Roni Ben-Hur

Master the Barry Harris method of harmonic analysis and discover how bebop legends construct their melodic lines in this comprehensive exploration with renowned guitarist Roni Ben-Hur. This course takes you deep into the essential skill of breaking down jazz standards to their most fundamental harmonic structures, using "How High the Moon" as your working laboratory. You'll learn to identify the underlying harmonic progressions that exist beneath the chord changes—the skeletal framework that bebop masters use as their starting point for improvisation. Roni demonstrates how to strip away the color chords to reveal the dominant progressions that truly drive the music forward, giving you multiple substitution options including diminished, augmented, and tritone alternatives. This isn't about simplification—it's about understanding the architecture so you can build more sophisticated solos with informed choices. Working through practical examples from Roni's book "Talk Jazz," you'll explore the bebop approach to adding chromatic notes to major and dominant scales, understand the concept of important chords within the dominant scale, and analyze a complete pre-written solo that demonstrates these principles in action. You'll discover why that G minor 7 to C7 is really just an extended C11, and how recognizing these relationships opens up your harmonic palette. Perfect for intermediate to advanced players ready to move beyond chord-scale theory into the deeper waters of bebop construction. You'll leave with a systematic approach to analyzing any standard, plus the tools to develop melodic ideas with the sophistication and logic of the bebop masters.

Dive into the heart of jazz guitar with Roni Ben-hur's enlightening video lesson on Charlie Parker's iconic tune, "Confirmation". This masterclass is not just a lesson; it's an immersive journey through the complex harmonies and intricate melodies that define jazz. Roni, with his expert guidance, breaks down the challenging aspects of the tune, making it accessible and engaging for guitarists aiming to expand their jazz repertoire and vocabulary. Whether you're grappling with the tune's demanding melody or seeking to deepen your improvisational skills, Roni's insights will transform your approach, one note at a time. Join this musical voyage and unlock the secrets of jazz guitar mastery with "Confirmation". From the Course: "Hello everyone, my name is Roni Ben-Hur. Today, I want to discuss "Confirmation" by Charlie Parker, a fascinating jazz piece known for its intricate chord progressions. It serves as an excellent practice tool for navigating common chord changes found in many jazz standards. First, I'll perform the piece to give you a sense of its vibe. "Confirmation" has a lively, bebop feel, and while its melody (or "head") is challenging, it provides a rich foundation for improvisation, making it ideal for developing your jazz phrasing and vocabulary. However, the melody can be daunting, especially on the guitar, due to its complexity. One approach is to slow down the melody or focus on improvisation by bypassing the melody altogether. The importance of "Confirmation" lies in its chord changes, which are prevalent in many jazz standards. By analyzing the chord sheet, identify the harmonic centers or "arrival points" and the chords that lead to these points. The piece transitions from the tonic (F major) to its relative minor (D minor), a common progression in jazz. Recognizing these patterns, such as moving to the relative minor or the fourth chord, is crucial for understanding jazz harmony. When practicing "Confirmation," consider the function of each chord: some are destinations, while others are pathways leading to these destinations. This distinction helps in improvisation, as you can emphasize the arrival points while using the leading chords to navigate through the changes. Let's break down the A section: it starts in F major, moves to D minor (the relative minor), then to B-flat major (the fourth chord), and introduces a two-five-one progression, a staple in jazz harmony. Each of these points offers an opportunity to practice and internalize common jazz progressions. Understanding and practicing the chord changes in "Confirmation" not only enhances your ability to play this particular tune but also enriches your overall jazz improvisation skills by familiarizing you with key harmonic movements found in many other standards."

Master the sophisticated art of the diminished chord with renowned jazz guitarist Roni Ben-Hur in this essential masterclass that transforms a simple passing chord into a powerful harmonic tool. This course reveals the professional secrets behind using diminished chords not just as transitions, but as colorful harmonic devices that add depth and sophistication to your playing. You'll discover the critical relationship between diminished chords and dominant 7th chords, learning how to seamlessly convert between them using Ben-Hur's half-step technique. Through practical demonstrations using jazz standards like "What's New" and "Spring is Here," you'll understand exactly when and how to apply these voicings in real performance situations. Ben-Hur breaks down the mathematical elegance of the diminished structure—its cycle of minor thirds—and shows you how this knowledge translates into instant chord inversions and substitutions on the fretboard. Most importantly, you'll learn to add colors and tensions that move beyond the basic diminished sound, incorporating flat 9 extensions and understanding which progressions welcome these sophisticated harmonies. Ben-Hur addresses the crucial exceptions—when not to use diminished substitutions over IV and II dominants—ensuring you apply these techniques tastefully. Whether you're looking to enhance your comping vocabulary or add harmonic sophistication to your chord-melody arrangements, this course provides immediately applicable techniques that separate professional players from intermediate guitarists. Perfect for experienced players ready to elevate their harmonic understanding beyond basic chord progressions.

Master the sophisticated harmonic language that separates professional jazz guitarists from intermediate players in this comprehensive exploration of advanced voicing techniques with renowned guitarist Roni Ben-Hur. This course demystifies the diminished chord's role as jazz harmony's most versatile tool, revealing how these "leading chords" create the forward motion and harmonic sophistication that define great jazz performances. Through eleven meticulously structured lessons, you'll discover how diminished chords function as the hidden architecture within dominant seventh progressions, learning to leverage their symmetrical structure across drop 2 and drop 3 voicings. Ben-Hur demonstrates practical applications using jazz standards like "It Could Happen to You" and "Strike Up the Band," showing exactly how master players use diminished substitutions to create seamless voice leading and impressionistic harmonic colors. You'll learn to recognize and apply the crucial relationship between diminished chords and altered dominants, understanding why every diminished contains four different seventh chords just a half-step away. This knowledge transforms your approach to both comping and chord soloing, providing immediate tools for creating sophisticated reharmonizations on the bandstand. The course includes comprehensive fingering patterns for all string sets, systematic inversion exercises, and practical substitution concepts you can apply to any jazz standard. Perfect for guitarists ready to move beyond basic chord changes into the realm of professional harmonic sophistication that defines modern jazz guitar playing.

Master the essential chord voicings that define professional jazz guitar playing with renowned guitarist Roni Ben-Hur's systematic approach to Drop 2 and Drop 3 voicings. This comprehensive course demystifies these fundamental harmonic structures, revealing the logic behind their construction and demonstrating why they've become the backbone of jazz guitar comping. Through nine carefully structured lessons, you'll explore the complete framework of Drop 2 voicings across all string sets and inversions, understanding not just the shapes but the theory that makes them work. Ben-Hur demonstrates how to transform basic major and minor chords into sophisticated voicings including major 7, dominant 7, minor 6, diminished, and altered chords—all while maintaining playability on the fretboard. The course progresses to Drop 3 voicings, showing how these five-string spread voicings create the rich, open sound heard in classic jazz recordings. Beyond mere chord shapes, you'll learn practical application through rhythm changes and blues progressions, discovering how master guitarists seamlessly connect these voicings in real performance situations. The final lessons reveal how four-note voicings serve as upper extensions of more complex five and six-note chords, giving you the tools to voice any chord, simple or altered. Perfect for intermediate to advanced players ready to move beyond basic chord grips, this course provides the harmonic vocabulary you need for professional-level comping, whether you're playing standards at your local jazz club or working through challenging arrangements in the practice room.