C Edition of “The Giant Steps Scratch Pad” Is Now Available

I’m pleased to announce that “The Giant Steps Scratch Pad, C Edition” is now published and available for purchase on Lulu.com. If you play the flute, piano, guitar, or any other concert pitch instrument and want a practice companion to help you master Coltrane changes, then this collection of 155 licks and patterns is for you!

Besides the new C edition, “The Giant Steps Scratch Pad” is also available in Bb and Eb editions. A bass clef edition is next in line. I’m not sure what kind of editing it will require, since the shift is to a different clef rather than a different key. I’m hoping that the process will be a simple one and I’ll be able to release the bass clef edition soon.

If you want to learn more details on what the book has to offer, read the initial release notice for the Eb edition. The description applies to all the editions, which are identical except for the keys in which the musical material is written.

At the risk of sounding immodest, I’m not aware of any other resource, either in print or online, that offers such extensive practice material for the Giant Steps cycle. You can find plenty of information on the theory of Coltrane changes, but it has been a different story when it comes to a hands-on, made-to-be-played book that jazz musicians can take with them to the woodshed. “The Giant Steps Scratch Pad” fills that gap. If you want to solo confidently and creatively over the challenging, lopsided changes of “Giant Steps,” then pick the edition that’s right for you and order your copy today!

September 2, 2010 by
Filed Under: Band, Jazz, Jazz Improvisation and Technique, Music, Saxophone Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Update on “The Giant Steps Scratch Pad”

“If something’s worth doing, then it’s worth doing right.”

Hear, hear! I agree with that old axiom. But doing something right often takes longer than we expected when we first got our project underway. In the case of “The Giant Steps Scratch Pad”–my book of licks and patterns for Coltrane changes–it has been taking considerably longer. So I thought I’d share another update for those of you who are interested. Here’s the status of the project and my plans for it:

* After many a headache and blind alley, the music and text files for the Eb edition are now merged into a single document and the interior of the book is ready to go.

* Registration for copyright has been filed at the U. S. Copyright Office.

* Rather than use one of the templates at Lulu.com, I’ve decided to have the cover professionally done by a friend of mine who specializes in graphic design for book and CD covers. I meet with him next week. This should be the last big task (knock on wood).

* Once the cover is completed, the Eb edition will be ready for publication through Lulu.com. At that point, I’ll just need to set up a store account and make the book available.

* Bb, C, and bass clef editions will follow once the Eb edition is published. So tenor sax, trumpet, piano, flute, trombone, and bass players, never fear! I’ve definitely got you on the radar. It just makes sense, from my standpoint, to publish the material as I initially wrote it first, so I can at least get alto sax player like me underway.

That’s it for now. When there’s more to tell, I’ll let you know, so stay dialed in.

July 1, 2010 by
Filed Under: Jazz, Jazz Improvisation and Technique, Music, Saxophone Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,