Name: How to film yourself playing the piano @MangoldProject
Uploaded: 2026-09-26T08:17:00-05:00
Duration: 8 min 17 s
Description: How to film yourself playing the piano

How to film yourself playing the piano

MangoldProject 2026-09-26 | How to film yourself playing the piano

Become a Synth Soloing Wizard

MangoldProject 2023-12-29 | TABLE OF CONTENTS
0:00 Coming up
0:11 Introduction
0:24 Minor pentatonic scale
0:51 Lick 1
1:31 Two ways of playing vibrato
2:17 Using aftertouch
3:00 Planing licks
3:33 Lick 2 (adding staccato)
4:02 Lick 3 (pitch bending)
4:32 Lick 4 (more pitch bending)
5:38 Lick 5 (sounding fast)
6:58 Lick 6 (tremolos)
8:15 Fingering the blues scale
9:39 Minor pentatonic patterns
11:06 Final demonstration

Here are some tips and tricks to help you turn into the next Keith Emerson, or Cory Henry, or George Duke, or ... well, maybe not the next Keith Emerson, that's a tall order for a ten minute video on Youtube. But I'll show you a few licks and ideas you can use to build your own solos with, and then demonstrate some of them in a performance at the end. I hope you enjoy!

Dancing on the Piano: A Beginners Tutorial on SMOOTH Chords

MangoldProject 2023-12-24 | 0:00 Introduction
0:29 Demonstration
1:10 Playing the Example
2:49 Why Does It Sound Good?
4:25 Application 1
7:40 Application 2
9:23 Application 3
9:50 Application 4 (Maroon 5)
11:09 Application 5
12:35 Application 6 (Blackbird)
14:12 Conclusions

Today I'll show you how to move smoothly on the piano keyboard, and demonstrate several progressions with smooth voice leading. The secret is to minimize the motion of the individual notes, and make sure the notes move by a semitone or a whole tone at most when you switch between chords. As we discuss this I'll draw from a few popular examples, including This Love by Maroon 5, Short People by Randy Newman, and Blackbird by The Beatles.

Learn 12 Hot Piano/Organ Blues Licks - In Twelve Minutes!

MangoldProject 2023-12-15 | 0:00 Demonstration
0:55 Lick 1 - Blues scale in A
2:45 Lick 2 - Chord-bass alternations
4:44 Lick 3 - Another blues in A lick
5:22 Lick 4 - Chord-Chord alternations
6:26 Lick 5 - Blues scale in A run
7:58 Lick 6 - Staccato stabs
8:32 Lick 7 - C blues scale downward run
9:53 Lick 8 - C major chord arpeggio
10:29 Lick 9 - Descending triads
11:50 Lick 10 - Blues in octaves
13:09 Lick 11 - Tremolos
14:30 Lick 12 - Chord stabs

Come learn some hot blues licks with me! With a special cameo by my cat. On average it's about a minute per lick, so we will cover 12 licks in twelve minutes.

Hot Blues Piano Licks Demonstration #shorts #blues #piano

MangoldProject 2023-12-13 | If you want an in-depth tutorial of what I just played, check out my full Youtube tutorial here:

youtu.be/v4NosnE6Yek

Beautiful Jazz Piano Harmony #shorts

MangoldProject 2023-12-12 | Want to learn how to play jazz piano as a complete beginner? No problem! Just watch my Youtube course! The melody here is taken from Lesson 10 on quartal harmony.

youtube.com/playlist?list=PLP9cbwDiLzdIDidDGpu327FLlo9rYJPpB

Jazz Piano for Beginners: Modulations (Lesson 11)

MangoldProject 2023-12-08 | Course Playlist: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLP9cbwDiLzdIDidDGpu327FLlo9rYJPpB

In this Jazz Piano online course I will bring you from the level of a complete jazz beginner up to the level of an intermediate/advanced pianist. We will talk about both theory and applications, and cover concepts ranging from chords and scales, to diatonic harmony, voicings, substitutions, soloing, tensions, and much more.

In the eleventh lesson I will cover key changes, or modulations. To modulate from one key to another is a fancy way of saying to change from one key to another. I'll discuss in-depth the most common way of doing so in jazz, which is by using a 5-1 or 2-5-1 to "prime" the listener, much like with tonicization. I'll show several examples, including Sunlight by Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays, and Overture by Anomalie. I'll also mention briefly two other, less systematic tools for modulating - chromatic motion, and melodic motifs.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
0:00 Introduction
0:11 An example
1:09 Another example
1:40 How NOT to modulate
2:24 How to modulate
4:42 Sunlight
5:50 Using minor fourths
6:32 Multiple modulations
7:20 Using 5-1s
8:43 Overture
10:38 Chromatic motion
11:36 Melodic motifs

Jazz Piano for Beginners: Quartal Voicings (Lesson 10)

MangoldProject 2023-12-01 | Course Playlist: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLP9cbwDiLzdIDidDGpu327FLlo9rYJPpB

In this Jazz Piano online course I will bring you from the level of a complete jazz beginner up to the level of an intermediate/advanced pianist. We will talk about both theory and applications, and cover concepts ranging from chords and scales, to diatonic harmony, voicings, substitutions, soloing, tensions, and much more.

