Solo Piano Basics: Ballads
No set list is complete without a ballad. Learn how to command slow tempos and create soulful solo piano arrangements with award-winning pianist and educator Jeremy Siskind.
In Ballads, Every Sound is Magnified
The slow tempos reveal everything – your touch, your phrasing, your time. There’s no hiding behind fast runs. Every note stands alone, every moment exposed.
Without the right approach, it’s easy to feel intimidated.
Jeremy Siskind’s Solo Piano Basics: Ballads is your guide to conquering these challenges. Through step-by-step lessons, Jeremy shows you how to create space for soulful expression at the piano. With this course, you’ll learn:
- The three essential frameworks for playing solo piano ballads
- Reharmonization techniques for crafting compelling harmonies
- Shared hand voicings that cover all three zones of the piano
So you can play with confidence and tell stories that evoke deep emotion – at any tempo.
Meet Your Instructor
A highly-respected educator, Jeremy Siskind has written 13 publications with Hal Leonard, including the landmark instructional books Jazz Band Pianist and First Lessons in Piano Improv. His self-published instructional book, Playing Solo Jazz Piano.
Jeremy is also an Open Studio Pro mentor instructor, leading live weekly sessions.
Course Contents
1. Reharmonization
- Reharm Devices
- Reharm Games
- Reharm on Misty
2. Stride Ballads
- Stride Basics
- "Skylark" as a Stride Ballad
3. Shared Hands Voicings
- Shared Hands Fundamentals
4. Adding Rhythm
- Repeated Quarter Note Ballads
- "The Nearness of You" as a Repeated Quarter Note Ballad
5. "Stop Start" Rubato
- Rubato Basics
- "Chelsea Bridge" as a Stop-Start Rubato Ballad
