Mark Harrison
Mark Harrison studied classical piano as a child, and by his teenage years was playing in various rock bands in his native Southern England.
In the 1980s, he began writing music for TV and commercials, including a piece that was used for the British Labor Party ads in a national election. He also appeared on British television (BBC), and became a fixture on London’s pub-rock circuit. In 1987, he relocated to Los Angeles to experience the music business in the U.S.A. He soon began performing with top musicians such as John Molo (Bruce Hornsby band), Jay Graydon (Steely Dan), Jimmy Haslip (Yellowjackets), and numerous others. Mark currently performs with his own contemporary jazz band (Mark Harrison Quintet), as well as with the popular Steely Dan tribute band Doctor Wu.
Mark continues to write music for television, and his recent credits include Saturday Night Live, The Montel Williams Show, American Justice, Celebrity Profiles, America’s Most Wanted, True Hollywood Stories, the British documentary program Panorama, and many others.
Mark has also become one of the top contemporary music educators in Los Angeles. He taught at the renowned Grove School of Music for six years, instructing hundreds of musicians from around the world. Mark currently runs a busy private teaching studio, catering to the needs of professional and aspiring musicians alike. His students include Grammy-winners, hit songwriters, members of the Boston Pops and L.A. Philharmonic orchestras, and first-call touring musicians with major acts.
Mark’s music instruction books are used by thousands of musicians in over twenty countries, and are recommended by the Berklee College of Music for all their new students. He also writes Master Class articles for Keyboard and How To Jam magazines, covering a variety of different keyboard styles and topics.
You’re welcome to visit Mark at www.harrisonmusic.com, where you’ll find information about his educational products and services, as well as his live performance activities and schedule.
Elsewhere
Books
Articles
4/4 Time Signature
All About Piano
Decode the 4/4 time signature placed after the clef, where the top number sets four beats per measure and the bottom number defines the beat's rhythmic value.
About the Audio
All About Piano
Discover the online demo recordings, including hands-separate stereo tracks and full-band accompaniments you can play along with by turning down a channel.
About this Book
All About Piano
Get oriented with this beginner-friendly guide that blends organized lessons with playful exploration to get you making music on piano or keyboard right away.
Acoustic and Electronic Pianos
All About Piano
Understand how acoustic pianos make sound with felt hammers and strings versus the digital signals of electronic keyboards, and what that means for your setup.
Acoustic Pianos
All About Piano
Explore the two families of acoustic pianos, vertical and horizontal, and how spinet, console, studio, upright, and grand models differ in size, power, and balance.
Adding Single Notes in the Left Hand
All About Piano
Give your right-hand melody a left-hand bass line in "Ode to Joy," with a finger-crossing move that makes the two hands sound truly independent.
Adding Triads in the Left Hand
All About Piano
Accompany the melody of "Buffalo Gals" with full left-hand triads, practicing the 5-3-1 fingering and the back-and-forth hand shifts between F and C chords.
Alternatives to 4/4 Time
All About Piano
Move beyond familiar 4/4 time by understanding what a time signature's top and bottom numbers really mean, opening the door to new rhythms.
Applying the Techniques to Songs
All About Piano
See comping techniques at work on real songs, starting with the Beatles' instantly recognizable "Let It Be" piano figure and its octave doubling and upper-structure voicings.
Arpeggios
All About Piano
Break left-hand chords into flowing arpeggios in a new version of "Wonderful Tonight," working with a metronome and the damper pedal for a lush pop-ballad sound.
Art Tatum
All About Piano
Get to know Art Tatum, the largely self-taught jazz pianist whose astonishing boogie-woogie, stride, and swing playing was a full generation ahead of its time.
Band Work
All About Piano
Learn where to gig with your band, matching original rock, covers, and acoustic jazz to the right clubs, bars, restaurants, and listening rooms.
Benches and Chairs
All About Piano
Find the right bench or chair height and learn why sitting properly helps you develop correct hand, arm, and posture habits from the very start.
Best Positions for Your Back, Arms, and Hands
All About Piano
Set up relaxed, healthy posture at the keyboard, from a straight back and level forearms to the correct bench height for your hands and wrists.
Bill Evans
All About Piano
Meet Bill Evans, the jazz pianist behind Kind of Blue whose impressionist-inspired chord voicings and relaxed touch shaped the cool jazz sound and modern playing.
