The Complete Jazz Keyboard Method: Beginning Jazz Keyboard: Keyboard/Piano Book & Online Video/Audio

Baerman builds jazz literacy methodically without the jargon overload that typically alienates beginning jazz students. The integration of video and audio throughout means students can hear exactly how each concept sounds before they attempt it themselves, turning abstract theory into audible reality.

The book feels conversational and encouraging rather than academic. As you move from major scales through seventh chords and pentatonic scales, each new harmonic color is immediately demonstrated in context, so the learning never feels abstract or disconnected from actual playing.

Pianists who have completed Alfred's Basic Piano Library Lesson Book 2 or equivalent foundational instruction and are ready to explore jazz but have no prior jazz experience. This method works equally well for self-taught pianists who know basic chords and scales and want a structured entry point into improvisation and jazz comping.

• Listen to the MP3 demonstration for each new concept before playing it yourself; this trains your ear to recognize the sound before your hands learn the fingering.
• Work through the etudes and tunes slowly enough that you can focus on the harmonic movement, not just mechanical accuracy.
• Use the online video lessons to check your hand position and voicing technique, especially as seventh chords and extensions enter the picture.

Assign this as the foundation text for a beginner jazz keyboard elective, or use it as a self-paced resource for pianists in an ensemble program who want to develop comping skills and solo capabilities outside their classical training. The video and audio components make it ideal for hybrid or independent study models.

• Major scale construction and application
• Triad voicing and recognition
• Seventh chord harmony and voice leading
• Pentatonic scale improvisation
• Chord progression analysis and modulation
• Jazz comping rhythms and accompaniment patterns
• Sight-reading jazz notation and lead sheets