MusicGurus Online Courses 

MusicGurus have collaborated with Tim Richards to produce a series of interactive online video courses linked with his Schott books.

BEGINNING JAZZ PIANO
An Introduction to Swing, Blues, Latin and Funk
Part 1: Everything You Need to Get Started

This first course is aimed at players with some piano experience who wish to acquire the basic tools required to play and improvise in a jazz style and includes many unique features and resources to kick start your journey:

  • 20 PIECES spanning a range of styles, taking you in easy steps from one chord only, to tunes with three chords
  • BACKING TRACKS with bass and drums only, so you can practise easily by yourself
  • INTERACTIVE SHEET MUSIC that scrolls video and audio - slow tracks down, loop sections, play along
  • Invaluable SUGGESTED LISTENING sections in each chapter, focusing on tunes with one, two or three chords only
  • Unique 'SING & PLAY' tracks help you develop your aural skills and improvise with pentatonic scales

The pieces and examples in this course are taken from Tim's best-selling book Beginning Jazz Piano - Part 1 that is helping thousands of pianists. The book is not required to take the course but contains additional exercises and material for those wishing to go into even more depth.



BEGINNING JAZZ PIANO
An Introduction to Swing, Blues, Latin and Funk
Part 2: Harmony, Improvisation, Accompanying & Reading From Lead Sheets

This takes you up to Intermediate level, with a wider range of chord types and sequences including AABA and 32-bar song forms.

Section 1: Harmony & Improvisation
Builds on the concepts covered in Part 1 to help you deal with typical situations such as 32-bar sequences, II – V – I, playing in 3/4, etc.

  • Develop your improvisation skills using techniques such as pentatonic scales, modes, arpeggios, broken chords, horizontal and vertical improvisation 
  • Watch me play and improvise for every piece
  • Online resources include BACKING tracks, and interactive ‘REPLAY’ tracks featuring scrollable music and adjustable tempos 

Section 2: Accompanying
An essential skill for anyone playing in a duo situation, or for vocalists wishing to accompany themselves at the piano.

  • Build your own bass lines in a range of styles, including two-feel, walking bass, blues, funk, bossa nova 
  • Add chords in the right hand and learn how to ‘comp’ in the style of tunes such as All of Me and One Note Samba 

Section 3: Interpreting Lead Sheets
Follow the ‘Lead Sheet Protocol’ to help you get away from reading sheet music and start creating your own arrangements – like professional jazz pianists.

  • Explore a variety of left-hand styles including shells, rootless chords, stride piano 
  • Learn how to play melodies using two-handed voicings in four- and five-part harmony

'Beginning Jazz Piano' includes seven originals alongside traditional standards such St James Infirmary, When the Saints Go Marching In and Indiana. This is the ideal book to use with your piano teacher, but the backing and ‘Replay’ tracks make it equally accessible to those studying on their own.

The pieces and examples in this course are taken from Tim's best-selling book Beginning Jazz Piano - Part 2. The book is not required to take the course but contains additional exercises and material for those wishing to go into even more depth.



IMPROVISING BLUES PIANO
Part 1 - The Basic Principles

This online course in two parts is based on my book 'Improvising Blues Piano'. Part 1 of course is for any intermediate pianist who wants to start playing the blues and improvising in the style. You don't need any knowledge of blues scales or harmony before starting the course, everything's included! The video below is a taster for Part 1 of the course.

• Interactive sheet music - slow tracks down, loop, play along
• Covers a range of styles from boogie woogie to swing
• Graded pieces take you from beginner to intermediate level

Part 1 includes 48 lessons, in which I demonstrate the following tunes from Chapters 1-3 of the book, all of which can be downloaded as PDFs:

Beginner’s Blues, C-Jam Blues, Blue Third Blues, Five Finger Blues, New Orleans Triplet Workout, On-Off Boogie, Jump Shuffle, Sixth Blues, Riff Blues, Barrelhouse Blues, Seventh Blues, Blues for Sal, See See Rider, Smooth Blues and Blues in Thirds.

The online course does not present the tunes in the same order as the book, in fact it gives you some extra tips, makes new connections and throws a new slant on many of the pieces. You'll also be able to watch and listen to me improvise. It's not necessary to have the book to do the course.




IMPROVISING BLUES PIANO
Part 2 - Playing Authentically

If you’ve completed Part 1, you’ll already be playing blues in C, F and G and have a small repertoire of left-hand bass patterns and right-hand ideas. In Part 2 we’ll take things to the next level, exploring a few new keys and chords, and some more challenging left-hand patterns. The video below is a taster of Part 2.

Part 2 features more advanced pieces, introducing many authentic blues devices and a wider range of styles and harmonies. 40 lessons are included, in which I demonstrate the following pieces from the book, all of which are also downloadable as PDFs: 

Medium Jump, Blues with Pick-ups, Bouncy Boogie, Slow Blues in D, Happy Blues, Syncopated Boogie, Sad Blues, Blue 5th Boogie, Slow Guitar Blues, Ninth Blues, Slow 12/8 Blues, Blues for Booker, Ain’t No Sunshine, Got My Mojo Workin’ and Rockaboogie. 

The online course does not present the tunes in the same order as the book, in fact it gives you some extra tips, makes new connections and throws a new slant on many of the pieces. You'll also be able to watch and listen to me improvise; the interactive sheet music also allows you to slow things down and play along for practice purposes.