By Willie

Melodic Minor Harmony

Let’s take a look at how we can use the Melodic Minor Scale. This scale has some benefits and detriments over the Major scale. One benefit is that there are really no avoid notes in the scale. However a detriment is that we can not use only one melodic minor scale while improvising. We need …

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Studio Work

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to do some studio work for a local singer. Studio work is different than playing a gig, soI thought I’d give you some studio tips to make your experience in the studio both fun and productive. What is Studio Work? First off, anytime you are offered studio work, …

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Guide To Quickly Arranging Lead Sheets

In this month’s article, I am going to talk about different techniques you can use to quickly create an arrangement from a lead sheet. Lead sheets, sometimes referred to “Lead Lines” are when you are presented with only the chords and melody of a song. If you know how to create an arrangement using lead …

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Getting Faster Piano Fingers part 1a

We all want to play the piano faster and be stronger in what we play. However, we also need accuracy, dexterity, fluidity, dynamics and most of all musicality. In this article and lesson, I will show you how to achieve these characteristics in your playing through some simple exercises of both your fingers…and your mind! …

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How to practice the piano – pt. 2

In last month’s practicing the piano article we focused a lot on goal setting. In this month’s article we are going to dive deeper into what and how to practice. I will also be covering my 80/20 practice rule. Let’s first start with the practice sheet. To get the PianoWithWillie.com practice sheet, you can ‘like’ …

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How to practice the piano

In this multi-part article, I want to give you some pointers on how to practice the piano. Practicing can be fun and when you have clear goals defined, I think you’ll find that it is satisfying and enjoyable! Goals keep you focused If you sit down to practice without a goal, you will most likely …

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Rock Improvisation Techniques – Bruce Hornsby

For me, one of the reasons I love Bruce Hornsby’s music so much is due to his ability to infuse a jazz sound into a rock environment. Let me explain… In this article, I will break down one of the licks that I teach in our Bruce Hornsby, “The Way It Is” lesson. I’ll also …

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Drop 2 Voicings for Prelude To A Kiss

Recently I recorded a Willie Answers lesson on diminished harmony. Part of that lesson was using a diminished approach technique which I discuss in depth in the lesson. I also covered drop 2 voicings which generated some questions from our students. So, I figured let’s do an article to explain the concept! In this article, I am …

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Richer Piano Chord Voicings with Quartals

Using Quartals To Make Richer Chord Voicings I love the sound of those big, fat jazz chords. Don’t you? Those tensions and ‘extra’ notes really make the song go from dull to dazzling. Creating these rich chord voicings becomes much easier when we use quartals. A quartal is two stacked intervals. It is two perfect …

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Creating Seventh Chords

There are several ways that you can form chords: 1. Number the scale and choose the appropriate scale degrees 2. Use intervals to “stack” notes 3. Use your ear to “hunt and peck” at the notes Let’s work backwards. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – …

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