Building Major Scales
All About Piano
Build a C major scale step by step using the whole-and-half-step formula, discovering why C uses only white keys while other starting notes mix in black ones.
Chick Corea
All About Piano
Meet Chick Corea, the ever-reinventing pianist who moved from Miles Davis's Bitches Brew to high-octane fusion with Return to Forever and beyond.
Counting Rhythms with Quarter, Half, and Whole Notes
All About Piano
Count your way through a 4/4 example by placing the right number of beats under each note, ensuring every measure adds up to the time signature.
Creating Intervals from the Major Scale
All About Piano
Build every interval from the C major scale, hearing major and perfect intervals as you play harmonic pairs of notes together.
Creating Three-Note Chords (Triads)
All About Piano
Stack two intervals to spell your first three-note chords, building major triads from a root, third, and fifth drawn straight from the major scale.
Diatonic Four-Part Chords and Progressions
All About Piano
Discover how four-part seventh chords stack onto every degree of the major scale to form the diatonic chords behind countless progressions.
Diatonic Triads and Progressions
All About Piano
Build a triad on every note of the C major scale to reveal its major, minor, and diminished qualities and how Roman numerals map chord function.
Dominant Seventh Chords and Inversions
All About Piano
Construct the dominant seventh chord, decode why a bare 7 suffix signals it, and practice its inversions in both hands from every root.
Dynamics, Slurs, and Articulations
All About Piano
Play Clementi's "Sonatina in C Major" while learning dynamics, slurs, articulations, and cut time to shape phrases with smooth, separated, loud, and soft notes.
Eighth-Note Triplets
All About Piano
Squeeze three eighth notes into a single beat to create triplets, counting "1 trip-let 2 trip-let" evenly while spotting the telltale beamed "3."
Electric Pianos and Keyboards
All About Piano
Compare the three categories of electric instruments — digital pianos, synthesizers and workstations, and software instruments — to find which best suits your playing.
Elton John
All About Piano
Meet the pop superstar and inventive piano stylist who, with lyricist Bernie Taupin, blended pop, rock, and soul into a string of 1970s chart-topping hits.
Extending the Basic Five-Finger F Position
All About Piano
Stretch your thumb and pinkie out of the basic F Position to reach extra notes, then put it into practice with the folk tune "Marianne."
Extending the Basic Five-Finger “G Position”
All About Piano
Extend G Position so both hands can stretch up to E, then play the spiritual "Michael Row the Boat Ashore" with smart fingering for repeated notes.
Finding the White and Black Keys
All About Piano
Make sense of the keyboard layout by spotting the two-and-three black-key groups and using the A-to-G music alphabet to name the white keys.
Fingers and Finger Numbers
All About Piano
Start developing left-hand technique and bass-clef reading with the 1-to-5 finger numbers, keeping both hands progressing at the same pace from the outset.
Fingers and Finger Numbers
All About Piano
Learn the 1-to-5 finger-numbering system for both hands and why beginners need fingerings marked beside the notes before playing their first songs.
Forming Triads Below the Melody
All About Piano
Build fuller right-hand arrangements by forming basic and upper-structure triads beneath the melody, adding two chord tones under each melody note.
F Position
All About Piano
Set up F Position with both hands, resting your right thumb on F and remembering the B-flat the key of F requires, ready to move beyond the basic five-finger shape.
Franz Liszt
All About Piano
Discover Franz Liszt, the Romantic-era virtuoso and showman often called the greatest pianist ever, whose dazzling technique made him a true rock star of his day.
Getting the Most Out of Your Practice
All About Piano
Turn limited practice time into real progress with productive habits that keep your sessions focused, effective, and even fun.
Glossary
All About Piano
An A-to-Z glossary of the musical terms and symbols used throughout the book, from accidentals and arpeggios to articulation, ballads, and bass clef.
G Position
All About Piano
Find your way into G Position, placing the right thumb on G and the left pinkie two octaves below, building on the positions you already know.
How to Use the Pedals
All About Piano
Explore the pedals on your piano, focusing on how the sustain (damper) pedal lets notes ring out for a fuller, more resonant sound.
Interpretation and Improvisation
All About Piano
Discover when to play a piece exactly as written and when to improvise, with guidance on interpretation across classical, pop, and jazz performance settings.
