Minor Pentatonic Workout
Lesson time: (1min 52sec)
Ollie Weston plays the minor pentatonic in quavers over a minor seventh backing track, giving you room to explore your own phrases.
Course preview
This lesson is part of the course Exploring Jazz Saxophone: Part 1 - Getting Started
Watch a preview of the full course below.
Lesson transcript:
Pentatonic Minor Workout
So, here's a pentatonic minor workout. I'm using my minor seventh chord workout backing track, and I'm just going to play the pentatonic pattern in quavers, so you can hear how it sounds in the minor seven context.
Count:
1, 2, 1, 2, 3, 4.
You've got lots of time on each chord to explore your pentatonic patterns and your Dorian melodies, as well as some of the licks that we've looked at. This is your chance to start finding your voice over these chords.
Key Points:
- Jump In: The secret is really to dive in and explore these sounds.
- Starting Point: Use the ideas I've given you as a starting point, but by no means are they definitive.
Now, here's a 16-bar solo on G minor. I'm going to incorporate some of the Dorian sounds that I've introduced you to, along with some pentatonic phrases. I'll aim to create an interesting solo for 16 bars using minor pentatonics and minor seventh sounds.
Count again:
1, 2, 1, sa.
About the instructor
Since graduating from the Leeds College of Music (BA Hons) and the Guildhall School of Music (Post Graduate Diploma in Performance), Ollie has built a busy and varied career in music. As a saxophonist he has performed in live and studio settings with artists as diverse as Amy Winehouse, Tim Minchin, Bonobo, Frank Turner, the London Jazz Orchestra, the Hackney Colliery Band, the Ambient Jazz Ensemble and the Nelson Riddle Orchestra. He is also the co-leader of the jazz quartet 'Time Is Of The Essence', and composes and arranges material for this and other ensembles. Ollie is active in music education, currently as course leader for the jazz department at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (junior school), where he runs jazz ensembles, big band and theory classes. He has written a series of 'Exploring Jazz' books for Schott Music that are published worldwide and feature on exam syllabuses in the UK. Ollie has also run workshops for Oxford University, Pro Corda Strings and BABSWE, as well as the Guildhall School of Music summer schools. In his Exploring Jazz Saxophone courses, Ollie takes you from getting started right through to soloing confidently over songs and chord sequences, building the improvising skills that put a real jazz player's vocabulary at your fingertips. read more