500 Miles High Tutorial
Welcome to this tutorial on the jazz-fusion song “500 Miles High” by Chick Corea. In this lesson we will create a full solo jazz piano arrangement.
Notable Recordings To Listen To
Important versions to check out are all of the recordings by Chick Corea himself – especially his first recording of the tune on the album “Light As A Feather”.
Also check out the Stan Getz version with Chick Corea on accompanying Getz on piano.
The tune has also been covered by many vocalists. A good place to start is with the singer from the “Light As A Feather” album… Flora Purim.
A Modal Composition
The song is mostly modal with a few exceptions here and there in the form. When improvising over the minor chords in the form, it’s nice to start with the Dorian mode, but we can also play other minor modes to get more interesting colours in our melodies.
Related Lessons
In this lesson, we explore the minor 25, and how to use our chosen melody over any minor 25 progressions and also the tune we are studying.
In this lesson I explain what drop 2 voicings are, how to construct them and how to practice drop 2 so that you are familiar with them in all 12 keys.
Cluster voicings are tightly spaced groups of 3 or more notes that act as a chord. They don’t usually contain both ‘essential chord tones which are 3 & 7.
Practice Tips
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This arrangement starts rubato which means it is played freely.
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We introduce some interesting cluster voicings. If this is a new concept to you, check out the related lessons above.
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This tune is mostly modal. However there are some common progression such as the minor 251 progression.
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Learn both styles of playing, the rubato version, and the in-tempo version which incorporates movement in the lower registers and the syncopated rhythms.
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We use many of the same voicings for both the rubato, and the in-tempo version and so learn and memorise these voicing shapes and sounds.
Awesome lesson, thanks Tuomo. This is going to keep me going for a while! I am going to transpose it so I can accompany myself singing (I don’t know if there’s been a male vocal version before!) and after I get to grips with that, try some solo and improvisation. Both the Return to Forever and Stan Getz versions are great – but I also vote for this version by Brazilian Jazz-Funk maestros Azymuth – a bit different, and plenty of inspiration to try to include something along their lines here in the improv sections.