Group 1
Welcome! Please scroll down to view the assignments before watching the lessons.
Note: I have removed the due dates for all assignments. Please continue submitting things as long as you would like (even if you didn't properly sign up for this class 😉)
Learn how to start visualizing harmony and free yourself up for greater melodic expression over chord changes. This two-week intensive looks at two simple standards, and guides you through simple creative exercises over these harmonic progressions. By the end, you’ll be taking hipper, more melodic solos built on simple concepts – and having fun!
What to Expect:
- 🔗 Guided Exercises: Creative exercises that start simple (playing the roots of the chords in time) and introduce gradual variations toward cooler and cooler sounds. By the end, you’ll be playing upper altered extensions and more – without the sweat of a typical music theory class.
- 🎶 Expert Guidance: Led by Ethan Chilton, professional LA-based trumpeter and improvisor who built the tonebase trumpet library, these sessions offer a unique insight into the practice strategies that the great improvisors have used to develop fluency over virtually any chord progression.
- 🤝 Community Interaction: Share your experiences, receive feedback from peers and your instructor, and engage in a supportive community of fellow music enthusiasts and aspiring producers.
Who Should Attend:
This course is tailored for a trumpeter at any level looking for structured assistance toward improving as an improvisor. Intermediate proficiency with music theory is highly recommended.
What is Covered:
Participants will practice a series of guided exercises over standard compositions. The exercises will build in complexity, culminating in a final solo chorus over On Green Dolphin Street and an F blues, one of which they will be invited to record and share with Ethan and the community for feedback!
No special equipment is needed to get started; just bring your enthusiasm, a working trumpet, and whatever recording tools you have—your journey to hipper solos begins here!
Timeline
- Sign-Up : June 12th-June 16th
- Course Period: June 17th-28th
- Optional check-In via Zoom: June 24th at 1 PM PST (link TBA)
Supplementary PDF Exercises:
2wi_guided_improv_intensive_june_2024
Lessons
Lesson 1: Play the Roots in Time... From Memory!
Monday, June 17th, 2024
Assignment: Optional video submission. Please practice playing the roots to On Green Dolphin Street in time, along with the backing track, and from memory. For reference, the sheet music is available in the Supplementary PDF, linked above.
Lesson 2: Chord Tones and Voice Leading
Wednesday, June 19th, 2024
Assignment: Image submission. Using the examples provided in the supplementary PDF on pages 7, 8, and 9, and write your own a voice-leading exercise (in half notes) over the chord changes to Green Dolphin Street. Print the blank sheet music on page 10 for this exercise, write in the notes by hand, and then please take a picture or scan of the finished exercise and submit it here on the forums (not on the YouTube comment section).
Please message or email Ethan if you have any questions!
Lesson 3: Chord-Scales and Motivic Development
Monday, June 24th, 2024
Assignment: No required video submission – practice both tunes as instructed in the video!
Optional ZOOM Check-in: June 24th at 1 PM PST
https://zoom.us/j/91405703995?pwd=SemvvFoWjRBcMy1ZBOqvUeS7WVXM3s.1
Meeting ID: 914 0570 3995
Passcode: 783728
Lesson 4: Performance and Conclusion
Wednesday, June 26th, 2024
Final Project: (No due date)
Please submit a video recording of yourself performing either 1-2 choruses on Green Dolphin Street or 3-4 chorus over an F Blues, using the backing tracks provided below. Upload an unlisted video to YouTube and then copy the link into a response to this forum post! Please let me know by a direct message or e-mail if any questions or concerns. Thank you for your participation!
Notes
Supplementary PDF Exercises:
2wi_guided_improv_intensive_june_2024
iReal Pro: https://www.irealpro.com/
YouTube Backing Tracks:
Memory Palaces: https://artofmemory.com/blog/how-to-build-a-memory-palace/
Some Amazing Recordings of On Green Dolphin Street:
- Miles Davis from Kind of Blue
- Miles Davis and John Coltrane from The Final Tour: The Bootleg Series (Live in Stockholm)
- Miles Davis from Live at the Plugged Nickel (1965)
- Chet Baker from Embraceable You
- Woody Shaw from Stepping Stones Bonus Tracks
- VSOP from V.S.O.P. The Quintet: Live Under the Sky (with Freddie Hubbard)
- Nancy Wilson with the George Shearing Quintet from Swingin's Mutual
- Ahmad Jamal Trio from Count 'Em 88
- Eric Dolphy from Outward Bound
- Joe Henderson & Wynton Kelly from Trio from Four!
- Sonny Rollins from On Impulse!
- Vince Guaraldi from In Person
Ethan's live stream on Mastering Your Chord-Scale Relationships (HELPFUL PRE-REQUISITE VIEWING): https://app.tonebase.co/trumpet/live/player/tpt-mastering-chord-scale-relationships-chilton
Teoria for Ear Training:
5 replies
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Hi everyone! Checking in to see if there are any questions with this assignment as it progresses. Feel free to post your voice leading exercise here as a reply to this topic! And, as always, let me know if there are any questions.
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Here's a submission I received over email from Aaldert Mellema, and my feedback. Thanks for your assignment!
Great job! You followed the rules I provided very well. I appreciate the smoothness of the lines, the accuracy, and the varied rhythms. Nice job especially with the 2nd line of the B section (I like how you repeated the motif for the Gb chord).
There is one note I’d check, and that is the first note of the 4th line. This is a Bb-7 chord, so I would refrain from playing an A-natural on the downbeat (this is the major 7th, which can work if it’s a passing tone up to B-flat, but otherwise it might clash with the minor 7th in the chord (A-flat)). Check the rhythm in measure 11, too… I’m not exactly certain what you meant to write there.
I would also look for ways to make the melodic movement more linear. For example, measures 7 and 8. Measure 7 is a bit of an awkward motif for me – either I’d try to develop it more, or I’d just write “A G F” instead of “A A F”. Measure 8 could then go “F# G A” perhaps. Measure 9 as you have it would then continue this linear motion.
The last 5 measures are also good examples. Where you wrote “B B G#” I’d probably write “B A G#” just for a smoother line. Then, in the 3rd measure from the end, I’d consider not writing three B-flats in a row. Perhaps turn the 2nd B-flat into a C – this might be a more interesting shape.
These are just a few suggestions. Overall, wonderful job!!
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Hi everyone! I'm removing the due dates for these assignments. So you are free to continue posting assignments for feedback anytime you want, and I'll reply as soon as I can. Thanks all, and hope these have been useful!