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Improvising Over The Blues: Wynton Kelly  added 2/28/10
All you need to know to solo over the blues is the blues scale. Right? Listen to Wynton Kelly improvise over the blues and you will hear him use not only the blues scale but also chord sound. Watch (more...)
Gospel Blues added 1/24/10
Gospel music and the Blues are intimately linked. Gospel tunes are often based on the blues progression and because of this the Blues naturally lends itself to gospel style inflection. Wynton Kelly elegantly (more...)
Improv Drill: Arpeggios added 12/31/09
Bill Charlap, the reigning mainstream jazz pianist, makes commanding use of arpeggios in the second chorus of his solo over the tune Blue Skies from his 2000 Blue Note recording Written in the Stars, his (more...)
Improvising Over Just in Time added 11/15/09
The melody of this 1956 standard tune is, you could say, spare. The basic motive is composed of two notes a half step apart that are repeated in quarter notes up to 15 times in each section. To say that (more...)
Improv Drill: Approach Patterns Part 2 added 10/18/09
Barry Harris' solo over the changes to Tadd Dameron's Good Bait on Warne Marsh's 1986 quartet recording Back Home, is the basis for the series of improvisation drills introduced in this lesson. Six drills (more...)
Two Page Piece: Stella added 9/20/09
Rootless voicings with added tension, upper structure triads, four way close voicings, minor ii-V chord scales and the half-whole symmetric dominant chord scale are the components that make up this single (more...)
Voicings and a Bassline for Once I Loved added 8/30/09
Laying down a reliable bossa groove while playing solo piano is no easy feat. Learn to do just that by watching how this standard rhythmic feel is broken down into it's component parts as (more...)
Improvising Over Passing Diminished Chords added 5/17/09
There is a lot of uncertainty that surrounds diminished chords. How do they work exactly? What chordscales do they take?
How do you improvise over them? Gain some insight into these questions through (more...)
Improvising Over Confirmation added 4/26/09
Tommy Flanagan spins out a dizzyingly virtuosic solo (at quite a brisk tempo, needless to say) over this classic Charlie Parker standard on his 1977 Enja trio recording Confirmation, with George (more...)
Improv Drill: Approach Patterns Part 1 added 4/5/09
Joe Zawinul is perhaps best known as a fusion-based synthesist, co-founder of the popular jazz-rock group Weather Report and explorer of World Music styles as leader of his band the Joe Zawinul (more...)
The Major ii-V-I Progression   updated 3/15/09, added 5/4/07
This lesson will introduce you to this universal and ever-present jazz progression by starting with it's derivation from the major scale all the way through to building, identifying and playing major key (more...)
Improvising Over Lady Bird added 2/22/09
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 (more...)
Improv Drill: Chord Tones added 2/1/09
Through an analysis of a transcription of Hank Mobley's solo over the changes to the tune Remember, from his 1960 recording Soul Station, watch how this master of bebop improvisation uses chord tones on (more...)
The 5 Essential 7th Chords updated 1/11/09, added 4/6/07
A clever exercise based on the major scale, you will learn to play all five 7th chord types in all 12 keys. This lesson will get you playing lead sheets faster than any other method. (more...)
Ode to Joy added 12/28/08
As the New Year approaches, we all have happiness, joy, hope and optimism on our minds, right? Maybe not so much given the current state of world affairs but why not let this reharmonized arrangement of (more...)
Two Arrangements of O Little Town of Bethlehem added 12/7/08
Get into the spirit of the holidays by playing these two arrangements of this beloved carol. Start with the solo piano chorale-like setting which tranforms this old chestnut into a modern jazz ballad. Then invite a (more...)
Chordscale Theory: Modes of the Major Scale added 11/16/08
Dorian, mixolydian, ionian, locrian. You've no doubt heard these terms tossed around in improv books and by teachers but what do they mean and what are they used for? Find out answers to these questions (more...)
Circles added 10/26/08
This charming little jazz prelude starts off with clean, clear, harmless sounding, perfectly voice-led rootless diatonic 7th chords derived from the cycle of 4ths. A sunny start to this decades old piece first (more...)
Londonderry Aire Reharmonized added 10/12/08
This old irish folk tune (aka Danny Boy) is the perfect choice for reharmonization. When it's familiar diatonic melody is set against the highly chromatic harmonic treatment given here, the tune takes on a (more...)
