Jazz is also a highly subjective art form where beauty clearly is in the "ears" of the beholder. There's much debate amongst players about virtually every quality of Jazz but everyone seems to agree that the best way to learn jazz guitar is to listen and study with a master.

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Welcome to this master class in single line improvisation and substitutions from John Stowell. “More guitarists would play like John Stowell if they knew how,” says Herb Ellis and now you have the opportunity to do so.

"My goal in this course is to break down complex harmonies into simple components that are easy to memorize and understand. I'm focusing on melodic and harmonic scales and triads and using them as substitutions. Rather than thinking of the modes of the harmonic and melodic minor scales to create extended sounds, I think of different keys of those scales superimposed over a chord quality, for example using a melodic or harmonic minor scale a half step above a dominant chord to generate tensions as opposed to thinking of the 7th mode of those scales."

“John Stowell plays jazz, but he doesn’t use any of the clichés; he has an incredible originality. John is a master creator,” says Larry Coryell. John has taught internationally for 30 years in every educational setting. His standing-room only clinics on music theory and improvisation are hands-on and highly informative. The jazz guitar lessons in Modern Jazz Improvisation present John's approach for applying advanced theory in an improvisational setting.

"In Modern Jazz Improvisation, I'm moving back and forth between the basic sound of the chord tones and the substitution. As your dexterity and ability to move between two sounds improves, a new composite sound emerges, and you will begin to have an intuitive notion of the sounds that you're generating. The ultimate goal is to have quick access to embellishments and tensions in a way that feels truly spontaneous, both in your own playing, and in your ability to recognize and respond to these sounds when you hear them on the bandstand. Once you have a sense of how these layered sounds function, it's a short step to applying your new extended vocabulary to chord progressions and tunes. Your ears and fingers will get smarter simultaneously as you move through Modern Jazz Improvisation."

Modern Jazz Improvisation: Curriculum

1. Using Ionian & Lydian Arpeggios to Generate Dorian & Aeolian Sounds
2. Using Ionian & Lydian Arpeggios To Generate Phrygian & Locrian Sounds
3. Mixing the Minor Modes
4. Application of Minor Modes in ii-V-I Progressions
5. Melodic Minor Scale
6. Harmonic Minor Scale
7. Major Arpeggios over Dominant Chords
8. V to I Resolutions
9. Melodic Minor Substitutions Over Altered Dominant Chords
10. Melodic Minor Over Altered Dominant 7th Chords
11. Reharmonizations with Implied V7
12. Melodic Minor over Diminished
13. Diminished Moving Down Chromatically
14. Melodic Minor over Whole Tone Scale
15. Melodic Minor Over Half Diminished
16. Relative Melodic Minor Over Major
17. Putting it Together Over a Minor Blues
18. Harmonic Minor Scale Over Dominant Part I
19. Harmonic Minor Scale Over Dominant Part II
20. Harmonic Minor Over Dominant Reharmonizations
21. Melodic Minor Over Substitutions for vi-ii-V-I
22. Harmonic Minor Over Diminished
23. Diminished Chords as Altered Dominant Voicings
24. Harmonic Minor Over Major
25. Melodic & Harmonic Minor: Chord Substitutions
26. Summary of Harmonic Minor: Substitutions & Practice Tips
27. Putting it Together Over a Tune
28. Major Triads Over Major Chords
29. Minor Triads Over Major Chords
30. Augmented & Diminished Triads over Major Chords
31. Major Triads Over Major Chords
32. Minor Triads Over Minor Chords
33. Augmented Triads Over Minor Chords
34. Diminished Triads Over Minor Chords
35. Major Triads Over Dominant Chords I
36. Major Triads Over Dominant Chords II
37. Minor Triads Over Dominant Chords
38. Augmented & Diminished Triads over Dominant Chords
39. Extended Chord Sounds
40. Open String Voicings Chord: Inner Voice Movement
41. Playing Examples: Ballad & Bossa

Modern Jazz Improvisation is not for the faint of heart. Many of the jazz guitar lessons in this course present applications that will take several years to completely absorb and master. However, each interactive video guitar lesson in the course will also yield immediate results as you start to integrate the concepts into your own playing. Dig in!