An Approach to Jazz Piano

by Charles Austin, 456 pages, Fifth Edition 

Available as coilbound paperback and PDF from Lulu, regular paperback from Amazon.

Contents Overview

Topics explored in depth include triadic harmony in popular tune style, practical approaches to chord voicing, harmonic function, source scales & extensions, secondary dominants, modal borrowing, inside to outside scale choices, tritone substitution, the Blues, diminished seventh functions, polychords, slash-chords, the “Sound”, pentatonic voicings & source scales, pentatonic-shapes, altered pentatonics, Drop 2/3/2&4 voicings, passing chord harmony, quartal harmony, polarized passing-tone scales, diatonic/chromatic-approach tones, deflection, change-tones and numerous other melodic approaches to improvisation.

Table of Contents

Rhythm Preface
1 The Keyboard: Interval Building Blocks 
2 Intervals from the Major Scale: The First Source Scale
3 Inversions of Intervals 
4 Compound Intervals 
5 Key Signatures Outlined 
6 Simple and Compound Intervals in Major Keys
7 The Solfege System and Directional Tendencies of Scale Tones 
8 Common Intervalic Sequences 
9 The Remaining Source Scales/Sequences 
10 Intervals in Sequence: A Matrix
11 Triads 
12 Open Voiced Triads 
13 Triadic Harmony in Popular Tune Style 
14 Voicing Melody in the Right Hand 
15 7th Chords 
16 Chord Voicing Part I: An Integrated Left Hand 7th Chord Voicing Approach — A Stride and Shell Technique 
17 Harmonic Function Part I: Tonic, Dominant, and Subdominant 
18 The Major Scale, Modes, Scale-Tone 7th Chords and Basic Improvisation
19 Improvising on Chord Changes: Phrasing and Guide Tones 
20 Chord Qualities/Extensions in Chord Symbols and 7th-Chord-Tone Extension-Substitution Voicing Solutions 
21 Chord Voicing Part II: An Integrated Left Hand Chord Voicing Approach --  Guide Tones and Extensions 
22 Source Scales and Scale-Tone Intervals 
23 Source Scale Construction and Tetrachords 
24 Source Scales and Scale Tone Chords, Part I: Diatonic Scales
25 Source Scales and Scale Tone Chords, Part II: The Symmetrical Scales — The Diminished and Whole-Tone Scales 
26 Scale/Chord Source-Scale Overview 
27 Secondary Dominants: Conserving the Sense of Key 
28 Secondary Dominants: Function, Source Scales, Modal Borrowing and Associated Keys 
29 Secondary Dominants and the Emergence of Dominant Substitution: Tritone Substitution and Sub. V7
30 Secondary Dominants and Improvisation 
31 Secondary Dominants and Related ii Chord/Scales: Conserving the Key 
32 Secondary Dominants and Inside to Outside Scale Choices
33 SubV7 (Tritone—SubV7), Secondary SubV7, and Related II 
34 Harmonic Function Part II: bVIIMa7 Subdominant, Subdominant Minor, and Modal Borrowing (part II) 
35 Harmonic Function Part III:Tonic Minor Chord/Scales and Minor ii—V 
36 Harmonic Function Part IV: Diminished 7th Chord Function: A Justification of Dominant 7th Chord Motion 
37 Related Dominants, Related ii—V’s and Chord shapes from a Symmetrical Diminished Chord/Scale 
38 The Blues Part 1: Form, Blues Scales, and Improvisation 
39 The Blues Part II: A Vehicle for Progressive Harmonic Change
40 Chord Families/Chord Function Versus Chord Function/Chord Families: a Cross-Reference Review 
41 Chord Voicing Part III: Two Hands 
42 Pluralities In Extended Chords: Polychords, the Identification of Chord Stacks Between the Hands 
43 Slash-Chords: Chord Forms over Bass Notes, Creating Chord Quality 
44 The “Sound”: A Slash-chord Approach to Jazz Piano Voicing
45 Pentatonic Scale/Chords: Voicings, Pentatonic-shapes, Altered Pentatonics, Source Scales, and Function 
46 Open 7th-Chord Voicings: Drop 2, Drop 3, Drop 2 & 4 And Use As Passing Chord Harmony 
47 Comping: Articulation, Time Feels, Voicing-Style-Approach, And Form 
48 The Thickening of a Melody Line: Locked-Hands, Slash-Chord, Drop 2, Pentatonics, Quartal Harmony 
49 Scales with an Added Chromatic Passing Tone 
50 Polarized Passing-Tone Scales and Improvisation 
51 Neighbour Tones in Jazz: Diatonic/Chromatic-Approach Tones,
Deflection, Change-Tones 

