Christmas Time Is Here Tutorial
In this lesson we will be creating a jazzy Christmas arrangement for the tune ‘Christmas Time Is Here’.
The tune is written in ¾ and has a laid back tempo which can be interpreted freely.
We jump straight in with two-handed voicings, initially starting with simpler chords and then gradually increasing the complexity of the voicings we choose to play.
As well as a full arrangement we will also be exploring some ideas and concepts for soloing over the form of the tune. In particular we will look at:
- Creating and developing musical motifs
– Including chord tones in lines and phrases - Identifying and focusing on the ‘characteristic’ tones of the chord/mode
Related Lessons
Chord tone soloing is the process of creating improvised lines predominantly or exclusively with the primary tones of the chord.
We can also achieve some really interesting sounds by applying upper structure triad theory to both major and minor chords.
We introduce the major modes, explaining what they are and where they come from. These 7 modes play a fundamental role in improvisation.
