Course Description

An in-depth exploration of seven well-known songs with a clear, easy, straight-ahead method for improvisation.

Minor Swing, J'Attendrai, Rose Room, Dark Eyes, Swing Gitan, Minor Blues and 12-Bar Blues - learn how to really play those songs and how to use the magic of triads to build beautiful yet simple solos.

This course will lead you, step by step, from the very basics of learning a song – learning the melody and the chord progression - to playing advanced solos.

The course (Almost 6 hours long) is designed to inspire guitarists at every skill level and give them a hang of how to approach this seemingly amorphic thing called improvisation.

We start with the basics, so we’ll all have a common background, continue with guided etudes that I’ll teach you note by note, and move on to free improvisation, where I’ll stop and explain what I’m doing in full tempo, real-time (for advanced guitarists) .

Important - This course contains lessons 8, 8.1 11, 11.1 from my previous site with lots of new material!
If you already bought the old lessons contact me and you will be credited the amount of you paid.

After completing this course, you will:

Play seven songs – melody, accompaniment and improvisation.

*Play major and minor triads and their inversions all over the fingerboard.

*Know how to create beautiful improvisations with triads.

*Improve your visualization of the fingerboard dramatically.

*Improve your technique with special exercises in all 12 keys.

*Play driving rhythm kicks.

*Use the chromatic approach, enclosures and ghost notes.

*Play various etudes.

*Play the line cliché in various ways.

*Know how to analyze the harmonic structure of songs and use substitutes.

Course curriculum

    1. 1.1_Learning a Song

    2. 1.2_Triads - the Concept

    3. 1.3_Major Triads

    4. 1.4_Minor Triads

    5. 1.5_Triad Inversions_PDF

    6. 1.6_Triads in 12 Keys

    7. 1.7_Guitar Mastery - Major Triads in 12 Keys

    8. 1.8_Guitar Mastery - Minor Triads in 12 Keys

    9. 1.9_Transition from the Triad to the Dom7

    10. 1.10_Transition from the Triad to the Dom7 - PDF

    11. 1.11_Dim7 over the Dom7 Chord - G# over E7

    12. 1.12_Dim7 – PDF

    13. 1.13_What’s next

    14. 1.14 Community Discussion - Ask Questions, Comment and Share Your Thoughts!

    1. 2.1_Playing the Song

    2. 2.3_Alternative Accompaniment

    3. 2.4_Alternative Accompaniment- PDF

    4. 2.5_Accompaniment Embellishments

    5. 2.5.1 Rhythm variation

    6. 2.6_Playing the Song

    7. 2.7 Community Discussion - Ask Questions, Comment and Share Your Thoughts!

    1. 3.1_Basic Improvisation with Triads

    2. 3.2_Basic Improvisation with Triads - PDF

    3. 3.3_Adding the Chromatic Approach

    4. 3.4_Chromatic approach

    5. 3.5_Etude#1 Improvisation with Triads and Chromatic Approach

    6. 3.6_Etude#1 Improvisation with Triads and Chromatic Approach - PDF

    7. 3.7_Rhythm in Your Phrasing

    8. 3.8_Enclosure

    9. 3.9_Django's Enclosure

    10. 3.10_Enclosures - PDF

    11. 3.11_Etude#2 (Bars 1-8) Improvisation using Triads, Chromatic Approach and Enclosure

    12. 3.12_Etude#2 (Bars 9-16) Improvisation using Triads, Chromatic Approach and Enclosure

    13. 3.13_Etude#2 Improvisation using Triads, Chromatic Approach and Enclosure - PDF

    14. 3.14 Community Discussion - Ask Questions, Comment and Share Your Thoughts!

    1. 4.1_The Concept over Am and Dm

    2. 4.2_Variation on Root Position

    3. 4.3_Variation on 3rd Position

    4. 4.4_Variation on 5th Position

    5. 4.5_Variation over E7

    6. 4.6_Using the Idea over Minor Swing

    7. 4.7_Half tone approach and an Octave Up - PDF

    8. 4.8 Community Discussion - Ask Questions, Comment and Share Your Thoughts!

    1. 5.1_The Basic Melody

    2. 5.2_Adding Life-Embellishments to the Melody

    3. 5.3_Basic Chord Progression

    4. 5.4_About the Right Hand

    5. 5.5_Harmonic Structure

    6. 5.6_Chord Substitutes

    7. 5.7_J'Attendrai - the Basics - PDF

    8. 5.8 Community Discussion - Ask Questions, Comment and Share Your Thoughts!

    1. 6.1_Triads - First Position

    2. 6.2_Triads - Second Position

    3. 6.3_Triads - Third Position

    4. 6.4_Mixing the Three Positions

    5. 6.5_Triad Inversions - PDF

    6. 6.6_Half Tone Approach

    7. 6.7_Enclosure

    8. 6.8_Chromatic Approach and Enclosure - PDF

    9. 6.9_Improvisation with Triads and Variations

    10. 6.10_Etude with Triads and Arpeggios, Bars 1-16

    11. 6.11_Etude with Triads and Arpeggios, Bars 17-26

    12. 6.12_Etude with Triads and Arpeggios - PDF

    13. 6.13 Community Discussion - Ask Questions, Comment and Share Your Thoughts!

