Start Improvising!
About Start Improvising!
Have you ever experienced what it's like to work diligently on the same piece of music for several weeks / months but never seem to be comfortable playing through it, like you are always holding on for dear life trying to make it to the end?
While there may be many reasons for this, physical or mental, the most common roadblock to playing your favorite pieces effortlessly has to do with your ability to recognize harmonic and motivic patterns within the key you are playing, and being so comfortable in that key that you don't have to think about the details. When you truly know a piece inside and out, the performance becomes automatic and your mind is free to focus solely on more expressive concepts, both small and large.
Improvisation is a great way to understand what a particular key feels like under your hands, and it's an important and often overlooked step to being more comfortable at the piano after learning scales & arpeggios.
After improvising in one key for long enough, all future repertoire you play in that key, no matter how physically demanding, will feel considerably more natural!
Improving your improvisational skills is also vital if you are interested in exploring composition!
This class is limited to 40 students.
Class Goals
- Goal 1: Discover which keys you are most comfortable with and play most naturally.
- Goal 2: Develop a repertoire of accompaniment patterns for the left hand while improvising with the right hand.
- Goal 3: Practice improvising with the call & response technique.
- Goal 4: Improvise with both hands at the same time.
- Goal 5: Build a harmonic repertoire that best suits your musical tastes.
- Goal 6: Constant vs Variables: Improvisation exercise. While improvising, one detail must remain the same throughout. Explore the concept of an underlying foundation.
- Goal 7: Learn how to grow the smallest idea into a substantial work with the concept of Theme and Variation.
- Goal 8: Develop your improvisation so that it's indisinguishable from a well thought out composition.
Age Range
All Ages
Skill Level
All Levels
Contact the Teacher
Send a direct message from the teacher's profile page with any questions you might have about the class.
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Join Start Improvising! for FreeThis class will be offered on July 7 as part of LESSONFEST, our weeklong festival of free classes and activities. Enroll above for free and we will send you the link to join. |
When
Single 45-min session on Tuesday, July 7, at 3 pm ET | 1 pm PT | 19:00 UTC.
Enrolled students receive lifetime access to the video recording of the class.
How It Works
Enroll above to save your spot in the class. Lessonface will send you a confirmation right away, and a Zoom link 24 hours before each session's start time. You can log into your Lessonface dashboard to access class materials, communicate with your instructor, join the live Zoom session, and access the class recordings and chat transcript afterward. Contact us with any questions. This class, and all lessons and classes on Lessonface, are covered by the Lessonface Guarantee.
Book 1:1 online lessons with Jim Funnell on their Lessonface profile.
Jim Funnell
Anglo-French pianist and composer Jim Funnell started leading his own band in his early teens, performing at jazz clubs by the time he was in high school. Dedicating himself to the study of both classical and jazz piano, he was awarded a full tuition scholarship from Berklee College of Music, where he was exposed to a diversity of styles and cultures.
About Lessonface, PBC
Lessonface's mission is to help students achieve their goals while treating teachers equitably. Since 2012, we've hosted more than 30,000 students and 2,000 teachers for over 500,000 music, language, and arts lessons and classes online.