Technique Masterclass
The Life Vest Arpeggio for Jazzers
“It is a practical and very interesting lesson. The teacher is very competent and the video is of good quality as well as the attached material. It is probably a review of known mus…”
About this masterclass
Genil Castro shares his personal approach to simplifying jazz improvisation: using one major seventh arpeggio shape as a "life vest" to navigate chord progressions, instead of memorizing a different arpeggio for every chord type. The idea grew out of a Wes Montgomery phrase that was Genil's entrance ticket to improvisation — and out of feeling overwhelmed by the dozens of arpeggios in Ted Greene's Single Note Soloing books.
What's covered
- The Life Vest Arpeggio and how it simplified Genil's playing
- Maximizing one arpeggio over both major and minor ii–V–I progressions, including altered chords and extended sounds
- Practical tips: starting arpeggios from the seventh so chord tones land on downbeats, staying within an octave, and which notes to avoid landing on
- Seeing the major scale as preparation and resolution, and superimposing the IV major seventh arpeggio over the ii and V
- Musical applications so you can put the concept to work in your own lines
If you've struggled to connect lines smoothly in your jazz improvisation, this single-tool approach offers a manageable way in.
- Full video is 39 minutes
- 18 Pages PDF
Lessons in this masterclass
Lessons
- 1The Life Vest Arpeggio Full Class + Download39m 3s
Reviews & Ratings
"Life Vest Arpeggio Master classes"
This series of classes about the "Life Vest Arpeggio" are wonderful classes that match with the Sheryl Bailey's classes "Be Bop Flow" they are the same concept but in this case concentrated in the maj7 arpeggio and its variants.
"LIFE VEST ARPEGGIO"
OUTSTANDING! LOVE THE TIPS, TEACHING, EVERYTHING
Great
"The life vest 1"
It is a practical and very interesting lesson. The teacher is very competent and the video is of good quality as well as the attached material. It is probably a review of known music “rules” but straight to the point, well done and with lot of examples.
"Classic Sounds"
Genil does a great job in this class of showing us where some of those classic Wes sounds come from. I too, am looking forward to his next lesson on this topic.
"Life Vest Arpeggio Indeed! All the classic sounds!"
Great lesson! Can't wait for Part 2
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