Piano Week 02: Voice leading + time feel

Weekly Focus

The objective for Q1 is to move beyond shell-only movement into smoother, musical voice leading that still holds solid time.

This week, the main goal is to make inner-voice movement feel automatic while comping, without forcing full complexity too early. You will know you’ve succeeded if guide tones stay connected and time stays calm in one working key, plus one transfer check.

Repertoire & Chord Map

Our primary working key will be Eb major, using Misty as the main application piece. My Romance will be the secondary song for transfer once shapes feel stable.

The core form to practice is a 32-bar AABA ballad flow. Prioritize legato guide-tone connections, clean releases, and calm time feel over added complexity.

The minimum map loop you need to practice and memorize is:

Imaj7 | vm7 I7 | IVmaj7 | ivm7 bVII7 Imaj7 vim7 | iim7 V7 | iiim7 VI7 | iim7 V7

Your daily task is to connect each chord by nearest 3rd and 7th voice leading in one key first. If stable, do one transfer pass (recommended key ladder: F -> Eb).

Supplementary Listening & Ear Training (Required)

Treat this as part of your weekly agenda, not optional background listening: it targets “Voice leading + time feel”.

Weekly listening pick:

• Misty — Erroll Garner

Why this track now: It highlights ballad voice-leading and rubato-to-time control, which matches Week 2’s goals.

Ear tasks (10–15 min, at least 3 sessions this week):

1. Listen once without the instrument and name the key center by ear (major/minor/modal). Then verify the key at piano.
2. Find one cadence or arrival point, then play: root + shell ii-V-I (or closest functional equivalent) in that key.
3. Lift a short 4–8 bar fragment by ear, play it slowly, and record ~30s so you can compare your hearing vs. the recording.

Extra challenge (optional): transpose your lifted fragment to the weekly priority ladder when possible (F → Eb → G → Bb → C).

End-of-Week Reflection

Take a moment to evaluate whether your guide tones are starting to feel automatic in ballad tempo. Where did time become unstable: at chord changes, in fills, or during longer sustains? Note one exact section and one exact key step that still feels stiff, and carry those into next week’s warmup.