The Secret Behind Ed Bickert’s Chord Solos (Triads Explained)

If you’ve been discovering Ed Bickert recently, this is where the real learning starts. Interested in lessons? Email me! [email protected] You can also join my channel for $2 a month to support more long-form content like this. In this video, I break down one of the most important (and overlooked) elements of his playing: Triads — and how he uses them to create incredibly musical chord solos. Triads aren’t just beginner material. They are: the foundation of Western harmony a way to uncover melody through voice leading and a powerful tool for outlining extensions and upper structures For example, within a Gm7 chord, you can find a B♭ major triad — G (Bb D F) As harmony expands into 9th chords and beyond, you’re actually uncovering more layers of triads, not leaving them behind. The goal is to stop thinking of triads as basic… and start using them as a flexible, melodic system inside your comping and chord solos. Examples Covered “Ain’t I Good to You” — Duo with Bill Mays (1994, Mabeck Recital Hall) “I Should Care” — with Frank Rosolino (live, 1976) “Crazy She Calls Me” — with Lorne Lofsky (1985) I’ll play each example, then break down exactly how the triads are functioning — both inside the harmony and as upper structures and melodic devices. If you can start seeing triads this way, it completely changes how you approach chord soloing. 0:00 Why are triads important? 1:55 3 examples 3:50 Playthrough of all 3 with tabs 5:30 "Gee Baby" analysis 17:12 "I Should Care" analysis 32:00 "Crazy She Calls Me" analysis 43:30 Wrap up! #EdBickert #JazzGuitar #JazzGuitarLesson #ChordMelody #JazzComping #Triads #JazzHarmony #BebopGuitar #JazzGuitarStyle #BeyondTheFrets