Frank DiBussolo

1 Hr - Private live video lesson with Frank Dibussolo.

Guitarist Frank DiBussolo presents his first Mike's Master Class, introducing The General Tonal Center Concept for Improvisation . The GTCC is a concise system for processing complex chord progressions, turning improvisation into a simpler thought process. Rather than tracking every chord change individually, the tonal center approach groups changes into larger harmonic areas — freeing you to create musical ideas instead of concentrating on playing the "right notes." This class is the starting point for Frank's GTCC series, which continues with Part II and later applications to secondary dominants and chord melody playing.

Guitarist Frank DiBussolo continues his series The General Tonal Center Concept for Improvisation . The GTCC is a concise system for processing complex chord progressions, turning improvisation into a simpler thought process. Part II builds on the foundation laid in the first class, with the same goal: freeing you to create musical ideas instead of concentrating on hunting for the "right notes." Best taken after Part I, and a useful stepping stone toward the later classes in the series that apply tonal centers to secondary dominants and chord melody playing.

Guitarist Frank DiBussolo continues his series The General Tonal Center Concept for Improvisation with a class applying the concept to secondary dominant chords — or, as Frank subtitles it, "I Got (a better way to play over) Rhythm." Building on the tonal center approach from the earlier classes in the series, this lesson focuses on how to handle the secondary dominants that pepper standard progressions. A natural next step for players following the GTCC series, and for anyone who wants a simpler way to think through dominant-heavy changes.

Guitarist Frank DiBussolo continues his series The General Tonal Center Concept for Improvisation , this time applying the concept to chord melody playing — or, as Frank puts it, "Basses?... basses?... we don't need no stinking basses!" The class shows how the diatonic harmony covered in the GTCC can be used to create solo guitar arrangements , accompaniment, and even chord solos, all built from 9 basic 7th-chord forms and their extensions. A good fit for anyone who has been frustrated trying to play unaccompanied jazz guitar, and for students of the earlier GTCC classes ready to put the concept to work on solo arranging.

Join guitarist Frank DiBussolo as he continues his series "The General Tonal Center Concept for Improvisation" applied to chord melody playing. In this class, Frank will cover the essential 9 chord forms, comping, voice leading and chord soloing.

Frank DiBussolo explores interpretation and musicality for guitarists in this master class, designed to give players of all levels the basis of individual style and "feel." Recorded as a live, interactive session, the class runs a full 90 minutes of discussion and demonstration on how to move beyond the notes and make a tune your own.

Frank DiBussolo continues his exploration of interpretation and musicality for beginning and intermediate guitarists, focusing on the nuances that make a genre sound authentic. Swing, bop, cool, and the various Latin styles are demonstrated and discussed. Recorded as a live, interactive session of roughly 84 minutes, the class draws on participants' ideas, opinions, and questions as Frank shows what separates playing the notes from playing the style.

Frank DiBussolo covers the gamut of melodic playing in this masterclass — from tone production and time to inflection, appoggiatura (ornaments), vibrato and style. Although taught on guitar, the concepts apply to players of any instrument, and to vocalists as well. A class for anyone, at any level, who wants their melodies to sing.

Frank DiBussolo teaches the art of chordal playing on guitar: chord voicings, voice leading from one chord to the next, and how to accompany other instrumentalists and singers. Rather than memorizing endless chord-book grips, Frank shows how to see chords as musical entities built from scales — and how just nine essential chord forms can cover most of what a working player needs. What's covered How diatonic chords arise from the scale itself, built note by note from a C major scale Moving from open-position grips and barre chords to closed four-note voicings that move like a pianist's Voice leading between chords and how it shapes the music whether you're comping, playing rhythm, or playing solo The nine essential chord forms every player needs, with downloadable chord charts included Four-to-the-bar swing rhythm in the tradition of Freddie Green and Bucky Pizzarelli Lessons from the chordal styles of Joe Pass , Wes Montgomery , and pianist Bill Evans Suitable for any level, from beginner to working professional — if your chords still sound like a chord book instead of a pianist, this class shows the way out. Full video is 1 hour and 8 minutes.

Frank DiBussolo demonstrates how to build great-sounding chord progressions from just nine basic chord shapes . Working from this small, manageable set of forms, he shows how to use them for self-comping and chord substitutions . A good fit for players who know some chords but want to start playing more creative chordal lines without memorizing hundreds of shapes.