Piano Week 07: Chord tone improvisation

Weekly Focus

Week 07 develops chord-tone improvisation that clearly outlines harmony, so lines sound connected to the tune instead of generic scale motion.

Success this week means each phrase lands on strong harmonic targets (1-3-5-7) and the form remains clear even without dense comping.

Repertoire & Chord Map

Primary song is Fly Me to the Moon, with Misty as transfer context. Keep swing feel stable and make target notes obvious at each chord change.

Core outline loop:

vim7 | iim7 | V7 | Imaj7 IVmaj7 | viio7 III7 | vim7 VI7 | iim7 V7

Daily map task: arpeggiate and phrase through the loop in C, then transpose to F while keeping the same phrase logic.

Supplementary Listening & Ear Training (Required)

This selection is deliberate for “Chord tone improvisation” and should feed immediately into your comping/improv decisions.

Weekly listening pick:

• Take the A Train — Duke Ellington

Why this track now: It highlights strong form landmarks and rhythmic clarity, which matches Week 7’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

Did your improvised lines make the harmony obvious to your ear, or did they drift into generic patterns? Keep one reliable target-note strategy and carry one weak chord type into Week 08.