Taught by renowned instructor
Jon Kimura Parker
In this segment from his lesson on the first movement of Grieg's Piano Concerto, Jon Kimura Parker demonstrates his chord voicing exercise. One of the things that separates professional pianists from students is the facility they have in voicing every chord they play to achieve more shades of color and gradations in sonority. The opening theme of the Grieg Concerto may sound easy enough, but there are countless ways of voicing the chords. Parker shows how voicing the tops of the chords produces the most lyical sound. He then demonstrates his voicing exercise, taking five consecutive notes of a scale and taking turns applying more weight to just one of the five notes. He furthers the challenge by applying weight to two of the five notes, and so on. Try this exercise yourself, picking any combination of one to four notes to apply weight to. Then, return to a chordal passage in your repertoire and try voicing specific notes to achieve more nuanced effects.
Practicing Chord Voicings
In this segment from his lesson on the first movement of Grieg's Piano Concerto, Jon Kimura Parker demonstrates his chord voicing exercise. One of the things that separates professional pianists from students is the facility they have in voicing every chord they play to achieve more shades of color and gradations in sonority. The opening theme of the Grieg Concerto may sound easy enough, but there are countless ways of voicing the chords. Parker shows how voicing the tops of the chords produces the most lyical sound. He then demonstrates his voicing exercise, taking five consecutive notes of a scale and taking turns applying more weight to just one of the five notes. He furthers the challenge by applying weight to two of the five notes, and so on. Try this exercise yourself, picking any combination of one to four notes to apply weight to. Then, return to a chordal passage in your repertoire and try voicing specific notes to achieve more nuanced effects.
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Unlock Course →Known for his passionate artistry and engaging stage presence, with multiple solo appearances at the Berlin Philharmonie, London’s South Bank, the Sydney Opera House, and the Beijing Concert Hall, Jon Kimura Parker continues to perform to great acclaim ever since his First Prize win at the 1984 Leeds Competition.
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