CPTP156: Forrest Kinney on Pattern Based Improvisation

You're in for a treat. Forrest Kinney is coming back on the podcast to talk about pattern based improvisation.

Forrest Kinney is a strong advocate for getting all beginner piano students to improvise. His books Pattern Play and Create First help teachers to just that through the use of simple patterns that make improvisation accessible to everyone.

In this episode, Forrest explains his approach and gives us some fantastic tips for transitioning from duet to solo improvisation, teaching theory through improv and much more. Tune in and get inspired.

Transcript

If you'd like to download a PDF transcript of this episode, please click below.

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In this episode, you’ll learn

• How Bach would have taught you to improvise
• How to bridge the gap between duet and solo improvisation
• Why blues improvisation is not always the best place to start
• An approach for teaching theory through creativity
• What to do with students who don't actively listen
• How improvisation can help students with poor rhythm

Links Mentioned

• Create First
• Puzzle Play
• Pattern Play
• Free Sampler

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Thank you for Tuning In!

There are a lot of podcasts you could be tuning into today, and I’m grateful that you’ve chosen mine. Whether you’re at the gym, on the bike or in the car, I know that you and your students will get lots out of what you learn in the long run. Just make sure you try out some of the ideas before they get lost in the business of your next lessons! If you enjoyed today’s show, please share it by using the social media buttons on the left of the page. Also, kindly consider taking the 60-seconds it takes to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast on iTunes or on my Facebook page. Reviews are extremely helpful when it comes to show’s ranking and you can bet that I read every single one of them personally. Lastly, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, to get automatic updates every time a new episode goes live.

Do you teach pattern based improvisation?

Have you used Forrest's resources to do it or do you have another method? What are the biggest stumbling blocks for you in this approach?