Rock Pop Piano

ROCK &
Michael Gundlach
POP
PIANO
An easy Introduction to Improvisation
For Beginners & Advanced Students
m e 1
Vo l u
Mario Romero (mariopanaacea@gmail.com) Kd.-Nr. 756483

Publisher:
MIGU-MUSIC, Michael Gundlach, Frankenthal, www.migu-music.com
Distribution:
MIGU MUSIC Publishing House
Jahnstr. 2
67227 Frankenthal
Germany
info@migu-music.com
Musical notation: Michael Gundlach

Cover-Design: FEUERWASSER . gestaltungsbüro
Cover-picture: skynesher – iStockphoto & DWP – Fotolia.com
Inside-layout: Michael Gundlach, FEUERWASSER . gestaltungsbüro
Band-Arrangements: Kostas Karagiozidis
Unauthorized copying and printing is forbidden and can result in private and criminal prosecution.
© www.migu-music.com

Table of Contents
Introduction..................................................................................................................................................... 4
Basic Information............................................................................................................................................. 5
Improvisation with 2 notes............................................................................................................................. 6
Improvisation with 3 notes............................................................................................................................. 8
Love with Passion (Lead Sheet).....................................................................................................................12
Love with Passion (Piano Arrangement).......................................................................................................14
Three Note Combinations............................................................................................................................. 20
Amélies Dream (Lead Sheet)......................................................................................................................... 22
Amélies Dream (Piano Arrangement).......................................................................................................... 24
Three Note Combination with Second, Third and Fifth............................................................................... 29
Improvisation with 4 notes........................................................................................................................... 30
Butterfly.......................................................................................................................................................... 35
Butterfly (Lead Sheet)................................................................................................................................... 36
Butterfly (Piano Arrangement)..................................................................................................................... 38
Your Improvisations....................................................................................................................................... 43
Improvisation Tips......................................................................................................................................... 44
Chords & Note Sequences............................................................................................................................. 45
Exercises in different keys

Exercise 1.......................................................................................................................................................... 48
Exercise 2.......................................................................................................................................................... 50
Exercise 3.......................................................................................................................................................... 52
Exercise 4......................................................................................................................................................... .54
Exercise 5.......................................................................................................................................................... 58
Exercise 6.......................................................................................................................................................... 60
Exercise 7.......................................................................................................................................................... 62
Exercise 8.......................................................................................................................................................... 64
Exercise 9.......................................................................................................................................................... 68
Exercise 10........................................................................................................................................................ 72
Exercise 11.........................................................................................................................................................76
Exercise 12........................................................................................................................................................ 78
Exercise 13........................................................................................................................................................ 82
Exercise 14........................................................................................................................................................ 86
Exercise 15........................................................................................................................................................ 88
Exercise 16........................................................................................................................................................ 90
Exercise 17........................................................................................................................................................ 94
Exercise 18........................................................................................................................................................ 98
Exercise 19.......................................................................................................................................................102
Exercise 20.......................................................................................................................................................106
Exercise 21.......................................................................................................................................................108
Exercise 22.......................................................................................................................................................112
Exercise 23.......................................................................................................................................................116

Introduction
The goal of this course is to master the art of creative Pop and Rock improvisation using just a few notes. Reducing your
improvisations to just a few notes will help you avoid aimless noodling and will stimulate your creativity. Throughout this
course we will use typical Pop and Rock harmony progressions.
The Exercises
In all the exercises, for better clarity, we will use the C major scale and its chord structure. This allows for easier understanding
and comparison of the various improvisation examples. Additionally, all exercises are presented in several keys (pages 46–115).
However, it is recommended that you transpose the exercises in your head, in order to be more flexible in your improvisations.
The Songs
Normally songs are notated as a “lead sheet”, consisting solely of the song melody and the chords. In this book we first present
the song as a lead sheet, followed by the written-out piano version.
Audio Tracks (mp3)
The CD symbol next to each musical example will show you where to find the track on the mp3.
The exercises were recorded using piano only, while the songs were recorded as professional play-alongs. Every play-along is
presented twice. For listening and studying, a “full play-along” contains the written-out piano part. The “half play-along” omits
the piano part so you can play and practice with a real band. Next to the examples you’ll see “FP” for full play-along and “HP”
for half play-along.
The chord symbols
If you browse through songbooks, you will notice that there are many different ways to notate a single chord. In order to
interpret a song from a lead sheet, it’s very helpful to understand the meaning of these various chord descriptions. If you are
having difficulty interpreting chord symbols, please refer to my books “Pop Piano Method – Volume 1 + 2” and “Cocktail Piano
Method”.
Fingering
The right hand melodies are supplied with detailed fingering to allow for easier practicing. If you feel more comfortable using
your own fingering, then please feel free to do so.
4 Rock & Pop Piano Mario Romero (mariopanaacea@gmail.com) Kd.-Nr. 756483

