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 #25 - Summer Solstice - Improvisation Lesson Jazz Piano

Sheet Music:  Modern-Jazz-Line-25-Summer-Solstice-Jazz-Piano-Line.pdf

Happy Summer Solstice!  For many of you that means plenty of time spent poolside in the hot sun.  Why not memorize a line and sing it through all 12 keys while relaxing outside away from your instrument?

This line starts simply by outlining the 7-1-3 notes of the C Major7 chord.  We then hit the Eb over the Am (vi) chord which implies a A half-dim sound.  The dissonance is quickly dissipated by jumping to the ninth note of the chord.  You'll hear another implied half-diminished sound over the Dm7 (ii) chord with the note Ab being used instead of A.  The line finishes with an embellishment of an A Major triad over C Major.

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-25-Summer-Solstice-Jazz-Piano-Line.pdf

Video Lesson:

Modern Jazz Line #13 - Delayed Resolution Augmented - Tri-Tone Sub

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.

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

Modern Jazz Line #13:

Get the sheet music:

Modern Jazz Line #13 .pdf

Watch the lesson:

Modern Jazz Line #12 - Simple Pentatonic Melody

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.

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

Modern Jazz Line #12 in the key of C:

This week's modern jazz line is a simple pentatonic melody over a ii-V-I progression.  Below is a list of the pentatonic scales used for each chord.

Dm7 = F Major or D minor pentatonic

Db7 = Db Major Pentatonic

CMaj7 = C Major Pentatonic

Sheet Music for Modern Jazz Line #12: Modern Jazz Line #12 - Simple Pentatonic .pdf

Modern Jazz Line Demonstration

By request, here is Modern Jazz Line #11 played at goal tempo.  I could should have played this with a metronome and you should too!  It can take me anywhere from 48 hours to a week to begin to feel comfortable with a new line.  For YouTube purposes, I try to write lines based around a jazz concept.  For example, the ii-V-I or the Tri-Tone substitution.  However, when at home or teaching a student I try to write a line that is just out of reach of my (or the students) technical ability.  I learned this from watching Kenny Werner's Effortless Mastery DVD and have found it to be an extremely rewarding practice technique.

Modern Jazz Line #6 - Learning to Improvise - Jazz Exercise

This week's modern jazz line melody is based off of Lesson #28 "Modal Interval Pattern.  I took the pattern from Lesson #28 and sequenced it through a ii-V-I progression.  Once you've completed this learning this modern jazz line you can start experimenting writing your own lines based on the same or a similar pattern.

Here's the sheet music for this week's lesson:
Modern Jazz Line #6 .pdf

You can also watch the complete video playlist or view each individual lesson post.

I hope you enjoyed this free jazz piano lesson.  For updates on more jazz piano lessons and modern jazz melodies subscribe to my YouTube or follow me on Twitter and Facebook.  Thanks for all donations, purchases of sheet music and signed copies of my CD.  Your support goes a long way to helping keep the site going and keeping me motivated to make videos.  Thanks for watching!

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.

Modern Jazz Line #2 - How to Improvise - Ear Training Exercise

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 for this Lesson:  Modern Jazz Line #2

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.

Modern Jazz Line #1 - How to Improvise - Ear Training Exercsie

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.