Jazz Piano Workouts (Beginner) Lesson 1: C Major (Diatonic 7ths, 2-5-1, Walking Bass)
mDecks Music – Piano & Harmony Tutorials
159,844 views
Welcome to Jazz Piano Workouts — Beginner · Vol. 1
PDF on Patreon: Patreon: 147846854
On mDecks: https://mdecks.com/musictheory.phtml?...
Get the complete 12-week program: Jazz Piano Workouts — Beginner · Vol. 1 👉 https://mdecks.com/jazzpianoworkouts....
(available in PDF or paperback)
Lesson 1 — Key of C Major
In Lesson 1, we begin a focused jazz practice system designed specifically for beginners:
one key per week.
Instead of rushing through material, we stay in each key long enough to truly absorb:
How the harmony sounds
How chords connect through voice-leading
How jazz feels under the hands
This lesson starts your jazz journey at the piano in a clear, structured, and musical way.
What This Workout Develops
Although the exercises sound simple and musical, they do a lot of work beneath the surface. In this lesson you’ll develop:
Jazz voicings
Diatonic harmony
Voice-leading
Functional chord progressions
Ear training
Section 1 — Diatonic Foundation (C Major)
We begin by working entirely inside the key of C major:
C major scale
Diatonic seventh chords
Drop voicings and inversions
Circle-of-fifths motion
Diatonic chord sets that form the basis of 2–5–1 progressions
The goal of this section is to assimilate the sound of the key and train your ears to hear how chords relate to each other before adding jazz color.
Section 2 — Introducing Jazz Color
Once your ears are prepared, we introduce essential jazz concepts, including:
1–7 left-hand shell voicings
Guide tones (3rds and 7ths)
Consecutive 2–5 progressions
Modal interchange (♭VII7)
Upper-structure triads
Tensions (9 and 13)
Rootless voicings
Swing feel with the metronome on 2 & 4
A simple 1–2–3–5 walking bass line
All of these ideas are introduced inside the same key, so nothing feels disconnected or abstract.
How to Practice
Each key is designed to take just a few minutes to play through once you understand the logic of the workout.
Practice this lesson throughout the week until you can play the drills from memory, focusing on sound and voice-leading rather than note-by-note reading.
#JazzPiano
#JazzPianoWorkouts
#BeginnerJazzPiano
#JazzHarmony
#JazzPractice
#PianoPractice
#JazzVoicings
#iiVI
#mDecksMusic
20 Comments
Thank you.
I like how these practice sessions sound like actual music.
Not boring at all!
dB
Jazz Piano Workouts (Beginner) Lesson 1: C Major (Diatonic 7ths, 2-5-1, Walking Bass)
mDecks Music – Piano & Harmony Tutorials
159,844 views
Welcome to Jazz Piano Workouts — Beginner · Vol. 1
PDF on Patreon: Patreon: 147846854
On mDecks: https://mdecks.com/musictheory.phtml?...
Get the complete 12-week program: Jazz Piano Workouts — Beginner · Vol. 1 👉 https://mdecks.com/jazzpianoworkouts....
(available in PDF or paperback)
Lesson 1 — Key of C Major
In Lesson 1, we begin a focused jazz practice system designed specifically for beginners:
one key per week.
Instead of rushing through material, we stay in each key long enough to truly absorb:
How the harmony sounds
How chords connect through voice-leading
How jazz feels under the hands
This lesson starts your jazz journey at the piano in a clear, structured, and musical way.
What This Workout Develops
Although the exercises sound simple and musical, they do a lot of work beneath the surface. In this lesson you’ll develop:
Jazz voicings
Diatonic harmony
Voice-leading
Functional chord progressions
Ear training
Section 1 — Diatonic Foundation (C Major)
We begin by working entirely inside the key of C major:
C major scale
Diatonic seventh chords
Drop voicings and inversions
Circle-of-fifths motion
Diatonic chord sets that form the basis of 2–5–1 progressions
The goal of this section is to assimilate the sound of the key and train your ears to hear how chords relate to each other before adding jazz color.
Section 2 — Introducing Jazz Color
Once your ears are prepared, we introduce essential jazz concepts, including:
1–7 left-hand shell voicings
Guide tones (3rds and 7ths)
Consecutive 2–5 progressions
Modal interchange (♭VII7)
Upper-structure triads
Tensions (9 and 13)
Rootless voicings
Swing feel with the metronome on 2 & 4
A simple 1–2–3–5 walking bass line
All of these ideas are introduced inside the same key, so nothing feels disconnected or abstract.
How to Practice
Each key is designed to take just a few minutes to play through once you understand the logic of the workout.
Practice this lesson throughout the week until you can play the drills from memory, focusing on sound and voice-leading rather than note-by-note reading.
#JazzPiano
#JazzPianoWorkouts
#BeginnerJazzPiano
#JazzHarmony
#JazzPractice
#PianoPractice
#JazzVoicings
#iiVI
#mDecksMusic