Most jazz students want to improvise but few study melody. Discover how phrasing, contour, targets, and melodic motion in Teach Me Tonight provide the foundation for expressive jazz improvisation.

Struggling to make your melodies sound musical? This jazz piano melodic analysis of I Got Rhythm shows how to stop playing notes and start shaping expressive phrases.

This week’s Sweet Lorraine melodic analysis explores the melody by ear, phrase structure, target notes, fingerings, and three stylistic treatments that help bring the tune to life.