Intermediate Starter Series

Vic offers a wealth of information as he discusses concepts from his book “Modern Chords”.  He shares techniques for reharmonizing songs with examples on All The Things You Are, Green Dolphin Street and Stella By Starlight.  He covers comping as well as picking techniques and exercises in response to class questions.

View clips of Vic’s class

Vic Juris’s associated book:

Maurice Arenas has specially created this series for Mike’s Master Classes targeting the overall player who wishes to comprehend and master many musical genres. In the first video of the series a fusion solo is broken down that contains elements of Jazz, Blues, Shred, Rock and Fusion. This first video was intended for guitarists of many skill levels from Beginning, Intermediate to the Advanced. Each level will receive something on each topic, which enables the student to continue learning more after certain concepts are internalized.

The first in this video series covers a variety of concepts used in many genres, including Rock, Shred, Blues, Jazz and Fusion

The techniques and concepts shown and explained are:

• Chords used in the lesson (including Jazz chords and Slash chords)
• Sweep Picking Arpeggios similar to “Frank Gambale” (Level 1 and 2)
• Hybrid Picking
• Playing Chromatic passing tones – outlining small chords
• 3 Octave Scales with a logical approach
• Pentatonic Scales with a repeated notes similar to “Allan Holdsworth” and “Paul Gilbert”
• Diminished Arpeggios and Applications in Jazz, Blues and Rock
• 7 Modes of the Major Scale – 3 notes per string
• 5 Pentatonic Boxes – 2 notes per string
• Fingerboard Knowledge Overview – Maurice Arenas basic approach to viewing the guitar
• Scales on one string, 2 notes per string, 3 notes per string, 3 octaves

View clips from this class

Learn how to play in any harmonic situation and create long, fluid lines with this concept of applying the Dom7 Be-bop Scale with a group of chord substitutions called “The Family of 4”.

The Bebop Flow course, taught by renowned jazz guitarist Sheryl Bailey, is an in-depth exploration of the harmonic concepts that underpin bebop and how they can be connected through the use of the “family of 4” approach.

The course is aimed at intermediate to advanced guitarists who want to develop a deeper understanding of the harmonic structures used in bebop and learn how to create flowing melodic lines that connect these structures.

Throughout the course, Sheryl Bailey breaks down key concepts such as the bebop scale, chord tones, and chord progressions, providing detailed explanations and demonstrations of how these concepts can be used to create fluid lines that connect the harmony.

The course is divided into four main sections, each of which focuses on a different aspect of the bebop flow approach:

1. Building Blocks – In this section, Sheryl Bailey introduces the key harmonic concepts that underpin the bebop flow approach, including the bebop scale, chord tones, and chord progressions.
2. Family of 4 – The family of 4 approach is a powerful tool for connecting harmonic concepts and creating flowing lines. In this section, Sheryl Bailey teaches you how to use this approach to create melodic lines that connect the harmony.
3. Turnarounds – Turnarounds are an essential part of jazz harmony, and in this section, Sheryl Bailey teaches you how to use the bebop flow approach to create flowing lines over common turnaround progressions.
4. Practical Application – In the final section of the course, Sheryl Bailey demonstrates how the concepts covered in the course can be applied in a practical setting, showing you how to use the bebop flow approach to create solos over a variety of jazz standards.

The course includes detailed video lessons, downloadable practice materials, and backing tracks to help you practice and apply the concepts covered in the course. Whether you’re an intermediate guitarist looking to develop your understanding of jazz harmony or an advanced player looking to take your solos to the next level, the Bebop Flow course is an essential resource for any guitarist looking to master the bebop language.

“Sheryl Bailey shares her approach to practicing and developing strong sounding bebop lines and gives specific examples to demonstrate the concept. This is a lesson from a real performer so it’s real practical application rather than just theory! Some bebop lessons that I’ve encountered at times tend to be dry and removed from the melodic flow and intensity of the real music.”

~ Az Samad

“Sheryl lays out the material in a very intelligent & organized manner! Her concept is nothing short of brilliant.”