Basics
In this course, for improvisation, we will use the notes of the major scale exclusively.
Notes of the C major scale
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Root Second Third Fourth Fifth Sixth Seventh
Many song stylists and bands use three-part and four-part chords from the major scale for song composition.
Three-part chords of the C major scale
I II III IV V VI VII
Steps (scale degrees) in Roman numerals
Four-part chords of the C major scale
I II III IV V VI VII
Steps (scale degrees) in Roman numerals
Please note:
For advanced playing, all the notes of the major scale can be used in improvised solos over all the chords
related to that scale.

Rock & Pop Piano 5
Improvisation with 2 notes
Throughout this course we will use typical harmony progressions that you will find in many familiar songs. Quite often
composers will only use three or four chords from the major scale. The first harmony progression we will learn consists of
the I, VI, IV and V chords in the key of C.
Chord Progression 1
I VI IV V
C Am F G
As we mentioned when improvising you can theoretically use all the notes from the major scale over every chord or
chord progression. In order to create a tasteful improvisation, it is recommended you start by using fewer notes. You
can even start improvising using only two notes. We’ll use the first (root) and the fifth of the scale.
C major scale
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Root Fifth
The root and the fifth can also be used in varying positions and octaves.
Exercise 1 shows you how improvising with the root and fifth would sound with Chord Progression 1. We’re only
using the root and fifth over each of the four chords. The left hand plays the root and fifth of each individual chord.
Exercise 1 Track 1

The root and fifth can also be played together and in various positions.
Root and fifth from the C major scale
It is also very effective if you alternate between playing two notes together and playing single notes. You will see this
in Exercise 2. Because of the slower tempo, this exercise sounds like a ballad. Of course you can also play it at a faster
tempo.
Exercise 2 Track 2
The next exercise, because it is a little faster, has a rock style.
Exercise 3 Track 3

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Improvising with 2 notes is very interesting, but after a while it sounds bland. To broaden our horizon, let’s add
another note to our improvisations: the second tone of the scale. Now we are playing with the root, second and
fifth.
Root, second and fifth of the major scale
Root Second Fifth
All three notes can be used in varying positions and octaves.
Exercises 4 + 5 show how these three notes will sound when improvising over Chord Progression 1.
Exercise 4 Track 4

Exercise 5 Track 5
Here we will learn two new harmonic progressions often used in pop music:
I I IV V
Chord Progression 2
C C/E F G
I V VI I IV V I
Chord Progression 3
C G/B Am C/G F G C
As you can see from the following exercises, playing the root, second and fifth over our new progression
sounds very nice.
Exercise 6 Track 6
Exercise 7 Track 7

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Exercise 8 Track 8
As we noticed when playing our two tone improvisations, we can also play the two tones together. We can transfer this
to the three tone improvisations, in varying positions:
Likewise alternating between notes played together and single notes is very musical and tasteful. Take a look at Exercise 9.
An improvisation using the three tones in octaves is also possible:
In Exercise 10 you’ll find improvisations with octaves over Chord Progression 2.

Exercise 9 Track 9
Exercise 10 Track 10

Rock & Pop Piano 11
Track 11 HP, Track 12 FP Love with Passion
Lead Sheet
Music: Michael Gundlach

“Love with Passion” is the first song using our three note improvisation. With the lead sheet you can play along with the
track and create your own improvisations. For improvising we’re using Chord Progression 4 which is a harmonic variation
of Chord Progression 3.
Chord Progression 4
C G/B Am C/G F C/E Dm7 G7sus4
This piece is in C major and you can play the three tones C, D and G over the entire Chord Progression 4. The improvised
part from the written piano version is on pages 16–18, measures 40–64.

