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Now, THAT was impressive!

Changes a beat like the glove ...

That's really interesting about clapping on 2 & 4. I never realized that!

I had my lesson today and took my 'IBP' book. She really only wants to focus on classical, but she did help me get this rhythm thing figured out. So, I'll have my work cut out for me this week.

Good teacher!

I've been working through Improvising Blues Piano for a while now, although my "daily" practice is often very far from that. I'm not having a problem with learning each piece and - for the first time in my life - eventually being able to play a few without the sheet music. A great feeling!

However, I would love to be able to improvise and I just can't work out how, which sounds kind of silly. "Just try it!" you might say. But when I learned piano as a kid I wasn't taught anything about chords and keys and all that stuff, and I struggle to really feel what any of it means. I'm fine sight-reading and, through brute-force repetition, getting better at playing something from the sheet music. But I just cannot work out how to improvise. Even though I'm a fair way into the book, I can't make much of even the earliest improvisation exercises - it's just me hitting random notes without much idea why and, of course, it sounds awful.

Others have suggested practicing scales... any suggestions for how best I can internalise whatever it is that might help me make a better improvisational sound?

I think ear training & interval recognition is the key:

Dave Frank's post on ear training:
https://youtu.be/ZzegfvnMFHs

This problem I have observed repeatedly among classical pianists, which begin to study jazz or blues improvising .This is a white spot in textbooks, behind which lies a different psychology performer understanding the meaning of what he is doing. Part of what you have been taught to be thrown out the window, and the window lock up tight!The right notes , incorrect notes , smart notes ,silly notes - the notions that need to be removed from the lexicon, even be required for it some effort.Even the simplest interval in melody wears in itself its fundamental characteristics: rhythm, intonation and   process  tension - relaxation.
This is the meaning of what makes a novice on the first steps of improvisation.

I have the same problem with improvisation but working through that book I see some progress already. Start by playing just the notes suggested in the solo boxes in random order and use the rhythmic ideas from the pieces. After some time you will get the feel of it and then you can start adding more passing notes or varying rhythm but at the beginning it's better to restrict your freedom as much as possible. The assignments at the end of each piece are also very good for trying out different variations.

Here's a suggestion. First, forget for a moment about improving in time, or with any rhythm; that's trying to do too much.
Take a piece you're comfortable with. Don't play the first bar. Just, in your head, imagine a melody for that first bar. Then, try to find those notes at the keyboard. Eventually, try to imagine longer phrases. Again, don't worry about rhythm. This is what improvising is about. You don't construct phrases by intellectual process; you just hear stuff in your head. Playing scales is ultimately about hearing different sounds you can use, but ultimately, you've got to let your head develop melodies that you play. It is the challenge and the joy of improvisation.

Thanks folks, all very useful!

johan d: I'll give some ear-training a try. I'm sure it's very useful, and I know that I have no ability in it, although I don't actually understand how it helps with improvisation. I mean, what is it that links being able to identify notes by ear with being able to improvise? I'm not saying it doesn't help, I just don't understand!

Qazsedcft: Yeah, it could be that I just need to do it, and stop worrying that it sounds terrible to start with. It won't get better unless I keep doing it! It just felt like I was missing something.

jjo: I'm not sure the "imagine a melody" bit helps me. There's the melody of the piece itself and then... what? I'm not a composer. If I could think of a good melody on the spot then I could (slowly) find the notes for it. But I can't, and that's what I'm struggling with, I think.

As far as I understand, feel it (I am also a beginner, so...)
If I whistle a song or improvise whistling, I just know how the next whistle is going to sound. Everybody that knows how to whistle, knows that. I don't know which note it is (do, re, mi, or,...), but I know how it's going to sound.
I think that recognizing those intervals, will help me in improvising on the piano. Therefore it is important that you do these "Functional ear Trainer" exercises also on the piano for 80%, to get the feel of those keys and how they sound against each other.
I don't know if it makes sense, that's how I think about it.

Let the experts come in here :-)

improvising is composing on the spot without thinking about :-)

Here's a really dumb question. Having said this I really don't mind asking dumb questions. It really helps my understanding. The question is this: if I am really keen on learning improvisation for blues piano. I am actually very keen on this subject and was a major contribution factor as to why I started playing piano in the first place. If everything written about and around this book says 'assumes an intermediate level of competence'. At which point do you consider or should I consider myself to be of or at this level? If I play and play and play pretty much every waking hour which is something that I do actually do. One morning will I wake up and magically become of an intermediate level? As for the 'ask your teacher' suggestion I already drive the poor woman crazy by turning up every week with more unreasonable demand about personal progress. Please do not answer this hypothetical question since I already know that this does not happen. To those many thousands and probably hundreds of thousands of us who are below intermediate level out here in the real world it certainly seems a reasonable question. At least it does to me.

I you look at the first chapter of the book, you will immediatly know if this is for your level. If you understand whats written, fine go onto the next chapter. i started with this book when playing 1.5 or 2 yrs. To be honest, it's a long time ago that i studied in it, because of time issues and pieces i have to practice for lessons.

A very logical answer to what I suppose should be considered a rather illogical question. The question remains however at what stage if such a thing exists should any player consider themselves to be of 'intermediate level'. It seems to me to be a bit of a misnomer. It also seems a bit of a no brainer for a publisher to print a book which is suggested to be aimed at intermediate level pianists. My teacher is reluctant to advise what one is and I do not believe it for fear of hurting my sensitive nature since I don't really have one. I do not have any secrets from her since she is teaching me everything I am able to bash out on my keyboard. Actually hold that thought.....I do go out and find a lot of stuff for myself and then question her about it. This drives her crazy and she says that I am a real challenge but not in a bad way??????

One of the teachers might chime in on what "intermediate" means.

The technical skills you need for IBP are something like the skills you need to play a Mozart piano sonata, IMHO. You need to play arpeggios without thinking about every note. You need to play scales smoothly, in all keys. You should have triads in all keys "under your fingers".

You need good enough "ear skills" to know how a note will sound _before_ you play it. [I'm still working on that last one.] Being able to sight-sing is a real advantage.

Having those skills going in will speed up your progress. If you don't have them, you'll develop them as you go -- but expect to spend more time working on technique, rather than playing blues.

I'm hesitant to say what level you should have before starting work on that book. On one hand it starts with really basic things and goes step-by-step explaining even basic triads and inversions. But on the other hand there are technical challenges like playing trills with 3-5 and some pretty big chords later on. The author says he assumes about grade 3 standard, which is anywhere from 1 to 3 years of study depending on how much you practice. I think that's about right. You need to have some general facility at the keyboard and some hand independence in order to do anything meaningful with the material presented but you don't really need to know all your keys before starting with the book. It's probably going to take a while to get through the book and in the mean time your technique should improve, especially if you are taking lessons.

To be specific : Memphis Slim was playing the whole performance in keys C, G and F; when the culmination of concert was the first phrase from "I love Paris" in A flat minor - the only for an evening .