This lick of the month comes from a recent YouTube video I put out featuring the amazing, Stan Getz. We take a look at diatonic triads and how they can be used to create awesome lines! 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 Diatonic Method. We hope that...
May 20, 2022•15 min
This week we finish up our series on learning tunes. We step back and talk about how you can really understand and be able to play over these tunes with complete freedom. Repetition and listening are the name of the game. We also demonstrate some ideas you can use in the practice room to make playing over these chord progressions interesting and fruitful. 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 ...
May 13, 2022•17 min
This week we continue our series on learning tunes. We have finally arrived at learning the chords and some things you can do to make sure that there is never a chord or chords that intimidate you. 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 including transcriptions and a...
May 06, 2022•16 min
This month, as usual, we are looking at the same tune we did our Lick of the Month episode on, George Gershwin's, But Not For Me. We try to employ some of the things we learned from Roy Hargrove last week and just have a little bit of fun. 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 transcripti...
Apr 22, 2022•15 min
This week, we take a look at an entire chorus of Roy Hargrove's solo on But Not For Me! We very rarely present this much material in our Lick of the Month episode, but this is an exception due to the absolutely incredible material Roy plays on the first chorus of his solo. This is a great lesson in rhythmic variety, harmonic language, and several bebop devices that all combine to make this 32 bars something we could gain a lot from. Enjoy the episode! WANT THE PDF THAT GOES ALONG WITH THIS EPISO...
Apr 15, 2022•17 min
Welcome back! This week we move on to talking about the hardest part of learning a tune, the chord progression! Depending on where you are in your jazz journey, I will give you some different advice on this part. Learning everything by ear is obviously the goal, but when it comes to chords (depending on what tune you are learning) it can be EXTREMELY difficult. In this episode, we talk about several different approaches and how they can help you. Enjoy the show! WANT THE PDF THAT GOES ALONG WITH...
Apr 08, 2022•17 min
This week we continue our series on learning tunes by finally talking about the melody! Of course, I want you to learn melodies by ear and in this episoee, we talk about some of the challenges and advantages that come along with the process and how to approach different styles of melodies. 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 exclusive...
Apr 01, 2022•16 min
This week we take a look at one of my favorite jazz standards by Ferde Grofe, On The Trail. I wasn't really trying to do anything specific with this etude but did take some inspiration from the great, Joshua Redman and his licks that we studied last week. Enjoy the etude 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 e...
Mar 25, 2022•13 min
This month we take a look at a couple of fantastic Joshua Redman lines from his solo on Walter Smith III's album TWIO. This excerpt is from one of my favorite jazz standards, "On The Trail." Enjoy the episode and have fun with this material! 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 gi...
Mar 18, 2022•14 min
This week we take a look at a few more essential progressions that we didn't have time for last week. Then we talk about how to figure out the basics of form, simply by using our ears. Here we go one step further to actually learning some tunes. 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 trans...
Mar 11, 2022•16 min
This week we start a brand new series on learning tunes! As always, it's not as simple as diving into your favorite tune. We have some legwork to do first. In this episode we talk about some of the most common chord movements and how to practice hearing them. This is sure to make your life much easier when you get down to actually learning a jazz standard. Enjoy the episode and be sure to practice this material! WANT THE PDF THAT GOES ALONG WITH THIS EPISODE?? Head over to our Patreon page and w...
Mar 04, 2022•14 min
Well, here we are at the end of our series on the tri-tone substitution! This week we are studying our second tune of the month and this one is over the, ubiquitous, rhythm changes. The rhythm changes progression allows us ample opportunity to flex our muscles with our newfound knowledge and produces some very interesting sounds. 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 othe...
Feb 25, 2022•16 min
Here we are at our first tune of the month episode in this series. This week we take a look at an etude written over the Bb blues that contains the majority of the work we have done over tri-tone substitutions. This etude is not easy and make sure you really get into the nitty gritty of how I am using the substitutions. 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 bri...
Feb 18, 2022•15 min
This week we take a step back and learn some important information about resolving the progressions we have studied so far in this series. Using tension and release comes with some important caveats and we go over them in today's episode. 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 FRE...
Feb 11, 2022•13 min
We are back this week taking our series on the tri-tone substitution to the next level! In this episode, we discuss the possibilities for substitutions on a iii-VI -ii-V-I progression. The thinking is similar, but the execution is a bit different from last month. 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 also be bringing you many extras...
Feb 04, 2022•14 min
This week we take what we have covered so far in our tri-tone substitution series and apply it to the classic jazz tune, You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To. This progression offers us ample opportunities to use what we have learned so far in a real life situation. Enjoy the episode and the etude! 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...
