Posts

Topic Areas for Learning/Development

Topic Areas for Learning/Development Fretboard Knowledge Note names/locations Chord Vocabulary: 357 shapes Voice Leading: 37s, 357s, extensions (9/13) Playing Over Changes Transcribing Learning Melodies (as written & as played) Recognizing common chord sequences Line construction spanning multiple bars/chords Anchoring on chord tones (but not always the root) Feel and Phrasing  Listening/transcribing Prehearing Rhythmic vocabulary Jazz Vocabulary Harmonic knowledge Transcribing 251 Licks Performance (Live/Rehearsal) Prehearing  Fluidity/freeness when soloing Playing offbook Dynamics and playing off other rhythm section members Sight Reading Note Names Rhythmic Notation Keys and Time Signatures Segno/Coda/etc. Expanding Library of Tunes I Know Real Book Standard Standards - top 10/25/50

Note naming/finding

My chord grips are all based on locating the root note on the E or A strings.  I can name notes decently well up the neck on both strings, and find notes pretty well.  But it all falls apart on upper strings. Just realized that I can take the same approach to the other strings.  All I need to is use the nearest E. Eligible positions: E (low) string - that's the one i know A string, 7th fret D string, 2nd fret G string - no good, the B string doesn't fit the pattern B string, 5th fret E (high) - no next string but it just follows the low E So the new "E roots" are: A string, 7th fret (with "A root" on D string, 7th fret) D string, 2nd fret (with "A root" on G string, 2nd fret) B string, 5th fret (with "A root" on high E string, 5th fret)

2/16

Notes Check out Adam Manness on YouTube  Bebop scales Variants are all about adding an extra note to get the scalar run to be 8 notes to lay over 4/4 time with chord tones on the beat. Normal bebop = +b7 But also can add b9 or b3 or b4 Soloing over Chicken - even 8ths or quarters

2/9 or so - inversions

Notes A good repertoire is about 30 tunes - many YT videos for that.  Check the intros - common pickup gig intros differ from recorded. Footprints - actual recorded version is different Voice Leading Use inversions to put common tone on top, for pivoting to other triads with same tone Diatonic voice leading  - chords are diatonic to a key - Cmaj, Dmin, Emin, Fmaj, Gdom, Amin, Bdim - cycle of 4ths = Cmaj, Fmaj, Bdim, Emin, Amin, Dmin, Gdom, Cmaj - take three strings - GBE, DGB, ADG - play inversions that maximize voice leading and stay in same position

Practice Topics

Stuff to practice Playing over changes ballad or mid tempo (60-120bpm) tunes  Lady Bird Spain hit guide tones voice leading (for comping) 1-2-3-5 constraints (3/7 etc.) When improvising: enclosures sidestepping (for modal) altered scalebebop ideas (joe f on Spain) pentatonic ideas upper chord tones motifs Mechanics Chromatic lines altering base chords (+b9 etc.)  chords out of normal position reading - notes + rhythm following melody idea in same position, don't shift

1/12

Email prior to Lesson Jam session last night. Here’s what we played – most of this was new Real Book material, played cold, and it worked out pretty well. Except for Giant Steps…someone joked about it and our bari player knew the head but it was a total mess. - Lady Bird - Giant Steps - Bewitched - Don’t Get Around Much Anymore - Dream A Little Dream Of Me - Take Five - How High The Moon - Here’s That Rainy Day - My Funny Valentine - Sidewinder The live version of Lady Bird ( https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=r0vhqDCy9eQ&pp=ygUObGFkeSBiaXJkIGpheno%3D ) is fantastic and the changes are fun to play over…but I don’t understand them. I think there are some chord substitutions going on. Something to talk about. Lesson Types of Dominant resolution - V7 -> I (5 to 1): this is the normal form. In C that's G7 (G B D F) to C (C E G B). - bII7 -> I (flat 2 to 1): tritone sub. In C that's Db7 (Db F A Cb[B]) to C (C E G B) - IV7 -> I (4 to 1): blues. In C that's F7 (F A C Eb)...

1/5

Prior to lesson Annotated Joe Ferrell's solo on the album version of Spain Posted a video of me playing over "A Lovely Way To Spend an Evening"      https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/tvx2b9d26nbxx6ar38yj3/A-Lovely-Way-To-Spend-An-Evening-480.mov?rlkey=tk0ozbtgjwso88d706sgpkmj0&dl=0 Lesson Comments on video - add phrasing to create lines - more of a swing feel - listen to swing ballads     - Bill Evans and Jim Hall Discussion about Ferrell solo - me:  Brian: try "Exercise of Limitations" to  reduce note choices and emphasize swing - only 1's and 5s - or only 3's and 7's (3+7 = "guide tones") - or play only on a single string - or only one position - or only single octave Fantasy solo - I had taken a solo with the band and it wasn't great.  I can't quite recall the section but it was a lot of Dm7 - funk - listen to John Scofield.  note choices aren't crazy. - this is probably a Dorian sound - half-step transitions in any scale ar...