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Season 19
19x1
Introduction
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 13, 2017
Meet your instructor, legendary pianist and composer Herbie Hancock. For Herbie, music is more than the notes you play. Learn how to open your mind—and ears—to the real story.
19x2
A Human Approach to Music
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 13, 2017
For Herbie, music is more than the notes you play. Learn how to open your mind—and ears—to the real story.
19x3
Improvisation
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 13, 2017
Don't let improvisation intimidate you. Herbie’s approach starts with the simplest of ideas: Listen, then react.
19x4
Learning by Listening
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 13, 2017
Herbie taught himself to play jazz by playing along with his favorite records. Learn how to use his methods to accompany the music you love.
19x5
The Two Basic Jazz Forms
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 13, 2017
Countless jazz tunes are built around one of two simple harmonic patterns. Practice Herbie’s licks and improv ideas, and discover new opportunities to use them.
19x6
Listen and Learn: "Oleo"
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 13, 2017
Listen, practice, and play along with Herbie’s solo performance of Sonny Rollins's standard, a classic example of rhythm changes.
19x7
Piano Basics
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 13, 2017
Herbie breaks down the fundamentals of piano playing.
19x8
Piano Exercises
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 13, 2017
Build speed and strength in your fingers with the exercises that have helped Herbie most.
19x9
Improvising Alone
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 13, 2017
Playing alone means you’re free to play any way you want. Learn how Herbie breaks the rules of melody, rhythm, and harmony to infuse his solo performances with creativity.
19x10
Expanded Improv Techniques
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 13, 2017
Have you ever thought about music as a series of images? Herbie shares techniques that will push the boundaries of your improvising.
19x11
Jam Session: Improvising Together
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 13, 2017
Herbie brings some guests to help demonstrate how musicians communicate while playing.
19x12
Composing
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 13, 2017
Where do songs come from? For Herbie, they start to take shape in life experiences. Here’s how he turns memories, impressions, and emotions into music.
19x13
Recomposing, Rearranging, Reinventing
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 13, 2017
A song is never finished. Even after you’ve recorded it, there’s still room for it to evolve. In this chapter, Herbie challenges you to give old compositions a contemporary edge.
19x14
Jam Session: Two Approaches to “Watermelon Man”
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 13, 2017
Herbie brings in a rhythm section to break down two versions of his classic tune. They also accompany a synthesizer solo steeped in the sounds of funk and the blues.
19x15
Working As a Composer
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 13, 2017
Herbie shares advice from his years of composing and collaborating with the icons of jazz.
19x16
Chord Voicings
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 13, 2017
There’s a near-infinite number of ways play chords on your instrument. Learn some of Herbie’s go-to approaches, and let them spark your own experimentation.
19x17
Case Study: Reharmonizing “’Round Midnight”
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 13, 2017
Playing a new set of chords under a classic melody is one of Herbie’s favorite ways to study harmony. Explore the new possibilities he finds in Thelonious Monk’s classic tune.
19x18
Ravel's Creative Harmonies
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 13, 2017
Jazz players don’t just learn from other jazz players. One of Herbie’s harmonic touchstones is the French composer Maurice Ravel. Learn how to add some of Ravel’s sounds to your bag of harmonic tricks.
19x19
Expanding Your Harmonic Horizons
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 13, 2017
Herbie’s approach to harmony was built over years of experimentation. Let these ideas inspire your own harmonic exploration.
19x20
Listen and Learn: “Maiden Voyage”
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 13, 2017
Herbie performs one of his most famous compositions alone at the piano. Listen and practice along to learn about how to play ballads and use the sus4 chord.
19x21
Rhythmic Musicianship
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 13, 2017
Herbie has tips for grooving deeper and feeling more comfortable playing in strange and complex rhythms, from swing to funk.
19x22
Jam Session: Rhythm in “Actual Proof”
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 13, 2017
Herbie brings the rhythm section back to break down the groove of one of the Headhunters’ most complicated numbers. Play along and find the downbeat for yourself.
19x23
A Musical Life
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 13, 2017
Herbie followed an unlikely path to jazz, and it’s been a wild ride ever since. His story serves as an inspiration and a testament to what you can accomplish when you let passion be your guide.
19x24
Listen and Learn: “Watermelon Man”
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 13, 2017
For his final solo performance, Herbie chooses one of his most popular compositions. A study in bluesy playing, it showcases the possibilities you can find in simple structures if you stay open to the moment.
19x25 Season finale
Closing
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 13, 2017
Herbie offers his parting words and a bit of music as a thank-you for joining him.

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