The Secret to Playing Jazz like the masters

Free Jazz Lesson (Video)- Why use Bebop Scales Instead of Modes? And some free play-alongs & PDF reference!

I had been studying jazz for years before I learned perhaps the most important piece of jazz theory anyone ever showed me.  For all the jazz lessons I’d taken, somehow my improvising never seemed to really sit on the song right.  If I recorded myself playing jazz, then listened back, I’d be great for a little bit, and then my playing would “wander off the farm” and lose all its focus and leverage and power.  And somehow I got through 2 years of college before someone showed me the Bop Scale (or Bebop Scales).  It took me a few weeks to get this idea under my fingers, but once I did, my playing took a huge leap forward.  In this free jazz lesson I explain the theory behind the Bop Scale, and why an 8-note scale is a vastly superior basis for improvisation than the old 7-note “modes” that are still being taught around the globe.

The jazz “modes” are only half of the story

While they’re useful as a way of thinking about the scale from which the harmony you’re soloing on is derived, as a tool for improvisation, they completely fail to take into account a critical factor.  This factor has been around since Bach, or before, and it’s this:

Which notes of the scale are we putting ON the beat, and which notes of the scale are we putting BETWEEN the beats?

For our soloing to sound IN SYNC with the harmony we’re blowing on, we need to put the CHORD TONES ON the beat, and the other notes, (the passing tones) BETWEEN the beats.  So if you play up a C major scale, you’re doing great for the first bar (assuming you’re playing 8th notes).  You put C, E, G and B on the beat.  But play up the C major scale (the Ionian mode) another bar?  You’re putting D, F, and A on the beat.  The “F”, particularly, sounds kind of awful on there (see my demonstration in the video of my best effort to accentuate what’s wrong with this sound).  The 8-note scale, or “Bop Scale” neatly solves this problem by adding in a G# between the G and the A.  Now, play up the scale, and no matter how far up or down you go, you’re consistently playing the notes of a C6 chord ON the beat. And with the bebop scale you’re consistently putting NON-chord tones BETWEEN the beats. This way, they create little bits of moment-to-moment tension, which releases on the beat to a chord tone. And voila, your playing takes a huge leap. There are minor and dominant Bop Scales, too.

From the first time I got the hang of this, I knew I’d made a huge improvement to my improvisation.  The free jazz lesson below explains it further, along with a good deal of video demonstrating the principles of jazz improvisation.  And when you’re ready to really dig in to the way jazz musicians REALLY improvise (and nope, it’s not the modes), take lessons with me via Skype, and we will start there (beginning with a free jazz lesson for 1/2 hour!). We’ll also discuss jazz chords, chord changes, playing with a great feel, and how to make the most music right off the bat (for example, we can play “Autumn Leaves” with just 2 bop scales, or a blues with just one pentatonic scale). Whether you’re just beginning jazz improvisation or are already well along with your playing, get first-hand, one-on-one instruction and feedback on how the pros REALLY do it! Feel free to let me know how this concept is working for you in the comments, and HAVE FUN working this concept out on the free play-along tracks below!

DOWNLOAD 4 FREE PLAY-ALONG TRACKS and a PDF sheet with Dominant Bop Scales fingered for piano! Sign on to my no-spam alert list below for the link, and get notified whenever I post a new lesson! [mc4wp_form id=”195″]

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