Three Benny Green Licks added 9/28/08
Benny Green is a hard swinging and intense modern jazz pianist built from the hard bop mold. Influenced by Bud Powell, Phineas Newborn and Oscar Peterson, his solos are both technically challenging yet (more...)
Improvising with Motivic Development added 9/14/08
Motivic development is the compositional technique of creating a melody that is made up of a single melodic idea (a motive) that is subsequently "developed" by being repeated, altered, modified or (more...)
The Jazz Blues Progression added 8/31/08
When the blues is played in a jazz context the chord progression is more sophisticated in the number and types of chords used. In addition to the basic I, IV, V chords, jazz blues incorporates major and (more...)
Rootless Voicings in the Real World added 8/3/08
Once you gain some facility with rootless voicings and begin to venture out into the wide world of jazz repertoire, you soon notice that certain challenges not seen in ii-V-I progressions begin to (more...)
Introduction to Chordscale Theory added 7/20/08
Chordscale theory describes the interdependent relationship of harmony and melody. It states that chords serve specific roles within a key which determine the scales that are associated with those chords (more...)
Improvising Over Stella By Starlight added 7/6/08
This great standard is a challenge to improvise over. It progresses through several keys, never resolving to those keys in ways that you would expect and often just modulates on the spot. Yet, the keys that (more...)
Star Spangled Banner added 6/27/08
Celebrate Independence Day with this jazz arrangement of our national anthem. Incorporating a wide range of reharmonization and arranging devices- substitutions, upper structures, deceptive cadences (more...)
Solo Jazz Piano Part 5 added 6/22/08
Part 5 of this series on solo jazz piano extends the three primary voicing techniques, spread voicings, rootless voicings with added tension and shell voicings to their use in accompanying improvised right hand (more...)
Improvising Over Yardbird Suite added 5/25/08
In this installment of the series, watch as a transcribed solo of Hank Jones improvising over the changes to Yardbird Suite from his 1977 recording Bop Redux is analyzed to see how he uses chord tones, (more...)
Reharmonize Rhythm Changes added 5/11/08
The chord progression of George Gershwin's 1930 tune I Got Rhythm, aka Rhythm Changes, is a particularly good candidate for reharmonization. It is a common progression (more...)
Four Walking Basslines added 4/25/08
Continue your study of walking basslines by taking a gestalt approach with this lesson. Watch, listen and read along with transcriptions of four walking basslines played over the chord changes to There is No (more...)
Walking Bassline Part 1, Part 2 added 4/13/08
Listen to virtually any jazz recording and you will hear it: the quarter note bassline walking up and down the scale providing both rhythm and harmony. This is the walking bassline and it is one of the (more...)
Related ii Chords added 3/30/08
In combination with dominant chords, related ii chords can dramatically increase the reharmonization potential of any progression. Watch this lesson and see how a garden variety ii-V-I-V/ii progression (more...)
Substitute Dominants added 3/23/08
How many times have you played the same chord changes, chorus after chorus of Autumn Leaves or Blue Bossa or All the Things You Are or any tune? Wouldn't it be nice to throw in a few new chords here (more...)
Improvising over Rhythm Changes Part 1 & Part 2 added 3/09/08
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 (more...)
7th Chord Ear Training added 3/02/08
As jazz pianists we spend an inordinate amount of time with 7th chords: learning to spell them, play them and write them. But when was the last time you worked on hearing them? I know what you're (more...)
Solo Jazz Piano Part 4 added 2/24/08
Spread voicings with independent lead are the foundation of solo jazz piano. When spread voicings are used together with rootless voicings their combination adds a new dimension of sophistication and depth (more...)
Solo Jazz Piano Part 3 added 2/17/08
The right and left hand components of spread voicings with independent lead are demonstrated together in this lesson over four standard tunes: Like Someone in Love, You Are Too Beautiful, Body and Soul (more...)
Triad Ear Training added 2/10/08
At first glance, triads would seem not to have much of a role in jazz. So why bother with them? Triads do play a huge role- slash chords, upper structure triads, triad pairs, not to mention John Coltrane's three (more...)
Improvising over Yesterdays added 2/03/08
This Jerome Kern standard is a great vehicle to get started improvising over the minor ii-V-i progression, the line cliche and extended dominants. Watch this lesson to learn how to improvise over this tune with (more...)
