00:46 Turnaround progression 01:20 Beginner approach: chord shells 02:30 Play with backing track 03:04 Intermediate approach: rootless voicings 04:09 Play with backing track 05:04 Gospel scale 06:33 Exercise 1: 8th notes 09:05 Exercise 2: triplets 10:56 Exercise 3: slides 12:33 Play with backing track 13:07 Conclusion

I wish I'd have found you 50 years ago. At 71 I'm finally learning what I wanted to back then. I was playing rock organ, but wanted to play Jazz. Oh well, better late than never. Your teaching style is perfect for the way I learn. Thank You, and God Bless You.

I had to look many times to realize how you are doing the slides. At first, I didn't see that you were touching 2 keys! Almost like a magician. Very good lesson for me, a beginner at 72!

Unlike some I can't read music ,never mastered an instrument but after using u tube to learn everything found this lesson amazing ,many thanks fantastic.

This is a perfect little lesson, thank you Jonny.

These 14 minutes are much more helpful, than year long traditional piano lessons. Thank You!

I am deeply connected with music (being now 54). It was always classical, reading music (I love Bach!). BUT!! - I NEVER knew how to play "by heart" or improvise. My Father - a professional conductor and organ virtuoso - and my brother - engineer! :) - could improvise easily! You taught me how much do I have to DEPART from the classical understanding of the harmony I studied in order to IMPROVISE - how much must I change my approach. I have to turn it 180 degrees! That's your GREAT success! Thank you! I will definitely follow starting from HERE!! This is thanks to your remarkable teaching / instructing abilities and a brilliant personality!

I played piano in middle and high school jazz band and we were NEVER taught anything like this. Thank you!

Not sure why youtube made you appear but it is the best lesson I’ve had. Excellent. I’m subscribed. Please keep going. Thank you!

Wow Johnny is the best piano teacher I have found on KZfaq. Everything is so clearly explained and the digital piano overlay is perfect.

Johnny, your approach is measured, systematic and very much step-by-step and your concept of showing yourself playing at the piano along with the note names appearing above the piano keys as they are being played, is genius. And your musical knowledge and your ability convey it is simply amazing. Thank you so much for putting these videos together and I can’t wait to see your other videos.

Wow. Super impressed. I stopped at the 8:50 mark because I couldn't wait to try it . . . and 30-45 minutes later I can start to get a handle on the intermediate bass line and am fooling with the gospel improv over it. I've only been (really) playing about a year and learning this kind of improv was really my motivation /goal to start playing piano in the first place. (I play for myself late at night to relax---yes, with a cocktail nearby! lol) Thank you Jonny for the great free lessons. (I'm a professional artist/art professor as well, so major props for the clarity and demystification of your art form.)

My grandfather used to play jazz piano, and I loved listening to him practice. I'm excited to learn how to play!!

I've gone back to this lesson at least 10 times in the past year. It is a treasure. Seeing improvement in my playing and is so encouraging. Thanks, Jonny!

This is a great video. Skills that actually attainable to those starting out. I wish I had had KZfaq when I was a youngster trying to learn jazz piano and getting nowhere.

Best lesson I’ve seen yet, And only eight minutes in. Exactly what I was looking for because it’s taking a very simple chord sequence and embellishing it to sound like something much richer.

I really appreciate your teaching style. I am learning a lot. You really demystify piano. I am so grateful.

Not sure I’ve ever seen this so cleanly described in so little time. Amazing!!

LOVE THIS! You have opened up a new world for me with this...I’m jazzed & that’s no joke!

I started playing piano at 13. Went to college for it for 2 years. This is just what I needed to get back into it.

Excellent tutorial. Thank you so much for putting together this tutorial. You are a great teacher and you have very nicely broken down the mechanics in bite size to help us understand and practice. God bless you and stay blessed!!

You're a hell of a teacher! Thank you for your work. Your site is a treasure trove.

