jazz_guitar@... wrote:
Message: 23
Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2001 20:06:01 -0000
From: "Paul Erlich" <paul@...>
Subject: Re: Question For Jimmy Bruno
Actually, Jimmy is still here.
Jimmy, if you're truly still here, would you attempt to answer the
technique question I asked you? It's message #3358.
Well, I lied. Sorta. ;) Jimmy will still be around the forum, but is leaving (or has left) for what looked to be a whirlwind short tour. He wrote me he was leaving for LA Thursday, then going to Florida, then Santa Fe... It may be a bit before he gets to respond.
However, in the meantime, you may recall I mentioned a while back the Ted Greene book "Jazz Guitar - Single Note Soloing - Volume 2." Well, I finally got mine and in perusing it, I found a few things pertinent to the discussion here.
The book is based on the concept of soloing, or building single lines/scales out of one chord (hand) position, generally not having to move around a lot, but once in a while, a half step either direction. So, it makes things lay quite handily, once the concept is understood. I've been working on that on my own for some time, and this is why the book was recommended to me. Here's what I think is relevant to this discussion.
One; for you Paul, there is a section on syncopation, which would be in line with your question to Jimmy. Once various scales are mastered, executing them with feeling, something other than machine gunned speed is desirable. As usual, Ted takes the concept to the clouds. (Well, except in Vol I, he apparently didn't. ;) When I get a few minutes, I'll see if there's some text I can transcribe (without breaking any copyright law) for some quick tips for ya...
Two; for you Jim, there is a section on soloing over fast changes. Ted breaks things down, starting with segments that cover a change every two beats and shows how to find the related stuff quickly, without a lot of thinking about it. Tip: (Also, using partials like Lenny Breau's comping technique of playing just 3rds and 5ths [he called them "essential tones"] and building solos around that concept would be a quick way to get a handle on more complex changes than can't be read or memorized quickly. Not in Ted's book as such, though the idea fits. I also find no problem in adapting Lenny's right hand fingerings for Ted's stuff.)
Three; for you Lynn, for reading practice, there are more arpeggios and chordal concepts, with more musical examples in this book than in any of his previous books. Anyone who found the least bit of use from Chord Chemistry will be knocked out by all the great stuff in this one. I read through the first chapter then started skipping ahead, and I'll definitely be able to play my way through the whole thing. There's nothing here that can't be done by a half-decent reader, but you do need to be able to read music. There are some fingering notations, hand position charts, etc., but it's mostly notation with a lot of good text explaining what is going on and how to get
there. In fact, even if you don't read music or read well, the text and chord charts (hand positions) will open a lot of mental doors.
Also, for reading fun AND learning tunes, I think Alisdair (maybe Michael Crutcher?) mentioned before that taking a piano part (treble clef) from a chart (sheet music) will often yield a better concept of a song than reading the often lame chord symbols/graphs. Good idea, and of course, the bass clef may be transposed or you can just use the otherwise "lame" chord symbols for your bass notes. :) Someone had a question about playing (learning) the head of a tune, how to go about getting the nice chords, and this is *IT*, m'man... :)
Last thoughts, about playing with a metronome and fingering. If you have a good sense of time, playing with a click is not necessary unless you're developing a real bad hitch in your giddyup. Playing with a MIDI bass track like from a Boss JamStation or Band In A Box, can cure that and it's way more fun than a simple click. I have a JamStation and have punched in a tune just all in one long line of chord changes, then messed with the different factory "styles" which will yield a variety of bass lines (and great drums; I usually turn the keyboard parts off) in lotsa jazz styles, and it's a GAS to play over. In economizing fingering, Dave Stagner's mention of Fripp's
advice is great. Also, you'll find that as you come up to speed in playing changes AND scale work, you'll have no choice. I never really thought about it, but when I learn something new, I tend to get kinda "curly" initially myself; but once I stop thinking about it, in looking at my hand, Fripp's example is exactly what happens.
Back to the woodshed, the Vol 2 Ted Greene book, and my new Duke Ellington book. :)
Regards,
...z
Life is too short to play with bad drummers . . .
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