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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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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Jazz Form and Structure: Never Get Lost in the Chord Changes Again
One of the most overlooked and useful elements of learning a tune is the way it’s put together on a macro level, the jazz form that the tune uses. Without this vital information operating in your brain on a deep level, you’re bound to get lost easily during your solo… You know how it goes…you’re ...
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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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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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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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7 KIller Turnarounds for Your Next Jazz Solo
If you’ve spent any time practicing jazz improvisation, chances are you’ve heard of the turnaround. Those little two bar chord progressions that pop up at the ends of tunes or in the middle of your solo, leading you back to the top of the form. But what you might not realize is that these turnarounds ...
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