Uploaded September 2026 | Updated September 2026, 13 hours ago
Most people play the blue note as a separate little note before the chord tone, and that is exactly why it sounds like an exercise instead of like blues. It is not two notes. It is one motion. You hit the D sharp and the G together, and then you flip off the D sharp onto the E -- and the E has to be softer than the two notes you started on.
Try every lesson for $1 for 7 days: webpianoteacher.com/subscription/offer
This is from my SMOOTH PIANO JAZZ course, built on "Asking You Out" by the Quinn Perry Trio.
"So you'd play that G and the D sharp together and you flip to E. And when you do that, you have to make the E softer. You kind of accent the D sharp and G, and you just slip off. You don't want it to sound like this. It's one motion, you just flip off of it."
HOW TO PLAY THE FLIP TONIGHT
- Right hand: thumb on C, third finger on E, fifth finger on G. That is the shape the whole figure lives inside.
- Now play G and D sharp AT THE SAME TIME. Both notes, together, struck. That is the part almost everybody gets wrong -- they roll the D sharp in first like a grace note.
- Flip the finger off the D sharp onto the E without lifting your hand. The hand does not travel. The finger slides off the black key onto the white key beside it.
- Accent the D sharp and the G. Let the E arrive SOFTER than what came before it. If the E is the loudest note you have played a scale, not blues.
- The whole thing is one gesture, one weight drop. Say "one motion" to yourself while you do it. The moment you count it as two events it stops sounding like blues.
- The chord underneath is an F chord, and the top G is what turns it into F2 over A -- the color that lets the flip sound bluesy inside a jazz tune instead of on top of it.
WHY THIS TRANSFERS TO EVERY SONG YOU PLAY
The flip is not a jazz trick. It is the single most common thing blues, gospel, country and rock and roll pianists do with their right hand, and it works anywhere a black key sits directly below a chord tone. Once your hand knows the motion you will hear places to use it in songs you already play.
WHAT IS IN THE SMOOTH PIANO JAZZ COURSE
PART ONE is the full song, hands together, line by line, from my annotated sheet music with the letter name printed inside every notehead, and my hands on camera from directly overhead.
PART TWO is seven eight-bar chord progressions pulled out of the tune: quartal minor 11 shapes, the stubborn A pedal, slash chords, half diminished, borrowed major 13 color, the Lydian sharp 11, and the minor four chord that makes a major song ache. Every bar gives you the chord for two beats and then two beats of silence, and that silence is yours to answer in.
PART THREE is over fifty jazz licks, one over every chord in those progressions, with play-along tracks and printable sheet music.
Start the Smooth Piano Jazz course on your $1 trial: webpianoteacher.com/subscription/offer
#bluespiano #jazzpiano #gracenotes #bluenote #smoothjazz #pianolesson #learnpiano #pianotutorial #adultpianostudent #jazzlicks #pianochords #pianotechnique #pianoteacher #bluespianolesson
👍 Try 1,000 free lessons today on webpianoteacher.com ✅ Learn to play piano with Shawn’s revolutionary method
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🎹 #learntoplaypiano #learnpiano #pianocover #pianolessons #pianoteacher #pianotutorial #easypiano #howtoplaypiano http:webpianoteacher.com
🎹 Testimonials from Shawn’s actual students: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCmQmIKv8_bI83Iun0tmCk-4IOSVAxm6S
🔥Billy Joel Song Lessons: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCmQmIKv8_bKGJ1HDqNoqdQ02-o579MQk
🔥Elton John Song Lessons: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCmQmIKv8_bJV-8LhjXDcX5W4XRLhFhQZ
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Most people play the blue note as a separate little note before the chord tone, and that is exactly why it sounds like an exercise instead of like blues. It is not two notes. It is one motion. You hit the D sharp and the G together, and then you flip off the D sharp onto the E -- and the E has to be softer than the two notes you started on.
Try every lesson for $1 for 7 days: webpianoteacher.com/subscription/offer
This is from my SMOOTH PIANO JAZZ course, built on "Asking You Out" by the Quinn Perry Trio.
"So you'd play that G and the D sharp together and you flip to E. And when you do that, you have to make the E softer. You kind of accent the D sharp and G, and you just slip off. You don't want it to sound like this. It's one motion, you just flip off of it."
HOW TO PLAY THE FLIP TONIGHT
- Right hand: thumb on C, third finger on E, fifth finger on G. That is the shape the whole figure lives inside.
