Here's a prerequisite for the Shapes and Patterns of Music sight reading. My recommendation is to play these exercises as fast as you can but start at the beginning no matter how proficient you already are. If it's too easy, play it faster!
Joe's Performance and lesson on 'She's Always a Woman to Me'.
Thanks so much to Barryk. He posted this Band In A Box file for my tune, titled and dedicated to Vince Guaraldi.
Check it out!
Here's a tough mental challenge.
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Several years ago 1980's, I did a lot of transcribing. I found a great way was to start in the beginning of the Jazz Era and work your way up. We had a great library in Pasadena, CA and I checked out a bunch of early jazz from around early 1900s starting with "Cylinder Jazz" (before vinyl recording were done on wire and cylinder) and started transcribing melodies that were descendants of slaves' field chants.
Here's something I'm posting that I think helps students to understand how different keys relate to each other (modes, major keys, relative minor etc). It also helps teachers when teaching it.
This is a really hard etude as I remember. I just stumbled on it.
(This is a piece I wrote and have named it after the great composer Vince Guaraldi. The lead sheet is here, as well as an etude where you can work on different aspects of solo playing.)
Here's part 2 of this lesson. Go to the lesson listed above for more info.
Try not to look at this pdf until you've done part one of this lesson. That was to take the lead sheet and try and figure out the chords to the tune.
When you're ready look here and if you got it.
In part 3 of this etude, I'll talk about the etude and play the tune for you.
Pivot Chords are a great way to work on key stuff. I got the idea from Bill Evans. I liked
the way he modulated different tunes and tried to make my own up. Here's how he
changes key at the end of Here's that Rainy Day.