Improvising over Rhythm Changes Part 1 & Part 2
Except for the Blues, Rhythm Changes- the name given to the chord changes to the tune I Got Rhythm- is the most common chord progression in jazz. Written in 1930 by George Gershwin, the tune was immediately co-opted by musicians as a vehicle for new tunes which yielded countless contrafacts, Duke Ellington's Cottontail, Sonny Rollins' Oleo, Monk's Rhythm-a-ning and Charlie Parker's Anthropology, to name just a few. To be able to improvise over these changes is a given and that is what this lesson aims to do. In this two-part lesson, learn how the tune is constructed, common chordscales associated with the changes and how to build harmonically specific lines using chord tones, arpeggios, scale passages and approach patterns. Bonus: Four Oscar Peterson Rhythm Changes licks are included from his 1959 recording Oscar Peterson Plays the George Gershwin Songbook.

Lesson Stats
When added: 03/09/08; Duration: Part 1, 18 minutes; Part 2 10 minutes.

Prerequisites
Moderate keyboard proficiency. Ability to read notation. These lessons are good prerequisites: Four Components of Melodic Construction and Improvisation: the Concept.

Quiz
Quiz 1: practice building lines over the A section of Rhythm Changes
Quiz 2: practice building lines over the B section of Rhythm Changes

Practice Sessions & Playalongs
Practice Session 1: Write out and improvise a target note line over the chord changes to Rhythm Changes.
Practice Session 2: Write out and improvise melodic lines using the Four Components of Melodic
Construction over the chord changes to Rhythm Changes.

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

Resources for further Listening and Reading
Check out these featured books and recordings.