Category: music

Half Diminished (Minor Seven, Flat Five)

This arpeggio is very useful over a V7 (or a V9) chord.   Notice that the iteration beginning on A# is actually in the key of C major.  The A# is LI (sharp 6) in the major scale.    For “New Ears Resolution” students, also note that the key change is indicated by the presence of a “pivot note.”   Marked as (TI=LI), this notation is understood to mean “The note B natural, (TI in the old key of C major) will now become LI in the new key of Db major.”   Once grasped, this understanding of modulation as described by a pivot note is a very powerful concept when one attempts to navigate the changes of a song with many internal key changes (such as “All the Things You Are.”)  

TI RE FA LA FA RE

MIXOLYDIAN TRIPLET BLUES LICK

You can play along with the background track to this lick.  It’s an enjoyable & useful figure.  Note that the background track starts with a count & a 4-bar introduction before you begin playing.   Please email me, if you want a complimentary MIDI file or the Band in a Box file (to change tempo, style, or key).  The background track  is available here in 2 formats:

MIXOLYDIAN TRIPLETS

For “New Ears Resolution” students, listen for the II-V progression in the background track (Cm7-F7, etc.).  The lick is easier to learn, if you hear it as:  ti do li ti so fa la mi re so mi fa la li ti mi di re so .

MIXOLYDIAN BLUES LICK

For those studying “New Ears Resolution,” this blues lick is in the mixolydian mode.   (See the chart showing the modes at the end of your book.)  Try thinking of this melody first in mixolydian and then in ionian.  Both sets of syllables are shown.  Which ever set of syllables feels more comfortable to your ear, that is the set you should use.   Try to play the melody as smoothly as possible, in order to realize the underlying swing.   As with all exercises, start slowly and smoothly, gradually increasing the tempo.  I play this at dotted quarter = 150.

MIXOLYDIAN BLUES LICK

A brief definition of jazz improvisation

Improvisation (or “improv”) is the art of creating a unique, new musical statement on the spur of the moment.  This does not mean that your utterance is entirely without precedent.  Jazz improvisation is a product of the individual’s history, temperament, technical facility, and mood, as well as the thrust of the composition which houses the performance, the history and legacy of jazz as a whole and ones chosen sub-genre in particular.

Two New CDs

cb_rh_175Craig’s new worship cd  

“Renewed Hope” offers a wonderful
selection of new worship music
composed by Craig, backed by HONK,
and featuring vocals by Rick Tatum. 

(Click here for more info.)

To listen, download, or purchase, click here.

 

 

cb_sky

Can pop hits grow up to be
jazz standards?  

Skykomish offers 10 of them, recast
in fresh new settings, along with a
pair of original blues charts. 

 

(Click here for more info.) 

To listen, download, or purchase, click here.

 

Songs by:

Continue reading “Two New CDs” →

On Tone Control and Playing in Tune

Written by noted woodwind artist & teacher Signe Crawford for the “Keys to Music” collection of jazz etudes.

Think of tone as your material for creating music.
If you can create a good tone, good pitches will follow.
If you can create a good pitch, a good tone will follow.

Continue reading “On Tone Control and Playing in Tune” →

Can You Learn to Play by Ear?

New Ears Resolution has helped hundreds of musicians learn to play by ear over the past 15 years. And now, the Second Edition offers scores of new innovations designed to make your learning experience more enjoyable, effective, and thorough.

Whether you work with a jazz combo, rock group, or big band, or just play for your own pleasure, “New Ears Resolution” will help you become the musician you have always wanted to be.

i’ve taught this method for years and have used it in my own performances.  i’ve researched extensively in order to improve its design and have thus developed a comprehensive approach to the art of playing by ear.

HOW IS “NEW EARS” DIFFERENT FROM OTHER METHODS?

“New Ears Resolution” is a hands-on method. Learn to play by ear by playing, rather than studying abstract theory! It’s fun, and it’s practical.

The audio contains 26 enjoyable play-along tracks in many different styles: swing, bossa, bop, rock, folk, country, jazz waltz, ballad, and fusion.

The 78-page book includes charts for each of the 26 exercises along with clear, simple instructions and lots of handy tips on how to succeed on the gig or in the jam session.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SECOND EDITION

Learn to use these scales:

  • Major
  • Natural Minor
  • Harmonic Minor
  • Melodic Minor
  • Blues Scale
  • Extended Blues Scale

Learn to use the following modes:

  • Ionian
  • Dorian
  • Phrygian
  • Lydian
  • Mixolydian
  • Aeolian
  • Locrian

Learn to improvise over these chords:

  • Triads
  • Major Sevenths
  • Dominant Sevenths
  • Minor Sevenths
  • Minor 7 Flat 5 (Half Diminished)
  • V7(b9)
  • sus b9
  • V7#9(#5)
  • Diminished
  • Augmented

Learn how to navigate key changes (modulations) smoothly and effortlessly.