An Approach to Jazz Piano

An Approach to Jazz Piano is a comprehensive approach for serious students of jazz piano. In this clearly written instructional text, Charles Austin draws on a lifetime of experience as a professional jazz pianist and thirty as a college instructor guiding hundreds of students in the fundamentals of jazz piano. Interspersed throughout with exercises and practice suggestions, the book is a complete guide to learning jazz piano and a comprehensive resource for professionals.

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Amazon Reviews

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Readers Say...

“I would recommend An Approach to Jazz Piano to any jazz student as a 'must have' on your book shelf. I have referred to this very thorough and inclusive book many times over the years. One of the best piano instruction books out there.” 

• Hal Galper — Grammy award winning pianist, composer, publisher, educator, author and touring artist.  Author of Forward Motion and on the faculty of Purchase Conservatory and the New School of Jazz and Contemporary Music.

“...thoroughly spells out things sometimes only hinted at by others, and will surprise you with other wonders that you never dreamed existed... a master teacher who can so eloquently and intelligibly map out this seemingly infinite terrain... if someone were to ask me if there was any single book out there that covers everything Jazz Piano from A to Z, I’d have to say that you won’t find one much closer than this.” 

• Jeff Brent — jazz pianist, performer and educator.  Author of Modalogy: Scales, Modes & Chords - The Primordial Building Blocks of Music

“...an outstanding book and I will definitely recommend it to students... covered a lot of territory in a very thorough manner.”

• Dan Haerle — Professor Emeritus of Jazz Piano, North Texas State University. Author of popular Jazz textbooks including Jazz Improvisation for Keyboard Players: Complete, The Jazz Language: A Theory Text for Jazz Composition and Improvisation

“...a very thorough look at the techniques of playing jazz piano...”

• Dr. Paul Schmeling — Jazz Piano Chair Emeritus, Berklee College of Music. Author of Berklee Music Theory Books 1 & 2, the Berklee Practice Method series.

“...addresses most of the concepts jazz pianists need to know about, starting with the basics and moving up through advanced theory concepts. One thought that occurred to me over and over again while reading the book was `I’ve never thought of it that way before'..."
Read full review here

• Camden Hughes — allaboutjazz forum

"I am an intermediate player who has been making a big push to get clear on the fundamentals of jazz harmony. A while back, I bought a bunch of books... None of them were giving me what I needed, which was a real overview... The book is excellent. If you are like me, an intermediate player with a lot of questions, this is the book to buy. I can’t speak for beginners or advanced players, or even piano players. But for intermediate guitarists, this book is great! There is a blurb for the book! Piano book, Intermediate guitarists love it! See what the publisher thinks of that!"

• jster — allaboutjazz forum

"A must have for jazz pianists, as Mr. Austin is highly regarded as an educator. Essentially containing a lifetime of ground-breaking harmonic exploration by an exceptionally gifted pianist, 'Charlie's' approach is itself a gift to those wanting to discover - or re-discover - the almost limitless possibilities of jazz piano."

• Steve Mallett

"...it does succeed where many others fail... the information is invaluable to a beginning student of jazz piano as well as to seasoned  professionals..." 

• Lee Prosser — jazzreview.com