Insane Pentatonic Jazz Solos
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In this jazz piano lesson you'll discover how to use the pentatonic scale to create exotic sounds over the 3 main chord types in jazz.
I'm a huge Julian Bradley fan. I'm an older person, 68, and I bought Julian's jazz course almost 2 years ago and it has been absolutely amazing. I trained in classical piano, and could not play jazz before Julian's course. Now I can pick up any real book and play any jazz standard and stylize it any way I want. Julian's course is organized, clear, and each lesson is right to the point and immediately usable. You will be amazed how quickly you will improve. This is exactly the kind of gift I wanted to buy myself for my retirement years. And it's very affordable. It's like buying a bicycle but getting a chauffeur driven Rolls-Royce!
Very rarely do I post comments on TH-cam, but after watching this I had to just applaud you for the way you tackled the subject matter.
Very, very well laid out, and perfect for someone like me who knows chords and scales, but is a little lacking in how to apply them. I like how you identified a potential situation (playing over a m7 chord or over a ii-V7-I for example) and cut right to the chase and said "I'll just give you the answer." You've helped me tons in just this one video.
Very well done.
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How long did it take you to write that comment?
I've been in "The Biz" for 40 + years, and I must say, young man, you're very adroit and thorough. I' m very impressed and it's like a booster shot to watch your presentations. Keep up the good work!
Very nice. Clear. Easy to listen to. Sounds excellent musically. Appreciate the direct, no “beating around the bush” attitude to showing “how to achieve THAT jazz sound.” Thank you!
I'm so happy to hear this! Thank you - all these concepts are just as relevant to all instruments - nothing specific to piano. Thanks for clicking on a piano video!
Great to hear this Jega!
Pentatonic scales are a great way to SIMPLIFY your brain work, while INCREASING how sophisticated you sound. They're win win!
Thanks for the comment - glad this one helped you!
FINALLY! Someone on YT that actually cuts to the chase without all the noise. Coming from guitar has left a bad taste for pentatonic licks but this really opens the door. The course study from your site will be my go-to.
This is the best jazz channel on TH-cam hands down.
I found you by searching pentatonic for piano. I have watched 3 of your videos and I have received more clarity. Thank You. Your Style of teaching is unique. I am an educator myself. After sharing 36 years of my life teaching, it is nice to receive the gifts, talents and accelerated schooling from Great Teachers like yourself, who unselfishly construct these sessions and share their hard work and lessons with us.
You Are A Jewel. Again Thank You.
Hey Derek! The lick is taken from one of my pieces in the ebook, 'Voodoo Dancer'. The lick uses a pentatonic, the notes in C pentatonic are:
E C D A G C A G D (repeat an 8ve lower) E C D A G C A G D
If you listen to the clip for the rhythm, these are the notes that should work. I also play a chord voicing in the left hand during the rests.
Wow, man where have you been? Oh boy, your lessons are the best so far for me. i have been looking for a guy who can teach me step by step. You truly a teacher and not a braggadocious.
Thanks so much Jimu! Really pleased to hear. Glad you weren't deterred by the keyboard thumbnails, it's all relevant to all instrumentalists
Thanks
You opened up all kinds of possibilities! I love the F# over the C7!
Been playing piano for many years.... this is the best lesson on pentatonics ever.
Hands down one of the most straight-to-the-point instructional videos on Jazz improvisation, with great methodology and clear explanations. Thanks for sharing! ☆☆☆☆☆
I completely agree - the #4 pentatonic on dominant 7 chords outlines the altered scale - C Db D# E F# Ab Bb - but it's easier to think of quickly. And on the ii-V-I it sounds great when you shift back and forth with the ii and I chord scales.
The relaxing nature and melodic power of the major pentatonic scale comes from the fact that it's missing the 4th and 7th degrees of the scale. So in C for example, it's the notes F and B. These two notes form the tritone of G7, which is the 5 of C major (G7 resolves to C major). Tritones represent harmonic tension and they want to resolve. Once we remove this tritone from our sound, we have a great melodic tool in our hands, free from the tension associated with the tritone. Good video!
Thanks again, I'm really glad you're enjoying the videos on scales. I think it's a good way to think of harmony, the lower down chordal tones are the foundation, which need to be in place first, then you can add the colorful extended harmony notes, which are only colorful when heard in context of the chordal tones (played at the same time).
I finally understand how useful pentatonics can be when creating your sound. Much thanks. Will be investing in your approach.
Thanks so much Pianomayne, this is a lovely comment. Makes me very happy to hear.
I've got some more videos ready to upload on scales, next one will be on the altered mode, and I think it will equal this video, so stay tuned!
