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20 Basic Jazz Chords for Guitar

August 30, 2010 in Learning Jazz

I’m getting ready to go back to teaching mode soon, so this week I will be focusing on sharing some of the teaching handouts I have been developing for various instruments. This is a list of 20 Jazz Chords for the Guitar: PDF of 20 Basic Jazz Chords for Guitar 20 Basic Jazz Chords (.pdf) It is organized as follows: The first row is major chords (major 7th, 6/9, etc.) The second row is minor chords (minor 9, minor 11th, etc.) The third row is dominant (9, 13, etc.) The fourth row is min7b5 (also known as half-diminished) and dim7 [...]

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Take the A-Train-Hip Alt Changes

July 29, 2010 in Jazz Standards

Nice changes, I think. They are fun to experiment with. Please comment and let me know what you think of them! -Camden Take the A-Train Reharm Take the A-Train-C Instruments (.pdf) Take the A-Train-Bb Instruments (.pdf) Take the A-Train-Eb Instruments (.pdf) Take the A-Train-Hip Alt Changes Jazz Track

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Handout for Teaching Beginning Jazz Improvisation

July 22, 2010 in Learning Jazz

Teaching improvisation can be a daunting task. How do I teach kids how to invent a solo from thin air? I am the lead instructor at the Great Basin Junior Jazz Camp this week (I am also on faculty for the big camp, which is held a different week), and I created this handout to do just that. I do a lot of call and response with the kids in two bar phrases (based on these licks and others) and I use numbers to help kids get the idea of using licks. This also helps explain it better rather than [...]

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3 Tools to Learn Tunes

July 2, 2010 in Learning Jazz

There are 3 important resources to help you learn tunes: recordings, fakebooks/chord charts, and play alongs. All three are helpful, if you understand their proper place. The following article deals with the place of each resource when you learn tunes. Have you ever heard a great jazz musician say that they believe in learning jazz standards from the recordings and not from the fakebook? When I first heard this as a young player, I was a bit mystified. Some great players even advocate throwing away your fakebook. Great. I just spent $40 on a book I’m supposed to throw away. [...]

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In a Mellow Tone-AMAZING Dizzy Gillespie/Clark Terry/Gene Harris Video

June 16, 2010 in Jazz Standards

This is such a great standard when done right. However, “In a Mellow Tone” Don’t Mean a Thing, If It Ain’t Got that Swing! Listen to the way Dizzy and his group does it. What a burnin’ chart! I changed the way I do my play alongs today, and I’d like some comments. See if you like it better. I did the drums differently, and I’d like to know what you think. Feel free to leave comments. Thanks! In a Mellow Tone pdf In a Mellow Tone-C Instruments (.pdf) In a Mellow Tone-Bb Instruments (.pdf) In a Mellow Tone-Eb Instruments [...]

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Seven Steps to Heaven-VIDEO by Brent Jensen, Step 1 (B)

June 15, 2010 in Learning Jazz

Here’s the rest of the video Brent Jensen, Origin Records recording artist and Professor of Jazz, did to explain step one of his Seven Steps to Heaven handout on learning and mastering tunes.  Enjoy! Brent Jensen’s Recordings null Brent has made some awesome recordings! It’s just fun to hear a sample of what he has recorded. Also, any purchases of these songs or albums made through this site will help Brent Jensen, Origin records, and this website will even get a little kickback from anything you order through Amazon. We appreciate your support so we can continue the website! Thank [...]

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Seven Steps to Heaven-VIDEO Guest Post by Brent Jensen! Step 1 (A)

June 14, 2010 in Learning Jazz

Brent Jensen, Professor of Jazz at the College of Southern Idaho and saxophone recording artist for Origin Records, has graciously done a handout for us explaining how to improve your improvisation. He also explains several of the steps in videos! Here’s Step 1 (A). Stay posted for more videos! Brent Jensen’s Recordings null Feel free to listen to some of this awesome material Brent recorded. He’s got some great stuff! It’s just fun to hear a sample of what he has recorded. Also, any purchases of these songs or albums made through this site will help Brent Jensen, Origin records, [...]

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My Little Suede Shoes by Charlie Parker

June 11, 2010 in Jazz Standards

My Little Suede Shoes is a very catchy, lyrical tune.  It’s one of the most accessible tunes Bird wrote.  Many of his tunes had angular melodies that some people  unaccustomed to bebop have a tough time following (not you or I, of course, but some listeners have a tough time with bebop.  Try singing Donna Lee…).  However, this is a good melody that even non-jazz audiences will enjoy. It can be played with a swing or latin feel, as you will hear on the youtube recordings. My Little Suede Shoes pdf My Little Suede Shoes-C Instruments (.pdf) My Little Suede [...]

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Blue Monk

May 31, 2010 in Jazz Standards

Great easy blues tune!  Check out the youtube recordings of Monk and Johnny Griffin with Wes Montgomery at the bottom of the page. Blue Monk-C Instruments (.pdf) Blue Monk-Bb Instruments (.pdf) Blue Monk-Eb Instruments (.pdf) Blue Monk-Roman Numeral changes (.pdf) Blue Monk Play Along Blue Monk-Thelonious Monk, viewed by Basie and others! Blue Monk-Johnny Griffin and Wes Montgomery

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St. Thomas

May 26, 2010 in Jazz Standards

Nice easy latin tune by Sonny Rollins.  Here are some nice resources to help you learn the tune! St Thomas pdf St. Thomas-C Instruments (.pdf) St. Thomas-Bb Instruments (.pdf) St. Thomas-Eb Instruments (.pdf) St. Thomas Roman Numeral Changes For some great left-hand piano voicings to use on St. Thomas, go to: http://www.learnjazzstandards.com/learning-jazz/left-hand-comping-handout-st-thomas/ For Sonny Rollins’ Solo Transcription of St. Thomas, go to: http://www.learnjazzstandards.com/learning-jazz/st-thomas-sonny-rollins-solo-transcription/ St. Thomas Play-a-Long Sonny Rollins plays St. Thomas

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