Improv

🚨 Tune Deep Dive: “Wave” – Pt. 2: Guide Tone Movement in the Intro 🚨

In Part 2, we dig into the intro vamp of Wave (Dm7–G7) and explore guide tone movement. This exercise builds from a single voice to two, three, and finally four voices, showing how harmonic richness can grow naturally out of simple lines. By working through these patterns, you’ll train your ear and hands to connect chords smoothly while keeping the groove intact.

In this lesson we’ll:

🚨 New Tune Deep Dive Series! 🚨
Pt. 1: “Wave” – Establishing Form & Groove

We’re kicking off a brand-new Tune Deep Dive with Antônio Carlos Jobim’s Wave—a bossa nova classic that’s as groovy as it is deceptively tricky. This tune has a 44-bar form (A – A – B – A, with 12-bar A sections and an 8-bar bridge), so memorizing the structure is step one.

🚨 Soloing Through the Changes Pt. 8 – Soloing with the Altered Scale

In Part 8, we explore the altered scale (seventh mode of melodic minor) as a way to create tension over dominant chords before resolving back to the tonic or next chord. This scale contains altered chord tones—♭9, ♯9, ♯11, and ♭13—which provide a wide palette of colors for jazz soloing.

🚨 Soloing Through the Changes Pt. 7 – Soloing with the Diminished Scale

In Part 7, we explore the half-whole diminished scale as a tool for soloing over dominant chords in the blues. This symmetrical scale creates tension and color that can really open up your sound—especially when used sparingly and with intention.

🚨 Soloing Through the Changes Pt. 6 – Bebop Scale Variants on the Blues

In Part 6, we continue exploring scale-based soloing over the blues in F, this time using bebop dominant scale variants enriched with added chromatic passing tones. This lesson focuses on creating longer, more fluid lines that still clearly outline the changes—using the dominant bebop scale as a flexible framework, not a strict formula.

🚨 Soloing Through the Changes Pt. 5 – Scale-Based Soloing: Bebop Dominant & Diminished Scales

In Part 5, we shift our focus from arpeggios to scale-based soloing, using the bebop dominant scale as a framework for outlining harmony with a smoother, more linear flow. This scale includes a chromatic passing tone (usually the natural 7th in a dominant scale), allowing you to maintain a strong rhythmic flow while still landing chord tones on downbeats.

🚨 Soloing Through the Changes Pt. 4 – 7th Chord Outlinings with 9ths & Alterations

In Part 4, we take the 7th chord outlines from the previous lesson and extend them into 9ths, while also adding alterations and inversions on dominant chords. The result is a more melodic, colorful, and expressive soloing vocabulary—still grounded in chord structure, but reaching toward the sound of bebop and beyond.

🚨 Soloing Through the Changes Pt. 3 – Diatonic 7th Chord Outlinings on “Minority”

In Part 3, we take our soloing a step further by outlining each chord using full 7th chord arpeggios, adding more shape and melodic possibility to our lines. Still working with Minority, this lesson is about expanding from guide tones to complete harmonic outlines—while keeping strong voice leading in mind.

I just love this stuff! 

🚨 Soloing Through the Changes Pt. 2 – Guide Tones in a Standard: “Minority”

In Part 2 of the series, we move beyond the blues and apply our guide tone approach to a jazz standard. This time, we’re using Gigi Gryce’s Minority—a minor-key tune with rich harmonic movement and ii–V progressions that challenge your voice leading.