Lesson

Transcribing, Hearing Form, and Ear Training.

Working on Pemutations, Technique, and Pedaling.

Working on Technique, Dynamics, and Pedaling.

🚨 Play a Great Blues in 3 Months – Week 9

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been expanding our line vocabulary using real jazz language:

• Guide tones
• Chromaticism
• Augmented sounds

This week, we take another important step by focusing on two essential dominant sounds:

👉 Whole tone
👉 Diminished

These sounds show up constantly in jazz improvisation, especially over dominant chords, and they create a strong sense of tension and forward motion.

🚨 Play a Great Blues in 3 Months – Week 8

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been building lines using real jazz vocabulary—starting with guide tones, then expanding into phrases drawn from players like Milt Jackson.

This week, we focus on one of the most important elements of that language:

👉 Chromaticism

These lines are built using phrases from Milt Jackson transcriptions and other bebop sources, but the main idea is how chromatic notes connect and shape the line.

You’ll hear:

🚨 Play a Great Blues in 3 Months – Week 7

Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve been working with phrases drawn from Milt Jackson’s vocabulary, building full choruses from short melodic ideas.

This week, we continue that approach—but with a specific focus:

👉 Using augmented triads over dominant chords

You’ll notice that certain moments in the chorus highlight the sound of the augmented triad (1–3–#5), giving the lines a bit more tension and forward motion.

1. make it sound like the tune! Does mine sound like the tune?
2. Lots of chord tones
3. Memorize my version and follow it with yours and post it.

Friedman Pedaling Exercise 

🚨 Play a Great Blues in 3 Months – Week 6

So far, we’ve been developing lines using guide tones—focusing on 3rds and 7ths to clearly outline the harmony.

This week, we take that idea one step further.

👉 Instead of creating lines from scratch, we’re working with real vocabulary drawn from Milt Jackson transcriptions.

I’ve taken a few short phrases and used them to build a full chorus etude, showing how a small idea can be developed across an entire blues form.

🚨 Play a Great Blues in 3 Months – Week 5

So far in this series, we’ve focused on building a strong comping foundation:

• Guide tones in the left hand
• Smooth voicing movement
• Consistent time and rhythm

This week, we shift the focus toward line development.

👉 Using 3rds and 7ths, we begin outlining the blues with single-note lines, helping you connect harmony in a clear and musical way.