Monday ("get to know the tune" day)

Choose a tune, listen to recordings, pick the favorite recording.

Listen to the text, what is it about? Would the topic have any impact on how it should be played?

Analyze the chord progression and melody (transcribe if necessary):

- Guide tones in chords (3,7,b5,#5, etc). Create possible chord tone lines (nicely moving) on
paper.

- Identify guide tone lines based on melody

- Identify key centers

- Evaluate harmonic function of chords

- Identify any interesting rhythmic motifs in melody that can be used in comping or soloing

- Write the progression in a Grigson Grid and do a Lego-Brick analysis.

Tuesday ("learn the tune" day)

Learn to play the melody (and sing the melody if you sing)

Learn to comp the progression by root+3+7 (Freddie Green style)

@3:24 Aimee says, "And then you're going to sit at the piano, no matter what your instrument is
- even if you're a guitar player... whatever - you sit at the piano, and you're going to play the
roots with your left hand, the third and seventh in your right, and you're going to sing the
melody in all the keys. And do you know what that's going to do for you? It's going to make the
harmony sink really deep into your brain. If you have to think through all the changes of
Recordame, it's going to do you a world of good. You're going to realise relationships between
chords that you wouldn't have thought of otherwise." (as pointed out by destinytot)

Record your comping and play the melody on top of that.

The Tuesday treat is to do a simple chord melody with root+3+7 chords and the melody

Wednesday (comping day)

Learn and record a nice bass line for the whole tune (2-3 choruses)

Create beautiful rootless voicings with nice voice leading (write down a few good combinations),
and practice these on top of the recorded bass line
Test various comping rhythms, write up the rhythms

Test riff based comping, and possible a more modal approach.

Record a selection of the best version of comping on top of your bass line.

Thursday ("mastering the changes" day)

Analyze scales that could be used (CST, Tonal center, pentatonics, minorizing and whatever is
your favorite)

Play scale patterns over the changes (use recording; rhythm or comping). Scale patterns such as
1-2-3-4-5-2-1 for each chord...

Play the combination game based on scales (play a pattern for the first chord, then start on the
nearest chord tone of next chord and play a transposed version of the same pattern)

Arpeggiate the chord progression, using the combination game.

Play simple version of combining guide tones from chords or reduced melody

Friday (soloing day)

Practice soloing over the recorded changes (rhythm or comping)

- Ideas based on scales, arpeggios, guide tones, intervals etc.

- Develop motifs (melodic and rhythmic) and use them

- Try call and response

- Try to create tension in playing, and release the tension.

- Use rhythmic motifs in melody in soloing

- Use the play/rest game (play 1 bar, rest 1 bar, play 2 bars, rest 2 bars etc...) Find a good balance
between play and rest for the tune.

Saturday (performance day)

Perform the tune. Work on intro and ending. Add these to recording. Play the head in. Comp for
a chorus or two (over recorded bass line), solo over recorded rhythm or comping for a chorus or
two.
Work on:

- Dynamics

- creating tension and release

- pacing

- Repetition of motifs in comping and soloing

All this with the attempt of making your comping and soloing interesting for a listener.