Jazz relies on a shorthand system of chord notation, which is not universal, not standard, and not terribly logical or consistent, at least at first sight. This article is intended as a brief general guide for people who are new to this…
Blog Archives
Drop 2 More
I wrote about Drop 2 last year here and I’ve had some feedback (a few people really loved the picture of the Golden Retriever with four tennis balls in her mouth – so here she is for a well-deserved encore).…
Tagged with: drop two, harmony, jazz, piano
Posted in a) Soloing Scales & Modes, b) Harmony & Comping
Posted in a) Soloing Scales & Modes, b) Harmony & Comping
Diminished Responsibility
Jazz musicians don’t use the harmonic minor scale, right? Wrong. Of course, everyone would admit there are occasions where the harmonic minor is specifically called for, to evoke a sort of “Eastern promise” sound (a lot of people use it…
Tagged with: diminished chords, harmonic minor, harmony, jazz
Posted in a) Soloing Scales & Modes, b) Harmony & Comping
Posted in a) Soloing Scales & Modes, b) Harmony & Comping
Turnarounds
Most lead sheets for standards don’t bother including the turnaround at the end of each section – it’s just assumed that you’ll know what to play. In case you don’t know, this article will run through the most common first…
Tagged with: 3d printing, escher, harmony, jazz, theory, tritone substitution, turnarounds
Posted in b) Harmony & Comping
Posted in b) Harmony & Comping
Coltrane’s Substitution Tunes
On two groundbreaking albums, Blue Train (1957) and Giant Steps (1960), John Coltrane presented a group of original tunes that stretched to breaking point the possibilities of functional harmony. Shortly after these albums he began increasingly to turn his back…
Tagged with: Giant Steps, harmony, jazz, John Coltrane, Ladybird, Lazybird, Moment's Notice, Tadd Dameron, theory
Posted in b) Harmony & Comping
Posted in b) Harmony & Comping
Using Upper Structures in Solos
The key to using “upper structures” is to observe that simple major and minor triads exist in the upper reaches of altered dominant chords. These structures are often used by pianists and guitarists in chord voicings, but they are also…
Tagged with: altered dominant, harmony, jazz, melodic minor, theory, upper structures
Posted in a) Soloing Scales & Modes, b) Harmony & Comping
Posted in a) Soloing Scales & Modes, b) Harmony & Comping
Practising Soloing Backwards
I’ve noticed that an awful lot of people learning jazz have a specific weakness when soloing – their lines don’t really seem to go anywhere, the phrases never really conclude. They’re usually aware of this problem but don’t seem able…
Tagged with: harmony, Ii-V-I turnaround, jazz, melodic cells, Miles Davis, practice, What is This Thing Called Love
Posted in a) Soloing Scales & Modes
Posted in a) Soloing Scales & Modes
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Pents book is recommended reading on Gary Burton's Berklee course.
Jason Lyon on Music 