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Membership
Instructor
Jonny May
Course
Advanced
03:10:07

The complete course on how to create a gorgeous cocktail jazz ballad. You’ll learn Stride-Ballad Left Hand techniques, rootless voicings, and right hand embellishment with extensions, fills, runs, and more.

Course Objectives
  • Learn the Lead Sheet Melody & Chords
  • Master 2 Stride-Ballad Approaches: Guide Tones & Rootless Voicings
  • Explore 3 Techniques for Harmonizing Bass Notes
  • Add Extensions & Alterations, Fills, Passing Chords, Flashy Runs
  • Discover How to Create an Intro
  • Learn 2 Soloing Techniques: Easy & Advanced Approach
Learning Focus
  • Improvisation
  • Lead Sheets
  • Reharmonization
  • Songs
Featured Reviews

View PWJ member reviews of this course!

Jazz arranging
Loved the way you got to gradually build upon the arrangement to add richer tones and more interesting right and left hand. Tools that hopefully will be able to be transferred in other songs by adding depth to simple arrangements.
Rewarding
Scales for soloing to help instead of using just my ear to emulate others; now i can analyze what’s happening in the arrangements when i am sight reading knowing that i am actually using shell chords and rootless chords and all their inversions. I have three years to learn this so i can be employable as a proficient cocktail jazz pianist when i retire and i think with these lessons i just might do that
Excellent but dense
You really have to pay attention: there is a lot of material.

Course Lessons

2
The Jazz Ballad Challenge 2 – Lesson 2
24:23

Root Position Chords, Stride-Ballad Left Hand with 3-7 Guide Tones

3
The Jazz Ballad Challenge 2 – Lesson 3
13:37

Bass Note & Chord “Money Range”, Inverted Chords

5
The Jazz Ballad Challenge 2 – Lesson 5
09:26

Stride-Ballad Left Hand with Rootless Voicings

6
The Jazz Ballad Challenge 2 – Lesson 6
22:36

Harmonizing the Bass With 10ths, 5ths, & 7ths

7
The Jazz Ballad Challenge 2 – Lesson 7
18:30

Harmonizing the Right Hand with Chord Tones

8
The Jazz Ballad Challenge 2 – Lesson 8
12:43

Adding Extensions & Alterations, Fills, Passing Chords, Flashy Runs, Creating an Intro

9
The Jazz Ballad Challenge 2 – Lesson 9
29:26

Putting It All Together, Practice Tips

10
The Jazz Ballad Challenge 2 – Lesson 10
27:17

Soloing Techniques: Easy Approach & Advanced Approach

Related Courses

Take our most comprehensive course on Cocktail Jazz. Discover how to develop a lead sheet, stylize the left hand, harmonize the right hand, add fills, & improvise.

6 Jazz Ballad harmonic approaches using chords from Misty.  Topics include Rootless Voicings, Altered Dominants, Block Chords, Drop 2s, Quartal Voicings, Passing Chords, & Chord Substitutions.

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.

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