Improvising Over Lady Bird
Explore Hank Jones' improvisational concept by examining the melodic content of his solo over the changes to the 1948 Tadd Dameron tune Lady Bird from his 2008 IPO Records release, Our Delight. After considering his use of chord tones, scale passages, arpeggios, approach patterns, tensions, phrasing and his use of chromaticism, take a turn at writing and improvising your own solo with three licks of his taken from the transcription of this recording.

Lesson Stats
When added: 02/22/09; Duration: 18 minutes

Prerequisites
Moderate keyboard proficiency. Ability to read notation and play all 12 major scales. These lessons are good prerequisites: The Five Essential 7th Chords, The Four Components of Melodic Construction, Improvisation: The Concept

Quizzes
Quiz 1: practice identifying melodic components of solo excerpts from Hank Jones' solo over Lady Bird.

Practice Sessions & Playalongs
Practice Session 1: Write out and play a line of chord tones over the changes to the tune Lady Bird.
Practice Session 2: Write out and play a melodic line built from the Four Components of Melodic Construction.
Practice Session 3: Transpose the three Hank Jones licks into all 12 keys.

Includes play-alongs for practice sessions in MIDI, Band-in-a-Box™ and GarageBand formats.

Resources for further Listening and Reading
Check out these featured books and recordings. Click on the album covers to be taken to the JazzPianoOnline.com Store to listen to and/or buy them.