“Loved the playing examples!”

“Everything was well organized!”

“Great masterclass as always. Thanks.”

“Nice concept – great to practice and use!”

“So many takeaways – need to watch it again…”

“Looking forward to going through Tim’s book!”

“Thank you — the best Rhythm Changes class ever!”

“Very clear instruction and comprehensive coverage.”

“Love Tim’s YouTube playlists for so much of his materials.”

“Takeaway: ‘I can treat the whole A section as just BbM7#11 or F7.”

“Brilliant masterclass from Tim, thanks! Went straight to Sher Music to get a copy of Tim’s book because 2 hours+ only whets the appetite!”

“Thank you, Tim! Such a great attitude & very clear presentation. It’s obvious that Tim is open and has learned from so many different sources. Much love!!!”

“Takeaway: I can play any tritone sub anytime — the B7 as the complete bar 4, it works. This level of freedom can be confusing, but it frees you from having to play over every 2 beats.”

“This is a great concept – I always knew that dominant chords provide an opportunity to pull all the funky tension-building scales out of my back pocket (don’t forget whole-tone as well).
But organizing them in a hierarchy and wielding them appropriately is making a more musical statement than wielding them as a weapon.”

[00:00:00]: Intro Performance
[00:02:29]: Introduction
[00:02:37]: Rhythm Changes: The #2 Form to Master
[00:03:15]: Hard Work, But a Lifetime of Fun
[00:04:14]: The Simple Way to Play Rhythm Changes
[00:04:39]: Kenny Wheeler on Mastering the Changes
[00:05:50]: Simplest Path Through the A Section
[00:07:49]: Adding the Blues Sound
[00:09:16]: Learning the Language from Other Players
[00:09:39]: Hear Melodies, Don’t Run Scales
[00:10:45]: Play an Idea & Let It Tell a Story
[00:12:04]: The One Key Change: The 5th Bar
[00:13:29]: Talking Through the Bridge: Five Keys
[00:14:19]: Demo: The Simplest Path, Full Choruses
[00:18:50]: First Pathway In: Start from the Melody
[00:20:07]: Improvising on the Anthropology Melody
[00:23:26]: Play Alone: Be the Drummer’s Equal
[00:24:12]: Charlie Shoemake’s Lifetime Challenge
[00:24:55]: Today’s Goal: A Hierarchy of Harmony
[00:25:32]: Oleo: Entering from Another Melody
[00:27:55]: [Q&A] Choosing Your Version of the Changes
[00:30:24]: The Changes Are Living, Not on Paper
[00:32:20]: Negotiating with the Rhythm Section
[00:33:31]: Chris Potter & Dave Holland’s Band
[00:35:00]: A Clash Is Fine – Tension Is Okay
[00:35:45]: The Bridge & the Hierarchy of Tension
[00:37:42]: Choosing Out Notes & Hearing Them Resolve
[00:40:01]: Major 7 on a Dominant: The Wrongest Note
[00:40:40]: Eric Alexander: Play Stuff That Sounds Good
[00:41:29]: [Q&A] Why Sharp 11 Is the First Tension
[00:45:44]: Demo: Major, Then Sharp 11
[00:50:04]: Make Melodic Phrases a Question & Answer
[00:52:00]: “1, 2, 3, Go” – Bernstein’s Device
[00:53:46]: Level 2: Sharp 5 Flat 9, Harmonic Minor
[00:57:24]: Demo: Harmonic Minor on the Bridge
[01:01:22]: Level 3: The Diminished Scale
[01:04:32]: Demo: Diminished on A Section & Bridge
[01:07:18]: Matching Harmonic Tension with Rhythm
[01:07:59]: Billy Hart at Smalls: Don’t Sell It
[01:09:02]: Level 4: The Altered Scale
[01:10:03]: Shortcut: Melodic Minor a Half Step Up
[01:11:18]: Demo: Maximum Tension, Altered Scale
[01:15:13]: [Q&A] Adding Chromaticism & Passing Tones
[01:16:53]: The Soul Eyes Solo in the Book
[01:18:00]: [Q&A] Is the Book Only for Sax Players?
[01:18:57]: The Whole-Tone Scale
[01:19:57]: Going Fully Outside: Tritone into Db
[01:21:10]: Woody Shaw: B Major over a C7
[01:21:47]: Demo: Whole Tone & Full Substitutions
[01:25:35]: [Q&A] The Woody Shaw Sub, Repeated
[01:27:13]: How Tritone Subs Work: 7 & 3 Flip
[01:29:07]: [Q&A] Rhythmic Integrity When Playing Out
[01:32:21]: Back to the A Section: Same Hierarchy
[01:33:32]: Finding Melodies in the Changes
[01:34:49]: Practice Slowly & In Time
[01:36:37]: Mulgrew Miller: Do It Until It Feels Good
[01:37:21]: The 6th, 7th & 8th Bar Variations
[01:38:05]: Hit the Note B to Signal More Tension
[01:40:16]: Treat Bar 2 as a Full Bar of F7
[01:41:00]: Tritone Subs on the A Section
[01:44:16]: The Freedom Inside Rhythm Changes
[01:44:58]: Serpent’s Tooth & C.T.A. (Jimmy Heath)
[01:46:00]: Demo: Serpent’s Tooth & C.T.A. Sections
[01:49:19]: Last Idea: The Cycle of Fifths
[01:56:09]: Open It Up: One Dominant for the A
[01:59:54]: Closing: Engage the Changes, Sound Human
[02:01:13]: A List of Great Rhythm Changes Heads
[02:02:20]: [Q&A] Practicing Keys Other Than Bb
[02:04:26]: [Q&A] Leaving Out Chords & Voicings
[02:05:44]: Bill Evans: No Wrong Notes, Just Wrong Resolutions
[02:06:10]: Free Teachers: Bobby Bradford & C. Owens
[02:06:42]: Mike Fahn: Following the Melody’s Logic
[02:07:30]: [Q&A] Two Sets of Changes at Once
[02:08:25]: All Tension Is No Tension (Thomas Adès)
[02:09:45]: [Q&A] Analyzing the C.T.A. Reharmonization
[02:11:55]: Challenge: Build Your Own Half-Step Progressions
[02:13:56]: James Moody’s Ear-Training Challenge
[02:14:41]: Final Performance (Fast Rhythm Changes)
[02:19:13]: Closing: Rhythm Changes in 3 & as a Ballad