Challenge! Play this line and post it. (This time it’s played quite fast so it’s a tough one this week) There are 4 levels to this, you can pick which one is most doable for you right now…. 1- Exactly the same as myself, in C Major 2- Try it in a few different keys 3- Start like I do and finish it off a little differently. 4- improvise over a backing track and use this line in your improv https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9PeqG9C5os&t=24s BTW the course I am developing on note enclosures is now available in the classroom. There are lots of bits missing right now but I thought I would let my paid members get a look in before I fully launch it. Go check it out!

Challenge! Play this line and post it. There are 4 levels to this, you can pick which one is most doable for you right now…. 1- Exactly the same as myself, in F Major 2- Try it in a few different keys 3- Start like I do and finish it off a little differently. 4- improvise over a backing track and use this line in your improv https://youtu.be/gfx5wHi_4cE?si=4oLGWjmq6_AgLwg- Post it as a comment on here or as a separate post. Let’s see what you can do with it!

I’ve been practising some more “set pieces” this past few weeks. I have a gig coming up at Ronnie Scott’s in London, a tribute to Venuti, Grappelli and Stuff Smith and I wanted to play some early Venuti tunes to show that side of jazz violin. His playing is really based on the jazz that was going on around that time, simple riff based melodies that are improvised around but also informed by his pretty flawless classical technique. I find this type of practise very different to how I practise “jazz”. I am in more of “recreating” mindset, similar to that which you need for classical or folk music. I’m enjoying the challenge of getting those tunes down and have actually found it has meant I’m playing more cleanly in everything else that I am doing. It’s helped me realise it’s quite good practice to have a tricky “set pieces” on the go to help you push your technique and musicality. Check this little rehearsal recording of “Wildcat” with the amazing John Kelly on guitar.

🏅The Challenge🎻 You have two options: 1. Take a line that you often play in C Major and learn to play it in Eb, Gb/F# and A. 2. Just learn my line in all of those keys (shown in the video) Then post it on here, you will get some feedback and encouragement from me and the group! As a thank you for taking part il send you a transcription of this line! ❓Why do this⁉️ Learning lines in major or minor thirds really helps you learn lines properly. It also gets you working out how you might change position or fingering for each key to make it work for you. There’s usually some way to play any piece of jazz language in each keys that will work, doing this sort of transposition helps you find the gaps you have in your technique whilst solidifying jazz language.

Wow this is a really tough one. It seems to follow the structure that a lot of early jazz tunes do, where it’s a number of different sections all with a melody that’s improvised around throughout rather than just head/solo/head. Really based on ragtime. I’m learning this 1927 version to play at a gig in a few months. Lots to work on here!