Pentatonic Turnaround (LOTW #36)
This lick is based on the turnaround from Lady Bird. All we are doing in this one is stringing together some pentatonic patterns over the maj7th chords. The consistency of the major 7th chords makes it nice for us to play pattern like material over the harmonies. Enjoy!
I-VI-bVI-V Turnaround (LOTW #35)
This lick is pretty simple for the most part. The use of a tritone sub in place of the 2 chord is what spices things up in this progression. Instead of going 1-6-2-5 we go 1-6-b6-5. The first measure is simple diatonic movement with some rhythm. In the second measure we are now playing our […]
Diatonic Turnaround (LOTW #34)
This lick is great for beginner’s over diatonic turnarounds, meaning chords and notes all coming from the same key. On this lick we start on the 3rd of Cmaj7, the note E, then move down to the 3rd of A-7 the note C. From there we outline the chord tones of A-7 and approach the […]
Top 5 Things To Know When Choosing A Piano Teacher
Choosing a piano teacher can be very tough. How do you know what to look for? You’ve never played piano in your life, or maybe you have but you’re still unsure. In this post I will help you feel confident that you can select a good classical and jazz teacher for yourself or your children. […]
Basic Turnaround (LOTW #33)
Turnarounds can be tough to play over. If you don’t nail them it can sound very strange coming back to the top of a tune. If you have questions or requests please leave them in the comments section and I will accommodate. Points for practicing this lick: Starting on the 9 of D-7 Going to […]
Tritone Substitution (LOTW #32)
This lick is a little more advanced than most that I’ve posted. It is very technically challenging and if you haven’t worked much with pentatonics before the coordination can get a little tricky. But! Practice very, very slowly and anyone is possible of playing this. If you have questions or requests please leave them in […]
V7 Tritone (LOTW #31)
Enjoy this lick using the tritone of our V7 chord in the key of C. We are replacing the Db7 for the G7 and using our Db7 lydian scale, meaning #11, to solo over the tritone. This creates a very unique sound over a 2-5-1. I then added the lydian scale over the Cmaj7 as […]
5 Improvisation Upgrades For Any Level
I had a student that was a puzzle to me. It barely seemed like he cared, was always late, and never practiced. But…when I asked him to improvise over tunes, he would tear it up! I just couldn’t understand. I hadn’t even taught him much yet he was playing like a ten year vet. So […]
5 Hard Truths Behind Learning Jazz Piano
It’ll always amaze me how many people believe they can take one lesson from me and somehow get some magical tips or tricks that will give them everything they need to improve their playing. I see this everywhere. The look of disappoint on their face saddens me. It’s as if I have let them down […]
What Rootless Voicings Are, And How To Use Them
Wow! Well it’s been quite a while since my last blog post. I’ve been extremely busy gigging, teaching and trying to raise money to upgrade this site in the coming months. I’m very excited about this because I’ll be working with a great branding and marketing company by the name of Dreambox Creative. The owner […]
