Ready to take your improvisational toolkit beyond bebop licks, modes, and blues scales and into the sonic worlds opened up by artists like McCoy Tyner, John Coltrane, and Woody Shaw? This six-week online course will look into different approaches for developing melodically compelling ideas for use in a wide variety of harmonic situations.

Beginning with the applications of pentatonic scales, the course will progress to the simple technique of combining pairs of major triads (and the six-note scales that result), and finally intervallic pairs, in each case examining their use in major, minor, and sus chords, a variety of dominant chords and ii-V-I progressions, and modal or chromatic contexts. Finally we will explore methods to integrate these new ideas into the student’s existing language in a natural and non-contrived way.

Six weeks, beginning July 7. Prerequisites: basic knowledge of jazz harmony. Open to all instruments and improvising vocalists; students will be asked to try out material during class.