Tag: Ionian

Piano day (1h 40m)

Scale studies

  • All Lydian scales
  • All Ionian scales
  • Scale dissection: C#, F#, A Phrygian over moving minor arpeggios

Left hand + comping

Interpretation

  • The Beatles — All My Loving (variation #2)
    • LH: broken 10ths (alternating ascending & descending)
    • Chromatic side-slipping (found in Dan Harle’s Jazz Improvisation for Keyboard Players)
    • Gershwin reversed stride bass
    • RH: arpeggiated shells, voice leading

Next time focus

  • Locrian + Mixolydian week
  • Try chromatic side-slipping in right hand as well
  • Back to embellished ii — V — i’s
  • Next left hand pattern
  • Scale dissection over permutations — attempt #2 😄

Practice session: permutations and more Gershwin studies

Scale studies

  • All Lydian scales
  • All Ionian scales
  • Scale dissection: Ab Lydian over Ab∆7 moving arpeggios in groups of two
  • Scale dissection: F# Dorian over F#m7 moving arpeggios in groups of three
  • Scale dissection #2: F# Dorian in groups of three over F#m7 regrouped arpeggios
  • Scale dissection #3: F# Dorian in groups of three over all F#m7 inversions in 1-3-5-7 permutations (several slow passes, but couldn’t really play it fluently)

Left hand

  • Gershwin reversed stride bass (#14 from Jazz Piano: The Left Hand)
    • Original chord progression (dominant descent over the cycle of 4ths from F#, in fact 🤓)
    • Minor variation
      • Only reversed stride in 3-7 → R | 7-10 → R pattern
      • Reversed stride + broken 10ths + block triads up the octave (sounds super dope 🔥)
  • Descending 10ths in a free jam: focus on 10-5 movement

Improvisation

  • Major blues scale around the cycle (quick recap)

Session timing: 2h 30m

Observations

Variations are great! It definitely is much more inspiring an empowering than simply learning the piece from sheet music and finally reading it without any errors. Understanding the logic behind the particular composition and the techniques that are used in it — and then being able to freely play your variation of it in which one can still recognise the original — this is extremely satisfying.

Piano practice (1h 45m)

Scale studies

  • All Lydian scales
  • All Ionian scales
  • C, F, Bb Lydian in grand form
  • All Lydian scales over moving Lydian DNA
  • Dissecting Phrygian scales over arpeggiated inversions (E, A, D, G) — sheet music link coming soon

Jazz voicings + left hand

  • iim9 — V13 — I∆9 | iiø — V7b9 — im9 (format 2) from Jazz Piano Voicings (C thru F#). Left hand:
    • Blocks
    • 10ths + octave blocks + b7-1-5 run on iiø

Improvisation

  • Minor blues scale — quick recap in all keys

Piano day (1h 45m)

Scale studies

Left hand + jazz voicings

  • iim9 — V13 — I∆9 | iiø — V7b9 — im9 (format 2) — skill 45 from Jazz Piano Voicings by Dan Haerle (C thru F#). Left hand:
    • 1-5 shells
    • 1-5-6 runs
    • Broken 10ths (ascending on major part, descending on parallel minor)
    • 1-5-10 + blocks octave above
  • 10ths w/o clashes going up and down, focusing on with 2-octave leaps at range switches (e. g. Gb — B 8vb)

Bass day (1h 30m)

  • Scales studies
    • Linking shapes (Scott exercise)
      • All Aeolian scales in V position
      • All Ionian scales in I position (recap)
    • Minor blues scale permutations
    • Scale dissection
      • Minor blues: R, b7 (above & below), b3, 4
      • Major blues: R, 2, 6 (above & below), 5
      • Lydian pentatonic: R, #4
    • Applying scale tones over I — VI7 — ii — V7 in all keys
  • Reading melodies
    • Afro Blue (from Real Book in bass clef)
    • Hrabe etude #4 (in Bb)

Observations

New exercise! I try to test different approaches to scale fluency, and this time I decided to take the scales that I’m currently actively working on on piano and focus on particular degrees, playing them above as well as below the root. In my opinion, it should really help to achieve fluency in any given scale regardless of the position on the fretboard where you happen to be when you need to apply it. It is especially cool with pentatonics, because their nature kind of encourages you to use pattens and it’s very easy to get caught in the box shapes slavery. I’m using Phil Mann’s permutation approach to twist the scale like a want and also Todd Johnson’s “above / below” trick. Also trying to sync my bass and piano routines to make practice overall more productive. How am I doing, Mr. Devine? Am I organised enough? :lol: