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I apologize up front if this has been asked before, I searched the 600 pages but could not find what I was looking for. Probably because I am sure I am not using the correct terms.

I have been playing on and off for a few years now. My instructor was teaching based on Hal Leonard's EZ Play music. While fingering was correct, we were not putting emphasis on a classical learning style. The key focus was was flourishing the left hand as opposed to playing the chords in one motion. Basically playing C, then E, then G on a 3/4 as opposed to CEG at the same time for the measure. We were in the process of taking that to the next level for multiple time signatures and beats as well as other techniques. I can play in most keys, but clearly most comfortable in C. Unfortunately, he passed away and I have been struggling to find an instructor that is familiar with that technique in my area.

So that brings me to this point. I am really not interested in learning the classical style of playing the piano. I have tried a few times and it is not for me. I enjoy picking up a piece of sheet music like Piano Man, playing the melody and plusing it up with my left hand. Playing is very much a stress reliever for me. I have reached out to more instructors and piano stores then I ever imagined. Is there a name for that kind of teaching or technique? Are there any good books, websites, or videos that I can leverage to further my teaching.

Thanks.

CT

There are books called "Fake books" that are basically chords and melody to improvise around and this sounds like the approach you want. I think if you look for a teacher who can teach improvisation or pop you will be happy. Some teachers, even ones who specialize in that area, may want to teach a basic classical foundation but hopefully you'll find what you are after.

(Caveat here: I am with a classical teacher who doesn't know one pop song to the next ... so I have zero experience of having a teacher like that.)

Yes, absolutely. My first piano teacher was a wonderful jazz/blues/improv pianist. They are out there, you just have to find one that specializes in what you want. So ask these exact questions when you talk to teachers, and see what they offer. The good ones will tell you yes or no straight away. The bad ones will beat around the bush.

Thanks Andy. The fake books are great to identify the chord to accentuate the melody. I actually use them all of the time. I was learning ways to play those chords. On a 3/4 measure it is easy to play arpeggiation with basic chords. I am really interested in other ways to make them interesting. What if I add the 7th to a C chord. Playing 4 notes in a 3/4 measure with arpeggiation does not sound right to me.

I am not sure if I am explaining my desire effectively.

Much of what one needs to play any style of music is taught in a "Classical" teaching format.

If taught "correctly", i.e. completely, Classical training includes technique, theory, composition, etc, all of which are not specific to Classical, but are applicable to much of music.

After all, its the same, notes, same keyboard, same fingers/hand, same note reading, etc.

I guess what I am trying to say is that the fundamentals are much the same, and a Classical teacher is more easy to find, and what you learn there will filter into whatever you want to play.

And, Jazz teaching is very similar in the respect as Classical, i.e. emphasis on theory, technique, etc.

A good example is Billy Joel, who was Classically trained. From Wikipedia:



So if you can't find anyone specific, that may be the way to go, because much of what you learn will ultimately help you. I was classically trained, and glad of it, because I have a good foundation, but it certainly has not limited my ability to play anything else; If anything, it has greatly helped it. Check out the free tune in my signature...definatly not Classical!

All the best!

1) Solid chords
2) Broken chords
3) Walking bass
4) Stride
5) Any combination of above

"What if I add the 7th to a C chord."

If you can add the 7th, you can probably add the 9th as well, but you can not always add the 7th to a major or minor triad. Sometimes you can, or maybe the 6th will work instead, or again maybe not. Your ear will tell you what fits.

There are numerous teaching websites available and if you do enough digging, you may be able to find something you like.

I found this one to be quite good for this particular piece I was interested in. It will also give you some ideas for chord comping.

Great video. Thanks for posting. Especially nice is that I can hear the video and many I cannot hear.

You may be right in theory, but in practice it usually isn't so. Proper classical training takes a long time and concentrates much on teaching tradition and specialized techniques that would not be needed at all when playing the way the op wants to play. Where I live there are clearly too types of teachers, those who are classical and may or may not be willing/able to teach something else too and then those who specialise in teaching more improvised style of playing and pop/jazz. Having a classical teacher can kill one enthusiasm pretty quick if the student is not at all interested in classical piano music. If one is lucky one may find a teacher that is good at adapting his methods and teaching material to the student's needs, but not everyone can...

Many jazz teachers I know (especially those in universities) prefer to only take students who are able to show a certain level of playing classical repertoire so that they don't have to teach any of that. I think that if you want to do jazz, you can do so with the right classical teacher who can give you some tips in jazz as you are getting the basics. Ideally, you'd find a jazz teacher who can address technical issues too, but those are just about as rare.

Certainly we are not talking about university level jazz teachers here, if the OP wants to learn to play popular melodies with some improvisation on chords. I don't know where you live, but around here there are numerous teachers who teach that and they are quite popular among adult beginners who are not interested in learning anything else.

I guess my idea of learning classical piano is not being able to play through a few method books. The way my teacher teachers goes so in depth (and I am not talking about theory, but the production of sound) and requires so much hard work from me that if my goal wasn't to actually play advanced classical stuff one day I would have run away pretty soon

Most definitely. It looked as if your instructor had you doing a technique called "Alberti" bass. Essentially, Alberti bass is a common pattern in classical music that consists of repeating a pattern such as; C,G,E,G. It's a common left hand technique in Baroque music, and you'll see it occur in some early classical also; and as the time period moved on, it was used more for embellishing a phrase rather than structuring a piece.

The solution to your problem is simple. I don't know whether you want to play jazz or not as you never mentioned that you did. So, my solution would be this; you should try establishing a chord progression. Play around with sounds. Duke Ellington once said "if it sounds good, it is good". You can't go wrong! Try to experiment with just major and minor sevenths first. Then build and start implementing diminished and augmented chords. The introduce dominant or also known as (Major/minor)chords, into the mix.

My training system will show you in five videos how scales work in building your own chord progressions and eventually making distinct musical phrases out of them. Check it out below, hey, it's free!