About this course

  • $187.00
  • 94 lessons
  • 5 hours of video content

Reviews

Bruce Smith

5 star rating

“This is not a lot of money to pay for the knowledge you gain from this course. The lessons are clear, informative and inspiring. I would recommend this course to anyone wanting to sound good with just themselves and a guitar as it opens up the fre...”

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“This is not a lot of money to pay for the knowledge you gain from this course. The lessons are clear, informative and inspiring. I would recommend this course to anyone wanting to sound good with just themselves and a guitar as it opens up the fret board immensely. ”

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Bill Mauro

5 star rating

“Yaakov gives you building blocks, suggestions for practice, live examples, etudes, substitutions, and walks you through the process of learning new songs. He doesn't just teach you licks, but gives you the tools for approaching new materials on yo...”

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“Yaakov gives you building blocks, suggestions for practice, live examples, etudes, substitutions, and walks you through the process of learning new songs. He doesn't just teach you licks, but gives you the tools for approaching new materials on your own. Everything is broken down into simple (sometimes deceptively so) chunks onto which you can build and expand. It's definitely worthwhile to take the material slowly and make sure you get it fully under your fingers--which can happen long after you get it mentally--before moving onto the next section. I can't recommend it enough.”

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Mark Lesage

5 star rating

“This has taken my playing to another level!! There is a lot of material here. I have taken my time and really worked the lessons and learned the concepts in the lessons and I have gotten great results....and I'm not even done with the course. In ...”

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“This has taken my playing to another level!! There is a lot of material here. I have taken my time and really worked the lessons and learned the concepts in the lessons and I have gotten great results....and I'm not even done with the course. In depth lessons explained clearly and logically. I also purchased the 3 Kings course and it is great too. This is the best material I have seen on learning GJ. The reason is the theory is explained clearly not just learning licks and songs but the harmonic structure, scales and arps. I have been playing for a long time in other styles and my advice to other players starting out is to learn your theory right away, you will improve quicker in the long run...this course is a great start and has enough material for a year for someone starting out. ”

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David Jefferys

5 star rating

“If your like me and have really struggled to get to grips with improvising this is the course for you. It really opened my eyes to how simple it is to start that long journey successfully through the use of such a simple concept of triads in three...”

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“If your like me and have really struggled to get to grips with improvising this is the course for you. It really opened my eyes to how simple it is to start that long journey successfully through the use of such a simple concept of triads in three positions for each chord. Magic in deed!”

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Greg McDonald

5 star rating

“This is such a swinging lesson, and if you have been doing your homework, you will be able to play this solo straight away.Yaakov has a complete program that has prepped me me for success. Just remember to PUUUUUSSSHHH”

“This is such a swinging lesson, and if you have been doing your homework, you will be able to play this solo straight away.Yaakov has a complete program that has prepped me me for success. Just remember to PUUUUUSSSHHH”

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LECA STEPHANE

5 star rating

“The best improvisation lesson ”

“The best improvisation lesson ”

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Matthew Materazzi

5 star rating

“Yaakov teaches you everything you need to know to become a sound musician in gypsy swing. The technical aspects are covered in great detail and he helps you with any questions you have along the way. ”

“Yaakov teaches you everything you need to know to become a sound musician in gypsy swing. The technical aspects are covered in great detail and he helps you with any questions you have along the way. ”

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דנה רדין

5 star rating

“I now hear the triads all over Django's playing and realize how simply beautiful they are. They're great landmarks for getting around the fretboard and I just can't help visualizing them while playing arpeggios, solos and melodies - all the time....”

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“I now hear the triads all over Django's playing and realize how simply beautiful they are. They're great landmarks for getting around the fretboard and I just can't help visualizing them while playing arpeggios, solos and melodies - all the time. This package thoroughly demystifies solo playing and it's so much fun learning in the context of songs and having the tracks to play along with! ”

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joe C

5 star rating

“fantastic lesson again from yaakov. using this triad method to play solos is a real effective way of creating melodic solos that will inspire you to want to keep playing. lessons are easy to understand for the beginner but also very imformative fo...”

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“fantastic lesson again from yaakov. using this triad method to play solos is a real effective way of creating melodic solos that will inspire you to want to keep playing. lessons are easy to understand for the beginner but also very imformative for experienced players. the triad system helps you to keep it simple but still create amazing sounding solos. well done again yaakov.”

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Kyle Ross

5 star rating

“I purchased the Magic of Triads a few weeks ago and it has been absolutely amazing for my playing in a very short space of time. I've found it incredibly useful to understand how to 'really' learn songs and start improvising in a way that sound...”

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“I purchased the Magic of Triads a few weeks ago and it has been absolutely amazing for my playing in a very short space of time. I've found it incredibly useful to understand how to 'really' learn songs and start improvising in a way that sounds interesting and melodic. I've found it far more useful than many other gypsy jazz lessons incl. the Rosenberg Academy, DC Music, JTC, Soundslide and plenty others - those were packed with licks, but no understanding for me. Your course is different. I HIGHLY recommend this to anyone serious about improving their technique, improvisation and overall tone. Kyle, gypsy picker from Melbourne Australia”

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Bill Ward

5 star rating

“Hello, I am a relatively new Jazz Guitar player who loves the sound and style of Gypsy jazz in particular. I am 40 percent through this course and feel I have a much better understanding of how to make interesting lines over chords using simple t...”