- Now play G and D sharp AT THE SAME TIME. Both notes, together, struck. That is the part almost everybody gets wrong -- they roll the D sharp in first like a grace note.
- Flip the finger off the D sharp onto the E without lifting your hand. The hand does not travel. The finger slides off the black key onto the white key beside it.
- Accent the D sharp and the G. Let the E arrive SOFTER than what came before it. If the E is the loudest note you have played a scale, not blues.
- The whole thing is one gesture, one weight drop. Say "one motion" to yourself while you do it. The moment you count it as two events it stops sounding like blues.
- The chord underneath is an F chord, and the top G is what turns it into F2 over A -- the color that lets the flip sound bluesy inside a jazz tune instead of on top of it.
WHY THIS TRANSFERS TO EVERY SONG YOU PLAY
The flip is not a jazz trick. It is the single most common thing blues, gospel, country and rock and roll pianists do with their right hand, and it works anywhere a black key sits directly below a chord tone. Once your hand knows the motion you will hear places to use it in songs you already play.
WHAT IS IN THE SMOOTH PIANO JAZZ COURSE
PART ONE is the full song, hands together, line by line, from my annotated sheet music with the letter name printed inside every notehead, and my hands on camera from directly overhead.
PART TWO is seven eight-bar chord progressions pulled out of the tune: quartal minor 11 shapes, the stubborn A pedal, slash chords, half diminished, borrowed major 13 color, the Lydian sharp 11, and the minor four chord that makes a major song ache. Every bar gives you the chord for two beats and then two beats of silence, and that silence is yours to answer in.
PART THREE is over fifty jazz licks, one over every chord in those progressions, with play-along tracks and printable sheet music.
Start the Smooth Piano Jazz course on your $1 trial: webpianoteacher.com/subscription/offer
#bluespiano #jazzpiano #gracenotes #bluenote #smoothjazz #pianolesson #learnpiano #pianotutorial #adultpianostudent #jazzlicks #pianochords #pianotechnique #pianoteacher #bluespianolesson
👍 Try 1,000 free lessons today on webpianoteacher.com ✅ Learn to play piano with Shawn’s revolutionary method
Read Google Reviews by Shawn’s actual students google.com/search?sca_esv=5009c1303de011b0&sca_upv=1&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS1008US1008&hl=en-US&q=web+piano+teacher+reviews&uds=ADvngMgvgkdrPGdvQSDLpEVP-ZodsumYvHbzDCPdZxu7y1dxdo5qqAYWcbG74nStvB1P7oPuKgMFxvRIzd_DZN3tMyxEyrPXSMvg62M7DhKnaOoXRrvMRlR2qOzpuVB5MFvbzhVxfpnLmeUii_UEMspRA9Sb2_UNlNmYcxD8gSa_9Y-ZrAhmC7PMo4dC-3yAW2NaRCTwbTkIJFF0zACFe0MmWygbXUnSyy4URj5yYn7f6Y92qL5F7C65sP-AwHchpQ_w3yruheB24nu-AvcfFQo-ckINkBqWAeio4R0dm9r8cmVn2A7RlUhPAPOZyHpYJ2DontEmnoCi9_eEmhwW9RpGrsajaR7u8_U58p0eD_M4AQtnaQce2g4_3U4ECJVG1OOQrlRFwR4byywOQYKXK-PF9b_wDOJ4wtlppDpfX1FhULjD2H_jbmF3keFLT-JjbHx5mU1wYAbm&si=ACC90nwjPmqJHrCEt6ewASzksVFQDX8zco_7MgBaIawvaF4-7tVxiqnhHYhqKwDDsP2tv6FAZ1fBoW06Zy-5I4bv_4sVUMNgTvp0JS4qCRvaokEGreiT-RV-opIxhvzKSE6856yE4kgwpddtdtU31HEpdWwEdq8gXg%3D%3D&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwik1uakreOIAxVxKkQIHU2mGhQQk8gLegQIKRAB&ictx=1&biw=390&bih=657&dpr=3
🎹 #learntoplaypiano #learnpiano #pianocover #pianolessons #pianoteacher #pianotutorial #easypiano #howtoplaypiano http:webpianoteacher.com
🎹 Testimonials from Shawn’s actual students: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCmQmIKv8_bI83Iun0tmCk-4IOSVAxm6S
🔥Billy Joel Song Lessons: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCmQmIKv8_bKGJ1HDqNoqdQ02-o579MQk
🔥Elton John Song Lessons: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCmQmIKv8_bJV-8LhjXDcX5W4XRLhFhQZ
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