Most beginners I teach have the same problem: not a lack of time, but a lack of direction. They sit down, play through a few things they already know, try something from a video, get stuck, and twenty minutes later they are not sure what they practised.
A short routine fixes that. You always know what comes next, every part of jazz playing gets a little attention every day, and small daily steps add up faster than you would believe. Here is the routine I give students in their first months.
The routine at a glance
| Minutes | Block | What it trains |
|---|---|---|
| 0–3 | 7th-chord arpeggios | chord knowledge, fingers |
| 3–8 | ii–V–I with guide tones | the left hand, the most common progression |
| 8–11 | A left-hand rhythm | comping, time |
| 11–16 | Improvise on a blues | rhythm, phrasing, courage |
| 16–20 | One tune + listening | repertoire, style |
Use a timer. When it rings, move on, even in the middle of something. The routine works because it is short and because you do it every day.
Block 1 (3 minutes): 7th-chord arpeggios
Choose today’s root and play its four basic 7th chords as arpeggios, up and down: maj7, 7, m7 and m7♭5. Say the names as you play (“C, E, G, B”). This builds the chord knowledge every other block depends on.
Cmaj7: C–E–G–B · C7: C–E–G–B♭ · Cm7: C–E♭–G–B♭ · Cm7♭5: C–E♭–G♭–B♭
Block 2 (5 minutes): the ii–V–I with guide tones
The ii–V–I is in nearly every standard. Play it in the left hand with just two notes, the guide tones (the 3rd and the 7th): Dm7 as 3–7 (F–C), G7 as 7–3 (F–B), Cmaj7 as 3–7 (E–B). The bass player plays the bass line, so you don’t need the root. Three keys a day. If guide tones are new to you, read my guide tones lesson first.
Dm7: F–C · G7: F–B · Cmaj7: E–B
Listen: at each change one note stays and one moves a half step. Then sing the moving line (C, B, B) while you play. Singing is the fastest way to connect what you hear with what you play.
When this feels easy, move on to the rootless voicings of the ii–V–I drill, but keep the same five minutes.
Block 3 (3 minutes): give the left hand a rhythm
In jazz the left hand is a rhythm player. Play the same ii–V–I in today’s keys, now in the Charleston rhythm: a short chord on beat 1 and another on the “and” of 2. Keep it short and exactly in time.
Dm7: F–C · G7: F–B · Cmaj7: E–B
When the Charleston feels easy, try the other rhythms from my lesson on how to comp: one long chord per bar, beats 1 and 3, the anticipation. And remember: you don’t have to play every chord.
Block 4 (5 minutes): improvise on a blues
Every day, improvise, even if it feels clumsy. The 12-bar blues in F is the best place: three chords, and one scale that works over all of them, the F blues scale (F, A♭, B♭, B, C, E♭). Hold the guide tones in the left hand, one long chord per bar, and play short phrases with long rests in the right.
F7: A–E♭ · B♭7: A♭–D · F7: A–E♭ · B♭7: A♭–D · F7: A–E♭ · C7: B♭–E · B♭7: A♭–D · F7: A–E♭ · C7: B♭–E
Give yourself a single rule each day: today only three notes; tomorrow only off-beats; the day after, each phrase starts on beat 2. Limits make you creative, and you will hear yourself improve week by week.
Block 5 (4 minutes): one tune, and listening
Choose one tune and stay with it for a few weeks. For beginners, the first tune should be a blues: 12 bars, only three chords, and a short melody you can learn by ear. “Blue Monk” is perfect. Two more great choices: “C Jam Blues”, whose melody uses only two notes, and “Bags’ Groove”, built on one short, bluesy riff. Each day, play through the form once: left hand alone, then melody and left hand together.
Spend the last minute listening to a recording of the same tune, and follow the form while you listen. The more versions you know, the better you will play it.
When the blues feels easy, choose a standard with more chords. “Autumn Leaves” is my next step for students.
A weekly plan for all 12 keys
Blocks 1 to 3 change key every day. Over a week you cover all twelve:
| Day | Keys |
|---|---|
| Monday | C, F |
| Tuesday | B♭, E♭ |
| Wednesday | A♭, D♭ |
| Thursday | G♭, B |
| Friday | E, A |
| Saturday | D, G |
| Sunday | your two hardest keys |
Every example above has a key menu and an All 12 keys button, so you can hear today’s keys before you play them.
How to make it stick
- Same time every day. Attach the routine to something you already do: after coffee, before dinner.
- Metronome or backing track, always. Slow and steady beats fast and stopping. 60–80 is a fine tempo for months.
- Record every take. Your phone is enough. Then listen back: as a listener you hear things you miss while you play, and you learn even more. Listening back is the most honest teacher.
- Write down one line after each session: what went well, what to fix tomorrow.
- Short days count. On a busy day, do blocks 2 and 4 only. Ten minutes is far better than nothing.
Questions students ask
Is 20 minutes a day really enough?
For the first months, yes, if it is every day and focused. Many students practise more than that and progress less, because they repeat what they already know. When twenty minutes feels easy, add a second round of block 4 or a second tune.
Should I learn scales first?
Learn chords first. In jazz, scales grow out of chords: once you know the chord tones, the scale notes are the steps between them. The arpeggios in block 1 are your scale practice for now.
I come from classical piano. What changes?
Three things: you will read chord symbols instead of every note, you will swing the eighth notes, and you will improvise. The routine trains all three. Your technique will help you; be patient with the rhythm.
How long until I can play a whole tune?
With this routine, most of my beginners play a simple version of their first tune, left hand and melody, within a few weeks, and improvise a chorus on it a few weeks later. Everyone is different; regular practice matters far more than talent.
Recommended listening
Simple blues tunes to learn first, and the records to learn them from.
- “Blue Monk”, Thelonious Monk · Thelonious Monk Trio (1954)
- “C Jam Blues”, Oscar Peterson Trio · Night Train (1962)
- “Bags’ Groove”, Miles Davis · Bags’ Groove (1954): Thelonious Monk, piano
- “Bags’ Groove”, Modern Jazz Quartet · The Last Concert (1974): Milt Jackson, vibraphone; John Lewis, piano
- “Straight, No Chaser”, Thelonious Monk · Straight, No Chaser (1967)
- “Blues by Five”, Miles Davis Quintet · Cookin’ (1956): Red Garland, piano
- “Blue Seven”, Sonny Rollins · Saxophone Colossus (1956): Tommy Flanagan, piano
- “Blue ’n’ Boogie”, Miles Davis · Walkin’ (1954): Horace Silver, piano
- “Bessie’s Blues”, John Coltrane · Crescent (1964): McCoy Tyner, piano
- “Freddie Freeloader”, Miles Davis · Kind of Blue (1959): Wynton Kelly, piano