Very interesting Paul.
Yes, the teacher is important. I had five piano teachers when I was learning and none of them were by choice really. Changing them was. It was very much a case of take what you get. The last one was the best but I had to wait until post-Grade 8 to get to her. By then the "damage" of formal piano classes had been done and with her there was no point in even mentioning jazz!
I have started looking at some books like the AB one Jazz Piano from Scratch. Like you, I want to get a new take on music so that it will enrich what I compose. I can sit down and work on some classical pieces by Beethoven or Mozart and, even if it takes longer now at my age, I can get them off by heart. But that's not enough! I want to get into other things and let them come out in MY music.
What sort of jazz, blues material did you learn? Did you do it by ear or from the score? How does it work with your current teacher?
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