Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 10 hours ago
If a fast jazz lick comes out stiff and uneven, it is almost never your fingers. It is a wrist that never moves. Watch my hand in this clip: at the turn of the run the whole hand rolls, and the fingers just go along for the ride.
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This is a clip out of my SMOOTH PIANO JAZZ course, built on "Asking You Out" by the Quinn Perry Trio.
"And the key to it is, after you play C, D, E and you're going to go to two, you're going to roll that hand a little bit. Roll it. So that wrist motion is really important there."
HOW TO PRACTICE THE ROLL
- Play the first group with the hand flat and level, then let the wrist roll as you cross to the next group. The roll IS the crossing. It is not decoration you add afterward.
- Do it slowly enough to see the hand move. If your wrist is locked, the only way to reach the next note is to snatch at it with a finger, and a snatched note is the one that comes out loud and late.
- Then play it fast, then slow, then super slow all the way. The move has to survive all three tempos before it belongs to you.
- The lick in this clip is a whole tone scale -- C, D, E, F#, G#, A#, all whole steps, no half steps anywhere, which is why it sounds like it is floating. Fingering is 1-2-3 on C, D, E, then 2-3-4 on F#, G#, A#, and you are back where you started.
- End it the way I do, with a C# and a C for a little bite on the last two notes.
A rolling wrist is not a jazz trick. It is how anybody plays runs, arpeggios and broken chords smoothly, in any style you 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
#pianotechnique #jazzpiano #smoothjazz #pianolesson #learnpiano #pianotutorial #adultpianostudent #wholetonescale #jazzlicks #pianochords #improvisation #pianoteacher #practicetips
👍 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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If a fast jazz lick comes out stiff and uneven, it is almost never your fingers. It is a wrist that never moves. Watch my hand in this clip: at the turn of the run the whole hand rolls, and the fingers just go along for the ride.
Try every lesson for $1 for 7 days: webpianoteacher.com/subscription/offer
This is a clip out of my SMOOTH PIANO JAZZ course, built on "Asking You Out" by the Quinn Perry Trio.
"And the key to it is, after you play C, D, E and you're going to go to two, you're going to roll that hand a little bit. Roll it. So that wrist motion is really important there."
HOW TO PRACTICE THE ROLL
- Play the first group with the hand flat and level, then let the wrist roll as you cross to the next group. The roll IS the crossing. It is not decoration you add afterward.
- Do it slowly enough to see the hand move. If your wrist is locked, the only way to reach the next note is to snatch at it with a finger, and a snatched note is the one that comes out loud and late.
- Then play it fast, then slow, then super slow all the way. The move has to survive all three tempos before it belongs to you.
- The lick in this clip is a whole tone scale -- C, D, E, F#, G#, A#, all whole steps, no half steps anywhere, which is why it sounds like it is floating. Fingering is 1-2-3 on C, D, E, then 2-3-4 on F#, G#, A#, and you are back where you started.
- End it the way I do, with a C# and a C for a little bite on the last two notes.
A rolling wrist is not a jazz trick. It is how anybody plays runs, arpeggios and broken chords smoothly, in any style you 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
#pianotechnique #jazzpiano #smoothjazz #pianolesson #learnpiano #pianotutorial #adultpianostudent #wholetonescale #jazzlicks #pianochords #improvisation #pianoteacher #practicetips
👍 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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