Uploaded September 2026 | Updated September 2026, 14 hours ago
You played a phrase and then you froze, because you had no idea what came next. Here is the oldest answer in music, and it costs you nothing new to learn: play the same phrase again, an octave higher.
Try every lesson for $1 for 7 days: webpianoteacher.com/subscription/offer
This comes out of my SMOOTH PIANO JAZZ course, built on "Asking You Out" by the Quinn Perry Trio. It is lick 36 of the 51 original jazz licks in the course, and it hides a device older than jazz itself: IMITATION.
WHAT IMITATION IS
You play a little phrase. Then you play the same phrase again, up an octave. That is it. The first is the statement, or the question. The second is the answer. Suddenly you are not playing a string of notes, you are having a conversation with yourself, and anybody listening hears music instead of an exercise.
HOW TO DO IT TONIGHT
- Play a short idea in your right hand over the chord. Three or four notes. Keep it small.
- Take your hand up one octave and play the SAME idea again.
- Land the second one on or just before the chord change.
- That is a complete musical sentence, and you only had one idea.
You do not have to invent anything for the second half, and that is the whole point. Most beginners think improvising means a new idea every second, so they run dry in four bars and stop. A jazz player repeats himself on purpose.
WHY IT WORKS
A listener needs to hear something twice to recognise it. The first time it goes past; the second time it registers, and that is where the feeling lives. Change one thing -- the octave, a single note at the end -- and the repeat is not boring, it is an answer. It is what a singer does on the second line of a verse.
You can answer other ways once you have the idea -- down an octave, same notes with a different ending, the same rhythm on a different chord. Start with the octave: it is the easiest to hear and the easiest to play, because your hand already knows the shape.
WHAT THE SMOOTH PIANO JAZZ COURSE COVERS
- The full arrangement of "Asking You Out," taught twelve bars at a time
- 7 chord progressions with two beats left blank so you improvise over them
- 51 original jazz licks, all written by me for teaching, not looked up
- Live bass-and-drums backing tracks at two speeds so you can play with a band
- Chord spelling and voicing from the ground up
WANT THE WHOLE THING?
Inside webpianoteacher.com you get the complete Smooth Piano Jazz course plus more than 1,000 piano lessons -- pop, rock, worship, gospel, country, classical and jazz -- taught note for note and from chord sheets, with downloadable sheet music. New lessons every week, including requests. Built for adults who played a little when they were young and want to play the songs they love at their own pace.
Get the whole SMOOTH PIANO JAZZ course for $1 for 7 days: webpianoteacher.com/subscription/offer
If you have ever run dry two bars into an improvisation, you did not need another idea. You needed to say the one you had again.
#pianolesson #jazzpiano #pianoimprovisation #improvisation #smoothjazz #jazzpianolesson #pianotutorial #callandresponse #imitation #learnpiano #pianochords #jazzlicks #adultpianostudent #sheetmusic #pianoteacher #pianoforbeginners
👍 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
webpianoteacher.com
instagram.com/webpianoteacher
facebook.com/shawncheekeasypiano
twitter.com/webpianoteacher
tiktok.com/@shawnthewebpianoteacher
You played a phrase and then you froze, because you had no idea what came next. Here is the oldest answer in music, and it costs you nothing new to learn: play the same phrase again, an octave higher.
Try every lesson for $1 for 7 days: webpianoteacher.com/subscription/offer
This comes out of my SMOOTH PIANO JAZZ course, built on "Asking You Out" by the Quinn Perry Trio. It is lick 36 of the 51 original jazz licks in the course, and it hides a device older than jazz itself: IMITATION.
WHAT IMITATION IS
You play a little phrase. Then you play the same phrase again, up an octave. That is it. The first is the statement, or the question. The second is the answer. Suddenly you are not playing a string of notes, you are having a conversation with yourself, and anybody listening hears music instead of an exercise.
HOW TO DO IT TONIGHT
- Play a short idea in your right hand over the chord. Three or four notes. Keep it small.
- Take your hand up one octave and play the SAME idea again.
- Land the second one on or just before the chord change.
- That is a complete musical sentence, and you only had one idea.
You do not have to invent anything for the second half, and that is the whole point. Most beginners think improvising means a new idea every second, so they run dry in four bars and stop. A jazz player repeats himself on purpose.
WHY IT WORKS
A listener needs to hear something twice to recognise it. The first time it goes past; the second time it registers, and that is where the feeling lives. Change one thing -- the octave, a single note at the end -- and the repeat is not boring, it is an answer. It is what a singer does on the second line of a verse.
You can answer other ways once you have the idea -- down an octave, same notes with a different ending, the same rhythm on a different chord. Start with the octave: it is the easiest to hear and the easiest to play, because your hand already knows the shape.
WHAT THE SMOOTH PIANO JAZZ COURSE COVERS
- The full arrangement of "Asking You Out," taught twelve bars at a time
- 7 chord progressions with two beats left blank so you improvise over them
- 51 original jazz licks, all written by me for teaching, not looked up
- Live bass-and-drums backing tracks at two speeds so you can play with a band
- Chord spelling and voicing from the ground up
WANT THE WHOLE THING?
Inside webpianoteacher.com you get the complete Smooth Piano Jazz course plus more than 1,000 piano lessons -- pop, rock, worship, gospel, country, classical and jazz -- taught note for note and from chord sheets, with downloadable sheet music. New lessons every week, including requests. Built for adults who played a little when they were young and want to play the songs they love at their own pace.
Get the whole SMOOTH PIANO JAZZ course for $1 for 7 days: webpianoteacher.com/subscription/offer
If you have ever run dry two bars into an improvisation, you did not need another idea. You needed to say the one you had again.
#pianolesson #jazzpiano #pianoimprovisation #improvisation #smoothjazz #jazzpianolesson #pianotutorial #callandresponse #imitation #learnpiano #pianochords #jazzlicks #adultpianostudent #sheetmusic #pianoteacher #pianoforbeginners
👍 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
webpianoteacher.com
instagram.com/webpianoteacher
facebook.com/shawncheekeasypiano
twitter.com/webpianoteacher
tiktok.com/@shawnthewebpianoteacher
