Now, Freddie Green voicings

Are all very well

For comping, they're perfectly

Timeless and swell

And chord substitutions

You know we all love 'em

Despite all those funny

Descriptions above 'em

(Flat nines and sharp nines

And flat thirteens, too

It's Byzantine, baby,

But what can you do?)

And then there's your scales

In assorted positions

The endless obsession

Of every musician

The secret, they swear

To good single-note solos

As crucial, they promise,

As turquoise to bolos

But what if you're cooking

–Just wailing away–

And you want to take it to

–as the kids say–

The next level, when suddenly

You realize you

Are somehow just fresh out

Of noodley-do?

The answer, I venture

To humbly submit

Is part harmonized blues licks

Part well-placed chord hits

With common tone riffing

And yes, substitutions

All working together

And whose execution

When worked out in terms of

The twelve-bar progression

Can greatly increase

both your chops and expression

So if you feel trapped in

The single-note snooze

Check out the new workshop,

Chord Melody Blues

Sign up now

Here is how:

Chord Melody Blues Workshop Registration

More soon,

David