This week we look at an awesome application of the melodic minor scale and we get a little bit more complicated. In this episode, we dive into the 6th mode of the melodic minor scale and use it over a half diminished ii chord. This is very useful in certain situations that are explained in the episode. Get your brain ready for some complicated theory work and dive in! WANT THE PDF THAT GOES ALONG WITH THIS EPISODE?? Head over to our Patreon page and when you donate $3 or more a month … [Read more...]

This month we dive into an extremely useful jazz scale and explore the different places it can be utilized. Melodic minor is an important sound in modern jazz and the use of it's different modes are the basis for many familiar sounds. In part 1, we will look at the pure melodic minor from the root and talk about a trio of chords we can use this over. Some of these chords may surprise you but I think you'll start to see some uses you may have never thought of before. Enjoy the episode! WANT … [Read more...]

This month is all about guitar! We will be transcribing the amazing Joe Pass on this swingin' blues, Bag's Groove. Pay attention to how much Joe does with such limited information and, of course, how much he swings! Have fun :) https://open.spotify.com/track/7JrCNEXOunX7RXlJFDvXYn?si=kfQHmXyJSdGuzisiEzZ3HQ … [Read more...]

You thought we were done with fourths, didn't you? I'm happy to say, we have one more episode that dives into this important topic. We will be using the Eddie Harris tune, Freedom Jazz Dance to explore a cool exercise taught to me by the great, James Moody when I was in college. Enjoy this 5th episode of the month and I hope you get something out of it! WANT THE PDF THAT GOES ALONG WITH THIS EPISODE?? Head over to our Patreon page and when you donate $3 or more a month you get this PDF and … [Read more...]

This week is the culmination of our series on fourths and we celebrate it by playing a killer etude over the Miles Davis composition, Tune Up. We use this episode as a way to talk about the form, chord progression, and one tricky spot in the tune. Then we move into how I attempted to use fourths mixed with other material to, hopefully, make it sound a bit more natural in context. Enjoy the episode! WANT THE PDF THAT GOES ALONG WITH THIS EPISODE?? Head over to our Patreon page and when you … [Read more...]

This week we continue our look at fourths and we transition into using them over real chord progressions. In this episode we come up with three ii-V-I lines and explore some different ways of utilizing fourths to craft interesting and angular melodies. Hopefully this will help you to conceptualize how to put this interval into your playing in various ways. Enjoy the episode! WANT THE PDF THAT GOES ALONG WITH THIS EPISODE?? Head over to our Patreon page and when you donate $3 or more a month … [Read more...]

This week we take a look at one more set of exercises on fourths, building on what we learned in the last episode. This time, our job is to build series of three and four fourths stacked on top of each other. Make sure you pay close attention to what we are talking about here and work on the exercises so you can be ready to apply them in the next episode to real chord progressions. Enjoy the episode! WANT THE PDF THAT GOES ALONG WITH THIS EPISODE?? Head over to our Patreon page and when you … [Read more...]

This month is all about the man himself, Sonny Rollins! One of my favorite saxophonists, musicians, and people on the planet. Enjoy transcribing the melody and solo on I'm An Old Cowhand from his album, Way Out West. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlatJOsLhPA https://open.spotify.com/track/0dL8xfVkwJjbnexqvMhH0r?si=zOVzhvq_QXymjDDIu4T46A … [Read more...]

This month we are going back to a more series oriented run of shows. In July we will take a look at the interval of a fourth and how it can be used in a compelling way. We start with some basic exercises to get your ears and fingers wrapped around this sound over two very common chord symbols, the minor-seventh and the major-seventh, sharp eleventh chords. No need to do these in every key quite yet, let's keep things simple and move slowly through the learning process. Enjoy the episode and … [Read more...]

This week wraps up our month of listener questions. We are taking a look at the famous Wayne Shorter composition, Footprints. In particular, we are trying to make sense of the turnaround and give ourselves a fighting chance at playing something meaningful over the complicated set of chords. Enjoy the episode and remember to grab the PDF below! WANT THE PDF THAT GOES ALONG WITH THIS EPISODE?? Head over to our Patreon page and when you donate $3 or more a month you get this PDF and every … [Read more...]