Category: Improvisation

The Jazz Chord / Scale Handbook by Gary Keller

Post author By John Coltrane
Post date 2013-03-02

The Jazz Chord / Scale Handbook by Gary Keller

The “Jazz Chord / Scale Handbook” is an aptly titled music reference guide, and an actual “hand book” as well, according to it’s size (6 3/4″ x 9 1/2″). It is laid out in a very clear, logical fashion and is a must have chord / scale resource for anyone who is serious about improvising or composing in the Jazz or Pop idioms.

I’ve owned this book for a few years now, and I’ve gone to it repeatedly for answers to both practical and theoretical questions.

The author, saxophonist / educator, Gary Keller, has organized the book into chapters describing each scale as generating a unique harmonic system.

The Asymmetric Scale Systems include: Major, Melodic Minor, Harmonic Minor and Harmonic Major.

The Symmetric Scale Systems presented here are the Whole Tone, Diminished, Augmented, plus several lesser known scales. There are also chapters on the Pentatonic and Blues Scales, as well as a number of Appendixes.

Each asymmetric system is then broken down into a (mostly) two page description of each of it’s modes, including multiple piano voicings for both it’s functional harmonic, as well as it’s modal usages.

The author also renames the modes of the non-Major asymmetric scale systems, according to their alterations relative to their Major counterpart, eg. Ionian b3 (first mode of Melodic Minor), or Aeolian #7 (first mode of Harmonic Minor). These are unique, as well as accurate descriptions.

What I’ve also found very interesting is the concept of Augmented Scale substitutions for the Melodic Minor modes, which the author shares in the chapter on the Augmented Scale. That’s some pretty hip stuff!

I’d highly recommend “The Jazz Chord / Scale Handbook” to anybody who wants to truly understand,not only how chords and scales relate to each other, but their usage as well.

Bobby Stern
Author of “The Melodic Minor Handbook” & “Slick Licks That Stick”
www.bobbysternjazz.com

Improvisation

"Slick Licks That Stick!" by Bobby Stern (PDF eBooK)

Post author By John Coltrane
Post date 2013-02-27

“Slick Licks That Stick!” by Bobby Stern (PDF eBooK)

“Slick Licks That Stick!” by Bobby Stern is among the rapidly increasing number of non-paper books, of all subjects, being published and sold in today’s book marketplace. The rapid proliferation of portable reading devices, such as the Kindle, Nook, etc. and their proprietary eBook formats (EPUB, MOBI, and several others), have helped to vault total eBook sales past that of traditional print books. While these digital book formats have worked well for text based books, they have not lent themselves well to publications largely consisting of music notation. However, the common, open standard Acrobat PDF format, in lieu of anything better at this time, is still a very good and viable option for music notation based eBooks.

Before getting to the books content, it should be noted that “Slick Licks That Stick!” is unique in regards to its’ formatting. With mobile devices such as the iPad in mind, this eBook is laid out in Landscape format so that the complete horizontal line of notation is viewable at normal resolution, thus avoiding the annoying necessity of scrolling from left to right while playing through the exercises. This works on any laptop or desktop computer, as well.

The table of contents, listing ten chapters, is very detailed, with a clickable internal link to the first page of each exercise. The exercises are also fully printable, so that one can freely print out selected pages.

The entire book is thoughtfully laid out and well organized. Each exercise is, thankfully, presented in all12 keys and the notation is clear and easy to read. The subject matter is a potpourri of modern stylistic content, including Pentatonics b3, b6, and b2, Coltrane Changes, Augmented scale exercises, Melodic Minor Bebop scales, polymodal Melodic Minor ii-V patterns, Chromatics, as well as several interesting etudes.

At the beginning of each chapter, there is usually a concise explanation of it’s contents.

I have play tested several of the chapters and find that these are not your typical, everyday plug and play “licks”. Rather, they are exercises which come from a musical place rather than from a purely theoretical one. The fact that they “sound” good can inspire one to practice, as well as to expand vocabulary and fire the imagination. Several of my students who have the book have mentioned this as well.

Another big plus is the price. At $9.99, this much quality material is a true bargain, so get it while it’s hot!

The only thing that’s possibly missing would be some play along tracks, especially for the ii-V exercises. But, with the popularity of self programmable software, such as Band-in-a-Box and iReal b, this is a very minor point indeed, especially considering the aforementioned price.

Prof. Dave King
University of Music and Performing Arts
Mannheim, Germany