BookatlasPiano Rabbit Hole: Improvisation Theory & Practice

The Theory Map — Structure of the Modules

This comprehensive music theory course about piano improvisation was inspired by this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6buIdQacoM

Watch it.

If you want to start moving in this direction (no promise that you'll soon be able to play like that) – the goal of this course is to obtain understanding of what is happening there. And may be, may be eventually train yourself into being able to think like that. Playing like that most likely would take years of training. The goal is not “know music theory.” The goal is:

Hear or remember a melody → understand what is happening harmonically → accompany it → vary it → reharmonize it → improvise around it → arrange it in different styles.

Because I learned piano through the Soviet/Russian system, I’ll use both naming systems in parallel at first: C = до, D = ре, etc., and gradually make the Western chord symbols automatic. If you see cyrillic notes names and don't read Russian, just ignore it.

Also watch this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiCQYWPEhjc – that was another inspiration.

Course structure

Part I — Build the map of music

Module 1. Notes, intervals, and the keyboard

Module 2. Major scales and scale degrees

Module 3. Minor scales

Part II — Turn notes into harmony

Module 4. Triads

Module 5. Chords inside a key For C major:

C Dm Em F G Am B°

becomes:

I ii iii IV V vi vii°

This is where harmony starts becoming predictable rather than mysterious.

Module 6. Harmonic function

Part III — Start playing without written accompaniment

Module 7. Harmonizing a melody Given a melody note, how do you choose a chord?

For example, melody note C might belong to:

We learn how to use context and your ear to choose.

Module 8. Bass lines and accompaniment Same chord progression played as:

This is where written chords begin turning into actual music.

Module 9. Voice leading Instead of jumping:

Dm → G → C

we find inversions where individual notes move minimally.

This is one of the biggest differences between “playing the correct chords” and sounding like a pianist.

Part IV — Seventh chords and jazz vocabulary

Module 10. Seventh chords

And, importantly, why:

C7 ≠ Cmaj7

Module 11. ii-V-I The central progression:

Dm7 → G7 → Cmaj7

Then:

Module 12. Secondary dominants Now the diagram from your original screenshot starts making practical sense.

Instead of:

C → Am → Dm → G7 → C

play:

C → E7 → Am → A7 → Dm → G7 → C

We learn the rule:

To strongly approach a chord, temporarily use its V7.

Part V — Make harmony richer

Module 13. Extensions

Module 14. Diminished chords This returns specifically to things like B°.

We learn:

Module 15. Chromatic harmony

Not as abstract theory: every idea comes with “here is what this does to a song.”

Part VI — Melody and improvisation

Module 16. Chord tones first Before scales, learn to improvise by aiming for:

That keeps the melody attached to the harmony.

Module 17. Passing and neighbor tones How to turn:

C → E → G

into an actual musical phrase instead of an exercise.

We use:

Module 18. Scales for improvisation Only now:

And, crucially, when not to think about scales at all.

Part VII — Play by ear

Module 19. Finding melodies How to hear:

We start with very familiar melodies.

Module 20. Finding chords by ear Listen for:

Eventually you should be able to hear something and think:

I → vi → ii → V

rather than hunt for random chords.

Part VIII — Reharmonization and arrangement

Module 21. Reharmonizing a melody Take something as simple as Happy Birthday and make:

  1. basic version
  2. seventh-chord version
  3. secondary-dominant version
  4. jazzier version
  5. your own version

Module 22. Substitution Learn why one chord can replace another:

Module 23. Intro, fills, and endings Instead of starting immediately with the melody:

This makes a performance sound arranged rather than merely accompanied.

Part IX — Style

Module 24. Jazz ballad

Module 25. Blues

Module 26. Pop

Module 27. Waltz / classical-style accompaniment

Module 28. Latin/Bossa foundations Not trying to turn you into a Brazilian pianist—just enough rhythmic independence to recognize how the same chords can acquire a radically different character.

Part X — The Nahre Sol territory

Module 29. Counterpoint and multiple voices

Module 30. Transforming a melody As in the video:

Module 31. Meter and rhythmic transformation Take the same tune and turn:

Module 32. Build your own complete arrangement Final project:

Choose one melody you know well.

Create:

That is our equivalent of the final stage of the video.

How each module should work

I suggest we make each one very hands-on:

1. Theory — 10–15 minutes worth

Only the minimum concepts needed.

2. Keyboard demonstration

Exact notes, for example:

G7 = G-B-D-F = соль-си-ре-фа

3. Ear exercise

Something you can actually listen for at the piano.

4. Finger exercise

Not Hanon-like technique for its own sake; something connected to the harmony.

5. Musical exercise

Apply it to an actual melody.

6. Improvisation challenge

Something intentionally without a single “correct” answer.

7. Mini-test

For example:

You're in F major. What is ii? What is V7? Which diminished chord leads to F? Play a ii-V-I.

That way we continuously reinforce earlier modules.

One rule for this whole course

Whenever possible, we're going to learn relationships instead of lists.

For example, I don't want you memorizing:

G7 goes to C. D7 goes to G. A7 goes to D. E7 goes to A...

Instead:

V7 resolves down a fifth / up a fourth.

Then the whole list follows automatically.

Likewise, don't memorize 12 separate major scales as unrelated objects. Learn how scales are constructed and how the Circle of Fifths organizes them.

That is the difference between knowing 100 musical facts and possessing a musical system you can actually manipulate.

Where we'll start

Module 1 should be a little unusual for a piano course. Since you already know how to play and read music, we can skip beginner notation and concentrate on rebuilding your mental model around:

keyboard geometry → intervals → scale degrees → chord symbols → hearing relationships.

That will bridge your classical/Soviet training to the jazz/pop/improvisational language we're going to use later.

So next we can go directly into Module 1: The Keyboard as a System — notes, intervals, scale degrees, and why you should stop thinking only in до-ре-ми.