Solo Jazz Piano Part 2 added 1/27/08
The left hand component of spread voicings with independent lead is considered in this lesson. Watch as shell voicings are added to the right hand component (described in Part 1) to produce rich, full, sonorous (more...)
Solo Jazz Piano Part 1 added 1/20/08
Get started playing solo jazz piano with this lesson by learning spread voicings with independent lead. These voicings produce a rich, full sound and are used for playing the head of tunes. The right hand (more...)
Improvising over Solar added 1/13/08
Miles Davis wrote this tune in 1954 and it first appeared on his recording Walkin' with Horace Silver on the piano. Watch this lesson to learn how to improvise over this tune with chord tones, guide tones, (more...)
The Line Cliche added 1/6/08
The line cliche is a well worn reharmonization device- and for good reason- it creates the illusion of harmonic progression over an otherwise static chord. Start using this technique in your playing by watching (more...)
Improvising over Blue Bossa added 12/30/07
This Kenny Dorham tune from Joe Henderson's seminal 1963 Blue Note release Page One, is perhaps the classic latin jazz tune and certainly one of the first tunes that most jazz players learn to improvise (more...)
Reharmonize Auld Lang Syne added 12/23/07
Instead of playing a vanilla I-IV-V version of this old Scottish melody on New Years this year try this lush one-chord-per-bar reharmonization. Watch the step-by-step transformation take place through the the (more...)
Rootless Voicings with Added Tension Beyond iiVIs Part 5 added 12/16/07
The final installment of this five-part series aims to synthesize the concepts of the previous four lessons into a unified method for voice-leading any progression with rootless voicings with added tension. Each (more...)
Harmonizing Melodies with Upper Structure Triads Part 2* added 12/9/07
Learn how to extend your use of this handy technique from Part 1 of this series to harmonize not only melodic tensions but chord tones as well. (more...)*This lesson is longer than most and takes more time to download. Please be patient.
Silent Night Reharmonized added 12/2/07
Like it or not, "The Season" is upon us. This of course means people want to hear Christmas music. A lot of players cringe at the thought of having to play this repertoire but this should not be the case. There (more...)
*This lesson is longer than most and takes more time to download. Please be patient.
An Arrangement of O Tannenbaum added 12/2/07
Whether you know this tune by it's German title or the English translation, O Christmas Tree, it is one of the oldest and most traditional Christmas carols. This arrangement starts with a chorale-like (more...)
Harmonizing Melodies with Upper Structure Triads Part 1 added 11/25/07
Adding harmony to a melody line (harmonization) can add depth and richness to a line. Harmonizing with upper structure triads dials this up a notch by underscoring the melody with a subtle polytonal (more...)
Rootless Voicings with Added Tension Minor ii-V-is Part 4 added 11/18/07
Part four of this five-part series introduces the final voicing, inversion 2 of the minor-ii-V progression. When used in combination with the previous three inversions they provide for optimal voice-leading (more...)
Chromatic Intervals Ear Training added 11/11/07
These five chromatic intervals: the minor 2nd, minor 3rd, augmented 4th, minor 6th and minor 7th are the trickiest to hear- especially the augmented 4th (aka the tritone or diminished 5th). Watch this lesson (more...)
Rootless Voicings with Added Tension Minor ii-V-is Part 3 added 11/4/07
Continue your study of this standard voicing technique to include inversion 1 of the minor ii-V-i progression. Watch this lesson to learn how to build these voicings using good voice-leading and (more...)
Diatonic Intervals Ear Training added 10/28/07
In this lesson, learn to identify the eight diatonic intervals by associating them with the first few notes of popular songs. Test yourself with the three randomized quizzes to gain speed and accuracy in (more...)
Upper Structure Triads added 10/21/07
Upper structure triads have been an enduring feature of jazz since the early Bebop era. This chord voicing technique can be heard in big bands and solo piano alike and produces a rich bitonal effect (more...)
Peace added 10/14/07
Peace, one of Horace Silver's lesser-known compositions is a beautiful and complex ballad of only 10 bars. Watch as the chord changes to the tune are voiced with a variety of techniques: rootless voicings (more...)
Rootless Voicings with Added Tension Major ii-V-Is Part 2 added 10/7/07
Part two of this series demonstrates Inversion 2 of this standard voicing technique that in combination with Inversion 1 allows for total voice-leading flexibility when voicing major ii-V-I progressions. (more...)
