Just Friends: E-Z Play Today

A breezy, conversational piece that moves with the ease of a friendly chat. The melody has that warm, familiar quality of a song you've heard in old films, and the harmonies support rather than complicate the story.

Pianists transitioning from classical or lead sheet reading into jazz standards, and teachers looking for manageable material to introduce swing idioms without steep harmonic demands. This works equally well for independent study or as part of a jazz fundamentals curriculum.

• Anchor the left hand with a walking bass pattern or simple stride to establish the swing pulse before you worry about embellishing the melody.
• Listen to classic trio recordings of this tune to internalize the phrasing; the way great players space their notes matters more than hitting every printed note.
• Treat the chord changes as suggestions for voicing exploration rather than strict rules, especially once you feel the form.

Pair this with other standards in the E-Z Play Today catalog to build a set for a jazz social or informal concert, or use it as a confidence builder mid-semester when students are ready for real repertoire but not yet comfortable with chord substitution.

• Swing eighth-note phrasing and articulation
• Walking bass patterns and left-hand independence
• Reading and interpreting lead sheet notation
• Improvisation over a simple harmonic structure
• Listening to and transcribing from recorded models