Most Popular Lessons

🚨 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.

Assignments Due

• 251 cycle of fourths posted on VW
• Post yourself playing the Blue Bossa Scales with Ireal pro. Must be memorized
• Friedman etude #5 posted on VW in time and played well
• 12 bars of Donna Lee memorized
• post 6 keys Open Closed Maj 9 chords
• Of Lands I Never Saw - Talk about Double Image and post on VW.

Great lesson to break into playing tunes solo. 

Here are links to all the other vids: 

Misty Intro

Lesson 1

Lesson 2

Hello all,

Just a quick lesson on ending ballads (or any tune, really). I demonstrate a few different options for the final chords on a ballad so you don't always have to end on 1 or the b2. Let me know if there are any questions!

Older players have to really think about there hands. Esp if you're coming back to the instrument in retirement.

🚨 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.

Steve Weiss Mallet Workshop Preview Pt. 1 by Behn Gillece

Tune Study - The Jody Grind Pt. 1

This is a solo vibe piece Tony Miceli commissioned me to write for him. Let me know what you guys think! These are the program notes I wrote for the piece:

This piece was written in April of 2024 upon commission from Tony Miceli, professor at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. While taking private lessons with him, we began experimenting with timbral effects on the vibraphone, and one of my assignments was to write a solo vibraphone piece surrounding this idea. Thus, this piece was born.

? Lesson 1: Building a Solid Time Foundation With a Metronome

? Goals: