Modern Jazz Line #20 - Evolution of a Jazz Line

We reached a milestone of 3000+ subscribers at Tjjazzpiano.com this week!  Thank you so much for your shares, favorites, "likes" and everything in between.  Here's to doubling the number in the coming year.  I am so excited to be sharing all of my exercises with you!  Here are 20 Modern Jazz Lines squeezed in to one lesson to say "thanks" for all your support.  Enjoy.

I hope you enjoyed watching the first 10 lessons from my Modern Jazz Line series.  In these jazz lessons I covered how to become a better improvisor using the ii-V-I progression as a guide.  The next Modern Jazz Line videos will cover the tri-tone substitution used in the context of a basic ii-V-I progression (see example below).  If you haven't read or watched my explanation of the tri-tone substitution you may want to check it out before continuing with the lesson below.

Sheet Music for this lesson:  Modern Jazz Line #20.pdf

You can find a complete list of my jazz piano lessons here and watch the playlist for either Modern Jazz Lines #1-10 or Modern Jazz Lines #11-20.

Introduction to the Tri-Tone Substitution: The Tri-Tone Substitution

Modern Jazz Line #20: +19 other lines!

Watch the video lesson here:

Jazz Piano Lesson #46 - Diminished Scale Workout - (Technique/Hanon)

Sheet Music:  Jazz Piano Lesson #46 - Diminished Scale Workout

I've mentioned many times before on this blog how big a fan I am of technical exercises.  I feel like my playing is at it's best when I have some sort of daily technique routine.  Almost every exercise I work on is played and sung through all twelve keys.  For this reason, the technical exercises (ala Hanon) I've been writing lately have been really challenging both my technique and inner singing voice.  I have to remind myself that daily slow and patient practice is the key to making these exercises feel effortless.

In this week's lesson we're taking a look at the diminished scale.  You may remember the diminished scale topics we covered in some previous lessons.  You will hear this scale utilized often in modern improvisation, especially in the playing of Chick Corea, McCoy Tyner and Herbie Hancock.  Practice this melody slow at first, somewhere around 40-60bpms.  Gradually increase tempo as you become comfortable with each shape and fingering for each scale.

Sheet Music:  Jazz Piano Lesson #46 - Diminished Scale Workout

Watch the video lesson:

Jazz Piano Lesson #33: Improvising in all 12 Keys (ii-V-I-VI)

My college piano teacher Allen Myers kept things interesting by giving each individual semester of lessons a different theme.  We had semesters that covered large topics like modalism and semesters that were more narrowly focused on individual players such as Chick Corea.  One of my favorite semester long topics, and the one where I felt like I experienced the most growth, was on Bill Evans.  Recording this lesson reminded me of one particularly important lesson we had that semester. 

My assignment was to transcribe the changes to Bill Evans' tune Sugar Plum and the melody if I decided there was one.  What I found in "Sugar Plum" was a cyclical progression not so different from the one in Lesson #33.  It is likely that the tune was used by Evans as an exercise for his own practice.  I decided that the piece must have originally been a technical exercise and likely had no true melody.  The introductions however are strikingly similar on the three recordings I have listened to.  Keep Evans' in mind as you practice this progression and try to transcend the technicallity of the exercise to improvise beautiful music. 

Free Jazz Lesson .pdf (Scribd):  Lesson #33 .pdf
- to print and download click purchase to the right.  Lessons will always be free to view on your laptop, iPad and desktop.
Video Lesson:  http://youtu.be/0GfDr9_aEIs

Thanks for checking out this jazz piano lesson.  Feel free to leave any suggestions below for future jazz piano lessons or send me a message with any questions you might have.  Click the link "Lessons" above for more free lessons.

Learn how to get a signed copy of my album "Meditations Vol.1" here:
http://tjjazzpiano.blogspot.com/2012/08/meditations-vol1-solo-piano-tj-martley.html

Free Jazz Lesson #29: Modal Interval Pattern in 5/4

From last week's lesson:

"In this week's lesson we are taking a look at one of the first types of improvising beginning improvisors learn.  One thing I remember as a requirement to Jazz lessons in High School was a copy of the Aebersold book "Maiden Voyage."  The reason being that it had a lot of opportunities for modal improvising.  The idea is that long vamps over one chord are generally easier for younger students to grasp and improvisor over.  While I don't necessarily agree with this approach, I remember being a big part of my early Jazz studies.

Interval exercises are a great way to start internalizing the sound of the modes you practice with.  I wrote out this simple pattern in all 12 keys for you to work with this week.  You don't have to be a jazz pianist to practice this free lesson.  Try it on any instrument!  Better yet, if you're not a pianist, use it as a technical exercise to get bet better on the instrument.  Every musician can benefit from working on piano playing."
This week's free jazz lesson .pdf can be found here:  Lesson #29

This week we are taking the same pattern through the Lydian and Lydian Dominant scales.  I have also altered the rhythm to imply 5/4 time.  Take a look a the video link below to find great suggestions on how to practice feeling this pattern in "odd time."   Listen to and play-along with this free jazz lesson below. 

