The Music Factory VA Jazz Ensemble has been active for almost 10 years. In the ensemble, students get an opportunity to learn the basic foundation of jazz. Ensemble members will learn and study styles from Charlie Christian up through Joe Pass, Pat Martino, Wes Montgomery up to today’s contemporary players. We will also study solo transcriptions by the jazz masters such as John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and many others.

In my ensemble, students learn the fundamentals of jazz, such as:

  • Major and minor scales
  • Major and minor pentatonic scales
  • Modes
  • Major and minor arpeggios
  • 7th chord arpeggios
  • Diminished and augmented arpeggios
  • Melodic minor arpeggios
  • Harmonic minor scales
  • The CAGED system and how to apply it to improvise
  • Chord inversions on all string sets
  • Voice leading chords on standards
  • Basic to advanced comping patterns
  • Sight-reading, basic to advanced
  • Music theory and how to apply it in jazz
  • Each student is required to learn the melody, chords and improvise over a jazz standard.
  • Five part guitar ensemble arrangements
  • Fat chord comping a la Freddie Green

An audition is required for this ensemble.

Contact us to audition or for more information.

[email protected] or (540) 308-5123