Jan 28, 2022•13 min
We are back with another Lick of the Month episode! This week, we will take the progressions we learned in Episode 295 and write some killer lines over them. The lines will center around triads and 1235 patterns. This approach allows us to be creative while keeping things relatively simple. Enjoy the episode and be sure to start writing your own lines! 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 ...
Jan 21, 2022•14 min
Welcome back! This week we continue our series on the tri-tone sub and start to get into the practical applications of using this sound. We take a look at our old friend, the long ii-V-I progression and start to figure out how we can use the tension the tri-tone sub provides us with. Stay tuned for all 5 examples and next week, we will give you some concrete lines to use over these progressions. Have fun! WANT THE PDF THAT GOES ALONG WITH THIS EPISODE?? Head over to our Patreon page and when you...
Jan 14, 2022•17 min
Happy New Year everyone! Excited to be back and working on something new. In the first series of 2022, we will be talking about the tri-tone substitution and how we can start to hear and use this immensely popular sound in our playing. This device is a great way to introduce tension and interest into our playing. This series will start from square one and move through many different strategies for getting familiar with this sound. Enjoy! WANT THE PDF THAT GOES ALONG WITH THIS EPISODE?? Head over...
Jan 07, 2022•13 min
I decided to end the year with one of my holiday favorites, Have A Holly Jolly Christmas! This tune actually has some fantastic chord changes that will allow us to put many of the topics we discussed these past two months into action. Thank you all for making 2021 a great year for the podcast and I can't wait to bring you more episodes next year. Happy Holidays! 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 ...
Dec 24, 2021•13 min
This month, we take a look at the genius of Chris Potter and talk about how he displays some of the concepts we have been working on in the current series based on scales. 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 Diatonic Method. We hop...
Dec 17, 2021•12 min
This episode ends our series on practicing your scales in a more creative fashion. This week, we combine some of the rhythmic schemes from last episode with various interval layouts to create an even more intense and beneficial series of exercises. Enjoy the episode and have fun! 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...
Dec 10, 2021•14 min
This week we continue our series on practicing your scales creatively by moving into what you can do rhythmically. We have a tendency to practice our scales up and down in a homogenous rhythmic pattern (at least that's what I gravitate toward!). What could we learn and do better if we ditched this way of practicing scales and instead thought outside the box creatively?? Tune in to this episode to find out! WANT THE PDF THAT GOES ALONG WITH THIS EPISODE?? Head over to our Patreon page and when yo...
Dec 03, 2021•15 min
This month we are continuing to look at one of my favorite tunes, After You've Gone. We use some of the material from last month's Q&A episode plus some of the things we learned in our last episode from the amazingly talented, Patrick Bartley. Enjoy and don't forget to grab the etudes on Patreon! 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 exclu...
Nov 26, 2021•14 min
Time for the lick of the month episode and this one is a doozy! Patrick is taking over the internet with this particular solo because it is just that good. We are going to look at two similar lines over the same set of changes and see how Patrick uses one device to great effect. 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 ...
Nov 19, 2021•14 min
This week we continue our discussion on how we can breathe new life into our tired scale routine. Last episode, we talked about the three most common and beneficial scale types. This week , we will talk about some less common but just as beneficial scales and how you can incorporate them into your routine on a daily basis. Enjoy the episode and remember to download 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 g...
Nov 12, 2021•15 min
This month we talk about how to bring new life into something that I'm hoping all of you practice everyday, your scales! In this first part of the series, we talk about how you can combine types of scales, direction, order, and tempo in new and exciting ways to make sure that your routine doesn't get stale and boring. Think of scales as a maintenance item that can never be left behind. Once you figure out how to get creative in the practice room, you'll be happily practicing scales for the rest ...
Nov 05, 2021•15 min
It's the 5th Friday of the month so this week, we treat you to a Q&A episode. We tackle a very poignant question from one of our longtime listeners and supporters, David, about how to approach trad jazz vs. approaching the bebop era and beyond. This is something I have had to work out in my own playing and I hope these thoughts and observations might be useful to you and save you some time! WANT THE PDF THAT GOES ALONG WITH THIS EPISODE?? Head over to our Patreon page and when you donate $3 ...
Oct 29, 2021•13 min
This month's tune is one of my favorite Johnny Green standards that I play very often, Out Of Nowhere. We utilize the concepts we have been talking about in the entire pentatonic series and apply them to a great chord progression. Please enjoy the episode and don't forget to grab the PDF of the etude! 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 excl...
Oct 22, 2021•12 min
Time for our lick of the month episode! This month, we utilize the concepts of pentatonic shofting to create some killer ii-V-I lines. These lines will stretch your ability to use pentatonics freely and hear some very challenging and advanced sounds. Good luck and have fun!! 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 incl...
Oct 15, 2021•14 min
