Lesson 6: Minor ii-V-i

Although working on ii V i melodies through the keys is fairly common these days, I think it’s a relatively new phenomenon and I hold John Coltrane somewhat responsible for the trend. This melody I “wrote” by combining an improvised line from a Sonny Rollins solo I took off over “How High The Moon” and a Lee Konitz line I learned off of his “Motion” album. I think the melody sounds nice and it’s interesting to see how both Rollins and Lee use chromatic approach notes their in line playing. The exercise starts in A minor concert (B-7, E7b9, A-7) and continues through the keys down by half steps. I’ve enjoyed spending time displacing this one, starting on different triplets and eight-notes at different points in the bar. Learning to sing this well in tune is also fairly challenging ear training.

~Enjoy!

Download the PDF here:

Lesson 6 ii V minor melody PDF

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Lesson 6: Minor ii-V-i
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