In the tenth lesson I will cover voicings in fourths, aka quartal harmony/voicings. This type of sound was popularized by jazz pianists from the 60s and 70s, most famously by Bill Evans and later on McCoy Tyner. However, you can hear this kind of playing all around - even in the playing of pianists like Joe Hisaishi, who composed a lot of the music for Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli films. We'll cover So-What chords, voicings in perfect fourths, sus chords, chromatic approaches, voicing in interlocked fifths, practicing in minor thirds, and more!

TABLE OF CONTENTS
0:00 Introduction
0:22 Demo
0:46 Breaking it down
1:02 Sustained chords
2:26 So-What Chords
5:23 The Associated Scale
6:29 Voicing in pure fourths
8:14 Chromatic motion
8:43 Interlocked fifths
9:55 Practice ideas
10:26 Using minor thirds
11:58 Practicing 251s

Jazz Piano for Beginners: Chord Substitutions (Lesson 9)

MangoldProject 2023-11-17 | In this Jazz Piano online course I will bring you from the level of a complete jazz beginner up to the level of an intermediate/advanced pianist. We will talk about both theory and applications, and cover concepts ranging from chords and scales, to diatonic harmony, voicings, substitutions, soloing, tensions, and much more.

Course playlist:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLP9cbwDiLzdIDidDGpu327FLlo9rYJPpB

In the ninth lesson we will look at chord substitutions; namely, the process of exchanging one chord for another which plays the same "role" (usually this refers to the functional harmonic role). We will group these substitutions into three groups: dominant, subdominant and tonic substitutions. We will cover such things as tritone substitutions, backdoor dominants, minor fourths and so on. In the last part of the video we will bring everything together and use a few different types of substitutions to reharmonize an existing (and fairly simple) chord progression.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
0:00 Introduction
0:19 Example
1:25 Simple substitutions
3:03 Dominant substitutions
4:15 The minor iv
5:06 Backdoor dominants
5:59 Tritone substitutions
9:17 dim7 substitutions
11:59 Tonic substitutions
13:39 Subdominant substitutions
16:54 Application

Jazz Piano for Beginners: Advanced Jazz Chords (Lesson 8)

MangoldProject 2023-11-10 | In this Jazz Piano online course I will bring you from the level of a complete jazz beginner up to the level of an intermediate/advanced pianist. We will talk about both theory and applications, and cover concepts ranging from chords and scales, to diatonic harmony, voicings, substitutions, soloing, tensions, and much more. Course playlist:

youtube.com/playlist?list=PLP9cbwDiLzdIDidDGpu327FLlo9rYJPpB

In the eighth lesson we will look at advanced jazz chords which utilize chord extensions (or, as they're sometimes called, tensions): these are scale degrees that go beyond the seventh - such as the ninth, eleventh and thirteenth - and which are sometimes altered, meaning raised or flattened. We will go over some famous voicings for such chords by great pianists like Herbie Hancock and Bill Evans, and finally put them to use in voicing a simple jazz piano ballad.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
0:00 Introduction
0:52 Theory
1:44 Voicing considerations
4:06 Major chord extensions
5:42 Dominant chord extensions
8:35 Minor chord extensions
10:00 Famous chord voicings
10:46 Herbie Hancock m11
11:58 Bill Evans m6/9
13:20 Bill Evans 13th
14:48 Bill Evans 7#5#9
15:46 Playing a Ballad
17:56 Practice ideas

Jazz Piano for Beginners: Tonicization and Secondary Dominants (Lesson 7)

MangoldProject 2023-11-03 | In this Jazz Piano online course I will bring you from the level of a complete jazz beginner up to the level of an intermediate/advanced pianist. We will talk about both theory and applications, and cover concepts ranging from chords and scales, to diatonic harmony, voicings, substitutions, soloing, tensions, and much more. Course playlist:

youtube.com/playlist?list=PLP9cbwDiLzdIDidDGpu327FLlo9rYJPpB

In the seventh lesson we will look at one of the most powerful ideas in harmony: tonicization. This is a fancy way of saying that we can consider any chord in a progression as the tonic in its own scale, effectively "mini-modulating" into the key of the target chord. This means, for example, that we can precede it with a subdominant to a dominant progression *in its own scale*, which creates a huge amount of harmonic options and variety. We will articulate these ideas, and then see how they can be used in practice by looking at some well known pop standards, such as Yesterday by the Beatles, as well as Just the Two of Us by Grover Washington Jr.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
0:00 Introduction
1:48 Theory
5:01 Example
8:49 Applications
9:16 Yesterday
10:48 Just the Two of Us
14:13 Practice

Jazz Piano for Beginners: Minor Jazz (Lesson 6)

MangoldProject 2023-10-27 | In this Jazz Piano online course I will bring you from the level of a complete jazz beginner up to the level of an intermediate/advanced pianist. We will talk about both theory and applications, and cover concepts ranging from chords and scales, to diatonic harmony, voicings, substitutions, soloing, tensions, and much more. Course playlist:

youtube.com/playlist?list=PLP9cbwDiLzdIDidDGpu327FLlo9rYJPpB

In the sixth lesson we will extend the ideas of functional harmony to minor scales. There are lots of minor scales, and we will look at all of them, and figure out which degrees play a tonic role, which play a subdominant, and which play a dominant role (and which don't really play any role at all!). I will then show you how it is actually possible to mix-and-match tonics, subdominants and dominants from all minor scales and still get a good sounding progression! Finally, I will analyze a well known minor jazz standard, Black Orpheus, and show you how functional harmony pretty much explains 95% of its structure. We're already starting to make sense out of jazz harmony using just the relatively simple tools at our disposal!

