Miles and the Lydian Chromatic Concept

by | Jazz Improvisation

Lydian Chromatic Concept book(NOTE: Unlike YouTube, the above video contains the complete lesson)

In this lesson I introduce you to an alternative system of using scales for jazz improvisation. And it just so happens that Miles Davis was busy studying and practicing this concept during the period that led to his recording of “Kind of Blue” back in 1959. So if you want to get a better understanding of how to improvise over modal jazz, this information is eye opening! It’s called the Lydian Chromatic Concept and was developed by jazz pianist and composer, George Russell.

When I lived in Boston I was fortunate enough to work off and on with a pianist who had studied with George Russell when he taught at the New England Conservatory. So I had some good exposure to the system from a truly knowledgeable source. And this is what I am sharing with you in this video!

I start by explaining what it is, the theory behind it, how to use it to improvise over some well known standards, and finally its pros and cons. I want you to know that this is a PRACTICAL lesson, but it is useless if you don’t first understand the theory of how it works. Unfortunately there is no way to explain and teach this concept in under 10 minutes, but in this video I do my best to get the gist of it across in a short record amount of time!

PDF & AUDIO DOWNLOAD:

The “Lydian Chromatic Concept” Files can be downloaded for $7.00 (buy me a cup of coffee & a snack?). Your contribution is much appreciated, as it helps support the site and allows me to keep investing the long hours required to produce these lessons. The download includes:  9 PDFs featuring The Lydian Chromatic Scales from the course, a complete chart of how to use them over any chord type, and the following leadsheets displaying the corresponding lydian chromatic scales for each chord: All The Things You Are, Autumn Leaves, Blue Bossa, Dolphin Dance, Girl from Ipanema, Stella By Starlight, Take The A Train & There Will Never Be Another You.

For those that don’t use PayPal…when you click the button below, it will give you the option to pay with any major credit card without the need to sign up for PayPal.  Note that you must be logged in for the payment and download links to be visible!

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8 Comments

  1. Timothy Stanley-Clamp

    Hi Richie, just paid for an Elite package. I can’t seem to get the Lydian treatment of the standards. Really keen to see if I can – at last – do a decent solo on Stella By Starlight. I/ve got tne other material but the standards don’t show

    • Richie Zellon

      Hi Timothy, I’m not sure I understand what you are asking me…could you please elaborate?

  2. Ellen Demos

    Hello,

    I live in Dublin, Ireland and have been trying to purchase the Miles lydian concept course, but can”t seem to get the payment through. The little circle goes round and round…

    • Richie Zellon

      Hi Ellen, I’m not sure what is going on there because I can’t replicate the problem. It could be an outdated browser or anti-virus firewall blocking it. My suggestion which 90% of the time solves the problem is to try to log in using a different browser or better yet, a different computer or mobile device altogether. Sorry I can’t be of more help.

  3. Marco Visani

    Can you explain to me, why you use in “all the things you are” Db lyd dominant over G7? Or Ab lyd dominant over D7? In the PDF I don’t understand. Thank you

    • Richie Zellon

      It’s all explained in the video. This is explained around 12:30 but you need to understand the previous explanation too.

  4. fabio zanaboni

    ciao,where pdf is?

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