Skip to main content

Simple Footprints Etude No. 2 by Behn Gillece

Building on the previous etude, this new version expands the lines and incorporates additional chord adjustments to deepen the harmonic exploration in 3/4. By introducing extra melodic lines and refining the chord changes, this etude offers a richer harmonic texture while staying within a straightforward 3/4 groove. It challenges the player to navigate slightly more complex progressions, encouraging a deeper understanding of how to shape melodic ideas within the time signature.

Simple Footprints Etude No. 1 by Behn Gillece

One of my students has been working on "Footprints" and wanted to explore playing in 3/4 time. To help, I put together a simple etude focused on adapting familiar patterns to fit 3/4. What I like about this approach is that it lets you apply a straightforward line throughout the tune, and it flows well in 3/4. There are a few places where I adjusted the line slightly to better match the chords. Also, keep in mind that these changes are a bit simpler than the original ones, but they’re still widely used by many players—dating back to an old real book version!

Minor ii-V Etude No. 1 by Behn Gillece

We had a great workshop week this year! In the workshop, we spent a lot of time talking about ii-V's in minor and the various structures. This etude covers a few important positions for the half diminished chord; one where the root is in the bottom and the other where b5 is in the bottom. Also, it goes through some important closed and open positions.