the plain drill. One rhythm can take a whole hour at the piano. That is normal. 🏫 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 Practice Hit Points Over Multiple Time Divisions (Piano Rhythm & Groove) ➡️ https://youtu.be/DtE6en-4ndY 3-Hit Rhythm Patterns for ALL Time Signatures (Tresillo, Waltz, 5/8, 7/8 & 9/8) ➡️ https://youtu.be/9chHpik2Gc0 Piano Hand Independence and Rhythm: The Subdivision Exercise That Makes One Chord Groove ➡️ https://youtu.be/v2wMT78ZAlg The Tresillo: Pop's Most-Used Piano Rhythm, Explained ➡️ https://youtu.be/knJebrulzRI 5 Methods to Use and Feel Triplets in All Forms of Music ➡️ https://youtu.be/da7sghBHai0 Free rhythm practice apps ➡️ https://apps.nathanielschool.com 🎓 https://nathanielschool.com 📚 All 1000+ lessons ➡️ https://learning-portal.nathanielschool.com 📚 Free tutorials library — search "rhythm" ➡️ https://free-music-lessons.nathanielschool.com ⏱️ Chapters (times = recording time; final times after the edit) 00:00 - Cold open: the two-beat groove 00:44 - The goal: three notes, first on the beat 01:21 - The rule: every two-beat pattern 03:14 - The chord: E♭ root, fifth, octave 03:31 - Divide the beat by two 07:07 - Root, fifth and ninth 07:49 - Divide the beat by four (the tresillo) 08:34 - The semiquaver drill on F 10:49 - Patience and the drill 12:07 - Drill first, then improvise 13:25 - Triplets: a new playground 14:36 - All three divisions together 14:57 - Count your options: 3, 10, 21 16:04 - How to practise it 16:51 - Thanks for watching 💰 PayPal ➡️ https://geni.us/DonatePayPal 📸 Instagram ➡️ https://www.instagram.com/jasonzac 💬 WhatsApp ➡️ +91 77604 56847 ✉️ music@nathanielschool.com #PianoLessons #PianoTutorial #MusicTheory #PianoRhythm

    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

    Circle of fifths piano practice: learn every major and minor chord by its shape, in root position, first inversion and second inversion, with Jason Zac of Nathaniel School of Music. There are 24 piano chords, but they fall into just four hand shapes. The circle of fifths shows you which chords share a shape, so you learn them in groups instead of one at a time. In this lesson you go round the groups one by one: the all-white chords (C, F, G and their relative minors Dm, Am, Em), white-black-white (A, D, E and Cm, Fm, Gm), black-white-black (A♭, D♭, E♭ and C#m, F#m, G#m) and the six unique chords (F#, B, B♭ and E♭m, Bm, B♭m). Each group is played in root position first, with the root in the left hand and a rhythm of three short notes and one held note. Then every group again in first inversion (root on top) and second inversion (root in the middle), with the fingering I use for each shape. D and E in second inversion, for example, sit under the same hand. This is practice for your hands, not a theory talk. For the theory of the major and minor shapes, watch the lesson linked below first. Part 2 takes the same chords around the whole circle with arpeggios, the tresillo and the son clave. 🏫 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 Circle of Fifths (playlist) ➡️ https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT-FzWCgbLnhEXKrulYDxLQJ Learn ALL 12 Major & Minor Piano Chords (Triads) Using Intervals, Shapes & Theory ➡️ https://youtu.be/PAEz0Y82P1s How to Practice Chord Inversions Using the Circle of 5ths ➡️ https://youtu.be/VwgRQNBq2uU Make Chord Practice Fun With the Circle of Fifths (Part 1) ➡️ https://youtu.be/pu4mLLdZtYg 🎡 Free Fifth Harmony circle of fifths app (24 modes, including the piano mode) ➡️ https://circle-of-fifths.nathanielschool.com 🎓 https://nathanielschool.com 📚 Free tutorials library ➡️ https://free-music-lessons.nathanielschool.com ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 - Performance 00:10 - Intro 01:37 - Circle of fifths recap 06:31 - All-white major chords: C, F, G 08:57 - Relative minors: Am, Dm, Em 10:24 - White-black-white: A, D, E and Cm, Fm, Gm 12:09 - Black-white-black: Ab, Db, Eb and C#m, F#m, G#m 14:07 - The exclusive six: F#, B, Bb + Ebm, Bm, Bbm 16:31 - First inversion: root on top 21:39 - Second inversion: root in the middle 25:50 - Wrap-up and what’s next 💰 PayPal ➡️ https://geni.us/DonatePayPal 📸 Instagram ➡️ https://instagram.com/jasonzac 💬 WhatsApp ➡️ +91 77604 56847 ✉️ music@nathanielschool.com #PianoLessons #PianoTutorial #MusicTheory #CircleOfFifths

