Uploaded September 2026 | Updated September 2026, 16 hours ago
The note that sounds like a mistake is the one that makes it sound like jazz.
Get the whole SMOOTH PIANO JAZZ course -- 51 jazz licks, 7 chord progressions and the full arrangement of "Asking You Out" -- for $1 for 7 days: webpianoteacher.com/subscription/offer
"This is one of those mysterious sounding ones. So what you have is this C sharp biting against the C natural. And if you don't play it too strongly, then it just has a sound to it, a quality to it."
DO THIS AT THE PIANO TONIGHT
- Play a C major chord in your left hand, nothing fancy. C, E, G.
- Now put a C sharp in your right hand, right above it, and hold them together. That is a half step rubbing against the C underneath. It sounds wrong.
- Play it again, and this time lean on the C and barely touch the C sharp. Same two notes, same hands.
- The clash does not go away -- it turns into a colour. That is the whole trick. The note is not the problem, the VOLUME of the note is.
- Try it with the chord you are working on right now. Find the note a half step above a chord tone, add it softly, and listen.
WHY IT WORKS
A half step is the sharpest interval there is, and when two notes that close are played at the same volume your ear hears an argument. Drop one of them down in the mix and your ear stops hearing two notes fighting and starts hearing one note with an edge on it. That is what "mysterious" and "moody" actually are on a piano -- not exotic chords, just a rub you are allowed to keep in, played with the right touch.
This is also why so much jazz sounds unreachable when you first try it. Players hear the sharp, dark, unresolved quality and assume there is some chord they have never heard of. Nine times out of ten it is a note they already know, sitting a half step away from a note they already know, played softer than everything around it.
Most adult players have spent years being told that a note which sounds wrong IS wrong, so the instinct is to remove it. Keep it. Just do not hit it as hard as the rest.
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, so you understand what you are playing
Get the whole SMOOTH PIANO JAZZ course for $1 for 7 days: webpianoteacher.com/subscription/offer
👍 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
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The note that sounds like a mistake is the one that makes it sound like jazz.
Get the whole SMOOTH PIANO JAZZ course -- 51 jazz licks, 7 chord progressions and the full arrangement of "Asking You Out" -- for $1 for 7 days: webpianoteacher.com/subscription/offer
"This is one of those mysterious sounding ones. So what you have is this C sharp biting against the C natural. And if you don't play it too strongly, then it just has a sound to it, a quality to it."
DO THIS AT THE PIANO TONIGHT
- Play a C major chord in your left hand, nothing fancy. C, E, G.
- Now put a C sharp in your right hand, right above it, and hold them together. That is a half step rubbing against the C underneath. It sounds wrong.
- Play it again, and this time lean on the C and barely touch the C sharp. Same two notes, same hands.
- The clash does not go away -- it turns into a colour. That is the whole trick. The note is not the problem, the VOLUME of the note is.
- Try it with the chord you are working on right now. Find the note a half step above a chord tone, add it softly, and listen.
WHY IT WORKS
A half step is the sharpest interval there is, and when two notes that close are played at the same volume your ear hears an argument. Drop one of them down in the mix and your ear stops hearing two notes fighting and starts hearing one note with an edge on it. That is what "mysterious" and "moody" actually are on a piano -- not exotic chords, just a rub you are allowed to keep in, played with the right touch.
This is also why so much jazz sounds unreachable when you first try it. Players hear the sharp, dark, unresolved quality and assume there is some chord they have never heard of. Nine times out of ten it is a note they already know, sitting a half step away from a note they already know, played softer than everything around it.
Most adult players have spent years being told that a note which sounds wrong IS wrong, so the instinct is to remove it. Keep it. Just do not hit it as hard as the rest.
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, so you understand what you are playing
Get the whole SMOOTH PIANO JAZZ course for $1 for 7 days: webpianoteacher.com/subscription/offer
👍 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
