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By Eric
Most improvisers cringe when they hear the words Giant Steps
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If youve ever tried to play over this tune, Im sure you know the feeling
Their hearts start pounding and they frantically try to remember the patterns theyve
worked out over the chord progression.
And its even more frustrating when you turn on a recording of your favorite players for
inspiration only to hear chorus after chorus of flawless lines:
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But what most players dont realize is that Giant Steps is actually composed of the
basic musical elements that you already know.
And today well show you the 4 steps to making this tune much easier than everyone
makes it out to be.
Let me explain
The difficulties that most improvisers have with creating a musical solo over Giant
Steps stems from three things:
The tempo
The rate that the chords change
Well take apart this tune piece by piece, but, first lets look at what is easy about
Giant Steps
When you slow down the tempo and focus in on the chord progression, youll find that
Giant Steps is actually a surprisingly simple tune.
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As you can see the chord progression is based around the three key centers of B, G
and Eb.
Composition (3)
Concepts (69)
And just like any other jazz standard, the path to a great solo starts with your ears
hearing the basic sounds of major, dominant, and minor and applying the language
that you know to these chords.
Ear (45)
Inspiration (55)
Before you jump right into the progression start by focusing on the resolution V7 to I in
each key:
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As a starting point for your practice, here are two ways that Coltrane plays V to I in his
solo on Giant Steps:
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In this tune the same chord relationships happen over and over again in the same
keys
To improvise effectively over this progression, you need to start with a foundation, a
base of material, that you can play without thinking. Start slow and start simple.
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Practice one bar ii-Vs like the one above in 3 keys. Your goal is to have multiple
options to improvise every time you encounter this progression.
For a better idea about how these work within the tune, listen to the opening from
Coltranes solo:
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These ii-Vs can seem like a simple concept that doesnt require practice, however in
just one chorus of Giant Steps youll encounter these one measure ii-Vs 6
times!
This is why its important for you to master them in the 3 keys and have multiple
options for improvising over them ingrain them until they are automatic!
Moving from a major chord to an unrelated dominant chord in the space of two beats.
To find some options for navigating this progression, lets begin by looking at how
Coltrane deals with this chord movement in his solo:
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One way that Coltrane navigates this progression is by alternating between triads and
scale patterns. Take a listen to the first four bars of his solo:
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Start by practicing this progression in B and applying the following Coltrane concepts
to each chord:
Major triad (ascending & descending)
1st inversion triad
1235 scale pattern
Now do the same for the progression starting in G. Start by studying and imitating how
Trane improvises over these chords:
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Again, the goal is to have these patterns and triads automatic when you apply them
to your solo in real time, you wont have time to think.
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26-2
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Incorporate this technique into your practice, utilizing this line and aiming for these
notes and motion in your solo. Try to create a continuous line that stretches over the
entire progression.
Lets take a look at how Coltrane navigates the chords in the next 8 bars:
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One way that he connects these unrelated chords is through the use of half step
resolutions. Check out how he connects the first four bars below:
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