Your approach just blows me away. I come from classical piano and just started wirh jazz with the help of youtube tutorials. In terms of harmonic teaching I find your's one of the clearest and most original. Thanks a lot. 🙏👏
Thank you, I'd love to hear these on a banjo! Glad these videos are equally relevant to non piano players. I think it's good for all musicians to have a visual keyboard in their head, so they can visualize every thing they learn.
Thanks for watching!
Your sound is very modern, latin, bright. A special sound !
A scale doesn't necessarily have to have a 4th. Some scales are only 4 or 5 notes for example, so the scale doesn't have to have all chordal tones, or all extended harmony tones, as with a typical 7 note scale.
If you want a consonant scale, first make sure any chordal tones present (1 3 5 7) are agreed with the harmony (left hand). Once these are in place, you have complete freedom, and can even add notes that could be spelled as chordal tones e.g. #9 could be b3, #4 could be b5, #6 could be b7
Yes Dave, I like the multiple pentatonic over the 2-5-1...harder to play but well worth the practice....you are an excellent teacher. I bounce all over TH-cam but I always come back here.
I'm learning to play jazz guitar, and your videos are the best thing I've discovered. You're an amazing teacher. Thank you so much
I really like the way this guy breaks down complicated material into understandable form
Hi Julian, Your videos are great, I'm a Sax player and finding them great help in understanding Jazz theory and how to use & get my head around...thanks heaps Man!
Ciao
Jimu
Trying to learn jazz guitar improvisation, but this video is the best in explaining how to use the pentatonic scales on a ii-v-i chord progression. WELL DONE!!!
Thank you! Thank you! I am an ear player, self-taught, quite proficient, but could never understand the use of pentatonic scales until you showed me the value of pitting them against major, minor and dominant chords. I feel as if a veil has been lifted and my skills substantially enhanced. I am positively giddy over the possibilities.
Hi Julian - I'm actually trying to learn how to play jazz on the violin, not piano, but when it comes to explaining harmony and what to play where and when, I've found your videos to be by far the clearest and most useful. This one has made my brain hurt a bit but I'll be going through it a few more times. Keep up the excellent work -appreciate it.....
Really helpful - thanks - as a sax player I find it very useful to see scales and chords laid out on the key board with the bonus that it is a delight to see your fingers glide across the keys. Real mastery of the instrument which is very impressive.
Thanks John, you're welcome! Good to hear from you!
I'm a bassist and I've gotta say, this is a great lesson in jazz harmony! Thanks! I actually really like the 2-5-1 section!
Cool, stay tuned because I will be starting to go into this in the next few weeks. Got an experiment I did on Happy Birthday, jazz variation. Going to see if it's popular, and if it is I'll be doing some explanations on how to make your own variations on any song. Thanks for the request. Happy Easter!
You're welcome Ana, I'll be posting one a week for quite a while so hope you continue to learn from my channel. Thanks!
I've been attempting to learn enough to fake my way into some piano gigs for about 5 months now. Via TH-cam mostly. I've watched tons of videos on here. Found some good ones, but this is the most helpful one that I've came across, hands down. Great job. Subscribed, and looking forward to checking out more of your videos.
Thanks so much Brian, really appreciate you saying this. Always trying to raise the bar, and improve my videos. Hope you enjoy the rest of the videos!
You're not going to be able to get any "real" gigs by faking your way through.. Especially if you're trying to play jazz or get a jazz gig, you will only get embarrassed if you take the stage and aren't prepared. You need to have a full grasp of the rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic devices employed in whatever genre you hope to gain employment in. The music world is a tough one to break into, mostly because there are exponentially more talented musicians then there are jobs available. So, even for a lot of entry-level work, you're competing against others who have been playing their whole lives. Good luck.
I got this man. I know a tiny bit about music. I've been playing music for 26 years. I'm in school now for music performance and education.You'd be surprised how much can be faked by some people. There's a lot more to music than the theory. I got to play with Jeff Coffin and Futureman recently, nothing but improv. I was out gunned, obviously, but I didn't embarrass myself. Anyways, what you're saying is correct, for the most part.. But I'm not entry level. I know theory, rhythm, etc.. I'm just new to the piano. I've played piano gigs. You shouldn't try to discourage younger players though. You, in fact, should encourage them.
Forget that clown. Half the dueling pianists in this country get paid to bang out triads all night. You are trying to improve yourself and you don't need a lecture from some random guy. Keep up the good work.
+Chris Russell Robinson lol...I totally agree! Julian is very good and probably a little high level but always something even a somewhat beginner can learn a lot from. Or someone that just needs a little push that already knows some music to improve. It just takes getting down in the dirt and practicing.
