Piano for Producers: Intermediate

Take your piano playing and production skills to the next level. This hands-on 4-week course builds on the foundation of Piano for Producers I, introducing advanced harmony, rhythm, voicings, and performance concepts that are immediately applicable in a modern production workflow. Designed specifically for producers, this class focuses on improving your creative fluency, helping you write richer chord progressions, expressive top lines, and layered keyboard parts in a variety of styles including pop, hip-hop, R&B, and electronic music.

Topics

• Seventh Chords
  • Build major 7, dominant 7, and minor 7 chords and resolve them in context.
• Extended Harmony
  • Add 9ths, 11ths, and 13ths to shape color and movement.
• Voicings & Inversions
  • Use closed and open voicings and inversions for smooth voice leading.
• Rhythm & Groove
  • Apply syncopation, swing, and ahead/behind-the-beat placement to create feel.
• DAW MIDI Workflow
  • Record, quantize, and edit MIDI performances for musical timing and dynamics.
• Genre Techniques
  • Translate keyboard roles across pop, R&B/neo-soul, hip-hop, and electronic styles.
• Layering & Arrangement
  • Build complementary keyboard parts and manage space, width, and structure.
• Improvisation & Expression
  • Improvise with scales and chord tones and capture expressive phrasing.

Goals

• Produce a 60–90 second original track that centers keyboard performance.
• Layer at least two distinct keyboard parts that complement each other.
• Apply seventh and ninth chords in progressions across at least two keys.
• Use inversions and voice leading to connect a four-chord loop smoothly.
• Record to MIDI and edit velocity, timing, and articulation for a natural feel.
• Export a polished WAV mixdown at 44.1kHz/24-bit with organized session files.
• Improvise a top line that targets chord tones and fits a chosen genre.