There are numerous jazz resources that provide some nice patterns for II-V progressions that have a one measure duration. Many standards have II-V-I progressions that occur over 4 measures. Once such song is “All Of Me”. Measures 5 and six are a B7 ( if you are playing tenor or soprano ) and 7 and […]
Author Archives: Paul Maine
In order to improve our musicianship it is critical to improve our technique on the saxophone. Today I am providing you with a D major scale exercise that you can download. As you work through the scale exercise be sure to use a metronome. Record your progress as you increase the speed of the metronome. […]
Today I am reviewing a 33 minute DVD entitled “Beginning Improvisation: Motivic Development” by Ed Tomassi. Ed Tomassi is a professor at Berklee College of Music. In the video Tomassi shows you how to use 2,3 or 4 note motives ( riffs ) to create compelling solos. He shows you how to add variety and […]
After many years of study and reading many jazz improvisation books, I have reached a conclusion that one of the best ways to learn to improvise is to use motives. Motives are short melodic ideas usually consisting of 2-4 notes. Riff is a slang term for a motive. The basic idea is to pick a […]
I recently began following Eric Daniel on Twitter. Eric is seasoned professional musician currently based in Rome, Italy. In addition to being a wonderful musician, Eric is very forward thinking and is learning and using the new internet technologies to their fullest. A very important part of a professional musicians toolkit will be their ability […]