~ Steven Larcovic

“I think this is simply the best instructional video I’ve ever seen. Very practical, very clear, sick lines. Sheryl is just an amazing teacher who not only teaches very well but plays smoking lines too. By the end of the video you finally understand the concept of substitions and how to play the bebop scale.
Get this!”

Read a full review of this class in Guitar International Magazine

“Sheryl Bailey, in addition to being an outstanding musician and performer, does a great job of communicating concepts to students. Application of the Micro-cosmic bebop line to the family of 4 plus 1 chords came very easily after taking this lesson. I started working the line into ii-Vs in a bunch of tunes my quartet performs. This is how I run through keys, by pushing myself to use new ideas in tunes. The application to tritone subs was excellent. Great lesson…thanks!”

~ Mark B.

“This is a great lesson for anyone who wants to understand the Bebop language with easy and fast. Results are immediately practical. 
Sheryl founded a way to make it really simple and understandable.
5 chords and just one dominant Bebop scale and you’re ready to go for it.
Thanks Sheryl you did a great job, we’re waiting for part two.”

~ Chris

“Another great insight from Sheryl. I have been working with the Bebop scales for awhile and were hit and a lot of miss, but this lesson put’s it all into perspective and now getting some great new sounds in my lines. “

~ Steve B.

Exploring intricate chord voicings based on the Minor 6, Major 6 and the Diminished chords.
11 lessons that will dramatically change your approach to chord voicing, allowing you to add color, texture and harmonic movements to every chord, using the minor 6 and major 6 diminished scales, and the diminished chord.  Mastering this information will give you the tools to create sophisticated voice leading, impressionistic chords with beautiful tensions, and raise your chord solo and accompaniment playing to new heights.
All these concepts are clearly explained, and ways to practice them are outlined.
Sheet music and chord diagrams for the material in these lessons is included.

NOTE: These videos and materials were previously released in Roni’s “Chordability” DVD.

Half diminished (also known as minor 7th flat five) chords are a familiar structure to most jazz guitarists and occur in many, if not most, standards.  Even beginning-level players usually know a couple of half diminished voicings to plug in when needed.  However, because this sound isn’t as common as major, minor, dominant, and even fully diminished chords, jazz guitarists are often not as well-versed with half diminished as with the other sounds.

Many players who can otherwise improvise and comp comfortably and effortlessly through a tune might stumble when a half diminished chord comes up.  It’s understandable that we aren’t as familiar with concepts that we don’t use as frequently.

Diminished vs Half Diminished

First, we will find chord voicings and arpeggios all over the neck with exercises and suggestions for improving fluency.  Then, we will investigate many different uses of the half diminished sound so that it can be implemented over just about any of the commonly played harmonies in jazz.

This class will help you become more comfortable soloing and comping on half diminished chords, and it will also give you new ideas for using half diminished chords and arpeggios superimposed over other harmonies to create new and exciting sonorities.

The Half Diminished Sound covers:

• Basic structure and sound of the chord
• All voicings on the guitar of the half diminished/minor seventh flat five chord
• Half diminished arpeggio fingerings, both along individual strings and across the strings by position
• Exercises for gaining fluency with the chords and arpeggios all over the neck
• Explanation of different techniques for adding color tones to half diminished chords, with numerous examples
• Thorough exploration of using half diminished sounds to represent harmonies from the major and melodic minor scales, both as chords and as arpeggios, with multiple example of each • use of half diminished chords to create harmonized melodic minor scales
• Finding the four half diminished chords contained in the diminished scale and using them as chords and arpeggios to create fresh sounds on diminished chords • single note solo etude demonstrating material from the class on the chord changes to “Upper Manhattan Medical Group”
• Chordal etude using a harmonized melody utilizing the concepts from the class, also using the chord changes to “UMMG”
• Running time: 95 minutes
• Includes 22 pages of written examples and exercises • All musical examples from the video are provided in music notation, tablature, and chord grid form.
• Each example performance in the video is titled and numbered for easy navigation.
• MP3 backing tracks for written examples, as well as full-length tracks for improvisation practice