Here are the intervals:
Ascending -  Up 4th, Up 4th, Down 5th, Down 2nd
Descending - Down 4th, Down 4th, Up 5th, Up 2nd

YouTube Video Lesson:  Lesson #29 Free Jazz Video Lesson
Soundcloud Play-Along: Free Play-Along Recording
FREE .pdf of this lesson:  Free .pdf of Lesson #29

Lesson #28: Modal Interval Pattern (Dorian) "Free Jazz Lesson"

In this week's lesson we are taking a look at one of the first scales beginning improvisors learn.  One thing I remember as a requirement to Jazz lessons in High School was a copy of the Aebersold book "Maiden Voyage."  The reason being that it had a lot of opportunities for modal improvising.  The idea is that long vamps over one chord are generally easier for younger students to grasp and improvisor over.  While I don't necessarily agree with this approach, I remember being a big part of my early Jazz studies.

Interval exercises are a great way to start internalizing the sound of the modes you practice with.  I wrote out this simple pattern in all 12 keys for you to work with this week.  You don't have to be a jazz pianist to practice this free lesson.  Try it on any instrument!  Better yet, if you're not a pianist, use it as a technical exercise to get bet better on the instrument.  Every musician can benefit from working on piano playing.

Here are the intervals:
Ascending -  Up 4th, Up 4th, Down 5th, Down 2nd
Descending - Down 4th, Down 4th, Up 5th, Up 2nd

Check out the .pdf below to see this pattern clearly laid out in all 12 keys of the Dorian mode.  The left hand voicing in the free jazz lesson is built up in perfect 4ths, ala Mccoy Tyner.

Free .pdf of Scribd:  Lesson #28 .pdf
- click "purchase" to the right of the document to print and download.
YouTube Video Lesson Link:  Lesson #28 Video

Thanks for checking out my free jazz piano and improvisation lesson.  If you'd like to see more jazz lessons and videos, check me out on YouTube or click the "lessons" tab above for a list of all my free jazz piano lessons. 

Lesson #7: Diminished Pattern with Left Hand Voicings

Donwload Link for Lesson #7 .pdf

In last week's lesson we talked about how to play less patternistically while improvising with the Hexatonic scale. This week, we're going to be looking to do the opposite with the Diminished scale.. The symmetrical nature of the diminished scale lends itself quite well to patternistic improvisation. However, the improvisor should still always be careful not to overuse just one approach to playing over changes.

There are two basic diminished scales. They are built by constructing alternating half-whole and whole-half steps from any given scale root. For example:

C half/whole: C Db Eb F F# G A Bb
C whole/half: C D Eb F F# G# A B

The symmetry established by the consecutive half-steps and whole-steps means that it is very easy to transpose patterns within each scale. The example pattern shown in this lesson is based on the half/whole diminished scale. When the initial pattern is transposed up or down a minor 3rd, it will still contain all notes form the original diminished scale it is based upon. You can transpose a pattern up or down in minor 3rds up to three times before it starts repeating itself.

Sound complicated? It's really not once you start getting used to the concept. After learning the initial pattern from the .pdf, you should find the other two transpositions to be much less challenging.

Remember to take it slow, stay focused and try to play as effortlessly as possible.



Click here to download your free .pdf copy of Lesson #7

Transcription: Herbie Hancock's Solo on "Orbits"

Here's Herbie Hancock's solo off the classic Miles Davis record "Miles Smiles." I transcribed this in one week and learned it over the course of a couple weeks. This was probably the most challenging solo I have attempted. The chromaticism and the up-tempo was a recipe for many weeks of painstakingly slow practice with the recording.

Oribts is a great example of the "time, no changes" approach to improvising. The improvised sections were free, meaning there were no written chords. Although the harmony was free, the tempo and feel stayed constant. It was up to the individual improvisor to listen and direct the harmony.




For more video transcriptions, please check out my YouTube page at Youtube.com/tjjazzpiano

Lesson #2: Herbie Hancock Diminished Line

Here's an excellent Herbie Hancock line I transcribed from his solo on Orbits by Wayne Shorter. The four measure line really epitomizes the chromatic style of Herbie during his time with Miles Quintet in the 60's. Orbit's is a free "time no changes" composition. Although there are technically no written changes, it sounded to me like Herbie was implying some sort of altered C7 sound in this part of the solo.



The free .pdf below list the transcription in all 12 keys. There are 3 groups which represent each line's relation to the diminished scale it is based on. You should technically be able to substitute any chord for any other within a group. However, keep in mind that the line selected for each chord is the best representation of the sound for that particular chord.

Practice slow, have fun and keep listening!

Lesson #2: Herbie Dim Line (PDF)

Check out the previous lesson here: Lessson #1: Alternative Scale Fingerings for Piano