Nice little lesson, Johnny! Been playing for years, but i gave up trying to figure out improv because I couldnt find a comprehensive lesson, but this is it! 🎹

Thank you Jonny you are an amazing teacher.

I can't be the only one hearing "Heart and Soul" within these progressions. I am now going to take a second look at that composition, I didn't realize the "Jazzy" in that song. Cool!!! Thanks for these tips!!!

How beautiful is jazz piano music.... specially when comes from your own fingers!

You are a great teacher! I've watched a couple of your videos with no real piano knowledge (I play guitar) and I'm already "slowly" improving to backing tracks on my keyboard! THANKS! This is gonna be a great journey!

I'll be honest. I was going to be disappointed if it was actually only a minute long. Keep them coming! I just love listening you play.

Excellent I love the way you teach piano, you're one of the best in the world that's for sure, thanks for sharing it

I have yet to find a better piano instructor on youtube. Thanks Jonny!

I'm a hotel Pianist from Malaysia. I really like your teaching as it improves my playing. Thanks for sharing :)

You're an awesome teacher and I love the professional look and feel of your video! 🙌🏾🙌🏾

This has just become my favorite video on KZfaq. I never knew I wanted to play cocktail jazz but now I think I want to do it more than any other thing and I know I will be able to. Excellent teacher. 👏 Thank you :)

Thanks for breaking that down for me. Never messed around with jazz progressions. The 4 chord turn around and the “ gospel scale “ have given me a lot to practice around with. Great stuff. Thanks

Beautiful... This is the only word I have for this small piece of music

You have changed my Piano strides....Love you ....Johnny.... Stay Blesssed!!

Took me about three hours to learn how to play a handfull of songs in this style. Properly amazing!

Step 1: Drink several cocktails before & during the gig Step 2: Doesn't matter

Jonny, I've been practicing all evening ... what a brilliant tip this is. All of a sudden I'm sitting at the piano playing my own compositions and it almost sounds like rudimentary cocktail piano. Fantastic.

Your playing is so beautiful & inspiring. And your instructions are clear. 👍

This is one of the best materials I have seen on entire youtube. Everything explained in such easy way

Great lessons thank you very much!

Smile on my face the whole lesson, Jonny is awesome

I'm so glad i found your channel. I love jazz but never knew where to start to learn

You're a great teacher! I never got to go to jazz school, but I really appreciate this lesson, I hope to teach like you someday. Great video!!!!

Excellent teacher! Hats off to your whole approach and great video production as well. Thank you.

Jonny. I am getting back to piano after a few years on guitar. My level is novice-intermediate. Jazz coktail piano is my interest. I came apound you on the web and was really impressed about your tutorials, making what seems difficult at first become so accessible, thanks to your great approach, of step by step notions. . With you, a piece is like a puzzle, coming to a result image. Consider me as a disciple of yours. I will practie everyday onyour lessons. Please send me infos when available Best regards Jean (Johnny) Quebec Canada

Love you sir ❤ god bless you

I studied in the Frankfurter Musikwerkstatt. The Teachers knew well what they were teaching, but they weren't as well structurized as you are. Thanks.

Thank you Jonny! 🙏🏻🤩

Merci Jonny pour vos tutos ! Quel plaisir que vos explications si claires ....et en C !!! fabulous for a beguiner !!! Thank you so much 🥰

Thank you man. Great pianist and your techniques are just so easy to understand.👍🏽

Esse professor realmente faz a diferença no mundo 😱

Just finished watching the triplets and slides . . . wow. Even more impressed. GREAT job!

I don't Wright in English Very well. Fantastic presentations . We could play the same exercices in others tunes(F, G, E etc) I am a 81 years old Man, trying to learn more. From Brazil a musical country

Wow, beautifully explained, good tempo and a wonderful gift to peopl curious and hungry to learn. Thank you, Johnny.

Piano is king of instruments

Jazz is one of my favourite genres and I find it very difficult to play since I only know basic chords. This video gave me a chance to play jazz. Thank soo much sir.

