March 3, 2012 – CRAIG BUHLER JAZZ

Here is an exercise to develop your rhythmic precision, finger dexterity, and improvisatory diversity.

In Kenny Werner’s book “Effortless Mastery,” he states that in order for a phrase to sound relaxed & swinging, it must be played effortlessly. How do you play a line like the one below and make it sound effortless? You must sacrifice one of these qualities:

playing it fast
playing the whole phrase
playing it perfectly

Try looping little sections (as few as 2 notes) until they flow effortlessly. Use your metronome in order to keep the groove going smoothly. Start slowly and gradually extend the length, speed, and precision of what you are able to play effortlessly.

New Ears Resolution is not only designed to teach you to play by ear; this discipline also encourages you to think more intelligently about the material you are playing. Rote memorization of a song is not only tedious & laborious, but that process also cheats you out of the joy, wonder, and beauty implicit within the composition, the qualities which make a great performance so special. When you approach a piece with “new ears,” you are beginning to understand its underlying logic in the same way the composer did while creating it.

Below is a simple illustration of this process. The example is a Mixolydian phrase. Try playing it in all 12 keys. On the first line, the phrase is presented as if it were in C major. On line 2, the same phrase is shown once again, this time as if it were in F major. Which line helps you to better understand the phrase? I welcome your comments.