Rhythm Section Fundamentals

Don’t lose the connection between practice and performance. Let three of the top-call rhythm section players in modern jazz teach you the secrets to playing and thriving in a super-tight rhythm section in this course featuring Peter Martin, Reuben Rogers and Greg Hutchinson.

Tighten up your trio.

It’s a common problem. You sound great in the practice room but when you sit in at a jam session or get on a trio gig, everything feels uncomfortable and clunky.

Don’t lose the connection between practice and performance. Let three of the top-call rhythm section players in modern jazz teach you the secrets to playing and thriving in a super-tight rhythm section.

  • play and arrange several different styles as a rhythm section
  • listen for the elements that help you lock in with your bandmates
  • accompany a soloist or vocalist in a supportive way
  • LEVEL 4
  • 20 videos
  • 3.5 hour
  • Living Notation
  • PDFS
  • Subtitles: English • Spanish • Italian

Meet Your Instructor

Peter Martin is an acclaimed jazz pianist, educator, and founder of Open Studio. Peter has performed and recorded on six continents with Wynton Marsalis, Dianne Reeves, Betty Carter, Christian McBride, Joshua Redman as well as his own ensembles. He has recorded over 400 lessons, pioneering the field of online jazz education and was recently featured in the New York Times for his ground breaking work.

Peter co-hosts the acclaimed music podcast “You’ll Hear It” with Adam Maness.

Meet Your Instructor

Greg Hutchinson has performed and recorded with countless jazz greats including Betty Carter, Joshua Redman, Dianne Reeves, Wynton Marsalis, John Scofield, Roy Hargrove, Diana Krall and Harry Connick Jr. He has appeared on over 160 recordings, including several Grammy® winners and is widely known for his masterful technique, advanced expertise in bebop drumming. 

Meet Your Instructor

Imbued with both groove and spirit from birth, Reuben Rogers combined the calypso and reggae rhythms of his native Virgin Islands with the gospel sounds of the church and the freedom and improvisation of jazz to create the unique chemistry that would make him one of the most distinctive and in-demand bassists in modern jazz.

Reuben has performed with Charles Lloyd, Wynton Marsalis, Joshua Redman, Tomasz Stanko, Roy Hargrove, Marcus Roberts, Nicholas Payton, Mulgrew Miller, Jackie McLean and Dianne Reeves, among many others.

Course Contents

Start Here

  • Grooves & Terms

Lessons

  • "Donna Lee" Performance
  • Bebop
  • "Donna Lee" Fast Performance
  • "Clapper Dapper" Performance
  • The Blues
  • "One Finger Snap" Performance
  • Modern Jazz
  • Bossa Nova (Piano & Bass)
  • "Triste" Performance
  • Bossa Nova (Drums)
  • All About Ballads
  • "Sophisticated Lady" Performance
  • Focus on the Bass
  • "Blues In The Closet" Performance
  • Focus on the Piano
  • "Have You Met Miss Jones" Performance
  • Focus on the Drums
  • "Evidence" Performance
  • "Pick Yourself Up" Performance
  • Accompanying a Vocalist – Part 1
  • Accompanying a Vocalist – Part 2
  • "Broadmoor" Bonus Performance