Awesome stuff! Just the video i needed! Im a classical piano player but always wanted to learn how to to simple jazzy piano

Somehow landed on this video. Trying to teach myself how to play piano, this is definitely the style I was looking for, but didn't know what to look up.

Very smart man. At all levels.

Thank you for posting this. What great teaching and playing technique.

excellent teacher absolutely clear !

You’re a great piano teacher. Excellent tutorial!

I am working on a project where I play one song in several styles. I don't get jazz AT ALL nor play much piano so the cocktail version was the most difficult to transcribe. WOW this helped so much. I don't feel embarrassed to share this with my help for this song now. Thank you so much. Even getting a feel for the timings you used at the beginning helped. Cheers!

Just discovered your channel. Love your simple deconstruction of what sounds like difficult playing

Thanks, 4 the tips.

Simply Beautiful .....

Great lesson!!! It really works!!! Thank you very much for this lesson!

This is the same chord progression as 'This Boy' by The Beatles. Gave me inspiration to make a jazz cover.

Thank god for people like you! Thanks so much ;) you are the best!

Simply amazing lesson ........and teacher ....! i m speechless !!!

Maybe as you can see I am basically a trumpet player but you motivated me to go further with my secret love playin Cocktail Piano.. Amazing video and extremely helpful keep on going the good work thank you very very much...

Thank u so much for this lesson. It's helpful and easy to understand!

Best piano course on the internet, and so generous with the free content. Fantastic.

WOW - I really enjoyed that lesson you have great teaching technique and have given me something to aspire to and actually achieve - thank you so much 🤗🤗🤗😎

Exactly what I was looking for. Thanks

Good job, very clear, you're a very good teacher. Thank you for sharing

👏👏👏 A MUST lesson

Thanks for sharing your piano tricks …much appreciated. Stay safe always.

Always simple but very rich tutorials Jonny, thanks a lot !

Very useful to understand the basic skill, Thanks Jonny!

Awesome awesome awesome exercise - love it! Thank you so much!

Thank you, Jonny. Your approach and teaching is very easy to understand for a slow learner like me. Thank you.

I can more comprehend the way you teaching actually some of them sometimes it can be tricky but mind you I really like just to learned specially just blues also I want to learned the lick how to run it but I’ve got you the way you do it have some idea now thank you

In the 70's, we used to call solo lounge piano players - lounge lizards. As a drummer, with a very basic piano background, what you call Slides, we call Flams. The Flam is one of the 26 essential drum rudiments. That's my inane contribution to this link, which I found very helpful. Thanks..

Fantastic! Thanks so much!

Thank you sooo much Johnny.... truly accessible,useful, practical, down to earth, doable. And wonderful to play and listen to! Improv made possible!,, So satisfying! Thanks for posting

Thank you so much I have learned so much in a very short time. Well done🇬🇧🥰❤️

This is amazing thanks for this. Would love to see more common scales and techniques used in cocktail! 🍸

Thanks for the tips i really enjoy your videos!

Damn this lesson simplified cocktail playing so much for me! It’s not nearly as complex as I thought

Great pacing and content here. I've been playing this style forever but what I love about music is there's always more to learn. (Your fingerings are different from mine so I'm keen to try yours out.) Thanks Piano with Jonny for having such a great visual display. Having the visual and auditory cues really puts this over the top, for me, a fellow educator.

Awesome lesson dude, you’re the best piano teacher on KZfaq for sure. 👍🤘

you are good teacher ....i have a lot from you sir

Tolle Lektion, die gerade Anfängern Mut macht weiterzumachen...👍🏻

Awesome !!! I would love to know how to play jazz, starting from scratch so that I can cover everything that there is in jazz piano.

Tremendous lesson, opened up different avenues!

I absolutely loved this video, Jonny. Huge thanks

just so good that I love you Jonny!!!!