This week we are going to look at an important triadic concept that every musician should be aware of and able to utilize. The augmented chord is based off of major thirds and gives a distinctive sound. This triad is perfect for when you're looking to switch things up a bit and try some different sounding material in your solos. You will see that this triad isn't as complicated as it seems and a little bit of work goes a long way. This episode comes with a great PDF that contains exercises as … [Read more...]

This week is all about the foundation of your improvisation. If you've never learned what guide tones are and how to use them, this is the episode for you! Even if you have some experience with these, they are a great thing to review and possibly learn something new about. We are going back to our old friend the blues this week and studying voice leading and starting our phrases on the strongest notes possible. When playing a melody, it makes sense to start on the most melodic note possible. … [Read more...]

It's time for the Lick of the Month! One of my favorite trumpet players and musicians in the world is the late great Freddie Hubbard. This week we are looking at a couple of great licks from his solo on Herbie Hancock's tune, One Finger Snap. The first lick we are looking at contains some useful material over a sus chord. The second lick is an example of a great ii-V line that can be used over any tune. Remember to really absorb the language that Freddie is playing and not just regurgitate … [Read more...]

This week we are going to talk about how to achieve a more individual sound for yourself. Transcription is amazing and something that everyone needs to do daily but it's also important to come up with your own concepts and build vocabulary for yourself. It's always easier to start with something simple and work your way from there to material you can actually use in your playing. This episode is going to walk you through the process of building a line starting with only whole notes and … [Read more...]

This week we follow up with our lesson on the altered scale. At this point you know that the altered scale is based off of the 7th mode of a melodic minor scale. Last week we explored the theory behind this scale and how to superimpose it over a dominant chord. This week we are going to explore the possibilities in a more advanced way. Triad pairs are a great way to get that modern sound into your playing and the altered scale gives us a plethora of different triads we can use. Remember to make … [Read more...]

This week we are going to look at a really cool way to play 'out.' The altered scale is an awesome way to add a ton of tension to a ii-V-I or whatever progression you choose to use it over. The altered scale is based off of the 7th mode of the melodic minor scale and in this episode we are going to explain the theory behind this device and give you some practical lines with which to start using it in your own playing. Next week we are going to get more advanced and talk about some ways to use … [Read more...]

This Lick of The Month episode is probably my favorite ever. I have been digging into the playing of Joel Frahm, one of the best New York cats around, for the past couple of weeks and have given you two amazing, short ii-V-I's that will blow your mind! In the meantime, make sure you check out Joel's playing and support his music. You definitely won't be sorry! 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 … [Read more...]

This week we are going to do an episode prompted by one of our listeners, Fred. He wanted us to do an episode on the minor ii-V-i and we are happy to! This is an interesting progression with some differences from it's major cousin. There are some select things we need to know to play over this progression well and we are going to cover the half diminished chord this week and then put it all together in our next episode. If you have never heard of a half diminished chord (also known as minor … [Read more...]

Welcome back everyone! This episode concerns one of my favorite tunes in the world, Tadd Dameron's "Lady Bird." This tune is a short but amazing and will force you to work on things that you have never encountered before. We are going to b focusing on the last two measures in this episode. Dameron has taken a very common chord progression and put his own spin on it that provides for a beautiful sounding turnaround. In this show we talk about strategies you can use to get around these 2 bars with … [Read more...]