Bass day (1h 40m)

Chord tones (Phil Mann) — 1h
- Major triads in all inversions through the cycle (44bpm calling the notes / 80bpm silently)
- Minor triads in all inversions through the cycle (same)
- Diminished triads: in root inversion (74bpm), in 1st and 2nd (without click)
Break
Walking bass lines (Scott Devine) — 40m
- Bossa & Samba over Autumn Leaves in G-
- Recap ii — V — I lines in G-, apply to Autumn Leaves in G-
- R — 3 — P5 + chromatics + some ii — V — I patterns over new track (All Of Me by Gerald Marks)

Observations

ii — V — I patterns do really work! (Even when played not exactly over ii — V — I progression, they still do because of the very stable sound of it — well, assuming you’re not playing them to some crazy modulation). Also, talking about cycle of 4ths, here’s the Normal Human Version™ of it for diminished arpeggios practice (if you, like me, try to avoid double flats and weird things like Cb or Fb):

Cº | Fº | A#º | D#º | G#º | C#º | F#º | Bº | Eº | Aº | Dº | Gº

For minor I do play Bb- and Eb-, but that’s it for flat keys. Sorry Mr Wooten!

Piano day

Mostly rehearsing my material

Additional evening practice (40m)

Blues pentatonic scale in RH over 12-bar blues chord progression in LH: C-, F-, Bb-, D#-, G#-
- 1 — 6, 1 — 5, 1 — 4, 1 — 3
- Intervals
- Improvisation

Observations

If you didn’t really have time for standard routine in the normal practice time (morning for me) — making up for it later, even for 20-30m, is super helpful, because it allows for continuous progress, without skipping a day.

Bass day (1h 40m)

Chord Tones (Phil Mann) — 30m
- Major triads in all inversions without stopping around the cycle, saying all notes out loud (44bpm eighth triplets), silently (80bpm eighth triplets)
- Minor triads in all inversions — same
Break
Walking bass lines (Scott Devine) — 1h
- Recap all major and minor ii — V — I patters and shapes in G-
- Applying them to Autumn Leaves in G-
- Same in Eb-
- Also occasionally throwing in ghost notes (didn’t really work all the time, must practice them separately)
Soloing over Autumn Leaves in Eb-

Observations

If you’re frustrated with something (like transposing all ii — V — I shapes from G- to Eb-), sometimes the (pretty counterintuitive) way to overcome frustration is actually to keep doing this thing with an extra effort, but try to look at it from a different perspective for a moment (for example, in my case I stopped thinking how to move the shape and thought about the scale degrees that it comprises) — and then suddenly it might start to work.

Piano day (1h 30m)

Blues pentatonic scale in C- & F- in RH over 12-bar blues chord progression in LH
- 2 octaves ↑, 2 octaves ↓, 1 octave ↑, 1 octave ↓ x 2 + fills
- 1 — 6, 1 — 5, 1 — 4, 1 — 3 on i & iv, scale on iiº & V7
Cycle progressions in shell voicings (Dan Haerle) — Minor to Dominant
- Skills 37c & 37d without click, then at 60bpm
- Skills 37a & 37b at 84bpm

Observations

Slowing down almost to the point where it feels ridiculous actually helps get to the desired speed much quicker! Weird, but that’s so true. Play the figure 5 times super slow, then turn the click on, and suddenly you are able to play it perfectly in time! (As opposed to just endlessly trying to do it at higher tempos.)

Piano day (2h)

12-bar blues in LH & blues scale runs in RH — 1h
- C-
- F- (2 octaves ↑, 2 octaves ↓, 1 octave ↑, 1 octave ↓ x 2 + fills)
Harmonising Dorian scale with 7th chords (pattern: i — VII, i — viº, i — v, etc.) at 64bpm around the circle of 5ths starting on D (easy mode)
Cycle progressions with shell voicings (Dan Haerle book, skills 37a & 37b — Minor to Dominant) — with click at 72bpm

Observations

Inventing own exercises is cool! (E. g. blues pentatonic scale runs starting on different notes in RH played to the standard blues progression in LH). It helps to stay in the musical context while doing some stuff that’s often considered boring (such as learning new scales). I learned it from Rick Beato: he recommends not just playing the scale or arpeggio, but always put it in the musical context, because otherwise it’s just a scale or arpeggio you’ve learned. True that!