Most Popular Lessons

Hey everyone,

The next couple comping lessons will be focused on ballads. In this one, I share how I think of the range of the instrument -- like an orchestra, with a low range for bass movement, a middle range for melody and/or chords, and an upper register useful for subtle effects, upper structure triads subtle, and counter-lines. I think this is especially important when playing ballads!

Hey everyone!

I’ve got some exciting lessons for the next few months, starting with this series on diminished voicings. These three lessons will really go in depth with how you can creatively voice diminished chords, and how you can use the same shapes on non-diminished chords. Do you know the diminished major substitution? The dominant diminished substitution? The four main alterations of a diminished chord? How to use diminished shapes to play “out?” These lessons will go through all of this with a practical mindset, giving you tangible things to work on.

Hello everyone,

In the last lesson, I explained how to methodically go through all possible extensions for a chord, and, in this one, we will look at the different options for rearranging those notes. You can use inversions, and spread techniques, including drop-2, drop-3, and drop-2+3.

Hey everyone,

Part 3 in the series on how to solo over diminished chords melodically. The diminished IV chord (Bbo7 in the key of F) comes up a decent bit in standards -- like "The Nearness of You" and "I Remember You," among others -- and it's important to be able to meaningfully solo over! Full disclosure, I'll often treat it as an A7b9 chord, or a C7b9 chord! But watch the video if you'd like to know why.

Also, make sure to watch parts 1 and 2 if you haven't already, as there might be some some things in this video that won't make sense if not.

Learning the vocabulary of jazz is one of my favorite -- and, I would argue, most rewarding -- things to do in the practice room. Just like human language, jazz vocabulary allows us to musically understand one another, know how to react to one another, and keep ourselves from saying something stupid. From Monk-ish quirks to the pentatonic idiosyncrasies of Coltrane, jazz history is, in many ways, synonymous with jazz language -- you can see the evolution of the music, the cultural influences, the “family tree” of players, etc.

Hey everyone,

In this dampening lesson, I explain a technique I call "partial-deadstroking" and its implications for playing ballads, as well as comping on swing tunes!

Hello Everyone!

I had some time so I decided to make a couple of audio lessons on triads, which have been the focus of my practicing lately! After years of practicing seventh chords, 9th chords, 11th chords, and 13th chords, I've come to appreciate what triads can do.

Hey everyone,

Here's the last part in my series on diminished chords and thinking of them as dominant chords instead. This isn't meant to be the singular approach when soloing over them, but to be used in tandem with blues sounds, the diminished scale, the diminished 7 arpeggio, etc.

Hello all,

Just another dampening lesson! This time, we're looking at staccato dampening and dead-stroking, the differences between the two, and where to use them.

Hey everyone,

Here's a quick lesson on the three types of glissandos I find myself using, and how to practice them. I also discuss how to practice flams on vibes to help with glissandos.