Pop/Rock Keyboard

Learn to play authentic keyboard parts in a wide range of pop/rock styles, including rock ‘n roll, R&B, dance pop, classic rock, country, heartland/alt-country, and jam band. Pop/Rock Keyboard provides an in-depth, practical approach to playing pop/rock music in a band and for solo piano. The course explores how to play accompaniment parts and improvised solos, and how to read and interpret contemporary chord symbol lead sheet notation. Each lesson features new techniques taught through video demonstrations of solo piano and full band performances, reading and listening examples, and practice opportunities using album quality play-along tracks. The course includes music examples and techniques from artists and bands such as The Beatles, Elton John, Alicia Keys, Demi Levato, David Bowie, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnnie Johnson, Little Richard, Jamie Cullum, Fats Domino, Maroon 5, John Mayer, The Fray, Aretha Franklin, Peter Gabriel, Stevie Wonder, Adele, Prince, Rascall Flatts, Bruce Hornsby, Steve Earle, The Grateful Dead, Phish, and many others.

The course begins with instruction on triads, arpeggiated keyboard parts, voice-leading, and comping patterns - all of which are bedrock principles of many signature pop/rock songs. From there, you’ll delve into dominant seventh chords, blues licks, and call and response techniques. You’ll explore the influence of gospel music and techniques specific to sub genres of pop/rock music, focus on how to find the key center for improvisation, and learn the associated phrasing and grooving techniques to advance your improvisational chops. The course ends with performance considerations, including how to combine different pop/rock techniques, how to deal with performance anxiety, and how to work out the best possible practice routine. At the end of each lesson, students will record themselves playing along with band tracks for instructor critique. The course is equally beneficial to beginning keyboard students, or students with classical experience or contemporary jazz style training. This course will fill in any gaps in students’ playing, and provide a strong foundation in pop/rock keyboard playing.

By the end of the course, you will be able to:

• construct various chord types used in pop/rock styles
• voice lead chords through chord progressions
• play rhythmic accompaniments that are appropriate for many pop/rock styles
• play improvised solos on pop/rock tunes
• use the improvisational (soloing) vocabulary used in pop/rock styles
• employ quarter note, eighth note, broken triad, and arpeggiated accompaniment techniques
• employ dominant seventh chord techniques and blues licks
• play minor seventh chords, major seventh chords, and the pop styles that use them
• play sophisticated add9 chords and fourths voicing commonly used in pop/rock styles
• read and interpret lead sheets
• play techniques borrowed from gospel styles, commonly used in pop/rock music
• use funky pop and dance grooves and related keyboard sounds and techniques
• play country and country/pop accompaniment and solos

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