The jazz piano book
by Mark Levine · first published 1989
82% recommend18% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Thorough jazz theory and piano reference covering ii-V-I voicings, scales, and upper structures, plus improvisation. It suits working pianists and learners who already know basic theory.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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I'm not learning it from wikipedia. I'm playing for 50+ years. Best resource is Jazz Piano Book by M.Levine. (I read lots of others, but... everything I learned, I learned from this one).
on “Music theory for nerds” ↗…luddite but I used books. Any book on common practice harmony will help with most pop/rock and classical up to 20th century. I used Harmony by Piston and happily recommend it. For some jazz theory The Jazz Piano Book by Levine was good for me.
on “Ask HN: How Can I Learn Music Theory?” ↗Wow, never expected The Jazz Theory Book or Effortless Mastery to show up on HN. I'll add The Jazz Piano Book by Mark Levine and Jamey Abersold vol. 1 How To Play Jazz and Improvise
on “Ask HN: Which books do you consider real gems in your field of work/study?” ↗…mistakes are unacceptable during practice, 'specially while doing these. Use a metronome and master each exercise. Start slow and work your way up. 2. Learn music theory, I'd burn through Mark Levine's 'The Jazz Piano' book, don't skip anything in that book including the little excerpts of songs. 3. Learn your favourite songs by ear (after you learn your favourites be diverse and learn other genres by ear), and pick one…
on “Ask HN: How to Learn a Musical Instrument Like a Hacker? (specifically piano)” ↗I would add "The Jazz Piano Book" by Mark Levine - for anyone learning music theory, even if you happen to hate jazz
on “The Best Textbooks on Every Subject” ↗1) Roland FP 2) Don't play classical music. Learn music theory (The Jazz Piano Book by Mark Levine) and play by ear, initially transposing everything to the same key (e.g. Fmaj). (I'm a retired programmer, playing piano for 50+ years. If you'd like to discuss, my email is tatumizer…
on “Ask HN: Taking up piano later in life” ↗…Levine’s book[1]. It digs into the theory of jazz, alongside improvisation. It does assume a working knowledge of basic theory, so not so great for those starting from scratch. [1]: https://www.amazon.com/Jazz-Piano-Book-Mark-Levine/dp/096147...
on “Fundamentals of Piano Practice” ↗You are looking for The Jazz Piano Book by Mark Levine. https://www.amazon.com/dp/0961470151
on “Interactive Music Theory Cheat Sheet” ↗…style harmony as well as the things that later 20/21C music does (eg if you can understand Miles you can understand Hindemith pretty much). For Jazz there are two books I would recommend, which are the Jazz Piano book and the Jazz Theory book both by Mark Levine.
on “Ask HN: Tools to Learn Music Theory?” ↗If you want to go in the jazz direction, the Jazz Piano Book by Mark Levine [1] is great! It has everything a jazz player needs to know, from II - V - I voicings to scales, upper structures, etc. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jazz_Piano_Book
on “Show HN: Hanon Pro – piano technique and exercises for the digital age” ↗…on something, but late is better than never. Siddhartha -- rereading of one of my favorite books of all time The Alchemist -- rereading of one of my favorite books of all time Jazz (by Leveaux) The Jazz Piano Book Mastering the Piano Big Blue Book of bicycle maintenance Probability (by Pitman) -- its embarassing statistics/probability isn't a required course in many programs Elements of Statistical Learning…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2015?” ↗I took piano lessons in childhood. I hated it. After college, I decided to pick it up, again. I bought a Yamaha 61key keyboard from Walmart when I was about 23. I also bought a Jazz Piano book. I taught myself "The Girl from Ipanema". I love that song. The keyboard costs about $120.00. The rest is time to practice. And you have to really LOVE music.
on “Ask HN: How to learn to play piano? (kids and adults)” ↗