Last Updated on January 23, 2022 by Rebecca
Piano Improvisation is a skill anyone can learn!
And if it's something you're interested in learning, you've come to the right place!
In this post I outline 9 easy steps you can follow to create a beautiful piano improvisation.
Now, I have good news and bad news for you.
The good news, is that within each of the 9 steps, there are so many options to choose from!
The bad news, is that within each of the 9 steps, there are so many options to choose from!
(We all know the perils of analysis paralysis!)
So what I've done to make your life easier, is narrow things down to a couple of the easiest, simplest, and most common options within each step. This way you can spend less time thinking about what to play, and more time actually playing!
How to make this post work for you, no matter what your current piano skill level is:
This post goes out to all the piano players in the world who would love to create their own music, but find the idea of improvising intimidating. You'll need a bit of prior piano knowledge and ability in order to understand and implement much of what I've laid out in this post.
But there is sill a ton of value in this post for piano newbies!
I know when I'm learning something new (which I do quite often because I'm kind of addicted to learning), the most frightening and overwhelming part of the process is always the part where I feel like I don't even know what questions I should be asking.
So if you're brand new to piano and you're reading this, use it as a tool to help you figure out what questions you need to be asking!
Get a piece of paper and jot down some notes every time a question comes up for you. In the end, you'll come away with a list of some excellent first steps to take in your piano learning.
And I really hope you'll post questions for me in the comments section to let me know what some of your questions are! This way I'll know what topics I should discuss in my future posts (and in the online courses I'm building).
Now without further ado… let's get to the good stuff and discuss my 9 EASY steps to create your first piano improvisation!
Not near your piano right now? Pin this post for later so you can come back to it when you're ready to make your own amazing piano music!
Step 1: Set the Mood
No… I don't mean like that!
(Although, a good improvisation could definitely be used to sweep someone off their feet! Just make sure you use your seductive music skills for good, not for evil!)
What I really mean is that you should decide what kind of music you feel like creating today.
Happy? Sad? Excited? Spooky? Dramatic? Relaxing? Playful?
This post at SimpleMost.com features a feelings wheel that you can use for inspiration if you're stuck.
Step 2: Choose a Key Signature
Now you need to choose a key signature that will help you create the mood you're going for.
There are a lot of options to choose from here! You've got 12 major keys and 12 minor keys to consider (and even a bunch of modes if you wanted to get really fancy!). But we're going to make it really simple for your first improvisation.
Your basic rule of thumb is to choose a major key to create a positive mood, or a minor key to create a negative mood.
And to make it even easier, we're going to choose C major, or A minor, so we can avoid dealing with any sharps or flats.
So now we've got it narrowed down to 2 choices for your first improvisation:
Step 3: Pick a Scale
Your right hand will be taking care of the melody in your improvisation. Choosing a scale gives your melody a road map. It tells you which notes you'll use to create your melody.
It's important to remember that in each key signature there is more than just the standard 1-octave major scale or minor scale! Some options you could choose from include: the pentascale, the pentatonic scale, the blues scale, and the 7 different modes. You could even choose to give yourself free range on the keys and challenge yourself to embody a true “what will be, will be” attitude!
So with all these options, what's a first time improviser to do?
I recommend you stick with the pentascale of your chosen key (aka the five-finger scale). It's nice and simple. It's just five adjacent notes, they all sound good together, and you don't have to move you hand around on the keyboard to find them.
Remember, your brain will have a lot going on while you're improvising, so you want to put as much on autopilot as you can. With a pentascale, your fingers are already where they need to be, so the placement of your fingers will be one less thing you need to think about while improvising your melody.
I recommend you use the notes of the C major pentascale, or the A minor pentascale to create your melody (depending which key signature you chose).
*A good rule of thumb is to start on the tonic and end on the tonic. So in the key of C major, for example, the first note of your improvisation would be C, and the last note of your improvisation would be C.
Step 4: Choose a Beat
There are any number of time signatures you can choose from when selecting the beat of your improvisation, but for now we're keeping it simple. First decide whether you want a 4-beat metre, or a 3-beat metre.
Then, choose one of the 3 most common time signatures:
Step 5: Choose Some Musical Elements
There are 5 main musical elements you'll want to think about before you begin your improvisation: pitch, tempo, rhythm, articulation and pedaling, and dynamics. For each of these elements, you'll want to consider how you will use it to create the mood you're aiming for.
Ask yourself the following questions before you begin your improvisation:
Pitch
- Do you want a low pitch?
- A high pitch?
- Some dramatic shifts between low and high?
Tempo
- Do you want a fast song or a slow song?
- A very rigid song, or one with lots of rubato?
- Maybe you want some sudden shifts in tempo?
Rhythm
You'll want to have a bit of variety in your rhythm. (A long line of quarter notes gets boring real fast!) So plan ahead a bit and decide if there are any particular rhythms you want to incorporate.
