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Coltrane's "Giant Steps" explained: why it's so hard to play

VoxRecommended by 5 people on Hacker News, 2021–2025
YouTube
11M views · 7 years ago · breakdown

Vox Earworm, with saxophonist Braxton Cook and Adam Neely, explains why Coltrane's 1959 tune is so hard to improvise over: a fast tempo and chords moving through three keys a major third apart.

Makes one of jazz's most famous harmonic puzzles understandable even if you don't read music.

1 comment from Hacker News

@elbelcho Recommends it · View on HN

If you're looking for a comprehensible to mortals explanation of the genius that can be found in Jazz, watch this explainer on Coltrane's Giant Steps.

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