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“Hello, I am a relatively new Jazz Guitar player who loves the sound and style of Gypsy jazz in particular. I am 40 percent through this course and feel I have a much better understanding of how to make interesting lines over chords using simple triad chord shapes I am definitively learning very valuable material in this course and understand why Yaakov titled it "Magic of Triads"! The course builds well on itself starting with just the triad notes and then adding chromatic approach notes and enclosures to this point. I can definitely see how this can be used to improve lines on any song just knowing the triads and these different ways to target these notes. I am really looking forward to completing the course and seeing what other tools and approaches I can learn to make great lines with the "Magic of Triads!" Thank You Yaakov! - Bill Ward”

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Paul H

5 star rating

“ the best improv lesson I’ve ever seen on YouTube. Yaakov clearly loves what he does and cares about the student.”

“ the best improv lesson I’ve ever seen on YouTube. Yaakov clearly loves what he does and cares about the student.”

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Jon Richmond

5 star rating

“Really enjoyed and have (and will continue to) benefit from the ideas and resources. As always well-paced, with examples that be put into practice immediately, and downloadable resources that can used for future learning and practice. Well worth t...”

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“Really enjoyed and have (and will continue to) benefit from the ideas and resources. As always well-paced, with examples that be put into practice immediately, and downloadable resources that can used for future learning and practice. Well worth the money - but like Yaakov's other courses it's not offered as a quick fix, but requires time and effort to get the greatest benefits. ”

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Scot Lange

5 star rating

“Really, REALLY Enjoyed this Lesson!!!”

“Really, REALLY Enjoyed this Lesson!!!”

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mark Mc myn

5 star rating

“I finally did it Yaakov,I enrolled in your Triad course.It is good! I did not know what to expect.I envisioned having to learn the 7 triadic harmonisations of the major scale in every key, in 3 inversions.Thank god I didn't have to!Your way you le...”

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“I finally did it Yaakov,I enrolled in your Triad course.It is good! I did not know what to expect.I envisioned having to learn the 7 triadic harmonisations of the major scale in every key, in 3 inversions.Thank god I didn't have to!Your way you learn 3 consistent inversion shapes that are shifted up and down the board according to key-major and minor.This way you learn a song with only the triads you need and eliminate unwanted complexity.Your rhythm component in learning a song is excellent; sound,beat,and movement.I have only started,but I see this as the distillation of an immense amount of knowledge to enable the student to get to the music of Django,without getting lost along the way. ”

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Zorba Z

5 star rating

“Yaakov keeps it simple all the way and the results are astonishing to me, i can't believe i play like that. I drilled a lot these triads and transistions between chords, this course really allowed me not only to start sounding manouche but, most i...”

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“Yaakov keeps it simple all the way and the results are astonishing to me, i can't believe i play like that. I drilled a lot these triads and transistions between chords, this course really allowed me not only to start sounding manouche but, most importantly, to sound musical, which has always been a long time goal for me as an amateur guitarist. I come from metal background and was always intimidated by jazz, Django's music always spoke to me and i always dreamed of being able to phrase that way. I have to say that thanks to this course it was possible : worth every cent spent, the teaching style is very accessible. Anyone who came accross jazz tutorials on YT that made them feel dumb, inadequate or not "ready yet" because of a lack of theory can take a lot from this course and learn fast, Yaakov is concise and clear. I know i have a lot more to work on, but i'm starting to play some really beautiful phrases and found the fun back again at playing guitar, moving in the right direction. Thanks a lot Yaakov for changing my playing”

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Dominic Ward-Horner

5 star rating

“I can highly recommend this course. It covers the absolutely essential 'nuts and bolts' that many guitar players completely miss or neglect when they begin to learn, in that it guides you in navigating a way through soloing over some of the best M...”

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“I can highly recommend this course. It covers the absolutely essential 'nuts and bolts' that many guitar players completely miss or neglect when they begin to learn, in that it guides you in navigating a way through soloing over some of the best Manouche jazz standards using simple triads. Without a thorough knowledge of these on the fretboard soloing can be wayward and difficult. This is the key to creating magical lines of your own!”

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Linda Lee

4 star rating

“I thoroughly enjoyed this course. It was so well presented and everything clearly demonstrated. It was a revelation to me just how versatile triads can be in making some beautiful music while not having to even consider using a scale. Also, wit...”

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“I thoroughly enjoyed this course. It was so well presented and everything clearly demonstrated. It was a revelation to me just how versatile triads can be in making some beautiful music while not having to even consider using a scale. Also, with a good knowledge of the triads you can play all over the neck. Some of the material I will have to keep working on and some things were a bit beyond my level. I loved all the songs, so beautifully demonstrated by Yaakov. I will always look a new chart now with a view to seeing where the triads are. Thanks again Yaakov. ”

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