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Continue reading “Discovering Your Personal Jazz Improvisational Style”
Tag: performance
How to Create, Name, and Use Chords to Evoke Emotion and Make Music Come to Life!
In just 45 minutes, you can revolutionize your understanding of THE HARMONIC LANGUAGE. Learn how chords are created, what notes they contain, how they’re named, and how they’re used to evoke emotion and make music come to life. Quickly gain harmonic mastery and confidence which will set you apart as a composer or improviser.
Click here to watch this fascinating video on YouTube for free.
Pres says, “Sing me a song!”
Let’s face it, we all want monster chops. There are some great books out there to help develop technique. I work constantly on mastering lix in all 12 keys, but I never play those lix on the gig. That’s not their purpose. The reason for practicing lix is to enhance your facility on the horn and expand your musical vocabulary.
But some of those lix get so obscure, I can’t even tell if I’ve made a mistake in transposing the lick to a new key. That’s when I know the lick is too obscure!
I just got a killer deal on a great classic clarinet mouthpiece. That inspired me to do some long overdue clarinet shedding. I was trying to come up with a lick that felt melodic, one that would swing and sound lyrical, as opposed to clinical.
Let me know what you think of this one.
To see the chart for this lick in all 12 keys, press the “Continue Reading” button.
Stan Getz Solo From “O Grande Amor”
Looking for a refreshingly novel approach to playing over a minor ii-V-i ? Here’s an idea by Stan Getz. It’s from bars 15 & 16 in the first chorus of his solo over “O Grande Amor” from “The Stockholm Concert.”
B flat instruments start at line 1. Concert key instruments start at line 3, and E flat instruments start at line 12. (Double back to the beginning when you reach the end of the chart.)
Stan Getz: A Brief History, An Appreciation
The vast recorded legacy of legendary tenor saxophonist Stan Getz still astounds the jazz community. Here it is in words and music. From his earliest days with Jack Teagarden, Stan Kenton, Benny Goodman, and Woody Herman to the phenomenal smash hits “Desafinado” and “The Girl From Ipanema” (which sparked the 1960’s bossa nova craze), to his sublime later work with pianist Kenny Barron, Stan Getz continued to galvanize the musical world with his unparalleled technique, unmistakably unique sound, and gorgeous lyricism. Take a tour with us of this amazing 40-year jazz odyssey.
Click on this link to see and hear more: https://youtu.be/pIDS5x7leYI
Hanon 61 For Piano
Although i am just a lowly jazz saxophonist, it is important for all of us musicians to have a working knowledge of piano. So i found an excellent teacher, Dawn Martin, who is really excellent at helping undo my bad habits which cause muscle strain. Two areas that particularly stymie me are:
- Skips of an octave or a major seventh
- Quickly returning the five fingers into the new position after a large skip
The 60 Hanon exercises are awesome, as is working through the 12 major scales, two hands, three octaves. I wrote the exercise below to help with the problems described above. For lack of a better name, i call it “Hanon 61.” Maybe it will help you as well. (Press “CONTINUE READING” below to see the chart.)
Fats Waller & Arpeggios
Mastering arpeggios gives you yet another tool to use (in moderation) in your improv solos.
Have you ever tried playing Fats Waller’s great tune “The Jitterbug Waltz”? Find it on Rahsaan Roland Kirk’s “Bright Moments” album. Mastering arpeggios will make that tune much easier to play.
Here’s a challenging and interesting way to master arpeggios. The idea for this exercise was suggested to me by a warm-up my talented friend Al Thompson often uses.
Click on “continue reading” for a complete chart.
Play on regardless: Music is therapy
WHY should real musicians – the ones who can actually play their instruments – have all the fun?
CRAIG BUHLER JAZZ 