Many of us are familiar with keyboard pieces, including those with a Spanish flavor, made from triads that move stepwise. Kavalevsky's Scherzo, Opus 39, No. 1 is noteworthy as being accessible and quick to learn, a favorite of beginning pianists and teachers alike. It's a snap to teach and learn by rote. Perhaps one of the most impressive examples, for the late intermediate/early advanced level pianist, is Debussy's Sunken Cathedral Prelude, with its planing of adjacent triads. These pieces are often quite easy to learn and very motivating!

It then makes a lot of sense, and also happens to be a lot of fun, to explore the role these same adjacent triads play in Spanish music and Latin jazz. It's easy to find lots of these flavorful pieces, fully notated, in various collections of piano music. (You may enjoy perusing my recommended pieces list.) Yet, instead of simply being able to play through already composed, fully notated pieces, or at least in addition to doing that, what do jazz pianists who play Latin styles really need to know?

If you've had some experience with notated pieces in this style, why not delve a bit further so you can really understand some of their basic building blocks? Much has been written about Cuban, Caribbean and other music from Latin American countries (just "google" any of the terms mentioned in articles here, and find oodles of info). Right here at Whole Music Lessons, you can enjoy exploring more of  the Latin Jazz Piano Pak, where you'll find teaching tips and important things every pianist should know about Latin jazz piano.