Jazz Violin Etudes: Jazz Scales Every Violinist Should Know

Why This Book Works

You don't need years of jazz theory to start playing jazz. You need practical patterns, clear guidance, and most importantly, you need to hear what you're supposed to be playing.

What's New in the 4th Edition

Professional Audio Examples
Stop guessing what "swing feel" means. Every exercise now includes a recorded demonstration showing you exactly how it should sound, with authentic jazz articulation, phrasing, and rhythmic nuance. 

Full Jazz Trio Backing Tracks
Practice with real music, not just a metronome. 

More Accessible, Less Intimidating
Advanced three-octave exercises have been moved to a separate companion book, keeping this core text focused and achievable for violinists at a consistent skill level. If you're comfortable in first position and can handle accidentals, you're ready to start.

What's Inside

Six comprehensive chapters take you from fundamental techniques through the essential scales every jazz violinist needs:

Chapter 1: Major Scale Roller Coaster

Chapter 2: Bebop Scale Exercises

Chapter 3: Pentatonic Scales 

Chapter 4: The Blues Scale

Chapter 5: The Diminished Scale

Chapter 6: The Core Six – (major, natural minor, harmonic minor, melodic minor, Dorian, and Mixolydian) 

This book treats scales not as abstract exercises, but as the alphabet of jazz language. Once you've learned them, you'll retain them forever and use them as the foundation for improvisation and authentic jazz performance.

Every exercise progresses through all 12 keys, building the fluency you need for real-world playing. The "roller coaster" methodology teaches you to change directions at any moment, mirroring how jazz improvisation actually works, rather than classical scale patterns.