TABLE OF CONTENTS
0:00 Introduction
0:45 Theory
0:58 Melodic minor
4:40 Harmonic minor
7:23 Natural minor
10:05 Dorian
11:42 Combining scales
13:20 Analyzing Black Orpheus
16:23 Practice ideas

Jazz Piano for Beginners: Functional Harmony (Lesson 5)

MangoldProject 2023-10-22 | In this Jazz Piano online course I will bring you from the level of a complete jazz beginner up to the level of an intermediate/advanced pianist. We will talk about both theory and applications, and cover concepts ranging from chords and scales, to diatonic harmony, voicings, substitutions, soloing, tensions, and much more. Course playlist:

youtube.com/playlist?list=PLP9cbwDiLzdIDidDGpu327FLlo9rYJPpB

In the fifth lesson we will start delving in jazz theory, also known as diatonic or functional harmony. This theory underlies almost all of western music, and it shows you WHY jazz chord progressions are the way they are. It's so important that it's safe to say that without it, you cannot understand jazz. I will break it - and its main ideas - down in this lesson. We'll get back to it and embellish it as we go along.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
0:00 Introduction
1:07 Theory
4:34 Word of caution
5:58 Basic idea #1
7:41 Basic idea #2
10:44 Application
16:32 Practice
17:22 Pennies from heaven

Jazz Piano for Beginners: Shell Voicings (Lesson 4)

MangoldProject 2023-10-06 | In this Jazz Piano online course I will bring you from the level of a complete jazz beginner up to the level of an intermediate/advanced pianist. We will talk about both theory and applications, and cover concepts ranging from chords and scales, to diatonic harmony, voicings, substitutions, soloing, tensions, and much more. Course playlist:

youtube.com/playlist?list=PLP9cbwDiLzdIDidDGpu327FLlo9rYJPpB

In this fourth lesson I will explain what it means to voice a chord, and how voice leading works. These two ideas are at the base of "smooth" sounding jazz chords - or, more accurately, smooth sounding chord transitions. We'll study one particularly simple type of voicing, known as a shell voicing, which retains only the most important chord degrees (3rd, 7th, and any altered degree). We'll then go back to our ballad and play it using shell voicings, and I'll give you tips on practicing what I've shown you. Even though shell voicings are simple, they are deceptively so, and mastering them is an important stepping stone for anyone who wants to play jazz piano.

Table of Contents
0:00 Introduction
1:34 Part 1 - Theory (Chord voicings)
2:26 Examples
8:05 Theory (Voice leading)
10:14 Another example
10:58 An exercise
12:18 Part 2 - Application
13:40 Breakdown of ballad
16:30 Part 3 - Practice
17:22 An example
18:03 Overview of next lesson

The Plagal Cadence: Rocks Signature Sound, Explained

MangoldProject 2023-09-29 | The plagal cadence is perhaps the most iconic sound of rock music, permeating the sound of almost any classic rock band you can think of, from The Beatles to The Rolling Stones, ELO to Guns and Roses, Elton John to Queen, ZZ Top to AC/DC. In this video I'll show you how this seemingly simple idea can be used in a myriad of different variations, each giving a unique harmonic progression or sound. The video will conclude with a musical demonstration that will put all of the idea in context. Enjoy!

TABLE OF CONTENTS
0:00 Preview
0:12 Introduction
1:03 Part I
3:11 Part II
7:13 Part III
8:56 Part IV
10:03 Part V
12:02 Part VI
14:22 Demonstration

Jazz Piano for Beginners: Scales (Lesson 3)

MangoldProject 2023-09-22 | In this Jazz Piano online course I will bring you from the level of a complete jazz beginner up to the level of an intermediate/advanced pianist. We will talk about both theory and applications, and cover concepts ranging from chords and scales, to diatonic harmony, voicings, substitutions, soloing, tensions, and much more. Course playlist:

youtube.com/playlist?list=PLP9cbwDiLzdIDidDGpu327FLlo9rYJPpB

In the third lesson I will teach you about scales: how to construct them, and, more importantly, what they are good for. Along the way we'll discuss the different types of scales, soloing, associating between scales and chords, and generally laying the foundation for future lessons. Scales aren't "exciting", but they are extremely important. Just like brushing your teeth. I'll also show you how to apply the concepts we learn to solo over our ballad from the first lesson, and give you some tips on how to practice scales.

TOC
0:00 Preview
0:12 Introduction
0:40 Constructing scales
2:56 Some observations
5:48 Three uses of scales
15:38 Applications
16:52 Playing the scales
18:36 Demonstration
19:39 Practicing scales
22:15 Plans for upcoming lessons

Jazz Piano for Beginners : Chords (Lesson 2)

MangoldProject 2023-09-15 | In this Jazz Piano online course I will bring you from the level of a complete jazz beginner up to the level of an intermediate/advanced pianist. We will talk about both theory and applications, and cover concepts ranging from chords and scales, to diatonic harmony, voicings, substitutions, soloing, tensions, and much more. Course playlist:

youtube.com/playlist?list=PLP9cbwDiLzdIDidDGpu327FLlo9rYJPpB

In this second lesson I will explain what chords are and how to play them. We'll cover eight different types of essential "jazz" chords - more accurately called "7th chords" - including major, minor, dominant, diminished, half diminished and more. Then I'll show you how to apply this knowledge to accompany yourself playing a simple ballad from sheet music. I'll conclude by giving you some tips on how to practice the dizzying number of chord combinations.

