Hi Everyone,

This is the first part in my phrasing series, where I'll hit my main thoughts on dampening, pedaling, sticking, and articulation. This video is on sticking.

I'm finding all these ways to work out with Ireal Pro. And you know it, it's fun and it's cool. Not like a real band however.....

This is way hipper than using a metronome.

We were talking about this solo in the Vibe Coffee house (meets on Sundays).

Mike Mainieri transcribed this when he was a kid.

Here are some scale solos to transcribe. I could write them out, but you should work on transcribing them. You can post them here and one of us can check them.

Do you see all the things I can do with scales? Can you do them? I think they are very important and simply seeing all the notes light up are crucial for playing solos. Repetition of scale studies will really help you.

The toolkit are all the things I think you need to know to play a tune.

Can you nail the 7th and the 9th of all the chords in Blue Bossa? I can, and you with practice you can also. It's a skill to instantly know where everything is in a chord. The only way you can learn is through repetition. So transcribe these solos, based on the 7ths and 9ths of each chord.

The toolkit are all the things I think you need to know to play a tune.

When I think about it. These are things any good pro can do. So if you can't do it, think about that. Get these skills together and you move a little closer to some great player, to whom all this is second nature.