Lesson 149: What is This Thing Called Love.
Using only the 1,3,#11,7 Tetrad (or 4 note set) I’ve been using this 1, 3, #11, 7 Tetrad (4 note set) for years in both composition (voicings for big band or small group part writing) and as a group of
Skype Lessons
Having taught hundreds of Skype lessons over the last ten years, I’ve come to believe that Skype is a great way to both teach and learn from the comfort of your own home. Although I’m teaching full time at KU
~Play Along CD in 7/4
This is Vol.2 of the Drum and Bass, Roots and Rhythm “play along” which is designed for both practicing and teaching. Vol. 1 has been well received and I thought one in 7/4 would be a nice addition. I’ve been
Lesson 79: Broken Arpeggio
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. This simple ii-7b5, V7#5, i-6/9 melody utilizes broken arpeggios and underlying step-wise voice leading. By
Lesson 75: Cycle Wheel pt.3 (Cycle 4 and 5)
This is the final part of a 3 part lesson series dealing with using Cycle Wheels to deconstruct any 7 note scale. The 3 cycles will allow you to explore every ascending and descending interval from any scale. Check out Lesson
-Lesson 70: Augmented Melody
In this lesson we look at a short melody derived from the (classical) augmented scale ( 1, b3, 3, 5, b6, 7, 1 ) and play it in triplets grouped in 7. The melody could work in several harmonic contexts but we’ll
Lesson 68: -7b5 nat 9 nat 13
This is a simple melody that uses the 2nd mode of harmonic major over a -7b5 chord (or half diminished) in one key (concert F#-7b5) which is concert E harmonic major, the 2nd mode being concert F#-7b5(nat9, nat13). This 2nd
Lesson 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 melody uses a minor triad with the added 9 over the ii chord (D-7 would
Lesson 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 is comprised of major 1st inversion triads descending by half steps and a few chromatic
Lesson 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. Within the first bar of this melody a major triad a whole step above the
Lesson 62: Masterclass
I had the honor of doing a masterclass at Casa Valdez Studios while in Portland earlier this month. We talked a lot about singing over droneswhile visualizing the related fingerings on your instrument. Using this method to learn to hear
Lesson 61: “Drop 2” Voicing
While working on major 7th and minor 7th “drop 2” chord voicings, I found a nice shape to work on through the keys. Drop 2 is a great way to voice chords and has been used in classical and
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