Table of Contents
0:00 Theory
1:36 The anatomy of a chord
2:00 Different types of chords
5:08 Application to a ballad
7:54 Constructing a few chords
10:28 How to practice chords

Jazz Piano For Beginners: Getting Started (Lesson 1)

MangoldProject 2023-09-08 | Course playlist: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLP9cbwDiLzdIDidDGpu327FLlo9rYJPpB

In this Jazz Piano online course I will bring you from the level of a complete jazz beginner up to the level of an intermediate/advanced pianist. We will talk about both theory and applications, and cover concepts ranging from chords and scales, to diatonic harmony, voicings, substitutions, soloing, tensions, and much more.

In this first lesson I will just give you an overview of what I plan to cover and also get you familiarized with a jazz ballad - we will return to this ballad many times to illustrate many of the theoretical and abstract concepts you will pick up along the way. You can just listen to it now, or try and learn to play it by copying what I do (this is not required for the remainder of the course, and just a "bonus challenge" for those of you up to the task). I hope this course inspires and motivates younger pianists who want to master this fascinating art form.

Table of Contents
0:00 Introduction
1:50 A jazz ballad
2:41 Discussing the ballad
3:52 Playing the chords (optional)
6:30 Slow version (optional)

Channel Update: Upcoming Videos

MangoldProject 2023-09-04 | In this video I will give you an overview of what I have planned and my upload schedule for the next couple of months. I've already hinted at this in a community post: I'll be starting a comprehensive course for pianists who want to understand and play jazz piano (and jazz in general!). Have a listen at how the course will be structured and what to expect.

How to Get Better at Playing Piano: A Roadmap

MangoldProject 2023-09-01 | I explain why some pianists get "stuck" while learning piano, and present a high level map for aspiring pianists who want to break through from the beginner to the intermediate to the advanced stages of playing.

0:00 Introduction
1:16 What is "Better?"
2:54 The roadmap
4:56 From beginner to intermediate
10:18 From intermediate to advanced
16:04 Beyond advanced

How to Master 5 Basic Piano Skills | Piano 101

MangoldProject 2023-08-25 | In today's video I will lay out five skills which I consider to be essential for all pianists, from beginners to advanced. These are important from either a technical or theoretical standpoint, or both. We'll cover scales, octaves, stride piano, arpeggios, and the circle of fifths, and I'll give you some simple and great exercise ideas for working on them.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
0:00 Introduction
0:23 Skill 1 (Scales)
1:02 Exercise 1
2:50 Skill 2 (Octaves)
3:55 Exercise 2
5:02 Skill 3 (Arpeggios)
5:57 Exercise 3
8:00 Skill 4 (Stride Piano)
9:13 Exercise 4
12:32 Skill 5 (Circle of Fifths)
14:45 Exercise 5

Finding the Key of a Song: Three Easy Methods

MangoldProject 2023-08-18 | Let me show you three methods for finding the key of a song easily and accurately (there's an old joke: easy, accurate and quick, pick any two). Well, the first will be quick and dirty and not very accurate, and the next two are pretty accurate and will serve you well in mastering this simple but highly important skill. You don't need ANY theory to follow along - results guaranteed!

TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Introduction
0:16 What IS a key?
1:06 Another definition
1:56 Method 1 (Quick and dirty)
5:32 Method 2 (Slow and accurate)
10:20 Method 3 (Slow and accurate)

Harmonizing a Melody: From BEGINNER to ADVANCED

MangoldProject 2023-08-11 | 0:00 Introduction
0:29 Listening to the melody
0:45 Trivial harmonization
1:15 Example
1:37 Pentatonic melodies
2:58 Example
4:15 Relative minors
4:56 Before reharmonization
5:36 After reharmonization
6:11 Borrowing chords
6:56 Example
7:18 Adding dissonance
8:29 Example
8:52 Adding tensions
9:22 Example
9:44 Sus4 chords
11:12 Example
11:33 Conclusion

In this lesson we're going to take a simple vocal melody and harmonize it. This means we're going to add chords to it! We're going to start very very simple and slowly, slowly expand our repertoire and variety, until we get to advanced concepts like tensions, sus chords, borrowed chords and lots of other goodies.

As always, bonus points for any viewers who spot any cat cameos!

Learn to Play Scary Melodies: A (Haunted?) Piano Lesson

MangoldProject 2023-08-04 | 0:00 Demonstration
1:09 Lesson Outline
1:46 Minor Chords
4:40 Map Room Theme
6:08 Approach 1
12:12 Approach 2
17:13 Playing Tips

It's not Halloween yet, but here is a tutorial on how to play scary, ominous, haunting, creepy, chilling, eerie, bloodcurdling, spooky, hair-raising melodies and accompaniments on your piano (I paid good money for that thesaurus). You might even scare yourself!

Extra points for anyone who spots any cat cameos. Especially black ones.