The Blues Progression added 9/30/07
Jazz piano students are always asking about the blues. What are the chords? What is the blues scale? How do I improvise over the changes? Well here are the answers. The basics of the blues progression (more...)
Kenny Barron Lick added 9/23/07
Check out this sparkling lick that Kenny uses to open his solo to I'm Gettin' Sentimental Over You from his early 90s Maybeck Recital Hall disc. Learn about upper structure triads and how to use this lick (more...)
Chromatic Tendency Tones added 9/16/07
If you have had success with the diatonc tendency tone exercises watch this lesson to learn to hear the remaining 5 pitches of the chromatic scale. Each note has a tendency to want to resolve within a (more...)
Rootless Voicings with Added Tension Major ii-V-Is Part 1 added 9/9/07
These standard voicings are the bedrock of every jazz pianists' technique. From Wynton Kelly and Red Garland to Tommy Flanagan, Bill Evans and beyond, these voicings pervade bop and post-bop (more...)
Comping with Inversions: Beyond ii-V-Is added 9/2/07
Knowing how to play inversions over major and minor ii-V-Is is a great start. Watch this lesson to broaden your horizons by learning how to play inversions over I VI ii Vs, iii VI ii Vs, (more...)
Diatonic Tendency Tones added 8/24/07
Watch this cool little exercise and amaze your friends with your new found perfect pitch skills.
OK, you won't quite have perfect pitch but you will get very close and you can learn this technique quickly. (more...)
Blues Lick added 8/19/07
Can you ever know too many blues licks? This is a particularly tasty one. It is a three measure lick which works over a I7 to IV7 progression
and can be broken up into two or even three smaller licks. (more...)
Tommy Flanagan Minor iiV Lick added 8/12/07
Tommy Flanagan Whole Tone Turnaround Lick added 8/5/07
Timeless. Classic. Effortless. Smokin'. Those are just some of the words that can be used to describe this veteran players style. Capture some of his essence with this
whole tone lick from one of his (more...)
Write a Solo over Autumn Leaves added 7/29/07
Writing out solos is an important part of learning to improvise. You can take time to think about and manipulate the notes without being limited by your ability to play them in real time. Watch as a solo (more...)
Jessica Williams Break Lick added 7/20/07
A seriously underrated player who, ironically, has recorded prolifically, Jessica Williams can spin out inventive lick after inventive lick. Check out this elegant lick from her 1997 Candid release, Higher Standards, (more...)
Four Components of Melodic Construction added 7/15/07
Strong, harmonically clear melodic lines are composed of four primary building blocks: chord tones, arpeggios, scale passages and approach patterns. Learn more about these components and how (more...)
How to Learn Licks added 7/11/07
This lesson shows you step-by-step how to learn a lick in all twelve keys and how to use it in your own improvisations. Watch as a lick is broken down into it's components parts, transposed and worked (more ...)
Comping with Inversions: Major ii-V-Is added 6/20/07
This is the first in a series of lessons on introductory comping. Watch this lesson to learn about inversions and voice leading and how to comp chords smoothly over major ii-V-I progressions. (more...)
Comping with Inversions: Minor ii-V-is added 6/20/07
This is the second lesson the the introductory comping series. Learn how to use inversions to comp over minor ii-V-i progressions. (more...)
The Minor ii-V-i Progression added 6/1/07
In combination with the major ii-V-I progression the minor ii-V-i progression is the most common progression in jazz. This lesson will show you the derivation of the progression from it's parent scales and how to (more...)
Improvisation: the Concept added 5/26/07
Master improvisors of the bebop style use four basic elements of music to create their solos: chord tones, arpeggios, scale passages and approach patterns. Watch how a classic bebop solo is deconstructed (more...)
The Bossa Bassline added 5/26/07
There's not always going to be a bass player there to lay down a nice bossa groove for you so you need to learn how to do it yourself. Learn a basic bossa bassline in this lesson and how to comp effectively (more...)
Lydian Ending added 5/12/07
A classic ending for standard tunes and ballads, this lesson will break this ending down into it's component parts and introduce you to the lydian chord, substitue dominants and the sharp 11 extension and (more...)
The Major ii-V-I Progression added 5/4/07
This lesson will introduce you to this universal and ever-present jazz progression and take you through
its derivation from the major scale. (more...)
Bebop Lick added 4/6/07
Never be caught guessing during a solo break again! This handy and great sounding lick will get your solos off to a great start. (more...)
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