Practicing

Hi, I would like discuss what I am practicing everyday.

I focus on one key center for a few days.  I use the Cycle of 4ths/5ths as a guide.

My warm-up involves an exercise that the jazz flautist Kent Jordan taught me. It covers Major 7, Dominant 7, Minor 7 and Half diminished chords. So if I my focus is on "C", then I do Kent's exercise using C as my starting note. I initially was including the 9ths, but now I include the extensions up to the 13ths.

What's good about this exercise is that it helps me to get away from the "root based" focus on the chords and familiarizes me with the upper extensions of the chord. The exercise is teaches me about the "inversions" of all of the chords.

I have expanded the warm-up of these chords to include the following:
Major 7 Chords-Play Maj7 chords with the #11. Example, C,B,F#, E, C,B etc. for 2 or 3 octaves.
Dominant 7th Chords-

• (C7) C,E,G,Bb,C etc.
• (C9) E,D,G,Bb,D,E etc.
• (C7 #11) C,E,G,Bb,D,F#, A, etc.
• (C7 Alt) C, Eb, Gb, Bb, Db, Fb, Ab, C (from the 7th mode of Db Melodic Minor)

(There are many D7 chords. When I am done with C, I then go to the next chord in the Dominant 7 exercise, that being Ab7 and I do the same thing as mentioned above.)

 Minor 7th Chords-
C, Eb,G,Bb,D,F,A,C etc.

I also practice the Major pentatonic scale. Eb,F,G, Bb,C etc. up and down for 2 or 3 octaves.

I then practice an exercise from the book entitled "Pentatonics" by Jerry Bergonzi. (The link is on a previous post.)

I then move onto the next Minor 7th chord in the exercise, that being A-7, and I do the same thing as above.

Half-Diminished Chords -Locrian #2
From the 6th mode of the Eb Melodic Minor Scale.
C,Eb,Gb,Bb,D,F,Ab,C

So, I have found that it is good to practice above and below your starting note. Overlap every octave. Does that make sense?

As well, I have been practicing jazz charts going through each chord and practicing the extensions. It helps to become familiar with common tones between chords.

But the best reason for doing the exercise is that it helps me to explore more sounds within each chord.

As mentioned previously, I focus on "C" for 3 days. On one of those days I will do the C Major Blues.  (Which reminds me that I need to begin working more on the minor blues. So much to do!) In any case, I use the "Blues in Every Key" by Jamey Aebersold. Jamey gives 2 different chord progressions for the blues in every key. I know that there are other more complicated blues such as Charlie Parker Blues, but I haven't gotten there yet.

For me I need to focus on the "meat and potatoes" at this point, keeping things a little simpler.

I usually rest for a while and might compose something, like a blues. Or I will work on jazz theory , writing out scales and chords. I seem to learn something new everyday about chord/scale relationships.

Ok , that's it for now. Later on, Jeff