All Scale Degrees Are Equal, but Some Are More Equal Than Others

MangoldProject 2023-07-28 | 0:00 Introduction
0:34 One-Note-Samba Example
0:58 The most important degrees
2:45 Climbing Up (1)
3:55 Climbing Up (2)
4:50 Why does it work?
6:24 Example 1
8:36 Example 2
11:14 Soloing
12:18 Minor scales
13:42 Example 3
14:26 The John Williams Connection

This is a video about how some scale degrees are more powerful than others. The root and the fifth, specifically, fit in with almost any chord progression you can come up with, and are great ways to build very forceful melodies! I'll demonstrate this using multiple examples, both major and minor. As a bonus, at the end of the video I'll point out how the root and fifth act as great openers for several John Williams themes. Enjoy!

(Damn it, the thumbnail would have been so much better if this was a video about fourths)

The Genius of Freddy Mercury: Queens Unique Harmonic Motif That Set It Apart From Other Bands

MangoldProject 2023-05-06 | 0:00 Introduction
1:42 The Progression
3:30 Example Songs
7:35 A Classical Source?

In today's video I'm going to talk about my favorite band of all time, Queen, and its lead singer, Freddy Mercury. Freddy was influenced heavily by classical music and borrowed harmonic ideas, concepts and progressions from it. In particular, I'm going to highlight one such motif that has been featured extensively in many of Queen's songs, but is rarely found in other songs (especially in the last few decades). I'll present a bit of theory and then present the idea, and then show some songs that use it. Finally I'll draw an interesting parallel to the classical music that might have influenced Mercury, and show one such example from the works of one of Beethoven's piano sonatas.

This will change the way you think about music theory

MangoldProject 2023-04-29 | Ever wondered why some times someone will play a G13#5b9 while in others they would play a regular plain old G7 or G9 chord? Well, wonder no further! In this lesson I will show you what I think is the right way to think about complex chords, tensions, altered tensions and all that jazz - literally. The idea is to think about scales and not chords. This simplifies things enormously and lets you group different "types" of chords together. It makes a lot more sense than memorizing a million different combinations, and simplifies harmony substantially (at least for me!).

0:00 Introduction
0:27 The complexity of harmony
3:51 Organizing complexity
4:24 The dominant scale
7:47 The altered scale
12:05 An example
15:00 Important dominant scales
18:50 Important major scales
22:19 Important minor scales

Three Minor Chord Voicings Every Beginner Should Know

MangoldProject 2023-04-25 | Here are three complementary voicings for minor chords you can start using right away! You don't need to know any theory to learn these highly useful voicings and incorporate them into your own playing. However, for those of you are a bit more intermediate, I've also included some theoretical discussions of why these voicings "work", and what to look out for when using them.

0:00 Introduction
0:18 Demonstration
0:50 Breakdown of voicings
3:15 Anaylsis of demonstration
5:36 A bit of theory
7:38 Aeolian vs Dorian minor voicings
10:00 Ambiguity in voicings

The 2nd Most Important Music Theory Idea Youll Ever Learn.

MangoldProject 2022-10-14 | The most important idea:
youtu.be/pL1vsUj71xw

What does Yesterday by the Beatles, Just the Two of Us by Bill Withers, Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen and Mamma Mia by ABBA all have in common? The answer: The 2nd most important harmonic idea in music theory: the 2-5-1 progression. This refers to inserting a sequence of chords (the "2" and the "5") before any target chord (the "1"). The "2" is a minor (or minor 7th) chord built on the note two semitones above the root of the target. The "5" is a major (or dominant 7th) chord, built on the note seven semitones above the root of the target. It's easy and simple, and once you get the hang of it you'll start seeing it everywhere!

TABLE OF CONTENTS
0:00 Introduction
0:43 The idea
3:20 Example 1
6:30 Example 2
10:40 Example 3
11:50 Some Theory
14:23 Example 4 (Jazz)
16:30 A bit more theory
20:54 Parting thoughts

How to Practice Music Theory - And Other Questions Musicians Face (Q&A #1)

MangoldProject 2022-10-07 | Not exactly a video, not quite a podcast, but let's do it anyway: My first Q&A, dealing with questions sent to me by subscribers: How to be original? How to practice music theory? How to "tell a story" when improvising? And more. If it goes well, I'll consider doing more of these :)

0:00 Introduction
1:12 The effect of long breaks
3:12 Dealing with lack of inspiration
9:08 What and how to practice as a beginner
19:02 Can music theory help me play other instruments?
20:02 What skills does a pianist need to be "job-ready"?
27:42 Do I need to know music theory to compose music?
30:50 How to be original?
33:24 How to "tell a story" when improvising
35:44 How to memorize and practice fast scale changes
40:21 Tips on practicing music theory

The Most Important Music Theory Idea Youll Ever Learn.

MangoldProject 2022-09-30 | You might think I'm overselling this, but this is probably the most important harmonic idea in music theory: That of secondary dominants, or tonicization. This refers to inserting a dominant chord a perfect fourth below any major or minor chord. This is said to "tonicize" the target (major or minor) chord. The added dominant is also called a secondary dominant. It's all around you in thousands of songs, and it always works and sounds great. Learn it and you will never look at music the same way again.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
0:00 Demonstration
0:46 Explanation
2:25 Simple example
6:20 Advanced example

This Chord Is Not Like the Others.

