A Chromatic Approach to Jazz Harmony and Melody Cover Image

A Chromatic Approach to Jazz Harmony and Melody: Book & Online Audio

$49.95 USD
$49.95 USD
Skip to product information
A Chromatic Approach to Jazz Harmony and Melody Cover Image
A Chromatic Approach to Jazz Harmony and Melody: Book & Online Audio

A Chromatic Approach to Jazz Harmony and Melody: Book & Online Audio

By David Liebman

Item: 01-ADV14216
$49.95
Shipped

One moment…

Description
This book should be seen as a method to help the artist to develop his or her own way when trying to improvise chromatically. Through the concepts and examples offered, the improvisor should be able to use this material alongside already familiar tonal ideas. Specifically, the book serves as a guide for organizing chromaticism into a coherent musical statement meant to satisfy both the intellectual and emotional needs of artistic creation. The reader will be introduced to more than one way of conceiving chromatic lines and harmonies. There is nothing theoretically complex or new in the text, it is the organization of the material as well as many musical examples and transcriptions (Bach, Scriabin, Coltrane, Shorter, Hancock, Beirach, Liebman a.o.) which should serve to inspire musicians to expand their usual diatonic vocabulary. This book also provides insight into the style of playing that David Liebman is known for. In addition the book contains 100 assorted solo lines and 100 chord voicings. More from David Liebman at his homepage.

A Chromatic Approach to Jazz Harmony and Melody: Book & Online Audio isn't in MakeMusic Cloud just yet...but it could be. Let us know you'd like to see it, and you'll help shape what comes next. In the meantime, start a free trial and dive into thousands of interactive titles your students can play along with today.

Request This Title

Tell us you want it.

Start Your Free Trial

Explore everything that's ready to play right now.
Sample Pages

Sample Audio

p

0:00
0:00
Sample Video
No sample videos found.
Additional Details
Series: Advance Music
Publisher: Advance Music
ISBN10: 3-892210-30-6
ISBN13: 978-3-892210-30-6
UPC: 805095142167
SKU: 01-ADV14216
Instrumentation: Melody Instruments

More about this title

About the Author: David Liebman

David Liebman has shaped modern jazz saxophone and flute playing across five decades, collaborating with Elvin Jones, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, and countless others. His tireless exploration of harmonic language and chromatic expression has made him one of jazz's most influential improvisers and educators, known for bridging intellectual rigor with emotional authenticity in every performance.

Why we love this

Liebman organizes chromatic vocabulary in a way that actually works alongside traditional tonal playing, not against it. The 200 practical examples (solo lines and voicings) plus transcriptions from Bach through Coltrane show students that chromatic language isn't a separate discipline but an extension of what they already know.

What to expect

Methodical yet liberating. You're learning to organize color and tension, discovering that chromatic pitches aren't random decorations but deliberate extensions of harmonic space. The constant interplay between classic transcriptions and modern jazz language keeps the work both grounded and forward-thinking.

Who it's for

Intermediate to advanced improvisers ready to move beyond basic diatonic vocabulary and integrate chromatic language with intention. This book suits saxophonists, trumpeters, trombonists, pianists, and any musician serious about expanding their harmonic palette in a jazz context.

How to get the most out of it

  • Start by isolating a single chromatic concept from the book, then spend a week applying just that device over familiar changes before layering in another idea.
  • Use the recorded accompaniment to ground your chromatic exploration in real time; the relationship between your lines and the underlying harmony becomes immediately clear.
  • Study the transcriptions of Coltrane and Shorter alongside the author's own examples to hear how different players voice the same chromatic principles.
  • Practice the 100 solo lines not as destinations but as springboards; modify them, transpose them, and embed them into your own improvisations.

How to use it

Assign this systematically to students preparing for jazz ensemble roles or private lesson curricula focusing on improvisation depth. Its pairing of concept, example, and transcription makes it equally valuable as a semester-long study or a source for specific units on harmonic approach.

Skills your students will build

  • Chromatic line construction within harmonic framework
  • Recognition of chromatic patterns across classical, bebop, and modern jazz idioms
  • Voicing chromatic passing tones and enclosures
  • Harmonic reharmonization using chromatic motion
  • Transcription and stylistic analysis of master improvisers
  • Integration of chromatic vocabulary into personal improvisation

You May Also Like