Your left hand is the bass player
What bass players play all day long, and how to put it under your own chords: the root, the fifth, octaves, the half step below, and the rhythm job.
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Why You Don’t Need to “Finish Learning” Before You Start Creating
Why You Don’t Need to “Finish Learning” Before You Start Creating I talk to a lot of aspiring players who say some version of this: “Once I really get the chords down… then I’ll try making my own stuff.” “Once I’ve finished the course… then I’ll experiment.” But here’s the thing: You don’t get fluent in a ... Read more
How 4 Simple Chords Turn Into The Rich, Soulful "Bad Dreams" Loop
Ever hear a chord loop that should sound simple — but hits way deeper than expected? That’s exactly what’s happening in “Bad Dreams” by Teddy Swims.Just four chords. But the combination of voicings, feel, and flow gives it that unmistakable emotional pull. It’s a groovy pop-soul track, built on nothing more than this 4-chord progression: Cm7 → Ab(add9) ... Read more
The 3 Secrets Pop Pianists Use (That Nobody Tells You About)
The 3 Secrets Pop Pianists Use (That Nobody Tells You About) Pop pianists — the greats — do something different. They play by heart. They play by ear. They play songs you know and love, in ways that feel like magic. And no matter how complex it looks… they’re not reading sheet music. They’re not ... Read more
How Toto’s “Africa” Proves Timing is Everything
How One Simple Trick Turns Basic Chords Into Legendary Riffs The Power of Patterns Timing is everything. In life, but maybe even more so in music. When people think about learning to play the piano, they often focus on the what—which notes to play. But without rhythm, without a clear sense of when to play ... Read more
How To Make Your Chords Flow
After I had been in the rehearsal room with my very first band for about 3 months, it was time for our first show. I was pretty nervous, yet excited to try out my brand new stage piano. Man that thing sounded amazing. Classic vintage sounds and a much more real-to-life piano sound than my ... Read more
On Bernhoft, Program Updates and 🌊
“In a world that keeps on pushin’ me around, but I’ll stand my ground, and I won’t back down." - Tom Petty Hi, In this edition I got for you - a Norwegian master-musician & loop-king to #love; a John Mayer guitar-part-made-piano in CoutCam-view to both #love & #learn; and some exciting updates (+ 🤯 ... Read more
On McComb, Better Than Imagined & Pattern-Application
"Life’s what happens when you’re busy making other plans." - John Lennon Hi there! In this edition I have for you - Donny Hathaway's reincarnation(?) to #love; a hauntingly beautiful Glasper piano vamp in CoutCam view to both #love & #learn; part 2 of the multi-part tutorial for Billy Joel's "Just the Way You Are" to ... Read more
On Hunter, Stevie W., Billy J. & Love · Learn · Live
"When you understand the language, loving becomes learning too" - Me Hi there! Welcome to this new season’s first Couturian, after our annual downtime. In this edition, I got a smooth-as-silk vocalist & wonderfull (learnable) CoutCam cover for you to #love; a multi-lesson “best-of-last-season” highlights-reel and one of the greatest piano intros of all time ... Read more
CoutCam - Too Far Away (Loop)
For this week's CoutCam video - a loop from a tune that I wrote called "Too Far Away." Taking the chords I shared with you earlier as the Progression Of The Week, here's my take on adding patterns and groove to that. The progression is very loopable, just steadily played in a groove like ... Read more
