After The Jazz Standard Progressions Book series was published it was only natural to take a closer look at the harmonic vocabulary used in Bebop repertoire. In the mid-1940s Bebop musicians revolutionized jazz with the use of complex harmonies, thrilling fast tempos and virtuosic instrumental technique. Charlie Parker, also known as “Bird”, would become... Continue Reading →
See Music is a complex app that listens to you playing an instrument or singing and then gives you instant note-by-note feedback on your performance In order for See Music to work properly the audio inputs and outputs on your device must be set up correctly. See Music work on iPhone, iPad and macOS. In... Continue Reading →
This is example 2 on how to sync an audio track to a progression in Mapping Tonal Harmony Pro. In case you haven't read the previous post, here's a link: How to sync progressions to audio tracks in Mapping Tonal Harmony Pro Multiple repetitions of the form Here's this post in video format: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIv51rVMylA Now... Continue Reading →
Before you read this post please make sure you take a look at the previous post: Audio-Sync in Mapping Tonal Harmony Pro 7.5 In order to sync a progression in Mapping Tonal Harmony Pro to an audio track you need two things: The Harmonic Progression entered in Mapping Tonal Harmony Pro The audio track you... Continue Reading →
I've been asked many times "Why do I need to learn and practice scales?" or "Why do I need to understand chords-scales and tonal harmony?" Some other people complain about the chord-scale theory, saying that they don't want to play scales, meaning they wish to play in the jazz vocabulary, licks, motives, playing rhythmically or... Continue Reading →
Here's a song by Billy Strayhorn that I've always loved and never fully analyzed until writing The Jazz Standards Progressions Book. I've been fascinated by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn compositions since the first time I heard an Ellington album, about thirty years ago. Since then I greatly enjoyed their rich harmonies, rhythmic vocabulary and... Continue Reading →
Here's a musical concept nobody taught me at school. While analyzing 1000+ jazz tunes for The Jazz Standards Progressions Book, I noticed a great number of songs in major keys tonicize the IV degree at the beginning of the bridge. It's usually preceded by the V/IV, landing on the IV at the beginning of the... Continue Reading →
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