Revised and expanded
How does a pianist move from practicing alone to playing in a jazz band? This PDF explains the skills needed to play in the rhythm section of a large jazz ensemble including how to voice chords, what scales to play when improvising, and stock accompaniments and grooves for the main jazz styles.

50 pages
Level: Late intermediate and up

Download includes a studio license authorizing you to print as many copies as required for you and/or your current students? use.

40 Meditations on the Life of St. Columba consists of the piano pieces found in Volumes I-III of the class piano curriculum Pilgrimage of Practice without the exercises or instructional materials. This collection is intended for pianists of all ages who might enjoy the works for themselves, for use in lessons, or for purposes of performance.

3 variations of 12 Bar Blues in C minor (C blues). Intended for students who are new to the blues style/scales.

From the composer: "What are Morphs? Morphs are tiny compositions. I wrote them as springboards for improvisation. Most Morphs are under four measures; a few are longer. I wrote these little pieces on piano, but any instrumentalist or vocalist can adapt them. They can also be played in groups. Morphs can be played as written -- with no improvisation -- to practice rhythmic dexterity and keeping a steady pulse. However, you'll have the most fun with these pieces if you have some knowledge of improvisation, scales, modes and chord symbols, or if you have an experienced improviser to work with. As you can see, Morphs are not just in major and minor scales; they are also in some of the various modes and occasionally a pentatonic scale. The time signatures also vary. Try playing the Morphs as written for a few cycles, then branch out and start improvising. There are no rules. In fact, you can change meter or key as desired. These pieces are meant to spark your own improvisations. Musically yours...Mikael Elsila (composer), melsila@hotmail.com". Watch Morphs in action at www.bitly.com/morphsetudesforimprovisation . Morphs are (c) Mikael Elsila and registered with ASCAP. Contact the composer at melsila@hotmail.com.