Thursday, January 1, 2015

Exercise #10

Congratulations on making it to part 10 of the Chord Tone Improvisation series!  By now you are definitely starting to hear and improvise more creative jazz lines.  I hope you have enjoyed the jazz piano lessons as well as all the other improvisation lessons on my website and Youtube channel.  

In this exercise we look at the final practical application of the concepts discussed in early videos.  By practicing this "endless eighth" note concept you are creating a strong connection between finding chord tones and effortlessly connecting them in meaningful ways.  

Remember, this is only an exercise to help you familiarize yourself with a way of improvising.  These types of exercises are not meant to exist in a vacuum.  You will want to start combining what you've learned here with other concepts.  I discuss this idea briefly in the video but feel free to send me a message if you have any questions.


Keep in mind, these exercises are not exclusive to jazz pianists.  All instrumentalists, even advanced ones, can reap the benefits of singing and playing through these improvisation exercises.  Remember to sing accurately and slowly through all keys.  Rushing through each exercise will only add frustration when you are trying apply these concepts later on.

A preview of the the 10-part .pdf download can be viewed here: Chord Tone Improvisation Part 1: Chromatic Embelishments (via Scribd.com).  A download is available be clicking the "Add to Cart" button under the top right hand sidebar.

Click on the the Jazz Piano "Lessons" tab above to check out all my other lessons.  Also, please subscribe over at youtube.com/tjjazzpiano to get updates on all my latest lessons.  Thank you for your support!

Monday, November 17, 2014

Exercise #7 - Ascending Chromatic over Jazz Blues - Jazz Piano Lesson

In this jazz piano lesson we take a look at applying the concepts we've learned about chromatics to the Jazz Blues form.


 

Keep in mind, these exercises are not exclusive to jazz pianists.  All instrumentalists, even advanced ones, can reap the benefits of singing and playing through these improvisation exercises.  Remember to sing accurately and slowly through all keys.  Rushing through each exercise will only add frustration when you are trying apply these concepts later on.

A preview of the the 10-part .pdf download can be viewed here: Chord Tone Improvisation Part 1: Chromatic Embelishments (via Scribd.com).  A download is available be clicking the "Add to Cart" button under the top right hand sidebar.

Click on the the Jazz Piano "Lessons" tab above to check out all my other lessons.  Also, please subscribe over at youtube.com/tjjazzpiano to get updates on all my latest lessons.  Thank you for your support!

Monday, September 29, 2014

Exercise #6 - The Jazz Blues Form - ii-V, Minor, Major Triad Embellishment (Jazz Piano)

In this week's jazz piano we take a look at the "Jazz Blues" progression and explain the differences between the "traditional" blues form and the "Jazz Blues" form.





Keep in mind, these exercises are not exclusive to jazz pianists.  All instrumentalists, even advanced ones, can reap the benefits of singing and playing through these improvisation exercises.  Remember to sing accurately and slowly through all keys.  Rushing through each exercise will only add frustration when you are trying apply these concepts later on.

A preview of the the 10-part .pdf download can be viewed here: Chord Tone Improvisation Part 1: Chromatic Embelishments (via Scribd.com).  A download is available be clicking the "Add to Cart" button under the top right hand sidebar.

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Exercise #5 - Chord Cycle Practice - ii-V, Minor, Major Triad Embellishment (Jazz Piano)

In this jazz piano video lesson we look at how to practice the exercises we've learned so far through other chord cycles.  You should be able to play and attempt to sing all ii-V's, minor and major triad embellishments through these cycles before continuing to Exercise #6.

The cycles we take a look at in this lesson are as follows:

Circle of 5ths

This cycle is essentially the opposite of the circle of 4ths.  Try to think of the circle as a clock.  If you move clockwise you go around the circle of 5ths.  If you move counterclockwise you go around the circle of 4ths.
(via. wikipedia.org)

Chromatic Ascending/Descending

This one is fairly intuitive.  You either ascend or descend through key centers in half steps until you reach all 12 keys.

i.e.  C-C#-D-D#-E-F-F#-G-G#-A-A# (ascending)

Minor 3rds Ascending/Descending

You can think of the key centers in these groups as belonging to three diminished seventh chords.

i.e. C-Eb-Gb-A   /  C#-E-G-Bb  /  D-F-Ab-B

Random Intervals

Either write out a group of random key centers or choose them at will while sitting at your instrument.

All of these techniques are demonstrated in the jazz piano lesson below.



Keep in mind, these exercises are not exclusive to jazz pianists.  All instrumentalists, even advanced ones, can reap the benefits of singing and playing through these improvisation exercises.  Remember to sing accurately and slowly through all keys.  Rushing through each exercise will only add frustration when you are trying apply these concepts later on.

A preview of the the 10-part .pdf download can be viewed here: Chord Tone Improvisation Part 1: Chromatic Embelishments (via Scribd.com).  A download is available be clicking the "Add to Cart" button under the top right hand sidebar.
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