How to Turn Scales Into Killer Jazz Solos

Welcome to episode 229 of the LJS Podcast where today I have on special guest Brett Pontecorvo to teach us how to properly use scales to build great solos. Scales are useful tools, but if applied in an un-musical way, can be problematic. Brett walks us through some solid tips for taking vanilla scales and developing them into melodic masterpieces.Scales are a classic way to get started with improvising over a jazz standard and they can be quite useful. However, in the wrong hands and used the wrong way, they just end up sounding like scales. Very unmusical, very vanilla, and it just sort of sounds like you are playing notes overtop of jazz standards.And that's not really what we want. We want to play actual music, actual melodies. So the real big question here is how do we make scales musical? How do we take something that is a linear pattern and turn it into something that actually has great melodic value, yet still helps you identify notes and get ideas and sounds in your head that you can use in your jazz improv?Well, on today's show, I have a very special guest Brett Pontecorvo, who is my music production manager at Learn Jazz Standards, a phenomenal pianist and educator. He is going to teach us exactly how to take scales and make them musical so that you can play killer jazz solos with them.In this episode:1. How to choose which scales to play over chords 2. Mapping scales to connect them together 3. Using rhythms as a starting point 4. Intervals and leaps to begin developing melody 5. How chromaticism can help emphasize important scale tonesImportant Links:1. LJS Inner Circle Membership2. Free Guide to learn standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart Way3. Brett's LiveKeyboardist.com https://livekeyboardist.com/Learn Jazz Standards Inner Circle: Get 50% off your first month! Want to get your jazz question answered on the podcast? Click here.

Om Podcasten

The LJS Podcast is the podcast where you get weekly jazz tips, interviews, stories and advice for becoming a better jazz musician! Hosting the show is the jazz musician behind learnjazzstandards.com, author, and entrepreneur Brent Vaartstra, who’s one goal is to answer any question about playing jazz music you may have. Jazz can be a challenging music to learn and play, but it doesn’t have to be so hard. Each episode features a specific musical challenge that jazz students may come across, where it is discussed and answered. Special jazz guests frequent the show, sharing their expertise on an array of different musical subject matter. Listeners are invited to call in with their jazz questions to the podcast hotline, where it could get answered on a future LJS Podcast episode. Join thousands of other listeners getting free jazz education every week!