To become a truly accomplished keyboard player, you first have to master the basics. Players that have an intimate understanding of voice leading chords, creating accompaniments, playing the signature licks for blues and rock, and the techniques of improvisation are more comfortable in different musical situations, and are more dynamic, expressive and well-rounded players. This 3-course program provides students with a wide array of tools and the knowledge necessary to develop their technique and gain a greater command on the keyboard.

The program begins with the Berklee Keyboard Method. This course follows a time-tested approach perfected over more than forty years by Berklee Professor Emeritus Paul Schmeling. The course starts off by teaching you to find notes on the keyboard, and moves on to give you the basics of music theory as it applies to the keyboard. You値l learn to read lead sheets and construct everything from simple to complex chords, and develop hip melodies and chords that you can use in a real musical setting. By the end of this course, you値l be accompanying yourself with the left hand while playing melodies with the right. Building on this foundational knowledge, you値l move onto covering the roots styles of Blues and early rock in the Blues and Rock Keyboard Techniques course. Each week you値l practice a progressive series of techniques at the keyboard designed to improve your time feel, hand strength, and vocabulary. Once you致e got the accompaniment and phrasing skills under your fingers, you値l learn the specific licks, riffs, harmonies, and rhythms that are at the heart of contemporary American music, including New Orleans piano, gospel, rock and roll, and solo blues piano. By the end of this course you値l have a strong foundation in the theory and harmonic concepts common to blues/rock styles, and the skills to take your music in whatever path you may follow.

You値l finish up your studies with a course in Basic Improvisation. In this course, you値l learn step-by-step how to develop complex solos starting with just a few notes, from 12-bar blues to rock to jazz. You値l check out the work of a wide range of great improvisers, including Stevie Wonder, James Brown (who was a very skilled keyboard player!), Charlie Parker, and many more. With their solos as a guide, you値l learn to recreate and perform the sounds you hear in your head蓉sing chord tones, pentatonic scales, chord scales, and all the notes in between. You値l look closely at phrasing, the balance of sound and silence, contrast and repetition, and other characteristics of a good solo. Helpful tips and techniques along the way will help make you a more confident and creative soloist.

With this foundational knowledge, coupled with the blues and rock licks and improvisational techniques, you値l possess the skills to be an in-demand keyboard player ready for any performance opportunity that comes your way!