The sus4 chord can be found in most genres of music; blues, jazz, rock, classical, folk, hip hop, etc. In a normal C7 chord, the…
Read Full Blog PostLesson 48: -7b5
When starting out as an improviser, the half diminished 7th chord is often a difficult chord to hear and play over melodically. Even after working…
Read Full Blog PostNew CD – Anima
This album was a pleasure to record. Pianist Leonard Thompson and I did 6 hours of live takes at a Church in Kansas City with…
Read Full Blog PostLesson 46: Altered Melody
Here’s a short melody that uses all the notes from the Altered Scale (the 7th mode of the Melodic Minor Scale). While chord-scale theory can…
Read Full Blog PostLesson 47: Dizzys’ Bebop
I always liked the introduction to the Dizzy Gillespie tune Bebop. A close friend and wonderful alto player Gabe Eaton and I learned this tune…
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 PostLesson 44: Simple ii – V7
Often when I’m home improvising over a tune, I’ll stumble upon a simple melody and wonder whether or not I can play it through the…
Read Full Blog PostLesson 43: Diminished
Here’s an intervallic diminished sequence that I wrote while in Leipzig on a short avant-garde tour in the late 90’s. We had many long days…
Read Full Blog PostLesson 40: HW diminished
The use of the “half -whole” diminished scale over a dominant 7th chord can create some interesting and complex sounds. This “octatonic” scale outlines specific…
Read Full Blog PostLesson 42: Synthetic Scale
Sometimes working with a synthetic scale can be rewarding and help free you from your normal melodic ideas. I still have a 12 sided die…
Read Full Blog PostLesson 41: Shell + Tension
Oftentimes, as a single note improviser, it is difficult to recognize harmonic tensions by ear. For example, when playing just an A natural, it sometimes…
Read Full Blog PostLesson 24: Major Melody
This is a very simple melody that clearly outlines the major 7 sound (with a passing natural 11). First learn to sing the melody in…
Read Full Blog Post