Introducing 3/4 Time
All About Piano
Count in threes with 3/4 waltz time, tracing its roots to Strauss and Lanner before playing a folk tune in this lilting meter.
Introducing 6/8 and 12/8 Time
All About Piano
Count in eighth notes with the 6/8 and 12/8 time signatures, then play a traditional tune in the new key of B-flat major.
Introducing Dotted Eighth Notes
All About Piano
Add a dot to an eighth note to stretch it to three-quarters of a beat, then pair it with a sixteenth note to fill a single beat.
Introducing Dotted Notes
All About Piano
Add a dot after a note to extend its length by half again, turning half notes into three-beat values and quarter notes into one-and-a-half.
Introducing Eighth Notes
All About Piano
Meet the eighth note, lasting half a beat, and learn how flags and beams notate it whether it stands alone or joins its neighbors.
Introducing Key Signatures
All About Piano
Discover how the sharps or flats at the start of a piece form a key signature that tells you which key you're in and which major scale a song is built on.
Introducing Note Lengths
All About Piano
Get to grips with quarter, half, and whole notes, learning how each note's shape and stem tell you exactly how many beats it lasts.
Introducing Rests
All About Piano
Understand rests as measured beats of silence, learning to count and observe one-, two-, and four-beat pauses just as carefully as the notes you play.
Introducing Sixteenth Notes
All About Piano
Learn the sixteenth note, worth a quarter of a beat, along with its double flags and beams and the new "e & a" counting that divides each beat into four.
Introducing “Slash Chord” Symbols
All About Piano
Read slash-chord symbols like "C/E" that tell you to put a chord tone other than the root on the bottom, a staple of popular sheet music.
Introducing Tied Notes
All About Piano
Discover how a tie links two same-pitch notes into one sustained sound, letting a note ring across the barline when beats run short.
Introduction to Blues Styles
All About Piano
Trace the roots of blues piano, an American style born in the late 1800s with deep ties to gospel, country, and jazz.
Introduction to Boogie-Woogie Styles
All About Piano
Discover the fast tempos and driving left-hand patterns of boogie-woogie, the percussive blues-rooted style pioneered by Albert Ammons, Pete Johnson, and Meade Lux Lewis.
Introduction to Classical Styles
All About Piano
Trace the evolution of classical piano across the Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and modern periods, from Bach's contrapuntal harpsichord works to the composers who shaped the keyboard repertoire.
Introduction to Country Styles
All About Piano
Learn the piano's role in country music's true-to-life storytelling, from 1920s old-time and cowboy songs through western swing, bluegrass, and honky-tonk.
Introduction to Intervals
All About Piano
Begin the theory behind intervals, learning to measure the distance between two notes by counting letter names from the bottom up.
Introduction to Jazz Styles
All About Piano
Survey the evolution of jazz piano from New Orleans and swing through bebop, cool jazz, and fusion, and the harmonies and rhythms that define each era.
Introduction to Pop/Rock Styles
All About Piano
Get into pop/rock piano of the '70s and '80s, with driving left-hand patterns and right-hand triads behind artists like Billy Joel, Elton John, and Journey.
Introduction to Rock ’n’ Roll Styles
All About Piano
Explore the energetic 1950s rock 'n' roll piano of Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis, with repeated right-hand eighth notes and showmanship flair.
Introduction to “Upper Structure” Triad Voicings
All About Piano
Learn upper-structure voicings — playing a triad over a bass root — as a faster, easier way to grab big four-part and larger chords while comping.
Inverting Major Triads
All About Piano
Reshape the C major triad into first and second inversions, then learn to invert major triads across every key without changing the chord.
Inverting Minor Triads
All About Piano
Apply the same inversion process to minor triads, starting with C minor and writing out first and second inversions by hand to cement the skill.
Joining or Forming a Band
All About Piano
Find ways to join or form a band, from local music-store bulletin boards and rehearsal studios to ensemble classes, when you're missing some or all of your bandmates.
Keeping Your Piano Clean and Healthy
All About Piano
Keep your acoustic or electronic piano in top shape with practical cleaning tips, from dusting between keys to safely caring for delicate inner mechanisms.
Keith Emerson
All About Piano
Discover the progressive-rock keyboard idol behind The Nice and ELP, celebrated for his showmanship and classically-influenced virtuosity that shaped the prog era.
