Miles Davis: The Power of the Triad
Perhaps the most impressive thing about the musical masters that we look up to isn’t their ability to create incredibly fast and complex lines or even their vast library of harmonic knowledge… It lies in something much more simple – their uncanny ability to take the most fundamental elements of music and create meaningful ideas ...
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4 Sonny Rollins Tools to Tackle The V7 of V7 Chord Progression
I can still remember the day I discovered how amazing the ii V7 chord progression could be. After struggling for years, It was as if a locked door finally opened and I was granted access to a secret society… I finally saw what all the fuss over ii Vs was about and why they mattered ...
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The Secrets Behind Herbie Hancock’s One Finger Snap Solo
Herbie Hancock is one of the most renowned and creative musicians in the world – and for good reason! His career has bridged the gap from the roots of this music, performing with masters like Miles Davis and Wayne Shorter, to exploring the possibilities of improvisation with his own groups…. And for any musician looking ...
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How to Use Sequences Like Paul Desmond in 5 Simple Steps
Paul Desmond plays the alto saxophone unlike any other…sweet, melodic, and precise, always leading the listener through a clear story from one musical idea to the next – It’s as if every single idea he plays naturally builds on what came before it… So how does he do it? How does Desmond so effortlessly move ...
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A Lesson With Chet Baker: But Not For Me
What if there were a jazz musician that didn’t rely on scales, licks, or patterns, but instead sought only to play what they’d sing? What would this musician sound like? What kind of playing techniques would they use and how would they approach taking a solo? This kind of musician is what I hear when ...
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The Crucial Step For Mastering Any Tune You Play
One of the most frustrating things about learning to improvise is the expectation that you can simply jump in and start creating a great solo right away… The belief that you can learn a single scale and sound good over Major chords. Or that you can study a few theory rules and suddenly improvise effortlessly ...
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5 Must-Know Bebop Tactics From Sonny Stitt
Bebop language is at the very heart of jazz. From the classic beboppers to the crazy out players, every great jazz improviser has spent time absorbing, imitating, and developing timeless bebop language. There’s just something about the feel, phrasing, and voice leading of bebop language that’s crucial for every jazz musician to understand… And to gain ...
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6 Surprisingly Modern Solo Techniques from Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong is called many things: a musical pioneer, the father of American music, the first great soloist, and the catalyst for countless creative musicians around the world… But for many musicians today, his music can seem old hat, antiquated, and even irrelevant – I mean what can you actually learn from a bunch of ...
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8 Awesome Blues Solos for Beginners to Transcribe
If you want to learn the language of jazz, then transcribing a blues solo should be at the top of your list! But if you’re just starting to transcribe jazz solos, the task might seem daunting or way over your head. In fact many beginners who want to play jazz completely shy away from transcribing ...
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8 Easy Ways to Play Minor Chords Like Clifford Brown
Minor chords are found in every style of music, especially in the jazz repertoire. From popular jazz standards and the minor blues, to the ii-V-I progression and the minor vamps that pop up in numerous tunes… The truth of the matter is if you want to sound good in any sort of musical situation, you ...
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3 Transitions in the Blues You Gotta Nail: Charlie Parker Bosses the Blues
Blues is the backbone of so much in jazz. The melancholic feeling. The soul. The call-and-response phrasing, walking groove, and clearly defined melodic statements…blues is ingrained in jazz at its very roots. And every jazz musician at some point or another has to learn how to play the blues. There’s no way around it. If ...
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The Powerful Rhythmic Principles of Charlie Parker
With his unique improvisational style and innovative approach, Charlie Parker not only revolutionized how to play alto saxophone, but how to play jazz as a whole. He had a concept all his own that transcended what came before him and elevated the music to new heights! It’s no wonder that nearly every jazz musician since ...
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