Piano Week 10: Medium groove accompaniment

Weekly Focus

Week 10 shifts from ballad control to medium-tempo pocket: stable pulse, clear syncopation, and confident phrase placement under motion.

Success this week means you can hold medium groove for a full form while comping and improvising without rushing chord transitions.

Repertoire & Chord Map

Primary song is Fly Me to the Moon, with Misty as the slower transfer context. Focus on relaxed swing pocket and clean offbeat entries.

Core medium-groove loop:

vim7 | iim7 | V7 | Imaj7 IVmaj7 | viio7 III7 | vim7 VI7 | iim7 V7

Daily map task: keep harmony fixed while rotating groove pattern every 4 bars.

Supplementary Listening & Ear Training (Required)

Treat this as part of your weekly agenda, not optional background listening: it targets “Medium groove accompaniment”.

Weekly listening pick:

• So What — Miles Davis

Why this track now: It highlights modal hearing and economical voicing choices, which matches Week 10’s goals.

Ear tasks (10–15 min, at least 3 sessions this week):

1. Listen once without the instrument and name the key center by ear (major/minor/modal). Then verify the key at piano.
2. Find one cadence or arrival point, then play: root + shell ii-V-I (or closest functional equivalent) in that key.
3. Lift a short 4–8 bar fragment by ear, play it slowly, and record ~30s so you can compare your hearing vs. the recording.

Extra challenge (optional): transpose your lifted fragment to the weekly priority ladder when possible (F → Eb → G → Bb → C).

End-of-Week Reflection

Where did your medium-tempo pocket feel most natural, and where did it tighten up or rush? Keep one groove pattern as a default anchor and carry one weak transition into Week 11.