Free Jazz Education and Music
This is an etude I wrote for Alto saxophonist Keegan Kaiser. It’s one chorus of 8th notes and uses the bebop scale, chromatic approach notes, bebop enclosures, diatonic cycle 4 motion (through dorian), the altered scale and tetrad (4 note
There are very few living Jazz musicians that have not spent countless hours working on improvising over Rhythm Changes. There’s a often retold story that Charlie Parker learned blues and rhythm changes in every key. Whether or not this is
Here’s a fun Etude I wrote for KU Computer Science Major Spencer Addis over Conception by George Shearing. I wrote this in real time during our lessons and Spencer learned it by ear. This is a good method for learning
When I lived in New York City, I had the transformative experience of taking lessons with Lee Konitz. In his remarkable Central Park apartment, which had a grand piano in every room, he guided me through exercises that left a
This lesson covers one possible pattern using the Cycle motion concept through the modes of Harmonic Major. This is a short excerpt from a new book on using 4ths and 5ths in improvisation that I’ve been working on for some
In this lesson I explain how to find and practice the 96 melodies for any 4 note structure or 7th chord. In this example I play the 7th chord through the modes or chords of the major scale. This method
The b9 is not commonly over a Major 7 chord. This melody is one a wrote to help me incorporate it’s use into my melodic improvisation. In this context it functions as a passing tone between the root and the
Pentatonic scales are amazing 5 note sets that are comprised of stacked perfect 5th or stacked perfect 4ths. They can be used in a variety of harmonic contexts. Keep in mind that the Major pentatonic and the (relative) minor pentatonic
The 4 note cell or Tetrad using 1, 3, #11, 5 has many harmonic contexts and can be used for creating voicings, improvising melodically and composing. This lesson outlines one simple melody from the tetrad the descends skipping voices. After
Etudes are a great way to work on new material, vocabulary, phrasing and a whole host of positive musical skills. Here’s a one chorus etude I wrote for Bari player Andrea Edwards who is earning her Bachler’s in jazz at
While rummaging through my attic, I stumbled upon a treasure: a cassette tape containing practice sessions recorded during my time at Berklee around 1987 or 1988, when I was about 20 years old. The tape captures a series of short
As a creative educator in improvisor, I often enjoy working on Cycle 4 and Cycle 5 melodies. This Etude is a vertical melody over the Giant Steps progression (John Coltrane). Each melody starts on the root of the chord and
