Skip to main content

Making Diminished Chords Easy, Pt. 3 (How to solo over the diminished 4 chord)

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.

Comping Lab Lesson #4: Making the Most of Range While Comping on Ballads

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!

Comping Lab Lesson #3: Sliding (Making Your Block Chords Swing pt. 3)

Hey everyone,

Here's the third and final part of my series on comping over a medium swing F blues, and how to give it that rhythmic drive a full rhythm section has. This is an interesting lesson, because I, myself, am still figuring it out! We're talking about sliding -- like a glissando, and how to use it the way guitarists and pianists do.

Let me know if you guys have thoughts on this! I obviously don't think it's applicable in all situations, but I think it certainly has some use in swing and rhythm music.

Transcription - Chet Baker and Tony Miceli´s Solos in Autumn Leaves

Hola a todos.

Comparto el audio de la transcripción que estuve realizando sobre un solo de Chet Baker (las primeras dos vueltas) y un solo de Tony que está en la ultima vuelta.
La tonalidad es Sol menor, pero cada coro tiene 6 compáses más (de G-6) al fina. Esto se debe a que en la grabación de Chet Baker hicieron esa variación en la forma.

Gracias.
Tomás, desde Argentina

The Pennypack Suite

I just modified this post to point to Marianne's video from the grounds of the Pennypack Trust. Music is now also higher fidelity than the prior link. :)

*************************

I mentioned this in the coffeehouse a few weeks back. It is out now, although there is an issue with iTunes pricing we are working to correct, so we aren't advertising it widely yet. It is available on Amazon at the correct price and is on or will be on most streaming platforms.

Enjoy!

**************************

The Pennypack Suite

Randy and Marianne Sutin