Paul Desmond’s Secrets to Take The A Train
Take The A Train is one of the most classic jazz standards you’ll ever come across. Composed by Billy Strayhorn, the tune quickly became the featured tune of The Duke Ellington Orchestra after his son Mercer Ellington found a draft of the tune in the trash… Clearly, Strayhorn was his own worst critic, so it’s ...
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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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5 Steps to Becoming A Lyrical Master With Altered Dominants: A Lesson With Stan Getz
Alterations are at the heart of jazz. In no other genre of music can you freely alter chords in a such a fluid and flexible manner. As chords whiz by, the soloist has the freedom to add all sorts of chord alterations to their melodic lines. But it requires a sense of how these altered ...
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How Master Improvisers Actually Think About Tunes
As a musician, you often find yourself listening to the best improvisers you can. Searching for inspiration, guidance, and answers to the challenges you’re facing. Especially when it comes to those records that include the same jazz standards you’re trying to learn… You want to figure out exactly what your favorite players are doing over ...
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How to Play Cherokee like a Pro: 24 Melodic Tricks for Insanely Fast Tempos
Have you ever wondered how the best players can play incredibly fast, regardless of the key, the chords, or the tune? I’m not just talking about running memorized licks and technical patterns…I mean soloing at breakneck speed with actual melodic lines over the progression. Trying to improvise on uptempo tunes can be frustrating and the truth ...
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The Girl From Ipanema: Learning from the Masters
The Brazilian composer Antonio Carlos Jobim is well known to improvisers with dozens of tunes frequently played and recorded in the jazz repertoire. However, one song in particular stands out… The “Garota de Ipanema” or The Girl from Ipanema. Composed in 1963, it propelled a Bossa Nova wave around the world and was recorded by ...
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5 mistakes you’re making with major chords you have to fix now
Major chords are the easiest type of chord, right? We learn our major scales on Day #1 and from then on, soloing over a major chord is a piece of cake…or so we thought. One day, after practicing for some days, or even some years, we stop and think, “Playing over major chords is so ...
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Unlock Rhythm Changes & Blues With These 6 Melodies
As musicians, we often treat the songs of the jazz repertoire in the same predictable way. We learn the chords, memorize the notes of the melody, and then we skip ahead to the important stuff – Improvising our own solos over the tune… But is this really all that jazz standards are good for?? For ...
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How to Play Jazz Standards Your Way
You’re on stage. In the practice room. Or rehearsing with your friends. It’s time to run through yet another jazz standard. But here’s the thing, this time you’re not going play it like you always do. You’re done sounding like everyone else with a real book. It’s time to get creative on your own terms… ...
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Why Melody is the Secret to Playing Better Jazz Solos
Ask any musician or teacher what you should practice to develop exceptional jazz improvisation skills, and you usually hear words like “Scales” and “Modes” or “Guide-tone lines.” Sometimes even “Transcribing”… This is all useful information. And it will help you understand the harmonic function and music theory behind all those jazz standards. But it’s missing ...
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9 Jazz Standards That’ll Boost Your Melodic Skills
You know the routine…You pick out a new tune, read through the melody, and start to work on a solo. You’ve got a few ideas, throw in a couple of your favorite licks, and follow the guide tone lines. And then it happens…you’re stuck playing the same old scales and patterns that you use in every ...
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The Ultimate Guide to Bebop Tunes: 30 Essential Songs
Bebop, or the innovative musical revolution of the 1940’s led by Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, is one of the pillars of learning to improvise as a modern musician. …and it’s something that every serious player should spend some time studying. Chances are you’ve heard of Bird & Diz and the contribution of players like ...
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