-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
-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 sequence outlines the main seven chords found in the major scale (in the key of
-Lesson 59: Spread Tri-tone
I thought it might be nice to work with a variation on Lesson 1 (Spread Triads) – In this exercise we play spread major triads a tri-tone apart, a sound which will work nicely over a dominant 7th chord with
-Lesson 58: Triad Diminished
This is a nice triadic idea that works through a dimished scale. By simply playing 2nd inversion major triads down by minor thirds you get a nice melodic line that clearly outlines the 4 major triads found in diminshed harmony.
-Lesson 56: Giant Steps Etude
This is a short, 1 chorus etude over John Coltrane’s Giant Steps progression. It incorporates a few different conceptual ideas which I find useful. In bars 1-2 and bars 5-6 what is sometimes referred to as a “classical augmented” scale
-Lesson 55: ii – V7#5 -i dim
I’ve always found it effective to work on a specific melody in order to incorporate a general concept into my playing. For instance, when learning to use the #5 on the dominant 7th or i diminished as a substitute for
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