Broken arpeggios are one great way to integrate some larger intervalic material into your improvisation while still outlining the chords that you are playing over. …
Read Full Blog PostLesson 67: min triad add 9
This ii-7, V7, I melody that uses minor triads with an added 9th (or 2nd) i.e. 1,3,5,9 or 1,9,3,5 etc… The first part of the…
Read Full Blog PostLesson 64: Book ii-V-I
In this lesson we’ll look at the first ii – V7 – I melody found in the “Modern Jazz Vocabulary vol. 2” book. This melody…
Read Full Blog PostLesson 63: Nat 9 ~ Flat 9
In lesson 63 we look at a simple melody that uses both the natural 9 (the #11) and the b9 on a dominant 7th chord. …
Read Full Blog Post-Lesson 60: Diatonic Sequence
This lesson covers a great melody from one of the Bach Cello suites which has been extended slightly to cover the whole major scale. The…
Read Full Blog PostLesson 45: Bird Line
Bird may be my all time favorite melodic improvisor. His sound, feel and ideas still seem fresh and alive and I enjoy him more and…
Read Full Blog PostModern Jazz Vocabulary Vol.2
Modern Jazz Vocabulary Vol. 2 The second volume of Modern Jazz Vocabulary is finally done. I made some changes in the books format based on…
Read Full Blog PostLesson 9: Arpeggiating Voicings
Sometimes when playing saxophone without a chordal instrument or accompaniment, it can be hard to hear the harmonic context for the melodies being improvised or…
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