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Track 11 HP, Track 12 FP Love with Passion

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Three Note Combinations
If you play the root, second and fifth of the C major scale together as a chord you have a “Csus2” chord:
Csus2 Single notes Csus2
The chord symbol “sus2” means that the second of the chord is played instead of the third. In the key of C major the
“Csus2” is the “I chord” (a major chord) without the third. The IV chord and V chord from the major scale are also
major chords. Both these chords can be converted into sus2 chords:
Fsus2 Single notes Fsus2
Gsus2 Single notes Gsus2
The single notes of the Fsus2 and Gsus2 can be used for improvising in F major and G major respectively. These three
major chords form our next harmony progression, which we will use for our first exercise with the three note
improvisation:
Chord Progression 5
I IV V I
C F G C

The three major chords from Chord Progression 5, adding the third, can be played in the bass. Now we have a new chord
progression, which will be the basis for Exercise 12:
Chord Progression 6
I IV V I
C C/E F F/A G G/B C
“Amélies Dream” (in G major) is the first song to utilize the three note combinations. The improvised section introduces
a new chord progression:
Chord Progression 7 (G major)
I IV VI V
G C Em D
With all four chords we can improvise using the root, second and fifth of the G major scale. We can also convert the
IV chord and V chord (major chords) into sus2 chord and improvise with the individual notes. In the lead sheet from
“Amélies Dream” you will see which notes can be used.

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Track 15 HP, Track 16 FP Amélies Dream
Lead Sheet

Rock & Pop Piano 23
Track 15 HP, Track 16 FP Amélies Dream

Rock & Pop Piano 25
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Three note Combination with Second, Third and Fifth
Before we move on to four note improvisation in the next chapter, let’s look at a new three note combination. Now we
will use the second, third and fifth of the major scale.
Second, third and fifth of the C major scale
Second Third Fifth
This new combination can be used for improvisations over all the previous chord progressions. We can practice this in
Exercise 13. We’ll use Chord Progression 1 (see page 6).
Tip:
Improvise this new combination over Chord Progression 3!

Rock & Pop Piano 29
Using just 2–3 notes provides a simple introduction to Pop and Rock improvisation. By adding a fourth note we open up
more musical possibilities. Our four tone sequence consists of root, second, third and fifth of the major scale:
C major scale
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Root Second Third Fifth
All four tones can be used for an improvised solo over the chords of a C major scale (and over all the chord progressions).
Exercises 14 + 15 will demonstrate this. The four notes are presented in ascending and descending lines, in various
registers.
Exercises 16 + 17 use Chord Progression 4. We use Chord Progression 2 for Exercise 18. An interesting triplet rhythm
occurs in Exercise 19.


Rock & Pop Piano 31

As we have already learned, we can play notes together and in different registers. Many variations are possible. In this
course we want to concentrate on just one practical variation.
Four tone combination using two notes each
In Exercises 20–22 we see the four tone combination using two notes each in the right hand.

Rock & Pop Piano 33
We can also use the four note combination in octaves. Practicing octaves will improve your piano technique. Exercise 23
uses the four note combination in octaves over Chord Progression 1.
Four note Combination in Octaves

Butterfly
“Butterfly” is the first song using the 4 note improvisation. The song is in the key of A minor which is the parallel minor
key of C major. This means we can use all the notes of the C major scale for improvising. We want to limit ourselves to
the notes C, D, E, and G.
The improvisation section consists of a combination of Chord Progression 1 + 8.
Chord Progression 1
I VI IV V
C Am F G
Chord Progression 8
VI IV I V
Am F C G
Chord Progression 8 is a new combination formed by rearranging the chords in Chord Progression 1.
In the piano version you will see the improvised section in measures 37–60 (pages 40–41). Notice the use of single notes
and two notes played together.
Tip:
“Butterfly” consists of the above four chords. When improvising with the play-along you can use the four
note combination throughout.

Rock & Pop Piano 35
Track 28 HP, Track 29 FP Butterfly
Lead Sheet

Rock & Pop Piano 37
Track 28 HP, Track 29 FP Butterfly

Rock & Pop Piano 39
Rock & Pop Piano 41
Your Improvisations
Throughout this course you have seen many examples showing you how to improvise with 2–4 notes. As you play
through the examples you acquire a feeling for what sounds good. You can apply this information to your own improvisa-
tion and when playing with other play-alongs.
Track 30 contains a play-along in a rock groove. The key of E major is typical for guitar-oriented rock music. The chords are
arranged differently from Chord Progression 5, which means we have a new progression.
Chord Progression 9 (E major)
I IV I V
E A E B
First try improvising using only the notes E, F#, and B. Then you can try different combinations (see Three Note
Combinations, page 20).
Track 30 HP Style: Rock
The next play-along has a modern ballad groove. Here we use the key of Eb major. For your improvisations you can use the
four note combination of Eb, F, G, and Bb. The play-along uses the chords from Chord Progression 7.
Chord Progression 7 (Eb major)
I IV VI V
Eb Ab Cm Bb
Track 31 HP Style: Ballad

