Jazz Theory in 10 Minutes

[Tal_175]

[RLetson]

OK, so he substitutes a less precise metaphor (immediate and extended family) for the standard terminology. But I encountered some of that structuring in workshops designed for non-specialists, and while the terminology was less important than the structure, it was nice to have the common terms attached to the visualization and the sounds.

His chart is nice, though, and I immediately recognized the harmonized major scale I was introduced to in an early workshop. (I wish he'd expanded on why he crossed out the B-dim as somehow obsolete.)

So--the chart and the keyboard demonstrations are nice, but the rest is a bit like those "secrets of [insert supposedly difficult skill set]" pitches that fill YouTube.

[pauln]

Not bad; just keep in mind the real theory level for all subjects is mathematics. What you actually find presented is another thing in front of theory... e.g., you don't understand all about insurance or power generation companies, so a Cockney talking lizard or an obese armadillo waving the city's sports team pennant is there to guide you.
Just as well; those in music who numbered things did not seem to know the difference between ordinal and cardinal numbers, too late now to correct them.

[MarkRhodes]

I think this would have made more sense to me in my late teens and early twenties than the approach a guitar teacher took with me.

He makes clear it's one semester of theory, not the whole enchilada. Is there more to know? Yes. But does a beginner need to know it? Not yet, and maybe not ever.

[Tal_175]

Perhaps they could have also touched on diatonic sub-families and passing chords, but overall I think they did an excellent job covering a wide range of harmony found in jazz standards in a clear and concise way.

He demonstrates modal interchange wonderfully by texturizing (or orchestrating) variations in simple progressions (around 8:10 mark). As a side note, chordal texture variation is something I spent a lot of time developing on guitar. For some reason, textures beyond strumming static grips or basic Travis picking patterns just aren’t skills that most guitar players seem to have in their toolkit.