Demo Improv

The Michael Improvisation Demos:
The following three sections offer our students the opportunity to hear specific types of improvisation in isolation for their study.

In the Left Hand Demos – you will find 52 different left hand patterns played for the simple song, Michael Row the Boat Ashore.

In the Right Hand Demos – you will find 63 different right hand improvisation techniques demonstrated over a simple left hand so
that you can hear them clearly.

In the Styles Demos – you will find 23 different musical styles, such as Boogie Woogie, Nocturne, Rock and Roll, Hymn, Latin
Jazz, Gospel, and Country. The styles combine specific left hands and right hand improvisations to create music that is typical of that particular
style.

Other Improvised Songs by Style

Left Hand Demos

3 times through the song with 3 different left hands

1. Solid chords – held, quarter note. Half-qtr-qtr [download]
2. 4-Beat, 2-Beat, Half Stride in place [download]
3. Alberti Bass – quarter notes, 8th notes, 16th notes [download]
4. Eighth note triplets – going up, up and down, filled octave up and down [download]
5. Polka, Stride, Half Stride [download]
6. Waltz, Broken Quarter notes, Stride Waltz (changed time signature) [download]
7. Broken Quarters, Broken Eighths, Broken Eighths filled octave [download]
8. Boogie bass, Blues bass, Boogie Blues [download]
9. Tenths – Quarter note, Half-Stride, Broken Eighth [download]
10. K’s Broken Tenths – 1-5-8 finish chord, 1-5-10-5, 10-9-8 [download]
11. Steady Octaves, Octave Shuffle, Pop Bass Octaves [download]
12. New Age – quarter notes, 8th notes, 8th note triplets [download]
13. Rocking Bass Straight, Rocking Bass Swing, Boogie Woogie [download]
14. Walking Bass – Triads, Minor-Major 3rd, Sevenths and Sixths [download]
15. Elephant Straight, Elephant Swing (only 2) [download]
16. Funk Bass – all 8ths, regular funk (only 2) [download]
17. Latin – 3 chords a measure, beguine, tango [download]
18. Latin 10ths – 3 notes a measure, tango, tango 2 [download]

Right Hand Demos

3 times through the song with different right hands

1. Change rhythm of melody and add extra melody notes –over quarter note chords [download]
2. Add extra notes around the melody within 3 notes – over quarter note chords [download]
3. Three note scales down from the melody 8th or triplet – over quarter note chords [download]
4. Three note scales up from the melody 8th or triplet – over quarter note chords [download]
5. Three note scales up and down from the melody 8th or triplet – over quarter note chords [download]
6. Four note scales down from the melody 8th or 16th – over quarter note chords [download]
7. Four note scales up from the melody 8th or 16th – over quarter note chords [download]
8. Four note scales up and down from the melody 8th triplet or 16th – over quarter note chords [download]
9. Rhythm chords in the rhythm of the melody, then other rhythms – over qtr note chords [download]
10. Mixture of melody and rhythm chords – over quarter note chords [download]
11. Broken Chords 8ths or triplets any inversion – quarter note octaves [download]
12. RH Chords under the melody with extra rhythm chords – over shuffle octaves [download]
13. Triplet broken chords down from each melody note or just 1st – over shuffle octaves [download]
14. Eighth note broken chords down from some melody notes – over shuffle octaves [download]
15. Mixture of chorded RH patterns – over rocking bass [download]
16. Five finger scales and some chords – over rocking bass [download]
17. One octave scales and some chords – over rocking bass [download]
18. Blues scales through the chord progression – over quarter note chords8 [download]
19. Blues scale and melody – over quarter note chords [download]
20. Honky-Tonk lick through the chord progression – over shuffle octaves [download]
21. Mixture of melody and Honky-Tonk lick – over shuffle octaves [download]

Song Styles

3 times through the song with more improvisation each time

1. Basic Piano – melody over chords [download]
2. Hymn – chord with melody, chorded RH-Octave LH, some broken RH chords [download]
3. Rolled Chords – LH chords, both hands, fancier [download]
4. Blues 1 – Basic Blues – RH tremolos, grace notes, and blues scales [download]
5. Cool Jazz – Melody with sparse LH chords [download]
6. Swing Jazz – Melody over Block chord LH [download]
7. Stride – Filled Octave melody over Stride bass [download]
8. Latin Jazz1 – Beguine [download]
9. Latin Jazz 2 – Tango [download]
10. Music Box – Single note ornamented melody, Alberti Bass, up high [download]
11. Classical – Regular Alberti Bass, ornamented melody and one octave scales [download]
12. Nocturne – Broken 10th LH [download]
13. Modern Pop – Octave Pop Bass, chorded melody [download]
14. Rock and Roll Piano – Straight Rocking Bass, chorded melody [download]
15. Boogie and Boogie Woogie – Boogie bass and Boogie Woogie LH [download]
16. Funk – Funk Bass [download]
17. Country – Boogie and 10th Stride Bass and RH Floyd Cramer licks [download]
18. Gospel Swing – Rocking Bass LH, chorded RH and honky licks [download]
19. Gospel Straight – Octave and Rocking Bass LH, Chorded RH and honky licks [download]
20. Virtuoso – Low octave and chord LH, Filled Octave RH, arpeggio fills [download]
21. Dreamy Ad Lib – Rolled chords, free rhythm, reharmonize [download]
22. 12/8 Feel – Simple triplets, triplets 10ths, virtuoso LH [download]
23. Waltz Feel – Simple waltz, jazz waltz, rocking bass [download]

Other Improvised Songs by Style