This week we are finishing up our series on Charlie Parker with one of his best compositions, Yardbird Suite. I will be doing my best to use a number of his ideas we have discussed over the past 2 months and wrap this series up with something fun for you to learn in the practice room. Enjoy the episode and thanks for listening! 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 other. We will … [Read more...]

This week we finish off our look at the legendary Charlie Parker. In this episode, we discuss Bird's use of texture to create the amazing flow his solos have. Horizontal vs. vertical lines are the order of the day. Enjoy the episode and don't forget to grab the PDF! 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 other. We will also be bringing you many extras exclusively to our patrons … [Read more...]

This week we talk about the counter to last week's episode. When and why does Bird break the rules that we laid out in the last episode? This is sure to be an interesting one so 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 you get this PDF and every other. We will also be bringing you many extras exclusively to our patrons including transcriptions and a FREE gift  of our latest Ebook, The … [Read more...]

This week we continue our studies of one of the greatest jazz minds in history. We are going to look at how Bird places his chord tones and drive the home the fact we need clarity in our solos. Jazz is not a formula, but formulaic thinking can get us far when practicing. 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 other. We will also be bringing you many extras exclusively to our … [Read more...]

It seems only fitting that after studying the genius of Charlie Parker for 3 weeks, we finish up the month with one of his most prolific compositions. If you have checked out the last three episodes, make sure you do that before diving into this one. We will be using all three concepts we talked about to put together a statement reminiscent of Bird. 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 are going to look at a very specific device that Charlie Parker uses in his solos. Although this seems like it can only have narrow applications, the idea of using this specific thing can really open up our playing and make us think differently as improvisers. 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 you get this PDF and every other. We will also be bringing you many extras … [Read more...]

This week we go further into the playing of Bird by looking at his use of enclosures and the various ways he uses them. The beauty of enclosures is they can be as simple or complicated as we would like. 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 you get this PDF and every other. We will also be bringing you many extras exclusively to our patrons including transcriptions and a FREE gift  … [Read more...]

This week kicks off a new series deep diving into the music of the architects of our language of jazz. Throughout the month we'll take a look at some defining features of Bird's music. These are things we can take with us and apply to our own playing. In the first part, we are going to examine Charlie Parker's use of the 16th note triplet, something he uses quite frequently. Enjoy the episode! WANT THE PDF THAT GOES ALONG WITH THIS EPISODE?? Head over to our Patreon page and when … [Read more...]

This month we are going to dive into one of my favorite jazz standards. I have been listening to Miles Davis' recording of this since I was a kid! The form is a bit complicated so be ready for a lot of information coming at you fast. Enjoy! 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 other. We will also be bringing you many extras exclusively to our patrons including transcriptions and a FREE … [Read more...]

This week we are taking a look at a full chorus of one of my favorite musicians, Wynton Marsalis. There's a lot to dig into here. Wynton's use of simplicity combined with rhythmic genius and a constant attention to the melody makes this one of my favorite episodes yet! 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 other. We will also be bringing you many extras exclusively to our patrons … [Read more...]