Accumulating Vocabulary Ideas - Peter Martin | 2 Minute Jazz

Peter Martin shows you how to spice up a tune by paying attention to phrases within the composition.

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(upbeat piano music) - What's going on everybody? Peter Martin here for Two Minute Jazz. Just got a quick tip for you today, about accumulating vocabulary ideas and knowledge, for your compositions. Not just for the licks that you wanna play, and the substitutions and stuff, but as you're learning tunes really paying attention, to some compositional features there, that you can apply to your own tunes, when the right time comes. So, I've been diving back in deep, into the late great Roy Hargrove's music, and he has this great tune "Mental Phrases," that I've been playing for years, that Roy actually taught me years ago. Such an honor and privilege to have that in my mind still. But he does this great thing.

(lively piano music)

Right at the beginning of the tune, it's real simple kind of modern bebop.

(bebop piano music)

Two, five, one, to A-flat, and then another bar goes by, and then he does to G-flat major. So, we've got a major seven cord, three, four, but in order to get there he goes, one, two, three, four. He goes to D-minor seven for two beats. G-seven a two, five, one that kind of slides in from a half step above. So, what it is kinda make of a note of that, and then what it sounds like, and then there might be an opportunity you have at a tune. Let's say you're going, you know, you're writing a tune. You're going from A-flat major.

(calm piano music)

Two, five, one, to D-flat major. Why not use this technique that Roy does. A-minor seven. D-seven to D-flat major. Okay, just kind of a different sound, so once you kind of learn the tune, and you learn the form of something new, really pay attention to what's going on. Really get it in your ears. Get it inside of you here, so you can take that little harmonic technique, that harmonic little piece of vocabulary and apply it, into your own compositions. All right?

(jazz piano music)

(upbeat band music)

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For full length piano lessons with Peter Martin, check out www.openstudionetwork.com/piano

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