Superb lesson Julian. As always your lessons are very well explained, makes it so easy to understand. Thanks bro.
Another great video that encourages exploration and experimentation. I especially liked your scale analysis, breaking down scales into chordal and color tones. This video was created with great clarity. Thanks for sharing your insights and immense musical gift.
I'm a mainly a guitarist but I find myself learning so much from your videos and applying them to guitar that I just keep coming back. Thanks and keep up the good work!
You just freed the soloing jazz in me. Way to go genius.
This lesson is absolutely incredible!! I have been playing for a while and when i started looking at your teachings online, it helped me to bring closure and a lot more cohesiveness to my playing and musical ideas. You my friend are a huge blessing!
Mr Bradley I enjoy this video it has helped me so much with my piano soloing I have been a gospel pianist and organist for 20 years and I have not learned the technique of soloing until I watched your video today it has helped me tremendously I will be purchasing your book to grow further in my music and endeavors.
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also, think of an extreme example the other way - the chromatic scale, all 12 semitones. This sounds consonant over any chord - may 7, min 7, dominant 7, because it contains the 'correct' chordal tones. As long as the ear can hear these it is happy, and will just interpret the other notes as passing tones (notes used to move between the chordal tones).
Thank you very much, Julian. You are unbelievably so unique and a gifted teacher and pianist. I love listening to your voice and teachings. I am sure so many can learn incredibly with you. God bless you more and more 🙏🙏🙏💝💝💝
Amazing that you're self-taught! Such an impressive breadth of chord knowledge, you make a great online 'virtual tutor,' even for the absolute jazz beginner like me!!
This makes so much sense to me, I used to think jazz was just random button mashing but now I know it's not too hard if you learn/follow a couple rules. :)
FANTASTIC tutorial, and love how smartly you lead into your Jazz Hero's Collection. Inspiring and impressive!
You are great, thanks so much! I've been improving strictly in the root key for years thinking that would always be the best sounding key. This idea of colorful 9th 11th and 13th has literally changed my playing overnight. Thank you again. There are some great jazz tutorials on TH-cam and yours are easily some of the clearest, most informative and most professional looking ones out there. Well done.
Wow thank you for this video!
I can't tell which is my favourite as I'm fascinated by all
Mr. Bradley, I've just became a new fan and wanted to thank you so much for this incredible explanation and all of your video lessons. You are a terrific teacher.
Mr. Bradley, Thank you for two excellent lessons the Pentatonic Scale and Church Modes. Coming from beginner Guitar (two years), its great to actually see these theory principals applied to your very nice music examples. Also the lessons underline the need to completely understand the roman numeral chords in each key. I'll be working on that for a while. Thanks so much. Mike
Very inspiring, practical information. Crammed nicely in less then 15 min. And the sound of the examples makers it entertaining as well
thanks so much for all you do........some of your videos i find hard to follow at times.....but others have made me much more skilled........
Julian thanks so much! What I learned in the Mark Levine Theory Book was that I and IV Pentatonic went with I chords, I, IV, V went with ii chords, and V went with V chords, and V went with a ii-V-I. (Levine's book is awesome, BTW, and I am not knocking him). But your scales sound so good! I already intuited the D pentatonic over C because it's an easy change to play just looking at the keyboard, but it was nice to hear it confirmed by a great player like you. I will definitely be back. You are a great teacher!
Jazz made easy! this is a great tutorial on pentatonic scales and their use over ii-V-I. Many thanks!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed this one!
Superb lesson Julian. I got the melody and words of two beautiful old English love songs. Fitting simple chords has been a pleasure. I would like you to show us how to fit a simple chord progression , then a more complex one and finally your
jazz improvisations. Best wishes for Summer 2013. Alan
Thanks Bhavesh, good to hear from you!
I did plan on doing a video on shell voicings, but I didn't think there was too much to say on them:
Just play the root 3rd and 7th of any chord. You can play 2 inversions:
root 3rd 7th
root 7th 3rd (bit of a stretch).
For ii-V-I's, (here's one in C) play:
D F C - G F B - C E B
Shell voicings are a nice contrast to the more complex voicings I talk about in most of my videos. They also give the soloist complete freedom with scales, e.g. b9, 9, #9 etc
the melody in the beginning is so beautiful !
Very nice composition. Soothes the mind and soul.
I'm playing the Rolland 700SX. I really like it's piano sounds, and the weighted keys / real piano feel.
I like the #4 over the dominant chord. Thanks for the video. The pattern you did was nice. I need to learn that lick.
