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Improvisation Essentials (Beginner)

Improvisation Essentials, or ‘Improv’ Essentials for short, is a collection of lessons designed to improve your improvisation skills. If you’ve ever dreamed of improvising over jazz standards and other styles of music, this is the course you need! In this beginner course we are focusing on creating improv patterns and learning basic progressions and how to improvise over them.

9 Lessons

4hr 54min Total

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Lessons in This Collection

Start with any lesson below and track your progress

What is Improvisation?

Learn the basics of what makes up improvisation.

Cycle 4 Motion

Cycle 4 motion is counter-clockwise motion on the Circle of 5ths. This is a VERY popular chord motion and in this lesson you'll learn how to create chord voicings for this type of chord motion.

Cycle 4 Motion with Improvisation Pattern

Learn an improvisation pattern that you can use over cycle 4 motion.

ii-V-I Progression and Voicings

Perhaps one of the most important progressions in jazz, you need to know how to improvise over the ii-V-I progression. In this lesson we begin by learning how to create 2-5-1 voicings in all 12 keys.

ii-V-I Progression with Arpeggios

Learn how to improvise using arpeggios (broken chords) along with rootless voicings in the left hand. This is a great "intermediate" step to learn.

ii-V-I-V7 of ii Progression with Enclosures

Expanding upon our 2-5-1 progression, you'll now learn how to improvise over a V7 of II chord using enclosures. Applying enclosures to one chord is a great way to begin using this technique in your playing.

Chord Approaches / Enclosures & Guide Tones

Guide tones, chord approaches and enclosures are at the heart of bebop improvisation. Study this lesson a lot to really master how to create more complicated improvisation lines.

Rhythm and Articulation

Learn how to vocalize rhythm and use different phrasing techniques to create a more interesting solo. We will also cover articulation in this lesson.

Improvisation Techniques for All Levels

In this lesson, I will show you techniques that I have taught students over the years and have used in my own professional playing. When learning to improvise, it is all too easy to get “bogged down” with unnecessary complexity. I will help you wade through that complexity by showing you how to create and practice your own improvisation using my step-by-step method.

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