MangoldProject 2022-09-23 | There's one type of dominant chord that is unlike any other type of dominant chord: The 13#11, also known as the Lydian-Dominant. Here I explain what I mean by this, and show you how to use it in your compositions and playing regardless.

(Sorry for a little bit of audio distortion in the middle ... )

TABLE OF CONTENTS
0:00 Introduction
0:22 Playing the chord
1:07 Memorizing it
1:44 What is a dominant chord?
3:44 Why a black sheep
5:04 What it is good for
5:33 Example 1
7:00 Example 2
7:40 Example 3
8:45 Example 4

The FIVE LEVELS Stretching: A Progressive Piano Left Hand Exercise

MangoldProject 2022-09-16 | Let's turn you into a mini-Rachmaninoff! Today I'll give you an exercise that works on your piano left hand technique, and specifically on stretching your left hand. This is crucial for a lot of advanced chord voicings, jazz and quite a few piano pieces.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
0:00 Motivation
0:37 Demonstration
1:16 Explaining the exercise
1:50 The right hand
3:55 Level 1
5:14 Level 2
7:14 Level 3
10:01 Level 4
12:00 Level 5
17:02 Backing track

How The Piano Is Used To Compose Game Music: A Case Study

MangoldProject 2022-09-02 | 0:00 Demonstration
0:56 Lesson Overview
1:30 Using reverb
2:15 Listen to the tail
2:38 The piano range
4:50 Use chord extensions
10:00 Add motion with arpeggios
12:50 Use non-chord tones
13:50 Create contrast

In today's lesson I will show you how the game Hollow Knight creates an ethereal and magical atmosphere using the piano and a vocal soloist. This tutorial will demonstrate some key ideas, including using chord extensions, arpeggiating the chords to create motion, playing in the upper register of the piano, and generating contrast between the accompaniment (piano) and the solo (voice). Hopefully this will give you idea to experiment with writing your own melodies or extending your own musical piano compositions.

Previous video on Hollow Knight:
youtu.be/DDH56B0tBaY

Piano Quickie series:
youtube.com/watch?v=KoPAcVnAi68&list=PLP9cbwDiLzdKY0kV1hPE4zNosvz_Ur7wD

How to Play Piano Ballads: 10 Tips from Beginner to Master

MangoldProject 2022-08-26 | 0:00 Demonstration
1:00 Tip 1
2:16 Tip 2 (The Magic Chords)
3:52 Tip 3
5:08 Tip 4
7:43 Combining Tips 1-4
9:40 Tip 5 (The Magic Notes)
11:18 Tip 6
14:30 Tip 7
16:35 Tip 8
18:54 Tip 9
20:46 Tip 10

In this piano lesson you will learn 10 tips that will teach you how to play a relaxing piano ballad. This lesson is great for beginners and will cover a lot of ground, from playing patterns, to left hand and right hand patterns, chords, allowed notes, and many other things! By the end of it you will become the BALLAD MASTER. Ok, maybe not master, but you'll definitely sound good!

3 ESSENTIAL Exercises for Beginning Pianists

MangoldProject 2022-08-19 | 0:00 Three weaknesses of beginners
0:33 Exercise 1 (Strength)
1:40 Exercise 1b
2:13 Exercise 1c
2:45 Exercise 1d
4:58 Exercise 1e
6:46 Exercise 2 (Stretching)
7:49 Exercise 2b
9:06 Exercise 2c
9:55 Exercise 2d
11:08 Exercise 3 (Independence)
12:38 Exercise 3b

In today's piano lesson I will help you work on three major weaknesses beginning piano players need to tackle: finger strength, the ability to stretch your hands, and left and right hand independence. In this tutorial I will present three exercises to practice and work on these shortcomings. For each exercise I will present several increasing levels of difficulty. This will work on both your left and right hands, to improve your piano agility, independence, speed, strength and overall performance.

A BRILLIANT Piano Exercise Idea

MangoldProject 2022-08-12 | Here's how to take any piano exercise and make it better!
Let me show you how to take your left hand technique to the next level with a simple and easy idea that you can apply to ANY exercise / etude / drill. You'll be a shredding monster in no time! Or at least develop tendonitis.

How to Play Bossa Nova Piano for Beginners (EASY!)

MangoldProject 2022-08-05 | 0:00 Introduction
0:35 Demonstration
0:56 Outline of Lesson
1:29 The Chords
4:35 The Rhythm
13:10 Variation 1
14:10 Variation 2

Here is a simple and easy lesson teaching how to play Bossa Nova on piano. This video is great for beginners and does not require any note reading or theory, and only very little technique. I will walk you through the chords, and, more importantly, the special Bossa Nova rhythm. The rhythmic pattern is quite tricky but I have a few tricks to show you to tackle it, by breaking it down to sub-patterns. Enjoy!

Its the Rings of Power trailer (but I composed original synthwave music for it)

MangoldProject 2022-07-31 | I re-edited bits of pieces from released trailers and slapped some original synthwave on. Some might say I did it just to shut up the God-awful dialog, but I will deny.

If enough of you ask me to do so in the comments, I'll make and upload a video tutorial on the arrangement.

Learn ADVANCED Jazz Piano (What is ... Planing?) - This will make you sound SOPHISTICATED easily!

