Greetings, JazzPianoSkills Fam!
It's an incredible year to discover, learn, and play jazz piano! 2022 is underway, and we kicked things off last week with a Key of C Major Harmonic Workout. Today we turn our attention to melodic development with a Key of C Major Melodic Workout! As I mentioned in last week's blog post, this will be a fantastic year of jazz piano podcast episodes, jazz piano lessons, jazz piano courses, and jazz piano masterclasses. Additionally, I have a tremendous lineup of guests that will share their insights and guidance with the JazzPianoSkills community throughout the year, plus some exciting new JazzPianoSkills services to launch.
Our journey this year will explore twelve harmonic workouts and twelve melodic workouts (one for each major key). The harmonic workouts construct four types of jazz piano voicings (Blocks, Traditional Shells, Contemporary Shells, and Two-Handed Shapes) for each of the seven chords found within a major key. Our melodic workouts will focus on the scales (modes) and arpeggios associated with each chord found within the major key. Both workouts will place the harmonic and melodic jazz piano skills within a musical context using the classic circle progressions of II-V-I and III-VI-II-V-I. Additionally, the harmonic and melodic workouts will incorporate a rhythmic application of the jazz piano skills. It's pretty apparent why I chose to call these lessons workouts!
So let's tackle our first melodic workout of the new year.
Key of C Major Melodic Workout
Podcast Episode
Season 4, Episode 2
January 12, 2022
The first of a twelve-episode series that focuses on developing our melodic jazz piano skills is a Key of C Major Melodic Workout. Our educational approach will isolate each scale (mode) and each arpeggio of the key.
- Ascending/Descending Scales (Modes)
- Various Entry Points (Root, 3rd, 5th, 7th)
- Ascending/Descending Arpeggios
- (Root + Inverted Shapes)
Key of C Major Harmonic Workout
Podcast Episode
Season 4, Episode 1
January 4, 2022
- Modes of the Key of C Major (Root Entry)
- C Ionian: CDEFGAB
- D Dorian: DEFGABC
- E Phrygian: EFGABCD
- F Lydian: FGABCDE
- G Mixolydian: GABCDEF
- A Aeolian: ABCDEFG
- B Locrian: BCDEFGA
- Modes of the Key of C Major (3rd Entry)
- C Ionian: EFGABCD
- D Dorian: FGABCDE
- E Phrygian: GABCDEF
- F Lydian: ABCDEFG
- G Mixolydian: BCDEFGA
- A Aeolian: CDEFGAB
- B Locrian: DEFGABC
- Modes of the Key of C Major (5th Entry)
- C Ionian: GABCDEF
- D Dorian: ABCDEFG
- E Phrygian: BCDEFGA
- F Lydian: CDEFGAB
- G Mixolydian: DEFGABC
- A Aeolian: EFGABCD
- B Locrian: FGABCDE
- Modes of the Key of C Major (7th Entry)
- C Ionian: BCDEFGA
- D Dorian: CDEFGAB
- E Phrygian: DEFGABC
- F Lydian: EFGABCD
- G Mixolydian: FGABCDE
- A Aeolian: GABCDEF
- B Locrian: ABCDEFG
- Arpeggios of the Key of C Major (Root Entry)
-
- CM7 = CEGB
- D-7 = DFAC
- E-7 = EGBD
- FM7 = FACE
- G7 = GBDF
- A-7 = ACEG
- B-7b5 = BDFA
- Arpeggios of the Key of C Major (3rd Entry)
- CM7 = EGBC
- D-7 = FACD
- E-7 = GBDE
- FM7 = ACEF
- G7 = BDFG
- A-7 = CEGA
- B-7b5 = DFAB
- Arpeggios of the Key of C Major (5th Entry)
- CM7 = GBCE
- D-7 = ACDF
- E-7 = BDEG
- FM7 = CEFA
- G7 = DFGB
- A-7 = EGAC
- B-7b5 = FABD
- Arpeggios of the Key of C Major (7th Entry)
- CM7 = BCEG
- D-7 = CDFA
- E-7 = DEGB
- FM7 = EFAC
- G7 = FGBD
- A-7 = GACE
- B-7b5 = ABDF
Enjoy this podcast episode exploring a Key of C Melodic Workout. Listen to the podcast episode for additional insights and detailed practicing instruction. If you are a JazzPianoSkills Member, download and use the Podcast Packets (Illustrations, Lead Sheets, and Play Alongs) for this episode to help you maximize your musical growth.
Thanks for being a JazzPianoSkills Member. I am pleased to help you discover, learn, and play jazz piano!
Warm Regards,
Dr. Bob Lawrence
JazzPianoSkills
