LESSON 1: (Part 1) Minor Tetrachord over Four Dominant Seventh Chords

Part 1 of 2 Category: Ear Training and also in the Chord and Scale Categories.
A tetrachord is a four note scale. You could look at a major scale as being made up of two tetrachords: CDEF as the first tetrachord and GABC as the second tetrachord.

These examples are major tetrachords. You could think of a Dorian scale to produce two minor tetrachords: CDEbF is the first minor tetrachord and GABbC is the second tetrachord.
In this video lesson, I explore the minor tetrachord over four dominant seventh chords.

This lesson provided an ear-training breakthrough for me when I first discovered this practice approach. The video shows you how to train your ear to recognize the harmonic differences of the notes of the tetrachord when placed over four dominant seventh chords.

It is important to note the the minor tetrachord fits many more than four chords, but for the purpose of this particular lesson, I wanted to narrow the focus for the sake of ear training and explore the sounds of two different minor tetrachords over four dominant chords.

This approach combines many different categories of study; it’s a scale study because of the tetrachord (a four note scale), It’s a chord study, and it’s also an interval study as well as an ear training system. Includes detailed PDF practice notes for Bb, Eb and C instruments.

LESSON 2: (Part 2) Minor Tetrachord over Four Dominant Seventh Chords

Part 2 of the lesson on minor tetrachords. This portion of the lesson focuses on using tritone intervals created by combining notes of two different minor tetrachords.

The notes are then placed over the four dominant seventh chords to produce a strong melodic and harmonic effect over each chord.

LESSON 3: Pinky Control – The Secret to Smooth Technique

In this video lesson, I share a concept that completely transformed my technique on the horn.

In 1995 I was on a four-month gig in Singapore. It was a wonderful gig, playing four hours a night, free all day to practice my horn. I decided to rebuild my technique. I wanted to improve my speed, fluidity and smoothness.

At that time I was transcribing a LOT of Stan Getz. Getz’s technique is so clean and smooth. When I was playing along with his recordings, I noticed something…a lot of his lines involved a lot of pressing of the pinky keys, in both the left and right hand. I noticed that my pinkies
were flying far off of the keys. I also noticed that the G# and D# keys are what I call “reverse action” keys. By reverse action, I mean that when you press the pinky down to activate the G# and D# keys, you’re opening the keys, and when you release the key, you’re actually closing the keys.

This is the reverse of how almost all of the other keys on the horn operate. Think about pressing the F key…You press it to close it and you release it to open it. This is the opposite of the pinky keys. Because of this reverse action, it is always harder to play evenly when the pinkies are involved. This means that in order to play a smooth line of eight notes involving the pinky keys, takes very precise control.

I also learned at that time, that I was applying too much pressure once the key was down. It took a lot of slow practice and patience, but my technique was completely transformed after I started to pay close attention to my pinky technique, in particular. Of course, there are more aspects to clean technique than just the pinkies, but I’ve found that if the pinkies are in good position and played with control, the rest of the hand is also in a comfortable, relaxed position, as well. If you’ve already worked on my “surfer analogy” to improve your technique, this additional lesson on pinky control will give a level of technical poise that would make Stan Getz proud!

Includes PDF lesson notes based on the fingerings for tenor, as demonstrated. Alto players should use the same fingerings as demonstrated in the video (included in the PDF).

LESSON 4: The Rotation – Practice Strategy for Improved Musical Memory

In this video lesson, I share a practice concept that was a total game-changer for my ability to memorize and keep track of lots of different musical ideas while also transposing into different keys.

The rotation will help to improve your musical focus and concentration. I’ve included detailed PDF practice notes for Bb, Eb and C instruments, but I recommend that you try to follow along by ear to really expand your musical memory.

You can use this device on any musical content you like, but for this video lesson, I’m referencing another lesson from the course, “six variations on a descending minor seventh chord.”

This lesson will take your musical focus and memory to a new level!