Keith Jarrett
All About Piano
Discover Keith Jarrett, a defining pianist of the past fifty years renowned for his spontaneously improvised solo concerts as well as his celebrated jazz trio work.
Learning the Note Names in Treble and Bass Clefs
All About Piano
Build a set of C-note 'guideposts' across a four-octave range to quickly recognize and read note names throughout the treble and bass clefs.
Ludwig van Beethoven
All About Piano
Meet Ludwig van Beethoven, the German composer and pianist whose groundbreaking symphonies, quartets, and sonatas reshaped classical music even as he lost his hearing.
Major Seventh Chords and Inversions
All About Piano
Step beyond triads into four-part chords, building the major seventh chord from a C major scale and learning to read its Cmaj7 symbol and inversions.
Middle C and Ledger Lines
All About Piano
See why middle C sits between the clefs and how ledger lines extend the staff to notate the notes that fall just above and below it.
Minor Seventh Chords and Inversions
All About Piano
Build the minor seventh chord and its inversions, one of the most commonly used four-part chords in pop, jazz, and beyond.
Minor Seventh (With Flatted Fifth) Chords and Inversions
All About Piano
Flatten the fifth of a minor seventh to form the half-diminished chord, meet the diminished interval, and practice its inversions.
More Advanced Left-Hand Patterns with Arpeggios
All About Piano
Expand your left-hand accompaniment with open triad arpeggios, spreading chord tones beyond an octave to create richer, fuller broken-chord patterns from fake-book symbols.
Moving Hand Positions While Playing
All About Piano
Shift between hand positions mid-song to cover a wider range, using thumb-turns and finger crossings on the Beatles' "All My Loving."
Moving Your Hands to the Notes as Needed
All About Piano
Break free of fixed five-finger positions and learn to move your hands freely to the notes, looking ahead to anticipate register changes.
Moving Your Piano
All About Piano
Heed one crucial rule when relocating your piano: always hire a professional, qualified piano mover rather than tackling this delicate instrument yourself.
Pickup Measures
All About Piano
Find out why many songs start partway into the first measure and how composers use pickup measures to drop the opening rests before the melody begins.
Playing the Melody with Both Hands
All About Piano
Play your first true hands-together song with "Jingle Bells," doubling the melody an octave apart in both hands while staying in C position.
Pop and Classical Tunes
All About Piano
Tackle real repertoire with arpeggios and triad voicings across Eric Clapton's "Wonderful Tonight," Dire Straits' "Walk of Life," and classical works by Clementi and Satie.
Preparing for the Gig
All About Piano
Get gig-ready with practical advice on rehearsing your parts, running your set on consecutive days, and preparing to perform live whether it's a metal bash, jazz gig, or recital.
Reference Sheet
All About Piano
A quick-reference chart of white and black key names, clefs, time signatures, rhythmic values, dotted and tied notes, plus common major scales and chords.
Separating Music into Measures
All About Piano
Meet the rhythmic pulse behind music and learn how beats are grouped into measures with bar lines, including the final double bar that marks a song's end.
Showmanship and Faking It
All About Piano
Pick up performance survival tips from the trenches, including the golden rule of never stopping mid-piece and staying "in the pocket" so the audience misses your slips.
Solo Work
All About Piano
Explore the pianist's edge in solo work — playing melody, harmony, and rhythm at once — and find your first solo gigs at open-mic nights and coffee houses.
Song 1: “Minuet in G” (J.S. Bach)
All About Piano
Play Bach's graceful "Minuet in G" — a right-hand melody in the upper register supported by light left-hand harmony, the perfect introduction to Baroque keyboard style.
Song 2: “Come Sail Away” (Styx)
All About Piano
Play Styx's classic 1970s power ballad "Come Sail Away" using left-hand arpeggios, right-hand triads, and an Alberti bass — staple pop/rock piano techniques.
Song 3: “Benny and the Jets” (Elton John)
All About Piano
Tackle Elton John's "Bennie and the Jets," learning the percussive piano downbeats marked by eighth notes and rests, plus honky-tonk-style playing on the verses.
Song 4: “Takin’ Care of Business” (BTO)
All About Piano
Rock out with BTO's 1974 hit "Takin' Care of Business," pairing left-hand root–5th and root–6th intervals with bluesy right-hand phrasing for great rock 'n' roll piano.
