Instructor
Jonny May
Workshop
Advanced
01:19:53

In this workshop, Jonny will break down a notated jazz solo to show you exactly how jazz pianists construct a solo. You will analyze the scales, rhythms, approach tones, embellishments, and left hand bass techniques.

This course provides the high-level overview of how to connect all the techniques when soloing through a real-life example. You’ll also see how to build the energy of a performance using range, texture, and rhythmic values.

Course Objectives
  • Learn how to construct a jazz solo by analyzing a pre-composed solo
  • Understand how to utilize chord tones, extensions, and alterations
  • Discover different rhythmic devices such as call-and-response, anticipations, and rhythmic displacement
  • Learn how to embellish your melody with turns, rolls, tremolos and slides
  • Master approach tones such as upper & lower neighbors, and upper & lower enclosures
  • Practice other advanced techniques such as triadic shifting and upper-structure triads
Learning Focus
  • Analysis
  • Composition
  • Improvisation

Course Lessons

1
Breaking Down a Jazz Solo 2 – Lesson 1
11:32

Minor Turnaround Progression and Soloing Techniques

2
Breaking Down a Jazz Solo 2 – Lesson 2
21:24

Midnight Strutters: Section 1

3
Breaking Down a Jazz Solo 2 – Lesson 3
11:15

Midnight Strutters – Section 2

4
Breaking Down a Jazz Solo 2 – Lesson 4
12:44

Midnight Strutters – Section 3

5
Breaking Down a Jazz Solo 2 – Lesson 5
09:10

Midnight Strutters – Section 4

Related Courses

Learn how jazz pianists construct a solo in this note-for-note analysis workshop. Using the major turnaround, you'll understand how to elegantly combine rhythmic and melodic ideas.

Make sense of jazz standards by analyzing the chord progression for All the Ways You Love, inspired by All the Things You Are.  You'll discover that jazz chords progressions follow predictable patterns.

Learn to improvise over a Jazz ballad with Jazz Ballad Soloing Challenge. Working with the Turnaround Progression, we explore scales, lower/upper positions, exercises, chromatic connectors, & more.