Rock & Pop Piano 43
With the following play-along you can once again improvise in C major. Our four note combination is C, D, E, and G.
Harmony is Chord Progression 2.
Chord Progression 2 (C major)
I I IV V
C C/E F G
Track 32 HP Style: RnB
For the last play-along we are playing in G major. Our four notes are G, A, B, and D. Additionally, we’ll learn a new
chord progression.
Chord Progression 10 (G major)
VI V I
Em D/F# G
Track 33 HP Style: Ballad
Improvisation tips
• When improvising, try to build your solo, playing fewer notes at the beginning.
• Leave plenty of spaces (rests) in your playing. This creates excitement.
• Use syncopation. This adds “drive” to your playing.
• Use repeated notes. You can repeat single notes in your improvisation.
• Invent new three and four note sequences and try them over the 10 Chord Progressions.

Chords & Note Sequences
Here is a list of chord triads in all keys. You will also find all of our note combinations in all keys. With this list you can
apply the learned techniques in all keys. For example, if you want to improvise in D major, you have the correct chords and
notes right here.
C major
F major
G major

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Bb major
D major
A major
Eb major
E major

Ab major
B major
Db major
F# major
Gb major

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Exercise 1

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Exercise 2

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Exercise 3

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Exercise 4

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Exercise 5

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Exercise 6

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Exercise 7

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Exercise 8

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Exercise 9

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Exercise 10

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Exercise 11

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Exercise 12

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Exercise 13

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Exercise 14

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Exercise 15

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Exercise 16

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Exercise 17

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Exercise 18

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Rock & Pop Piano 101
Exercise 19
Exercise 20
Exercise 21
Exercise 22
Exercise 23
Thank you!
First of all, I would like to thank my parents and my sister Claudia. You supported me so much over the years, and I will
never forget that!
I would also like to thank all my music teachers for their profound musical influences. A special debt of gratitude goes to
my deceased classical music teacher, Professor Helmut Vogel, as well as my jazz teacher Professor Jörg Reiter.
Kostas, thank you very much for your friendship over the years, and for your technical support in all our productions. You
have amazing talents!
Many thanks to Feuerwasser for the excellent book cover and creative use of the layouts.
Also, I would like to thank everyone that supported me and encouraged me during this project.
My highest praise and gratitude to God, who gave me this gift and in Jesus Christ, our hope and salvation over death.
www.migu-music.com

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ROCK &

Mario Romero (mariopanaacea@gmail.com) Kd.-Nr. 756483

Musical notation: Michael Gundlach

Mario Romero (mariopanaacea@gmail.com) Kd.-Nr. 756483

Exercises in different keys

Mario Romero (mariopanaacea@gmail.com) Kd.-Nr. 756483

Audio Tracks (mp3)

The chord symbols

4 Rock & Pop Piano Mario Romero (mariopanaacea@gmail.com) Kd.-Nr. 756483

Notes of the C major scale

Root Second Third Fourth Fifth Sixth Seventh

Three-part chords of the C major scale

Steps (scale degrees) in Roman numerals

Four-part chords of the C major scale

Steps (scale degrees) in Roman numerals

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6 Rock & Pop Piano Mario Romero (mariopanaacea@gmail.com) Kd.-Nr. 756483

Root and fifth from the C major scale

The next exercise, because it is a little faster, has a rock style.

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Root, second and fifth of the major scale

Root Second Fifth

All three notes can be used in varying positions and octaves.

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An improvisation using the three tones in octaves is also possible:

In Exercise 10 you’ll find improvisations with octaves over Chord Progression 2.

10 Rock & Pop Piano Mario Romero (mariopanaacea@gmail.com) Kd.-Nr. 756483

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12 Rock & Pop Piano Mario Romero (mariopanaacea@gmail.com) Kd.-Nr. 756483

C G/B Am C/G F C/E Dm7 G7sus4

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Csus2 Single notes Csus2

Fsus2 Single notes Fsus2

Gsus2 Single notes Gsus2

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C C/E F F/A G G/B C

Chord Progression 7 (G major)

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Second, third and fifth of the C major scale

Second Third Fifth

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Root Second Third Fifth

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Four tone combination using two notes each

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Four note Combination in Octaves

34 Rock & Pop Piano Mario Romero (mariopanaacea@gmail.com) Kd.-Nr. 756483

The improvisation section consists of a combination of Chord Progression 1 + 8.

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Chord Progression 9 (E major)

Track 30 HP Style: Rock

Chord Progression 7 (Eb major)