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Because of the technical virtuosity and skill of famous jazz, blues, and classical improvisers, many beginning pianists mistakenly assume that improvisation is to be learned in the distant future, when one’s piano abilities are more developed. On the contrary, though, most contemporary piano teachers feel that improvisation is a huge part of playing piano at all skill levels, not just for experts. In fact, with the influence of jazz on modern pianists and tutors, improvisation is now considered to be a huge part of learning how to play piano. It hones the beginning pianist’s feel for her instrument, and it strongly reinforces what the student has learned about music theory, keys, and scales. The best advice for a beginning improviser is to just start playing — and to have fun with it. However, for students looking for guitar chords a little more guidance, here is a brief tutorial on piano improvisation. Three Points: 1) Learn and practice your keys, chords, modes, and scales. Outside of certain advanced jazz music forms, most improvisations work within a pre-decided key. For practical reasons, C Major is the first key most beginning pianists learn, because it includes all of the piano’s white keys, and no black keys. Even if C Major is the only key you’ve learned so far, you can use it to improvise for hours. Meanwhile, for a moodier improvisation, the pianist who can play in C Major can play just as easily in A Minor. To do so, simply shift the focal point of the improvisation from the C chord to the A- chord. After the student begins to learn keys that incorporate more sharps and flats, improvisation is a great way to internalize those keys.