Inspiration for improvisers
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Chords, Composition, Playing Techniques, Premium Only
If you took a quick survey and asked a few people to describe the components of bebop, you might come up with some answers like: “fast tempos, lots of notes, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, b9’s, b5’s, altered dominants, diminished scales.” While all of these are true, one of the most overlooked, but surprisingly simple devices …
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Composition, Jazz Advice and Tips, Jazz Standards
In a recent post: A Blueprint for Building Your Repertoire, I outlined some ideas to ponder while creating a repertoire of tunes. Concepts like how to learn, listen to, and how to approach the Great American songbook as you prepare to build your own repertoire. However, the real work begins when you get into the …
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Composition, Jazz Standards, Tunes
At some point in your musical journey, regardless of what instrument you play, you’ll find yourself in front of that 88-keyed beast we call a piano. This can be a daunting task for many musicians. Often times, one of the biggest fears or stumbling blocks for non-pianists is that of comping chord changes. This simply …
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Chords, Composition, Ear Training
In our first article of Fundamental Ear Training Exercises, we covered how to choose an ear training partner, the correct mindset to approach ear training with, and exercises about singing & hearing intervals, harmonic intervals, and triads. After you feel you’ve got a pretty good handle on everything presented in that previous article, it’s time …
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Composition, Inspiration, Playing Techniques
The notion of being original and innovative goes hand-in-hand with the idea of improvisation. The inspired act of being in the moment, creating on the fly with others in a group setting, and ultimately developing an original voice are all central ideas when it comes to jazz and improvisation. Musicians everywhere, from beginning improvisers struggling …
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A reader recently asked: “I was wondering about how to play over altered dominant chords. What are some strategies for playing over Dominant 7 #9 chords, specifically.” This question comes up frequently for many improvisers. It seems like everyone has a “fail safe” scale or lick that they use exclusively every time they see an …
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Chords, Composition, Playing Techniques
Sus chords on tunes like Herbie Hancock’s Maiden Voyage can be pretty confusing for the developing improviser. Is it a normal dominant chord? What’s special about it? Do you need a new scale? Are you allowed to play the third of the chord? After studying and transcribing solos of some of my favorite players over …
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Chords, Composition, Playing Techniques, Premium Only
The infamous ii V is everywhere in jazz chord progressions. In fact, the ii V defines a sense of tension and release that prevails throughout all western music… An essential key to understanding how to give your lines a sense of harmonic motion, lies in knowing where to insert a ii V into a static …
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Composition, Ear Training, Transcribing
Have you ever wondered why great pianists, guitarists, bassists, and drummers often sing along as they improvise? Ever noticed how many of the best horn players also happen to be great singers? Great musicians all over, seem to have developed the ability to sing somewhere along the way, whether they’ve had formal training or not. …
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Composition, Ear Training, Playing Techniques
On this site we frequently write about the benefits of ear training for improvising, with good reason. Hearing and singing intervals, melodies, chord progressions, etc. is one area of daily practice that will directly affect your improvising for the better. However, ear training isn’t only limited to improving your harmonic sensitivity. Developing rhythmic awareness and …
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Chords, Composition, Ear Training, Jazz Advice and Tips
A reader recently wrote: “I was reading your “6 mistakes” article and was intrigued by the first rule. I would be more than happy to toss my lousy sixth edition real book, but have some questions about learning tunes by ear. When I’m blowing through changes or learning licks, it all comes down to the …
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Composition, Ear Training, Visualization
The extent to which your aural imagination is developed, largely determines: the quality of lines you play, how you play those lines (articulation, swing feel, inflection), and the sound you play with. Nothing has such an impact on your playing than your aural imagination. If there were a secret to improvising, developing your aural imagination …