Jazz piano

This ability is perfected after long experience, including much practice, which internalizes the physical skills of playing and the technical elements of harmony, and it requires a great natural 'ear' for extemporaneous music-making.

However, during the bebop era, the rapid tempo and complicated chord progressions made it increasingly harder to play "by ear."

One may play the bass register in an ostinato pattern, popular in boogie-woogie style, where the left hand repeats a phrase numerous times throughout a song, as performed by Rob Agerbeek in "Boogie Woogie Stomp".

In stride piano, (similar to the earlier ragtime) the left hand rapidly plays alternate positions between notes in the bass register and chords in the tenor register, while the right hand plays melody and improvises, as performed in George Gershwin's "Liza".

Over time, playing piano-accompaniment in ensemble sets, and then bands, changed from primarily time-keeping (consisting of repetitive left-hand figures) to a more flexible role.

Ultimately, the skilled pianist was free both to lead and to answer the instrumental soloist, using both short and sustained, chordal and melodic, fragments—a technique known as comping.

Good comping musicians were capable of many and different chord voicings, so to match the various moods the different soloists were aiming for.

Others—notably Duke Ellington, who became famous during the Harlem Renaissance at the Cotton Club—earned great esteem among band members as well as other musicians.

Wynton Kelly, Red Garland, Herbie Hancock, and Keith Jarrett were also exceptional pianists who played with Miles Davis.