“Brilliant! Thanks, Rick!”

“I own 400 (!) books on jazz education – and this is the one!”

“THANK YOU! Looking forward to a lifetime of Buddhist-inspired practice ahead!”

“Rick really has some great ideas for developing something personal through his approaches to go beyond the necessary language of the masters.”

“Focus on basics implicit. Also appreciated the idea that basics are huge and splitting keys over days is useful.
I also liked the clarity of Rick’s Play-Alongs.”

“Gotta get Rick’s book. The ideas of moving scales and shapes through the keys in minor thirds major thirds etc. is something that I am working into my practice routine, so I’m glad that yet another great musician is suggesting it.”

“Thanks, Rick! I got overly intimidated by the first example in the book because it was so complicated and thought the whole book was going to be completely beyond me.
Hearing you explain some of these examples and the thinking behind them helped the book ‘come alive’ – and a lot of it will be accessible to me at my present level. Certainly a lifetime of material to work on!
And I really appreciate the practice grid outlined in the first chapter. Thanks so much for this amazing resource!”

“This approach has absolutely changed my life. I hear things in so many different ways. I’m not afraid to put anything over anything because I know I can get back. And much of who I am as a musician is because of this material.
I really don’t think that there’s too many people that are approaching harmony the way that Rick does. It’s just so far above where everybody else is coming from. And I do believe that the concepts in this book are something that people will be talking about, just like Gary Campbell’s expansions and things like that.” – Jeff Ellwood

[00:00:00]: Intro Performance
[00:00:33]: Origins of the book
[00:01:54]: From daily posts to making the book
[00:03:12]: Categories, help from Jeff & play-alongs
[00:03:58]: Play-along format & variations
[00:05:39]: “Practice Method” + Gary Campbell credit
[00:06:48]: Practice sequence: 1A-4B directions
[00:09:12]: Intervals through keys: 3rds to 7ths
[00:10:39]: Triads & 7th chords with directions
[00:11:23]: Hearing functions: chord roles across keys
[00:12:35]: Intervallic families overview
[00:14:11]: Inversions, tritone & fifth families
[00:15:24]: Combining families with the routine
[00:17:15]: Whole steps, minor/major 3rds & 4ths
[00:18:51]: Summary: families + directions together
[00:19:07]: [Q&A] Are fifths & fourths the same?
[00:19:51]: Triads through the routine & inversions
[00:21:02]: Minor triads in major 3rds sound
[00:21:45]: Seventh chords, Lydian 7ths in major 3rds
[00:23:00]: Reordering chord tones (1-5-3-7 etc.)
[00:26:26]: Transforming Bebop: from lick to language
[00:27:32]: Major 3rd pickups & expanding ideas
[00:30:03]: Plugging ideas with play-alongs & discipline
[00:30:26]: Targeted Aebersold practice strategies
[00:31:57]: Etude on All the Things You Are
[00:32:36]: [Q&A] Mixing intervallic families & chord types
[00:34:51]: [Q&A] Appl. practice to harmonic & melodic minor 
[00:35:00]: Fundamentals category intro
[00:36:05]: 2-5-1 guide tones in all keys (play-along)
[00:37:33]: Practice 2-5-1 through interval families
[00:39:09]: 2-5-1 using only major-scale notes
[00:40:19]: Adding tasteful chromaticism
[00:43:00]: Starting on non-chord tones challenge
[00:44:39]: [Q&A] Running written lines or creating new ones
[00:45:12]: [Q&A] Guide tones: all directions vs written
[00:46:08]: [Q&A] Adding rhythmic variation to lines
[00:47:13]: Not starting on 1: phrasing & rhythm ideas
[00:48:44]: Altering the V: half-whole diminished & mel. minor
[00:50:11]: Starting alterations early or late
[00:51:31]: Superimposing major 3rds over 2-5-1
[00:54:12]: Major 3rds without common tones
[00:55:19]: “Tonicizing” major 3rds (Giant Steps feel)
[00:56:44]: Minor keys in major 3rds with V setups
[00:59:52]: [Q&A] Extending pedal patterns across keys
[01:00:14]: Common-tone pivots & surprise modulation
[01:01:22]: Side-slipping by half-step
[01:02:45]: Longer side-slip example & resolution
[01:04:18]: [Q&A] Do chords match chord symbols in examples?
[01:04:53]: [Q&A] Backing track harmonic content
[01:05:32]: Updates, logistics & new mini-compositions
[01:06:45]: Sus idea evolving across keys (mini-tune)
[01:09:21]: [Q&A] Glossary of book: examples by category?
[01:10:08]: [Q&A] Bass clef edition availability?
[01:10:48]: [Q&A] Expanding patterns to two octaves
[01:11:18]: [Q&A] Best ways to train your ear for this
[01:12:07]: [Q&A] Integrating patterns vs playing music
[01:13:35]: [Q&A] Applying concepts directly to standards
[01:14:39]: [Q&A] Book accessibility & first example feedback
[01:15:31]: [Q&A] MIDI backing tracks – future possibility
[01:16:10]: Thanks & testimonials
[01:16:33]: [Q&A] Alternative keys for audio files
[01:17:17]: [Q&A] How much time on patterns vs tunes
[01:18:21]: [Q&A] Why did you move to Paris?
[01:19:31]: Jeff Ellwood on the impact of Rick’s approach
[01:21:03]: Influences & lineage