First I must say your jazz basic lessons are exactly what I was looking for. What I’m struggling with is trying to make them “ musical “. I’ve tried starting on the 5th and descending or ascending but it sounds to mechanical. Any would be much appreciated. 

9 hours ago, Richiie said:

First I must say your jazz basic lessons are exactly what I was looking for.

Hey Richiie - thanks for your feedback. Glad to hear that

9 hours ago, Richiie said:

What I’m struggling with is trying to make them “ musical “. I’ve tried starting on the 5th and descending or ascending but it sounds to mechanical. Any would be much appreciated. 

That's a very good question. Once you know the tools which you can use how to make it sound nice and melodical ? There are several steps possible :

Learn some jazz themes and check out how melodies are formed and compare it with your knowledge of theory and learn how those melodies work and then try to make variations of those melodies. Start with simple themes such as " St. Loius Blues " or " Take the A Train " . Sometimes there are gaps in the theoretical knowledge who don't cover all of it - just take it as a challenge.

The other thing is - work out your own melodies and try to move from chord note ( root, triad, fifth ) to chord note. Try to avoid to stop too many melodies on the root note or only when the melodie is an ending. The root note sounds a bit boring - try to listen how the triad or the fifth sounds and try to get inspired. In Jazz you don't need to play many notes - just the right ones. That's a good tip. Your ears are the guidling line to select.

That would be the best advice if you are still in the basic jazz improvisation level.

If you are more experienced you might want to work with " options " in your melody making. There you target the remaining notes execpt the chord notes in your melody creation. You find some theory written about this here :

I hope this helps for a first improvment

Thanks for the detailed feedback. I’ve started working on the St Louis Blues and beginning to understand the use of triads and realize I don’t have to play every note and to pause occasionally which is starting to sound like “ music “!!

I had posted another question but I believe I posted in the wrong area of the site. The most resent video did a good job explaining how to use the site.

My question is regarding the St Louis Blues. After the melody, what chords are being played? I tried using the chords from the song but it doesn't sound right. A notation and/tabs for the solo would be helpful. Tks

13 hours ago, Richiie said:

I had posted another question but I believe I posted in the wrong area of the site. The most resent video did a good job explaining how to use the site.

Hey Richiie - thanks for the feedback about the " Best Use " video. I am glad it was helpful for you. Well you can use the forum of the Students Club as you are already doing here or better since you are a premium member - open up your own member blog that all questions related to your learning process are stored in a timeline.

13 hours ago, Richiie said:

My question is regarding the St Louis Blues. After the melody, what chords are being played? I tried using the chords from the song but it doesn't sound right. A notation and/tabs for the solo would be helpful. Tks

Post that question direct in the post of the " St. Louis Blues " there I can add something to anwser your question and then everybody else who is interested can see it. 😊

Checked the chords now - take these ones here :

The problem you might noticed is that the voicings of these chords are above the melodyline from the theme but these are the classic old style chords which you would use on new orleans type jazz songs. To avoid the described problem just play the theme one octave higher. 😊