This lesson is massive! It has significantly more videos than usual, which is why it took a while to get it online. Using a well-known chord progression (Toots Thieleman's ‘Bluesette’), you will learn lots of jazz guitar licks and tricks. I actually wanted to explain the scales to you, but I cut that part out of the videos. Instead, I'll show you how to develop more logical and interesting lines and melodies with the help of tone-chord relationships and target notes. I'd love to show you the theory, but this is about practice. Learn the licks and solos - one at a time. And then take the most important step: think about what's happening and whether you can apply it to other situations. That's how I learned: by playing solos and trying to analyse them. I wish you all success with this awesome lesson. May it help you progress and be fun.
Level
Easy peasy
Lessons
18 Lessons | min
Lesson 1Introduction
Duration: min
Let me introduce you to the topics covered in the course "¾-Swing".
Lesson 2What it's all about
Duration: min
The harmonic structure of this chord progression, which is based on the changes of a famous 'Toots Thielemans' classic, contains - like so many jazz standards - numerous II-V and II-V-I progressions. Here I will show you how you can work your way through the piece step by step: Take small sections of the piece at a time, rather than the whole piece - that would only overwhelm you at first. My approach is to always think in intervals, i.e. how does the note I am playing relate to the currently prevailing chord? At the beginning, I play a Bb. This is the root note of the first chord, Bbmaj7. Then a C, which forms the ninth of the chord, and so on. The logical harmonic structure of the piece as well as the II-V-I progression in general allows you to improvise or compose melodic lines. Feel free to try it yourself for the first four bars before you venture into the licks and solos I improvised.
Lesson 3Licks 1 to 9
Duration: min
Let's stick with the first four bars for now. In this video, I play a few licks that you should definitely add to your repertoire. When improvising, pay attention to the so-called 'target notes' (also 'target tones'), i.e. the target notes on which you 'land' after a line. Also: Which note sounds when there is a change in harmony. In the first example, it is the A, which forms the ninth to Gm7.
Lesson 4Gm7 - C7
Duration: min
The Gm7 chord represents both the I of the II-V-I progression in minor and the II of the subsequent II-V progression Gm7. In terms of tonal material, you can draw on both the Gm scale (Aeolian) and G Dorian. The latter anticipates the C7 chord. It is, of course, possible to play alterations over the dominant C7. Use the b9, for example, or play the altered scale. Visit the courses II-V-I and Altered in our jazz course collection.
Lesson 5Licks 10 to 12
Duration: min
Measures 5 to 8 contain two II-V connections: the first is in F and the second in Eb. Here I'll show you a few nice licks over Fm7, Bb7 and Ebmaj7.
Lesson 6Quartuplets in ¾ time signature
Duration: min
I already hinted at it a little in the last video: playing quartuplets in three-four time. Quartuplets in three-four time are nothing more than dotted eighth notes. Exactly four of them fit into one bar. This creates a beautiful rhythmic tension that makes your melodies "float" over the piece. In this solo, I play an entire chorus with such quartuplets – pure tension.
Lesson 7Licks 13 to 16
Duration: min
These licks deal with the II-V-I progression in Db (bars 11 to 13). Take your time with the II-V progressions in the more unusual keys. Here, too, I think a lot about which notes I'm going for: pay attention to my licks (or your first attempts at improvisation) and note which note was chosen as the target note for the Dbmaj7 chord.
Lesson 8Licks 17 to 19
Duration: min
These licks deal with the II-V-I progression in Cb or Bb (bars 15 to 17). These licks also feature lots of quartuplets. Again, pay attention to the target notes on the first degree.
Lesson 9Licks 20 to 22
Duration: min
The chord change from Cbmaj7 to Cm7(b5) sounds so logical because there is a semitone relationship between these two chords, i.e. they only have one note in common, which differs by a semitone (in this case the root note). The II-V-I progression takes an interesting turn in this passage: it does not go to Bbmaj7, as one might expect, but to Bbmaj7. But there's more: instead of Bbmaj7, the related "substitute chord" Dm7 (Dm7 = Bbmaj9 without Bb as the root note), which in turn functions as the first chord of the concluding turnaround.
Lesson 10Licks 23 to 26
Duration: min
To conclude your collection of licks, here are four examples of licks based on the turnaround in the piece.
Lesson 11About Analyzing and Learning Solos
Duration: min
You don't have to reinvent the wheel or start with Adam and Eve. First, follow in my footsteps and build up your jazz vocabulary step by step by playing and analysing the licks and solos presented here. You will very quickly come up with your own ideas. In the following videos, I will present seven improvised solos from whose structure and melody you can learn a great deal.
Lesson 12¾-Swing Solo 1
Duration: min
In solo number 1, dotted quarter notes are held.
Lesson 13¾-Swing Solo 2
Duration: min
The rhythmic figure of the first two bars is chased through all the chords here.
Lesson 14¾-Swing Solo 3
Duration: min
The note, which is brought forward and tied across the bar line, determines almost all parts of this solo.
Lesson 15¾-Swing Solo 4
Duration: min
You may already be familiar with this solo from our ",Free Solo" lesson. If not, be sure to practice it!
Lesson 16¾-Swing Solo 5
Duration: min
Now it becomes more virtuosic with some rhythmic arabesques. Slow down the tempo and only increase it gradually.
Lesson 17¾-Swing Solo 6
Duration: min
The objectives for this solo are to change colour with every chord change.
Lesson 18¾-Swing Solo 7
Duration: min
The melody here is particularly catchy. This was the first solo I recorded for this lesson. All the solos are improvised, by the way. Learn them by heart, one after the other, and I guarantee you will make significant progress.