MangoldProject 2022-07-30 | 0:00 Introduction
0:10 Demonstration
0:48 Discussion
2:10 Planing
3:26 Chromatic Planing
5:08 First Turnaround
8:01 Diatonic Planing
10:04 Second Turnaround
12:10 Conclusions

Here is a great jazz piano idea that sounds advanced, is easy to learn, and opens up many possibilities: planing, both chromatic and diatonic. In this jazz piano tutorial I will explain what it is and provide demonstrations using a little tune I wrote.

The Melancholic Piano Style of Hollow Knight

MangoldProject 2022-07-29 | 0:00 Demonstration
0:54 Introduction
2:16 The role of reverb
2:59 The piano range
4:20 The chords
5:35 Playing the left hand
11:30 The right hand melody
13:00 Using non-chord notes
16:10 Building tension and using octaves

Hollow Knight is one of the pinnacles of modern indie computer games, and in this video I will talk to you about some of its music. We will focus on the style of the melancholic piano piece that plays as you explore Dirtmouth, and discuss the ideas, harmonies and tricks behind it. At the end of this lesson you will be able to write your very own soundtrack to Dirtmouth!

Upcoming videos will explore additional music from the game. If you enjoy playing games I urge you to check it out, as well as the original sound track by the very talented composer Chrisopher Larkin.

If you are interested in learning more about how to construct chords, check out my Piano Quickie playlist:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLP9cbwDiLzdKY0kV1hPE4zNosvz_Ur7wD

Dont Play This (If You Play Jazz Piano): What To Do With Your Left Hand

MangoldProject 2022-07-01 | 0:00 Demonstration
0:49 What NOT to do
2:19 Cmaj9 - The 3-7 voicing
4:35 A7b5b9 - Another 3-7 voicing
6:00 D9sus4 - Playing the full chord
6:52 G7b5b9 - Another 3-7 voicing
7:54 The 1-3-7 voicing and chromatic motion
11:51 More 1-3-7 (ascending) voicings
12:20 Don't play too low
13:40 The 1-7 voicing
14:20 Blues

Beginning jazz pianists always use octaves in their left hand to voice chords. That's usually not the best way to go about it. In this video, I will cover some quick and easy alternatives to guide you on using your left hand. As usual, I will use specific chord progressions and voicings to demonstrate the theory and ideas behind what I'll show.

Learn to Play Relaxing and Simple Piano Jazz

MangoldProject 2022-06-17 | 0:00 Demonstration
0:38 Introduction
1:12 The first chord (Am11)
1:54 How to play the chord
2:28 The second chord (Dm9)
3:08 Chromatic embellishments
3:54 The fourth chord (Dm11)
4:18 A transition chord (G7b9 to Cmaj7sus2)
4:55 Another transition chord (B7sus2 to Bbmaj9)
6:24 Ending on a 5-1 (E7#5#9 to Am9)
7:20 Running on pentatonic scales
8:16 Passing vs essential chords
9:45 The 5-1 progression

In this video I'll show you to play a groovy little jazz chord progression on the piano. It's not complicated at all and you can follow this lesson with or without music theory.

Chord Progressions with Smooth Basslines

MangoldProject 2022-06-07 | 0:00 Demonstration
0:59 Lesson Outline
1:52 First progression
3:14 Second progression
4:25 Demonstration
4:50 Third progression
5:30 Fourth progression
6:44 Fifth progression
7:38 Demonstration
8:00 How to play the progressions
14:12 Ascending chord progressions
14:50 Sixth progression
16:43 Seventh progression
17:46 Eighth progression

In today's lesson we'll cover chord progressions with smoothly descending bass lines. The first five progressions will have a smoothly descending bass, while the last three will have a smoothly ascending upper notes (basically, the "mirror image" of the first five). I'll also briefly cover ways of arpeggiating the left hand while maintaining the descending bassline. Hope you find something interesting to add to your piano playing and theory repertoire!

What Are ... Polychords? A Complete Guide (AKA Slash Chords)

MangoldProject 2021-10-17 | 0:00 What is a polychord?
1:08 Demonstration
2:02 The double lives of polychords
5:57 A new way of thinking of chords
6:08 Polychords and memorizing chords
6:45 Polychords and transposing chords
7:48 Polychords and smooth voice leading
9:40 Finding good polychord combinations
10:30 Major chords a perfect 5th apart
11:35 Minor chords a perfect 5th apart
12:00 Major 7th chords a perfect 5th apart
12:42 Dominant chords a tritone apart
13:54 Dominant chords a minor 6th apart
14:32 Minor and major chords a minor 3rd apart
15:25 Polychords and arpeggiation
16:19 Polychords and soloing

In this video I am going to demonstrate and go over the concept of polychords. These are chords that are made out of "simpler" chords, such as playing a C major and a G major simultaneously. Polychords give us a completely new way of thinking of music and harmony, and can be used to transpose, voice lead and memorize stuff. I will also give you some recipes for constructing "good sounding" (consonant) polychords. Finally, I'll conclude by showing how polychords can lead to some interesting arpeggiation and soloing choices.

PS
Polychords are sometimes called slash chords. Sometimes people will use the term "Slash Chords" to refer to a chord over a specific bass, which is a "trivial" polychord. You should double-check with the musician you're working with what he or she mean exactly by using slash notation.

