Your scale practice is about to sound like jazz — without adding a single note you don’t already know.
7 Bebop Lines Over a 1-Chord min7 Groove: Enclosures, Approach Notes, and Anticipations
Learn 7 variations of my favorite bebop-flavored lines that sound great over static minor 7 chords.
Train Your Mind and Fingers to Think Ahead: A Chord-Scale Proficiency Exercise on “Miyako”
Before moving to derivations that potentially make navigating complex harmonic progressions “easier,” we must first be able to execute this.
Practical Ways to Use a Metronome
A reminder about the many different ways you can use a metronome in the practice room.
An Athletic Approach to Converting the Major Scale Into 7 Important Chords
This diatonic 7th chord exercise is a must for developing better technique with the building blocks of improvisation: chords, scales, and modes.
How I Practice Scales to Maximize Accuracy, Control, Range, and Dexterity
In a single 25-minute practice session this exercise gives me a feeling of total control of the horn in all 12 keys.
Upside Down Major 7th Chords (+ How to Instantly Improve Your Medium-swing 8th Notes)
Freshen up your playing AND instantly improve your medium-swing 8th notes with this simple mental trick (and one slight rhythmic shift).
4 Important “Jazz” Scales Derived from Melodic Minor
Melodic minor is an important scale in jazz. But it can be a bit confusing at first. Here’s how I approach it (and 4 important jazz scales derived from it).
Lower Neighboring Tones – an Example from John Coltrane’s Solo on My Shining Hour
By turning Coltrane’s phrase into an exercise, we can develop facility for playing more interesting (chromatically decorated) lines over chord changes.
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