Chord of the Week 38
Speaking of equal time, why is it that Andrew always calls a chord major first and then says “Oh yeah, and by the way, if you feel like it, maybe […]
Chord of the Week 37
Would you believe two chords with open strings? See last week. I realized that I never put any Major 6 chords on COTW. Equal time, ya’ know. Or maybe there […]
Chord of the Week 36
Oh yeah, I forgot one chord with open strings. D Maj7 (or B-7). This one has a little of the cluster thing happening, and a nice open fifth on the […]
Chord of the Week 35
Here’s a voicing for Maj 7 with the root on top, and all kinds of murky, yet flavorful, stuff (yummy!) lurking beneath the staid exterior. Featuring a half step and a flat […]
Chord of the Week 34
This is a classic and cool minor 7 voicing that probably should have appeared on this page long ago. What was I thinking? Or, it’s a classic Major 7 voicing—Eb […]
Lesson Ten
Lesson Ten • Motivic Playing on Giant Steps As discussed in the last lesson, a well-conceived solo usually consists of about 70% melodic ideas and 30% running eighth note lines. This […]
Lesson Nine
Lesson Nine • Developing Rhythmic Accuracy One important aspect of improvising is maintaining rhythmic interest. A well-conceived solo consists of about 70% melodic ideas and 30% running eighth note lines. […]
Lesson Eight
Lesson Eight • Reharmonizing with ii-7 V7s from the Diminished Scale Previously, we isolated four minor tetrachords found within the Diminished Scale. This lesson uses this material to give you […]
Lesson Seven
Lesson Seven • Diminished Scale Tetrachords When last we encountered the Diminished Scale, we isolated four 7th-chord arpeggios that are contained in it. This time out we’ll look at the minor tetrachords (four-note […]
Lesson Six
Lesson Six • Diminished Scale Structures The Diminished Scale in Jazz is mostly used as an expression of a dominant chord with b9, #9, #11 and natural 13. The exception […]
Chord of the Week 33
Here’s a chord that can be moved around the neck. No open strings. This is also usable as Eb Ma7+4, F13, B7alt, and A-7b5. Maybe even Dsusb9? Not bad. The […]
Chord of the Week 32
Note: I wrote this in 2004! I don’t know how these scurrilous accusations about resolution and voice leading come from. But, my fellow carbon-based life forms, you have my fullest […]
Chord of the Week 31
Note: I wrote this in 2004! Any notion that last week’s chord and this here chord could be used as a ii-7 V7, and that they do, in fact, voice […]
Lesson Five
Lesson Five • Using Triad Arpeggios Last time out, I wrote some triad fragments to get you started playing triad arpeggios. This lesson is about why you might want to […]