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I decided that I would try posting some very very short etudes.

It's the conquering of material and ideas and technical things that make us play better and better. It's certainly not a half assed attempt at something that makes us better. I think half ass attempts at things help us be better half assed players. Great attempts at things no matter how big or how small make us great(er) players.

So this should be our goal right? To master something. I tell my students, if you come in with only 4 bars completed, they have to be played really really well!

Here's the first etude of mine for Giant Steps. Lots of open, sus sounding 4th voicings. These work great for this tune. Enjoy!

Just some simple lines and rhythms. I think you should memorize it and play it with a metronome. If you use it for sight reading, that's ok, but I think of this more for improvising. Nothing fancy, but you can hear the tune.

PS - you have to put the chords in. it's important you do that.

Here's pt. 1 of comping. Keep it simple and tasty!

Here's a lesson on the tune Conception by George Shearing.

There's a chord melody etude, and a chord study. I also have a chord analysis. That is the chord melody with the bass notes. You should try and go through the tune and put the chords in yourself before you look at the other etudes. You will learn a lot doing it this way.

Above is a link to the video where I talk about the tune and four mallet playing.

So with all the styles of blues there's one more I can think of. That's a blues with a bridge. Many times these are sort of AABA blues'. For instance it would be 2 choruses of a blues and then a bridge and then one more chorus of the blues. Listen to this exampleof the tune 'Unit 7'. Can you follow it.

Here is a version of Charlie Parker's 'Confirmation'. So it's a bird blues with a bridge. AABA. See what happens, 2 forms are combined to make a new form.