Exercise #2: Descending Chromatic. Jazz Improvisation Lesson (Jazz Piano)

In this video lesson we will take a look at Exercise #2 from my 10-part jazz improvisation book on basic chromatic embellishment.  Take a look at last week's post to find out the contents of the .pdf lessons and how to download them.

This exercise takes us through descending chromatic embellishments of all Major/minor triads through all 12 keys.  Remember to practice each exercise very slowly.  It's more about hearing each pitch accurately than playing through the exercises quickly.  Speed will come with time (and with context!).

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.

Thanks for watching and please let me know if you have any questions about the exercises.

Modern Jazz Line #29 - Bebop Displacement - Jazz Lesson - Piano

Sheet Music:  Modern-Jazz-Line-29-Bebop-Displacement

I feel like I can't possibly say this enough.  Thank you everyone for all your support in helping grow this website.  I wouldn't have the motivation to do all this without you!

In this week's lesson we will tackle some moderately advanced bebop chord tone circling techniques. I've made the exercise more challenging by displacing the resolution of a few of the target notes.  Take it slow and play the rhythms evenly as you learn how each dissonance resolves.

The target note for Cmaj7 ends up resolving on the and of beat 2 after being circled chromatically above and below.

The 9th of Am7 is approached by a half step below as it resolves on the and of 3.

The 5th of Dm7 is approached chromatically by two steps below and resolves on the 1st beat of the 2nd measure.

The 7th of G7 is circled by three notes starting with a half step below on the and of beat 1.  Then resolving on beat 3 after being approached by two half-steps above.

I also had the #5 of G7 in mind when writing out the last three eight notes of measure two.  Notice how it is circled using half steps.

Please let me know if you have any questions regarding this or any of my other exercises.

You may want to watch my Introduction to Modern Jazz Lines 21-30 before continuing with this lesson.

You can find my complete collection of Modern Jazz Line "How to Improvise" playlists below.  You may want to review these lessons before continuing with the series.  They will give you an excellent introduction to voicing and improvising over the ii-V-I progression.

Modern Jazz Line #1-10 - The "ii-V-I" Progression
Video Jazz Piano Lesson Playlist (YouTube)
Sheet Music Collection for Jazz Piano Lesson (1-10)
Blog Posts for Modern Jazz Line #1-10

Modern Jazz Line #11-20 - The Tri-Tone Substitution
Video Jazz Piano Playlist (YouTube)
Sheet Music Collection for Jazz Piano Lesson (11-20)
Blog Posts for Modern Jazz Line #11-20

Sheet Music:   Modern-Jazz-Line-29-Bebop-Displacement

Video Lesson:

Modern Jazz Line #28 - Shapes in 12/8 - Jazz Piano Lesson

Sheet Music:  Modern-Jazz-Line-28-Shapes-in-12-8

With this line I tried to transpose and invert a simple shape through each chord of the I-VI-ii-V progression.  Take a moment to analyze the notes in order to understand how each shape works with it's corresponding scale.  Once you are familiar with the shape in all 12 keys you should begin using it as a guide to improvise slowly over some of your favorite tunes.  Over time, you will become more comfortable creating your own shapes and choosing your own scales while improvising.

I hope you enjoy transposing this melody through all twelve keys.  Feel free to substitute any of the written left hand voicings for your own.

You may want to watch my Introduction to Modern Jazz Lines 21-30 before continuing with this lesson.

You can find my complete collection of Modern Jazz Line "How to Improvise" playlists below.  You may want to review these lessons before continuing with the series.  They will give you an excellent introduction to voicing and improvising over the ii-V-I progression.

Modern Jazz Line #1-10 - The "ii-V-I" Progression
Video Jazz Piano Lesson Playlist (YouTube)
Sheet Music Collection for Jazz Piano Lesson (1-10)
Blog Posts for Modern Jazz Line #1-10

Modern Jazz Line #11-20 - The Tri-Tone Substitution
Video Jazz Piano Playlist (YouTube)
Sheet Music Collection for Jazz Piano Lesson (11-20)
Blog Posts for Modern Jazz Line #11-20

Sheet Music:   Modern-Jazz-Line-28-Shapes-in-12-8

Video Lesson:

Modern Jazz Line #27 - Everything I Love - Jazz Piano Lesson Exercise Etude

Sheet Music:  Modern-Jazz-Line-27-Everything-I-Love

This week's Modern Jazz Line is based off the opening motif from Aaron Parks' solo on the tune Everything I Love.  You can the find the album available for FREE right here:  Alive in Japan.

The rhythmic motif I used is fairly simple.  It consists of a quarter note followed by four sixteenth notes. For each repetition of the pattern, the opening note is displaced by one eight note.

The first grouping of sixteenth notes uses an arpeggio based off of the Bb Melodic Minor scale.  The selected notes imply an A7b9 sound to the VI chord.  The second set of sixteenth notes is a simple arpeggiation of the 3-5-7 notes of Dm7 that resolves consonantly to the 9th of the chord.  The final grouping of sixteenth notes is a turn based on C Harmonic Major.  The idea is immediately echoed by the left hand.

I hope you enjoy transposing this melody through all twelve keys.  Feel free to substitute any of the written left hand voicings for your own.

You may want to watch my Introduction to Modern Jazz Lines 21-30 before continuing with this lesson.

You can find my complete collection of Modern Jazz Line "How to Improvise" playlists below.  You may want to review these lessons before continuing with the series.  They will give you an excellent introduction to voicing and improvising over the ii-V-I progression.

