JAZZ IMPROVISATION
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Triad Pairs PART1
Click Here for "Hexatonic Triad Pairs PART 2" Just in case you're wondering, "what on earth is a hexatonic scale?", let me answer that first. Being a guitar player, I'm sure that you're familiar with pentatonic scales which consist of 5 notes. Well, a hexatonic scale...
1 String Improvisation Exercises
In this lesson I want to introduce you to an effective fretboard mastery method suggested by one of my mentors, the late Charlie Banacos. For those not familiar with him, although he was a pianist, his students played a variety of other instruments. Among his guitar...
Miles and the Lydian Chromatic Concept
(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...
Improvising with Polygonal Shaped Tetratonics
In this lesson I share with you a hidden fretboard resource for improvisation! I'm sure you agree with me that the guitar is a very visual instrument and many players take advantage of this feature to recall certain chords and scale patterns. With that in mind, in...
EZ 9th Chord Arpeggio Trick
Transcribed from video: In this lesson I want to show you an easy trick that will instantly make your solos sound jazzier. And no this isn't click bait...jazz improvisation is not easy to learn, but if you are putting in the time and learning the basics, the simple...
George Benson & John Scofield Compared
Transcribed from Video: For this lesson I picked 2 of my favorite living jazz guitar masters...George Benson on the bebop side and John Scofield on the post-bop side. Some might even call it old school and new school, side by side. Stylistically speaking, they sound...
McCoy Tyner Jazz Guitar Lesson Tribute
Transcribed from Video: This is a special tribute lesson to McCoy Tyner, a very influential jazz pianist who I was sad to learn passed away on March 6, 2020. For those guitarists who are new to jazz or not familiar with this name, McCoy was none other than the pianist...
How to Solo “Outside”
In this lesson I unravel the mystery of playing "outside" without sounding like you made a mistake or got lost in the changes. Now, if you are new to jazz and have no clue what playing "outside" is, let me just briefly sum it up as temporarily improvising over...
2 Ingredients to Bebopify your Solos
If you're a beginning to intermediate jazz guitar student and know your basic scales, but you feel your solos don't quite sound like jazz...this lesson is for you! In this video I teach you how to incorporate 2 important melodic ingredients that are characteristic of...
5 Chromatic Licks To Jump-Start Your Solos
In this video lesson I want to share some cool chromatic lines that are sure to grab your listeners ear when you start a solo.... You know that section after playing the head to a standard, where the whole band stops and the soloist plays a flurry of notes leading...
Miles’ Secret Solo Sauce Revealed!
Have you ever wondered why Miles Davis is so revered as a jazz improviser and why so many musicians worldwide transcribe and study his solos? I just posted one of my all time favorite lessons in which I play 4 measure fragments of 10 different solos that Miles...
This Chord Will Revitalize Your Standards!
Did you know that there's a seldom used chord, that when used in the right places will breathe new life to those overplayed Standards? It's one the old beboppers didn't know about . I heard it for the first time in the playing of Allan Holdsworth, John Abercrombie,...
Phrygian Cadences
What do tunes like Miles Davis' "Nardis", Wayne Shorter's "Speak No Evil", and Chick Corea's "Spain" & "La Fiesta" have in common? That they all employ phrygian modal cadences, also the subject of this video! In this lesson, not only do I give you examples of both...
Dorian Cadences: Comping and Soloing Made Easy
This is the first in a 2 part series on Modal Cadences. In this lesson you will learn all about Dorian Cadences...what are they; how to identify them in many standards that you most likely already play; when and how to create them to add more harmonic motion to your...
SLONIMSKY SYSTEM: 24 Permutations of a 4 Part Chord (Preview)
What do John Coltrane, Allan Holdsworth, Freddie Hubbard and Frank Zappa among several other great music innovators have in common? That they all claim to have studied and practiced using Nicholas Slonimsky's "Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns". In this...
Jim Hall’s “Bemsha Swing” Solo
In this video lesson I teach a great solo by one of my all time favorite guitarists...Jim Hall! It's off a 16 bar blues by Thelonious Monk entitled, Bemsha Swing. After playing the solo at tempo, I then teach it to you slowly, and explain what is going on measure by...
Rhythm Changes: Why it’s required study for jazz
In the 1930’s George and Ira Gershwin penned the show tune, I Got Rhythm for their musical, «Girl Crazy». By the time bebop was born during the 1940’s, jazz musicians had already adopted this chord progression as their choice harmonic vehicle for the exploration of...
Jazz Guitar Articulation: from bebop to post-bop
Have you ever thought about what makes two jazz guitarists such as George Benson and John Scofield sound so radically different ? Most respond that it's due to their choice of notes. And yes that is true, but there are other defining factors that are just as...