Holy heck, you are so brilliantly calm and concise about conveying the techniques. I'm a lowly beginner but I learned a great deal from this wonderful video and I love pentatonics!!
Excellent. Very best site I have found for explaining use of pentatonic scales.
Thanks Gerard - means a lot to hear this video helped you!
You're welcome Sigmund! Glad this helped
I'm a Bass Player and loved your instruction - Thanks!
Just found your videos... Thank you so much, I'll practice my pentatonic scales on 2-5-1, I didn't know they could sound so jazzy!
Even if I play guitar, I find these videos really good!
Thank you Justinus! So glad you like this one!
This lesson was awesome! it presented approaches I hadn't really thought about. It really helped me make sense about a lot of things I already new but just wasn't quite sure how to execute. thank you for sharing and helpings all become better musicians.
The #4 pentatonic over dominant chords is my favorite because it sounds so sophisticated.
Thanks Sam - I love hearing this! Lots more filmed, ready to post :)
the best demo i ve heard and the most informative in just a few words great great great drummerjo
You're welcome - glad they're helping you!
Thank you! Glad you liked this one. I've got a lot more videos ready to post, I have to be disciplined to wait before I post them, but they will be 1 a week for a while now.
Thanks for the comment!
I should have seen this ten years ago. Thank you for this. You are a beast, my good man!
Really enjoyed listening to your videos. I've been wanting to learn and approach jazz on my piano. I play mostly by ear and watching your videos is really helping. Thanks so much. You do an excellent job teaching it, I plan on listening every day and hopefully I can learn the chords and play a little
Great lesson, very insightful. Really enjoying all your videos. Keep up the great work!
Great approach especially when improvising. Much easier to create an interesting solo than using 7 or 8 note scales. Experimented with using bebop style chromatic enclosures on the more consonant pentatonics to flavor them a bit.
Haha thanks Jonathan! I sometimes get that feeling when I'm watching a video, so it means a lot for me to hear. Thanks!
Hi Robert, I am certainly planning a video on the melodic minor modes. I know what you mean, that chapter is pretty hard corp. I'll have to prepare for it so as to really do a good job, stay tuned though, it is high up on my list of priorities!
Thanks Solcius! I know what you mean, it's a combination of a few different things, the parradiddle rhythmic pattern (alternating between right and left hand) and of course the pentatonic scale that creates that sound.
Thanks for this video knowing which pentatonics to play with each specific chord is so helpful!!! Now Maybe I can begin to apply some of this.
Thank you for the info! Can you elaborate on the minor scales please?
Easy to understand. Thanks for the education. I'll def be back for more.
Great lesson even for a guitarist, nice to hear those scales over those chords.
Your videos are extremely useful, and highly instructional. thanks
Thanks for breaking this down in such a clear way....
Thanks David, you're welcome, glad you enjoyed this one :)
I like playing minor pentatonics over 7th and 9th chords. Sounds really cool!!
Very very helpful, I'm a guitar player, but just the simple things like building a maj pent off of the 2 over a maj 7th chord really helps my playing, thank you!
The Highlighting the Chord extensions really opened a new perspective for me, thanks!
I sure couldn4 figure out Bb Pentagon's over E7. You didn't show that one. Amazing. The first you didn't show I couldn't figure out. You are still very advanced for my stage. Keep them coming. Make some simple.
marry chrismas & happy new year may god bless you
I always thought pentatonic scales were a waste of time. A brilliant lesson, now I hear how they can be used.
Thank´s a lot. im no Piano player but your vids are the best i´ve come across.
no mystifying just solid, understandable and adaptable Theory. Great.
I'm so pleased to hear this CAOL, thanks for the lovely comment :)
I'm a guitar player, but I often look for great theory videos in piano based lessons. This tutorial is full of valuable information! I'm currently studying this lesson, so that I can apply it to guitar. I've found that what I call D Lydian Pentatonic, sounds great over that Cmaj9 (#11,13) chord. The intervals for Lydian pentatonic are R, 3, #4, 5 & 7. D Lydian pentatonic over a C root gives you 2nd, #4th, #5th, 6th & b9th...& it sounds awesome!
I LOVE THIS STUFF!!!!
Thats a crazy pentatonic lol, but that would give a normal 9, not a flat one.
I wouldn't renovate the white house on that b9, but you can kick it down the road a bit...
Finally I have an idea where these jazz chords are created from! Thanks a lot!
This is one of the best piano tutorial I have watched . Great keep it up
Another great voice building video!! Thank you so very much!!!
maj7: 1:45
min7: 5:15
dom7: 8:03
2-5-1: 10:26