    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

    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

    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

    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

    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 📞 Call +91 98454 65411 · 💬 WhatsApp chat +91 77604 56847 📧 Customised & Private Lessons ➡️ music@nathanielschool.com #PianoLessons #PianoTutorial #MusicTheory #PianoFills

    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

    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

    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

    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

    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 📞 Call +91 98454 65411 · 💬 WhatsApp chat +91 77604 56847 📧 Customised & Private Classes: music@nathanielschool.com 🎧 Listen to Jason Zac Music: https://riffs.jasonzacmusic.com/ #PianoLessons #PianoTutorial #MusicTheory #PianoChords #ChordInversions #PianoPractice

    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 📞 Call +91 98454 65411 · 💬 WhatsApp chat +91 77604 56847 📧 Customised & Private Classes: music@nathanielschool.com 🎧 Listen to Jason Zac Music: https://riffs.jasonzacmusic.com/ #PianoLessons #PianoTutorial #MusicTheory #PianoChords #ChordInversions #PianoPractice

    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 📞 Call +91 98454 65411 · 💬 WhatsApp chat +91 77604 56847 📧 Customised & Private Classes: music@nathanielschool.com 🎧 Listen to Jason Zac Music: https://riffs.jasonzacmusic.com/ #ChordInversions #PianoTriads #PianoExercises

    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 📞 Call +91 98454 65411 · 💬 WhatsApp chat +91 77604 56847 📧 Customised & Private Classes: music@nathanielschool.com 🎧 Listen to Jason Zac Music: https://riffs.jasonzacmusic.com/ #PianoLessons #PianoTutorial #MusicTheory #PianoChords #ChordInversions #PianoPractice

    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

    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 📞 Call +91 98454 65411 · 💬 WhatsApp chat +91 77604 56847 📧 Customised & Private Classes: music@nathanielschool.com 🎧 Listen to Jason Zac Music: https://riffs.jasonzacmusic.com/ #PianoPosture #PianoTechnique #WristPain

    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

    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 📞 Call +91 98454 65411 · 💬 WhatsApp chat +91 77604 56847 📧 Customised & Private Classes: music@nathanielschool.com 🎧 Listen to Jason Zac Music: https://riffs.jasonzacmusic.com/ #PianoLessons #PianoTutorial #MusicTheory #Arpeggios #PianoRhythm #handindependence

    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 📞 Call +91 98454 65411 · 💬 WhatsApp chat +91 77604 56847 📧 Customised & Private Classes: music@nathanielschool.com 🎧 Listen to Jason Zac Music: https://riffs.jasonzacmusic.com/ #PianoLessons #PianoTutorial #MusicTheory #BluesPiano #BluesScale #12BarBlues #BluesScale #BluesPiano #PianoTechnique

    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.

    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.

    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! 🎹

    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.

    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 📞 Call +91 98454 65411 · 💬 WhatsApp chat +91 77604 56847 📧 Customised & Private Classes: music@nathanielschool.com 🎧 Listen to Jason Zac Music: https://riffs.jasonzacmusic.com/ #LeftHandPiano #PianoPatterns #PianoAccompaniment

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