Modern Jazz Line #1-10 - The "ii-V-I" Progression
Video Jazz Piano Lesson Playlist (YouTube)
Sheet Music Collection for Jazz Piano Lesson (1-10)
Blog Posts for Modern Jazz Line #1-10

Modern Jazz Line #11-20 - The Tri-Tone Substitution
Video Jazz Piano Playlist (YouTube)
Sheet Music Collection for Jazz Piano Lesson (11-20)
Blog Posts for Modern Jazz Line #11-20

Sheet Music:   Modern-Jazz-Line-27-Everything-I-Love

Video Lesson:

Modern Jazz Line #23 - Triplet Intervalic Melody - How to Improvise - Jazz Piano

Sheet Music:  Modern-Jazz-Line-23-Triplet-Intervalic-Melody-How-to-Improvise.pdf

This week's Modern Jazz Line is built on a simple triplet motif I've been working with recently.  Try to focus on the intervalic shape and similar rhythm of the motif as you take the line through all 12 keys.

You may want to watch my Introduction to Modern Jazz Lines 21-30 before continuing with this lesson.

You can find my complete collection of Modern Jazz Line "How to Improvise" playlists below.  You may want to review these lessons before continuing with the series.  They will give you an excellent introduction to voicing and improvising over the ii-V-I progression.

Modern Jazz Line #1-10 - The "ii-V-I" Progression
Video Jazz Piano Lesson Playlist (YouTube)
Sheet Music Collection for Jazz Piano Lesson (1-10)
Blog Posts for Modern Jazz Line #1-10

Modern Jazz Line #11-20 - The Tri-Tone Substitution
Video Jazz Piano Playlist (YouTube)
Sheet Music Collection for Jazz Piano Lesson (11-20)
Blog Posts for Modern Jazz Line #11-20

Sheet Music:  Modern-Jazz-Line-23-Triplet-Intervalic-Melody-How-to-Improvise.pdf

Video Lesson:

Jazz Piano Lesson: 7th Chord Major Scale Workout (Jazz Hanon)

Jazz Piano Lesson #41 - 7th Chord Workout - Major (Jazz Hanon)

After graduating college I became a scale and Hanon exercise junkie.  I usually spent 1-2 hours every single morning playing through my Hanon book.  At one point, I had all the exercises memorized in ALL 12 keys!  Becoming bored with the sameness of the Hanon exercises I decided to take on the Tristano method of scale practice.  I spent a year playing scales at an ultra slow tempo (40-60) and then playing polyrhyhmic variations of each scale (3 against 2, 2 against 3, etc).

After completing most of the Tristano method of scale practice I decided to replace my daily exercises with Bach etudes.  Over the past year I've completed all 15 two-part Bach inventions and just finished learning my 10th three-part Sinfonia.  The Bach pieces have greatly improved my technique and musicality but I'm left feeling a little sluggish after not practicing scales for a year.  That is why I've decided to write some of my own "Hanon" exercises.

These exercises are as technical as they are practical for the jazz musician.  The goal for each exercise is to focus on an essential jazz improvisational element while improving speed and fluidity.  I hope you enjoy these exercises and would love to see some videos of my viewers playing through them.

Up first, 7th chord arpeggios through all the major scales.

Click to view the sheet music to this lesson:
Jazz Piano Lesson #41 - 7th Chord Workout - Major (Jazz Hanon)

Watch the accompanying jazz piano video lesson:

Modern Jazz Line #3 - How to Improvise - Ear Training (ii-V-i)

Welcome to my new jazz lesson video series dedicated to becoming a better improvisor.  In these short videos, we'll explore jazz lines I've written out to help myself become a better improvisor.  Over time, dedicated practice of these lines will greatly improve your ability to hear and improvise modern jazz melodies.  Check out the links below after the break for the accompanying sheet music to this lesson.

Sheet Music:  Free Sheet Music to the Lesson via Scribd.com



Please feel free to send me a message or leave a comment if you have any questions on this or any other of my jazz piano lessons.  For a complete list of jazz lessons, click here or on the "lessons" tab above.

Personalized signed copies of my new cd are available here "Meditations Vol.1".  Thank you for all the donations and purchases of my sheet music.  I really do appreciate your support.  It goes a long way to help me keep these jazz lessons going.

Jazz Piano Lesson #31: Three-Part Shell Voicing Exercise

In my previous lesson on three-part shell voicings for jazz piano (found here), we took a series of basic voicings through all twelve keys using the circle of fourths.  I've made a couple changes to the lesson to give it a bit more challenge and to "stretch" your understanding of three-part voicings (sorry about that).   The main difference is that the basic sequence of voicings is changed.  The 1-3-7 and 1-7-3 will still alternate but I've started the exercise on the opposite voicing from last time.

Instead of taking the voicings through the circle of fourths, we will now be taking them through a cycle based on minor thirds.  Each completed ii-V-I progression will now transpose up a minor third.  This means there will be four full transpositions by the end of each cycle.  Once a cycle is completed it is transposed up a half step to reach four new key centers.  There are three complete cycles in all.

One other small change is the addition of a Major 6th chord at the end of each ii-V-I.  I believe this gives the exercise a little more forward motion and also adds another option to your voicings arsenal.  Practice using these voicings on your favorite standards to further your understanding of how to incorporate them into your own playing.

As always, I really hope you enjoyed this jazz piano lesson.  If you have any questions on this lesson or previous lessons, feel free to e-mail me or leave a comment below.

Video Lesson:  Part 1 Analysis  /  Part 2  Ear-Training and Performance
Scribd:  Click here for you Free .pdf of this lesson.

Thank you for considering a donation or purchase of my CD "Meditations Vol.1" to help support this website.