Song 5: “Misty” (Erroll Garner/Johnny Burke)
All About Piano
Play the beloved jazz standard "Misty" by Erroll Garner in a piano-bass-drums trio arrangement, comping behind the vocal in authentic jazz style.
Staff Paper
All About Piano
Blank staff paper for writing your own piano lines once you finish the book, ready to photocopy so you never run out of room to compose.
“Straight Eighths” vs. “Swing Eighths”
All About Piano
Drop the middle note of each triplet to hear where swing eighths come from, and learn why the "&" lands later than in straight rhythms.
Studio Tips
All About Piano
Get an overview of the three stages of recording a CD — tracking, mixing, and mastering — and learn when a home studio works and when you need professional help.
The Bass Clef
All About Piano
Meet the bass clef used for left-hand notes, and learn how the F line helps you name the notes across the lower keyboard.
The Building Blocks of Scales
All About Piano
Explore the major scale, the foundation of most Western melodies, and learn how whole steps and half steps combine to build its distinctive pattern.
The Eighth Rest
All About Piano
Get acquainted with the eighth rest, a half-beat silence, and practice a melody that mixes eighth notes and rests by clapping before you play.
The Grand Staff
All About Piano
Discover how the treble and bass clefs join into the grand staff, the standard layout for piano music where your right and left hands each read their own clef.
The Left-Hand C Position
All About Piano
Move your left hand into C position and play your first left-hand song, the spiritual "Dry Bones," while mastering fingering, steady counting, and a tricky pickup measure.
The Musical Staff
All About Piano
Begin reading music by learning the five-line staff and how notes sit on lines and spaces to tell you exactly what to play.
The Right-Hand C Position
All About Piano
Set up the right-hand C Position, resting your thumb on middle C and pinkie on G, the anchored five-note shape behind your first one-position songs.
The Sixteenth Rest
All About Piano
Get to know the two-flagged sixteenth rest and play a melody that weaves together quarter, eighth, and sixteenth notes with their matching rests.
The Treble Clef
All About Piano
Meet the treble clef used for right-hand notes, and learn how the G line and middle C anchor your reading of the upper keyboard.
The Two Stages to “Faking It”
All About Piano
Begin the art of "faking it," turning a bare chord chart into your own piano comping arrangement built straight from the chord symbols.
Using Accidentals
All About Piano
Step outside a key signature using sharp, flat, and natural signs called accidentals, and learn how long they stay in force within a measure.
Using Intervals Below the Melody
All About Piano
Add warmth to a melody by placing 6ths and 3rds beneath it in the right hand, building fuller arrangements without obscuring the tune.
Using Intervals in Songs
All About Piano
Hear how major and minor 2nds shape real melodies, and discover why these whole- and half-step intervals are the everyday building blocks of music.
Using Right-Hand Triads with Single Notes in the Left Hand
All About Piano
Arrange Sarah McLachlan's gospel ballad "Angel" in 3/4 with right-hand triads over a static left hand, while learning add9 chords and bass-note walkdowns.
Using the 7th and the 3rd of the Chord Below the Melody
All About Piano
Master the jazz staple of voicing the 7th and 3rd of a chord below the melody, demonstrated on the standard "All the Things You Are."
Using the Damper Pedal
All About Piano
Master the damper (sustain) pedal to blend chords expressively in ballads, and learn the pedal timing that keeps chord changes from smearing together.
Voice Leading Between Inversions
All About Piano
Connect chords smoothly by following the inner melodic lines, learning how stepwise motion between voices keeps progressions sounding seamless.
Warming Up Before Playing
All About Piano
Prepare your hands and mind with warm-up routines built around scales and arpeggios, so you arrive at any performance ready to play your best.
What Are Inversions and Why Do We Use Them?
All About Piano
Discover why chords sound smoother and sit easier under the hands when you move a note other than the root to the bottom through inversion.
What Is “Comping” from a Fake Book?
All About Piano
Get to grips with comping and fake books, learning how lead sheets give you just melody, lyrics, and chord symbols to improvise your own accompaniment.
Where to Put Your Piano
All About Piano
Choose the right spot for your acoustic piano, learning why direct sunlight, heating ducts, and radiators can warp the wood and damage the finish.
Who’s Who Big List – 100 Piano Players
All About Piano
A sweeping list of 100 essential piano players across jazz, classical, rock, pop, and beyond, from Mose Allison and Bach to Ray Charles and Chopin.