- Do you want to experiment with dotted quarter notes?
- Play with triplets?
- Use a repeated rhythmic motif (where you repeat a certain rhythm pattern, throughout your melody)?
Articulation and Pedaling
- Do you want a very legato sound?
- A slightly detached sound?
- Staccato?
- Do you want to use the damper pedal?
- Maybe throw in some cool glissandos?
Dynamics
- Louds?
- Softs?
- Sforzandos?
- Crescendos?
- Diminuendos?
- Sudden, dramatic shifts in dynamics?
Choosing what you will do with these 5 musical elements is the one place where I'm not going to narrow your choices down for you. This is your chance to let your creativity run wild a bit and insert your personality into your music!
Just make sure whatever you decide suits the mood you are trying to create.
Step 6: Pick a Chord Progression
Your chord progression will let your left hand know what notes to use in order to effectively support and harmonize with your melody.
Now, I could go on for hours about diatonic chord progressions (in fact, I did in this ebook!), but right now we just want to get you playing. So I'll simply give you a progression that works, and leave the whys and hows for another day.
If you're working in a major key, use the I-V-vi-IV chord progression. It's a musical cliche. It's been done to death, but it became a cliche for a reason!
Because it works!
If you're working in a minor key, I'll recommend you use the i-v-VI-iv chord progression. (I have no idea if this chord progression is as common, but it is a good one, and it'll be easy to remember because it follows the same scale degrees.)
There are any number of things you could do with your chord progression to infuse your own personality into your improvisation, but since the theme of this post is keeping it simple, I'll give you 3 easy strategies:
- Move to the next chord on every beat 1.
- Cycle through the chord progression repeatedly, as many times as you like.
- End your improvisation on the I/i chord to give it a good finished feeling.
So what does this look like in your improvisation?
Here are a few other diatonic chord progressions you can experiment with in the key of C major:
Step 7: Choose a Left-Hand Pattern
There are a ton of very common left-hand patterns to choose from. And you'll want to choose one that feels simple and easy for you, so you don't get stuck babysitting your left hand while you're supposed to be focusing on your right hand.
You need to feel confident that you can trust your left hand to do what you need it to do with minimal supervision.
So what left-hand patterns do I recommend for beginner improvisers?
Whatever you do, remember to make sure you choose a left-hand pattern that suits the mood you're aiming to create!
For example, long, drawn-out, solid chords might be good for a lamenting love-song. Or an Alberti bass might be good for a cheerfully playful song.
Step 8: Play Your Improvisation
You've gotta go do it!
All the thinking you did in steps 1-7 created a mental road map for you to follow in your improvisation. You've set yourself up for success by setting boundaries to create a safe zone.
As long as you stay inside your safe zone, anything you do will sound good!
Doesn't that give you a feeling of relief? Doesn't it take some of the pressure off and make improvising seem a bit less scary?
So take this safe zone with you to the piano, and use it to help you relax and enjoy the process of improvising.
And if you accidentally stray outside of your safe zone? Or hit a note that doesn't sound the way you wanted it to?
This is OK!
In fact, sometimes it's downright desirable!
Truthfully! Sometimes the unexpected notes (notes that may even have seemed unpleasant at first) end up being the best bits of the whole improvisation!
If you hit an unexpected note while improvising, you need to simply accept it, resolve it, and move on! (Kinda like when you hit unexpected snags in life, right?!)
Just remember my golden rule:
In piano improvisation, there are no wrong notes… only plot twists!
(You can quote me on that! Tell all your friends I said it!)
So whatever happens, just go with it. Don't stop! Keep playing, and work that unexpected note into your improvisation!
Step 9: Reflect
This step is so important.
It can be tempting to skip it, to just start working on a different piece or walk away from the piano and go do something else. But if you don't take the time to reflect on your improvisation, you won't learn from it.
Never waste an opportunity to learn something!
Ask yourself the following questions after you finish your improvisation:
Take Action!
This post barely even scratches the surface of what is possible with improvisation. But if I tried to explain all the options, tips, tricks, and techniques right now, we'd be here all day, and you'd never get started actually improvising.
And the thing about learning piano, is that it's a lot like learning to ride a bike. You have to actually do it.
You can read all the books and articles in the world, watch all the videos, listen to all the podcasts, seek advice from all your friends… But no matter how much you learn about it, you'll never learn how to do it if you don't do it.
That's why I narrowed things down a lot for you in this post. In each of the 9 steps, I've laid out the simplest and most basic options available, so you can spend less time stuck in analysis paralysis, and more time actually playing your piano!
If you need some inspiration to get you started, try the C Major Improvisation Rhythm Challenge Book 1.
Reading these steps makes piano improvisation seem so easy and fun! I think I will try it out with my kids later today, I’m sure they will like it 🙂
Hi Amy! Easy and fun is exactly what I was going for! Let me know how it goes with your kids if you do try it! I’d be excited to hear what their experience was! 🙂