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

Baerman's sequencing respects where intermediate players actually are. Rather than overwhelming them with theory divorced from sound, each concept arrives with etudes and songs that let students hear and internalize the idea before moving forward. The progression mirrors how jazz musicians genuinely learn: through guided listening and repeated harmonic problem-solving.

The experience is methodical but musical. Rather than abstract explanations, you encounter each harmonic concept embedded in a playable etude or song, so the theory feels grounded in actual sound. The included audio tracks anchor your learning; you hear exactly what each voicing and substitution should sound like.

Jazz pianists and keyboardists who have already mastered foundational harmony and can improvise over basic changes. This book serves students ready to deepen their harmonic vocabulary and develop the ear for the substitutions and extensions that define mature jazz playing.

• Sing the guide tones separately before soloing over them. Hearing the voice leading in your ear, independent of your hands, cements the harmonic movement and makes substitutions feel natural rather than theoretical.
• Loop the online audio tracks and record yourself soloing over them multiple times. Each take builds confidence and exposes which chord changes still feel awkward; revisit those etudes.
• Isolate one concept per practice session rather than jumping between modes, extensions, and alterations. Work a single etude or song until the harmonic idea becomes instinctive, then add the next layer.
• Play the demonstration tracks at different tempos. Slower speeds let you focus on voice leading and voicing choices; faster tempos build the fluency you need in real performance settings.

Use this as a core text for intermediate jazz piano students in private lessons or group classes, with each chapter fitting into a week or two of study depending on the student's pace. The online audio makes it equally valuable for independent learners and ensemble contexts where the pianist needs to deepen their harmonic literacy alongside the band.

• Playing and improvising over the modes of the major scale
• Voicing chord extensions (9ths, 11ths, 13ths) on keyboard
• Using guide tones and chromatic approach notes to navigate changes
• Recognizing and executing chord substitutions in real time
• Improvising over rhythm changes and blues progressions
• Identifying and playing altered dominant chords in context
• Making harmonic changes sound natural and idiomatic