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Piano Lessons, Keyboard for Beginners, Portland Oregon – Children, Adults

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If learning piano is something you have been thinking about for some time, here’s some of the things you can expect learning to play piano or keyboard. Learning piano is a wonderful new skill that you will have for years. It’s a very personal endeavor, and can be exciting and adventurous. You will begin to appreciate music in a way that you never imagined. Listening to music is great, but being able to play it will give you an entirely new level of understanding.

Individual private piano lessons will give you a weekly opportunity to work on new music and stay on a smooth course. I teach students from the age of 4 and up. Many students begin lessons as adults. I love working with beginner students. It’s great to watch their progress and see them explore the world of piano and keyboard music. Students decide which direction they would like to take the lessons. Some students prefer to work mostly on learning to read music. There is so much wonderful music to learn on piano; Classical, Pop, Blues, New Age, Folk, Jazz. Other students may wish to add blues improvisation, theory, and perhaps songwriting. I want students to have a fun experience learning to play and feel a sense of accomplishment right from the beginning. My studio is comfortable and relaxed place to study piano.

Norm Zarr
503-771-4611

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Video Jazz Piano – Abdullah Ibrahim Plays Cape Town Flower (1999)

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Here is a video of a beautiful and moving performance of “Cape Town Flower” recorded at the Lugano Jazz Festival in Switzerland in 1999. The trio playing here is one of Abdullah´s best ensembles ever. Abdullah Ibrahim is one of my favorite composers and pianists. His music is rich, innovative, and lovely to listen to. His style of playing includes many varied elements from Jazz and Blues Piano.

Abdullah Ibrahim was born in 1932 in Cape Town, South Africa. Ibrahim is a pianist and composer. His music reflects multicultural influences from his childhood. You can discern elements of Traditional African songs, Gospel, Church, Blues, Indian Ragas, and Contemporary Jazz. Some Jazz musicians influencing his music are Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington.

Abdullah Ibrahim first took piano lessons at age seven. He was an avid listener of American Jazz records, brought to Cape Town by sailors. He began playing piano professionally in 1949. In 1962 he moved to Europe. Ibrahim has recorded many albums and has made his mark in the global Jazz community. His contribution to the Jazz curriculum has been prolific.

Here in Portland, when my piano students ask me to suggest some Jazz musicians to listen to, Abdullah Ibrahim is on the short list. His playing transcends the traditional western style of Jazz, with a fresh and eclectic feel.

Discography (partial)
1960: Jazz Epistle Verse 1
1964: Duke Ellington presents The Dollar Brand Trio
1965: The Dream
1965: Anatomy of a South African Village (Black Lion Records)
1965: This is Dollar Brand (Black Lion)
1969: African Sketchbook
1969: African Piano
1973: Good News from Africa
1973: African Space Program

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Video – Nice Traditional Boogie Woogie Blues Piano – Silvan’s Night Train Trip

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Here is a nice video of the Silvan Zingg band playing “Silvan’s Night Train Trip”. Enzo Muci plays the Bass and Michel Denis plays drums. This is a great example of a classic Boogie Woogie style piece. Silvan Zingg is from Switzerland, and is well known for his this style of playing. He’s even been called the Boogie Woogie Ambassador. Zingg’s family was very musical and encouraged him early on. He started playing piano at a young age, even before starting school. He gave his first professional performance at the age of eighteen, has played all over the globe, and has performed with numerous legendary blues players.

Piano lessons are more fun if students are given a variety of things to learn. Here, at my studio in Portland, in addition to reading music, many of my students love studying Blues Piano. Students are given all the tools necessary to learn this very popular style of music. Anyone who plays piano can learn to play blues on a keyboard or the piano. The basics of a 12 bar blues is a simple left hand chord progression and melodies in the right hand improvised from the blues scale. The more students listen and study the recordings of other players, the faster they will grasp the concept.

Good blues draws the listener in with unique melodies and interesting rhythms. Most students find that they can become quite proficient in playing Blues Piano is a fraction of the time it takes to learn other styles of music. Blues is also a great introduction to Jazz Piano. There are a number of different styles of piano blues, such as Boogie Woogie, Swing, and New Orleans. It’s all great fun and a delight to learn.

Some popular blues pianists:
Booker T. Laury
Meade “Lux” Lewis
Professor Longhair
Willie Love
Jay McShann
Big Maceo Merriweather
Amos Milburn
Little Brother Montgomery
Pinetop Perkins
Henning Pertiet
Buster Pickens

read about Silvan Zingg

 

norah jones playing piano

Video – Norah Jones Playing Piano on Sunrise (Live in Amsterdam)

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Here is a wonderful video of Norah Jones and her band playing “Sunrise” live in Amsterdam in 2007

Norah Jones is one of the best selling artists of today. Possessing an unusually beautiful voice, her fabulous recordings have made her the top Jazz artist of the 2000-2009 decade, as named by Billboard magazine. Norah began her professional career in 2002, and immediately became a very popular artist.

Norah Jones began singing as a child, in church choirs and took piano lessons. In High School, Jones sang in the school choir and played in a band. At the University of North Texas (UNT), Jones majored in jazz piano and sang with the UNT Jazz Singers. She met Jesse Harris whom she began collaborating with. Shorty afterwards, she returned to New York City and started a band with Harris.

Some of the people that have influenced her music are Billie Holiday and Bill Evans. Jones, in addition to being singer, is also a songwriter, guitarist, and actress.

Some of most popular songs include:

“The Nearness of You”

“I Think It’s Going to Rain Today”

“Don’t Miss You at All”

“Seven Years”

“Sinkin’ Soon”

“Humble Me”

 

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Video – Great Piano Jazz Solo on Keyboard – Terrific Improvisation Style

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This is a wonderful jazz piano solo played on a keyboard. It’s a complicated and advanced example of what hard work can accomplish. The piano player shows us how the jazz art form combines exemplary playing skill with the ability to create music on the spot.

Here in Portland, at my studio, my piano lessons and keyboard lessons students learn a number of different piano skills. For some, one of those is jazz piano. Playing to play jazz piano can begin with a basic introduction to the genre. We often begin with a round of blues improvisation to get students started with the technique of developing improvisational skills. Developing a students ear to be able to play jazz is very important, and there are a number of ways to accomplish this. Whether students play at home on a piano or a keyboard, the music and teaching method is the same.

Jazz is probably the most American style of music of all. It’s a method of playing any song by developing new voicings for the chords, and variations of the melodies. Jazz can make any kind of music exciting and fresh to listen to.