Professional climber Alex Honnold caused a worldwide sensation with his free solo ascents of the granite cliffs of El Capitan and the Taipei 101 skyscraper. We can do "Free Solo" too: We've decided to make nine sample licks, a performance video of a solo on the jazz waltz "Bluesette" and the transcription, along with a jam track for playing along, freely available. Those who aren't yet enrolled at the jazz school can get a feel for what it's like to be a member. Our valued subscribers have access to all the detailed explanations, many more licks, and all seven solos on the jazz waltz. This solo is technically moderate, melodically exciting, and very catchy. It's meant to whet your appetite for more, and in the "Jazz Waltz" and "¾ Swing" lessons (which are fully accessible to our subscribers). I'll explain which scales work on which chord and what you need to pay attention to when soloing. There are many rhythmically strong accompaniment rhythms with great chords, techniques like dead notes and ghost notes, licks on every section of the harmonies, and the additional solos mentioned above, which I improvised on top of the chord progression. Even if you're not enrolled, you can practice the solo featured here and enjoy its beautiful build-up and catchy melody. Have fun!
Level
Easy peasy
Lessons
4 Lessons | min
Lesson 1Introduction
Duration: min
Let me introduce you to the topics covered in the course "Free Solo".
Lesson 2Performance-Solo Jazz Waltz
Duration: min
This solo is technically moderate, melodically exciting, and very catchy. It's designed to whet your appetite for more, and there's plenty more coming very soon: all the explanations of which scales are suitable and what you need to pay attention to when playing solos, many rhythmically strong accompaniment techniques with great chords, dead notes and ghost notes, licks on the individual sections of the harmonies, and the seven solos mentioned above based on the chord progression. Until then (we start in two weeks with the first of two comprehensive lessons), you can already practice the solo presented here and enjoy its catchy melody. Have fun!
Lesson 3Licks
Duration: min
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 4About 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.