What Would You Play Next? OR: Eight Variations on a Simple Chord Progression

MangoldProject 2021-09-18 | 0:00 What this lesson is about
1:00 Demonstration
2:54 Original
3:52 Variation 1
5:19 Variation 2
6:44 Variation 3
7:46 Variation 4
9:50 Variation 5
11:31 Variation 6
13:26 Variation 7
14:53 Variation 8

In this lesson I'm going to take a very simple chord progression and show you how I can swap out different chords (mostly the last one) and still make it sound good. This is a gentle and simple introduction to the more complex and advanced topic of chord substitutions, and it will hopefully give you ideas on approaching your own chord voicings and progressions.

Learn to Play Sad and Epic Piano Music (For Beginners and Intermediate Players)

MangoldProject 2021-08-20 | 0:00 Demonstration
1:30 What we'll cover in this lesson
1:54 Playing the chords (simple version)
4:40 Making the chords interesting - Pattern 1
7:04 Making the chords interesting - Pattern 2
8:23 Making the chords interesting - Pattern 3
11:30 Right Hand Melody - Using Chord Tones
13:56 Right Hand Melody - Chord Melody
17:54 How to Write "Sad" Chord Progressions
22:42 The Amazing Idea of Modulations

In this video I will break down a short composition that uses the natural minor scale to create a sad but epic mood. I will give you tips on what to do with the left and right hands, how to play chord melodies, how to string chords together, how to move between scales and more! This video is great for beginner and intermediate players.

I've published a "happier" and more major version of this a couple of weeks ago, which you should check out if you're interested:
youtube.com/watch?v=BduzVqcUMTM

Link to my Piano Quickie playlist here on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLP9cbwDiLzdKY0kV1hPE4zNosvz_Ur7wD

How to Play Relaxing Piano Music: A SIMPLE and EASY Step-By-Step Guide for Beginners

MangoldProject 2021-08-04 | 0:00 Demonstration
1:17 Introduction
1:58 Introducing the Chords
3:00 How to Play Left Hand Arpeggios
7:40 How to Create a Right Hand Melody
11:42 More Dramatic Arpeggios
15:05 More Complex Right Hand Melodies
16:55 Parting Thoughts

If you enjoy listening to piano music to relax, why not make some of that music yourself? Here's a step-by-step guide on how to play relaxing piano music which is great for both beginning and intermediate piano players. You don't need advanced techniques or concepts to sound great! We're going to work on right hand melody, using "space" or silence to your advantage, left hand arpeggios and some general advice on how to approach playing relaxing music. I hope you enjoy!

Play Professional Sounding Chords and Progressions Using Chromatic Harmony: A Mind Blowing Idea

MangoldProject 2021-07-29 | 0:00 Introduction
0:20 Where we start out
0:40 Demo of End Result
1:25 How to Play The Demo
4:22 This Idea Blew My Mind
7:54 Full Chromatic Motion
10:18 Using Chromatic Motion Within Diatonic Harmony
13:58 Chromatic Bass Motion
16:10 Another Chromatic Bass Motion Example
18:20 Why Did I Start Out on Bb?

In this video I am going to open your mind to an interesting way of thinking about harmony, not in terms of scale degrees or chord progressions, but rather in terms of the motion of notes. This can really lead to advanced sounding chords and progressions with a "modal" or jazz feel to them. Specifically, we'll focus on chromatic motion, although the ideas I put forward here are quite general. We'll start out with a particular demonstration of a jazz fusion type of piece and break it down, and then go into discussing theory and giving more examples. These ideas really made think in new ways when I first saw them, and I hope you will benefit similarly. Enjoy!

If you want to learn more on diatonic (functional) harmony, you can check out my full Jazz piano course here on Youtube (free):
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLP9cbwDiLzdKVOHbx4B0EhwYNksXYaX3s

Piano Arpeggios Masterclass: Six Exercises You Need To Know (Beginner to Advanced)

MangoldProject 2021-07-22 | 0:00 Introduction
0:42 Exercise 1
2:07 Exercise 2
3:52 Exercise 3
5:40 Exercise 4
8:05 Exercise 5
9:50 Exercise 6
12:12 Practice Tips
15:38 A Little Surprise! (Hey, No Cheating! Watch the entire video!)

Ever feel like your right hand is not arpeggiating those chords as freely as you'd like? Well, fear no more! Here are six exercises that will get you stretching, working on your weak fingers (4 & 5) and moving all across the keyboard. If you stick until the end, the little surprise there will tie everything together quite nicely :).

Stop Playing Major Chords Like This!

MangoldProject 2021-07-17 | 0:00 Introduction
0:09 Starting point
1:15 End point
1:40 Voicing the major chords
4:19 Arpeggiation tips
5:20 Voicing the minor chords
7:15 When this breaks down
9:00 Voicing dominant chords
10:20 A "magic trick"

In this video I'm going to show you how to ditch the boring triad based simple chord voicings for major (and minor!) chords in favor of some more lush chord voicings. I hope you learn something interesting, and be sure to stick until the end where I show you a cool magic "trick" ;)

For those of you more interested in the music theory behind chord voicings and progressions, with an emphasis on jazz, check out my full jazz piano course (free, here on Youtube):
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLP9cbwDiLzdKVOHbx4B0EhwYNksXYaX3s