Description

A simple approach to making music on a great jazz standard

You know the scale, you know some arpeggios, but it doesn’t really become music. We are all working on getting the skills to solo, but it can be very difficult to really apply it to a song.

This lesson is on digging deep into the song Take The A-Train in one position on the neck.

• Learn The Essential Material in the Position: Scale, Arpeggios, Pentatonics
• See how it is applied in a real solo and understand the phrases
• Take the ideas into your own playing.

Really exploring important positions on the neck is what will help you gain the knowledge to play more freely and rely as much on your improvisation as on your licks. The exercises included in this lesson cover some of the essential and less obvious arpeggios and pentatonic scales that you can use over Take The A-train.

How a can solo makes sense and connecting phrases

The 3 chorus solo transcription is my take on how you can improvise on the song. The solo is only using one position of the neck, and still sound musical. In the solo, I use devices from the exercises. Furthermore, the solo is also giving several examples of how to connect phrases and move around motifs to create a solo that is one long story. Especially When practicing to solo within the limitations of one position it is important to also force yourself to be musical.

The transcription is provided as a basic transcription in PDF and GuitarPro 7. In addition to this, I have included an annotated transcription.   With notes and remarks in the sheet music, this clearly illustrates the different phrases with what is played and also how phrases interact with each other.

Exercises and Analysis

The lesson includes an overview of scales and arpeggios for each of the chords in the song. In this article, I have also written a short analysis of the form and some common additional scale choices that I use in the solo.

See what it is like to really explore a song

Check out the lesson and get an overview of all the pieces in the puzzle and some solid examples of how they can fit together. 

Knowing what is in there and how it can be applied is a great foundation for growing your own solo skills.

Topics Discussed in The A-Train Lesson

• Arpeggios used in the solo
• Super-Imposed Pentatonics
• Lydian b7 use
• Melodic Concepts
• Motifs, Call/Response
• Development of the solo

Download Includes

• Video performance
• Annotated Transcription
• Transcription PDF/GuitarPro
• Exercises, scales and arpeggios
• Performance mp3
• Backing track mp3

Check out more songs and build a vocabulary

You can also get lessons breaking down how to get started on more important Jazz Standards and in that way start building the repertoire of Jazz Music. The Easy Jazz Standards Bundle gives you material to help with 5 very common standards and helps you develop a strong foundation.

The bundle is giving you the 5 lessons at a very reduced price:

Easy Jazz Standards Solo Bundle