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A little abstract (is that the word?). But it's how I practice playing over tunes. 

Check out the attached PDF!

Every chord has a scale that in each tune fits in the context of that tune. That's because chords can have more than on scale that goes with them. I.E. Cmaj has Ionian and Lydian. 

This video talks about ways to practice these scales and then learn to weave through the scales. The scales are your basic material, like colors to a painter. Once you know all this, then you make phrases and sounds that really represent the harmony. Sure there's all types of advanced stuff to do, but if you can't do this, then you can't do the advanced stuff.

This is an etude for Donna Lee that is all 8th notes. Of course we don't necessarily want to play a solo like this, but it's a good study in weaving around the changes. 

I've made other lessons here with the same theme. Make it sound like the song. 

It's our job in a way. Sure the heavy weights do this or that. But a true heavy weight can make it sound like the song. Once you have mastered that then you can take liberties. Listen to some of the solo Chick Corea CDs. He takes liberties but he's a monster! 

Check out the attached PDF!

Check out the attached PDF!

Get to work! 

I am making some Tik Tok MalletKat videos for Alternate mode. (The Malletkat is the pro model of electronic keyboard percussion). So I decided to play some tunes and then I thought I'll notate them as an etude for all of you. 

Can you play it? I left out the pedal markings? Why? Because they are a pain to notate partly. And partly because you can listen to the pedaling of the track and study that and then at the pedaling yourself. I think it's really important to not have it all handed to you. That's too easy. 

Check out the attached PDF!

I've done other etudes with Cherokee, but here's a new one. I like doing  certain tunes even if I'm doing another something for that tune. Some tunes have so many progressions in them that when you learn them, you learn many many other tunes at the same time because they have pieces of these progressions. So learn this one again it's best. If you memorize it, play it and play it and play it study it study the harmony study the upper partial, see what you remember when you make up your own solo or you do your own comping.