Learn techniques for improvising.

Learn about harmonic context.

Understand how to play over these progressions:

  • The ii-V-I progression
  • The I-vi-ii-V progression
  • The 12-bar blues progression

Learn the art of melody embellishment.

Learn how to play polytonal passages.

Master rhythm and learn to swing!

PDF Book & Music – $9.99
Or Printed Book & CD $19.99

Thanks to the reliable FastSpring delivery system, you can begin your ear training study right now. You will receive the 78-page “New Ears Resolution, Second Edition” ebook (as a pdf file) along with the 26 mp3 audio files, all in a quick downloading zip file.
$9.99

Or purchase the physical book & CD via PayPal.
$19.99

CAN YOU LEARN TO PLAY BY EAR? YES YOU CAN!

How do i know? Because I have taught over 100 musicians to do it over the past 15 years. These are musicians of all ages and levels of ability on various instruments, and you can be one of them.

Playing by ear is a thrilling experience. With this skill, your instrument can reproduce any song you can whistle or imagine, in any key. You can write down melodies while sitting on an airplane, without consulting a piano. How is this wonderful feat accomplished?

There are two ways a person plays by ear. Either you are born with perfect pitch or you learn to play by ear using relative pitch.

One in 10,000 people is born with perfect pitch. These rare individuals can hear any note and tell you what that note is. Some folks say perfect pitch can be learned, but I am very skeptical of these claims.

Relative pitch – by contrast – is the ability to name any note once you have been given a reference pitch. You figure out the second note by calculating its distance from the given note. I can teach you to do this.

In order to improvise, you must be able to transfer any melody you hear (on the radio, in your memory, or in your imagination) to your fingers and your instrument.

How do You Do It?

My “New Ears Resolution” ear training method is based on the “movable Do” system as elaborated by my teacher, Alvin Learned. Al was Dean of the legendary Westlake School of Jazz, which trained many of the leading Los Angeles musicians of the 1950’s, including Paul Desmond, Les McCann, and Billy May.

By playing along with the “New Ears” audio tracks, you learn to discern the relative position of various notes in a scale, and you become adept at finding any scale degree on your instrument in any key. The difference this makes in your playing is immediate & dramatic!

Visualize two typists, one laboriously “hunting & pecking” for each letter, the other effortlessly “touch typing,” spinning out error-free paragraphs. Now imagine two musicians, one painstakingly searching for each note (by trial & error), the other soaring through a melody as if it had been carefully memorized.

A very talented and ambitious young student told me he was trying to memorize one tune per week in all 12 keys. I responded, “That sounds like a mountain of work, and it will take you 10 years to build a repertoire!”

When you play a song by ear, you do NOT memorize the sheet music. Rather, you hear the tune in your imagination, calculate the tune’s formula in real time, and translate the formula into actual notes in any desired key on your instrument, also in real time.

This may sound like it would consume a staggering amount of brain power, but the process becomes amazingly simple, once you have worked through the exercises contained in the “New Ears Resolution” package. The 26 exercises on the CD (or mp3 download) start out quite simply and grow increasingly complex as your ability and confidence grow.

You will play along with the 72-minute audio a minimum of three times.

  • The first time, you read through the charts given in the “New Ears” book while you play along with the audio track. This also helps refine your sight reading ability.
  • The second time, you play along with the recording without looking at the book. You are now playing the exercises by ear. This increases your confidence.
  • The third time through, you improvise variations as you play along with the recording. This builds your improvisatory vocabulary.

While this method is primarily designed to teach you to play by ear in all 12 keys, many other benefits are derived from practicing with the “New Ears” recording.

  • Your sight reading grows stronger.
  • Your tone develops.
  • Your intonation improves.
  • Your rhythmic sense increases.
  • You begin to develop an improvisational vocabulary.
  • Your confidence blossoms.

While the majority of my students incorporate the “New Ears Resolution” ear training method within a series of 12 or more one-hour private lessons, scores of self-motivated students have found they can learn on their own from the book & audio tracks.

The brand new, comprehensively redesigned Second Edition answers numerous questions which more than a hundred students have asked me over the past 15 years.  Its 26 audio tracks and 78-page book are packed with helpful tips to prepare you for the gig & the jam session.

Students who encounter questions or road blocks along the way need only send me an email, and the issue will be promptly addressed.

PDF Book & Music – $9.99
Or Printed Book & CD $19.99

Thanks to the reliable FastSpring delivery system, you can begin your ear training study right now. You will receive the 78-page “New Ears Resolution, Second Edition” ebook (as a pdf file) along with the 26 mp3 audio files, all in a quick downloading zip file.
$9.99

Or purchase the physical book & CD via PayPal.
$19.99