Excellent feedback, thanks a lot. I'm going to start practicing jazz chords and all that, this would be the perfect time to learn.
Looney4Clooney
might want to start with a fakebook and Mark Levine's jazz theory book.
I would just get the theory one, not the piano one as the piano one will train you to use voicings that don't have the bass note in it as this would be played by the bass player.
Look for the Dan Haerle jazz voicing book.
You can do a half assed job if you know your chords well and use a leadsheet/fakebook which gives you the melody ( right hand ) and the chord (left hand ). Try to focus on earlier jazz as it tends to follow tonal harmony you are used to a little more than the stuff that comes after,
Evolve140
Will try to record that sample soon. I play in the university practice rooms several times a week. School just started so they're all tuned super nicely. I never get bothered even though I'm not a student because everyone just assumes I am because I jam like a champ.
I might just bring my laptop in, do a few takes to make sure it's positioned correctly for the mic and record about an hour of stuff to get a proper evaluation. Recently I have been getting more comfortable playing darker chord progressions with focus on dissonance and resolution, but I suppose that is still a bit sentimental. Ultimately I'd like to be able to play more ambient piano music since I'll be doing lounge work.
Looney4Clooney
l remember the chinese students would get their at 7 and leave at 10. I don't think they ate.
Well as long as you feel confident. Most people's idea of improvising is playing a chord progression with the left hand and then some sort of melody with the left all in the same key.
Here is me just ing around about 1 hour ago, Now if you had a fake book with melodic ideas, you could do more elaborate things that isn't just wanking.
DivShare File - ing around.mp3
OF course jazz is more theory intensive than classical so you really need to know your stuff to sound convincing.
here is something i just freeballed with a lead sheet. Although this was a few months ago.
just take jazz classics and do what ever. Jazz is all about chord substitution. ALthough that version was pretty simple.
Kysora
you should keep posts like those on hand to quickly shut up anyone who demands "proof" that you know what you're talking about. assuming anyone still does that anymore.
great playing, you make it sound so easy.
Evolve140
Keep these up, will check soon. Thanks.
Looney4Clooney
the first one is probably a better example of just improvising using patterns or progressions which thru hours of practice you memorize and can just call when you need them. Then second one, well i was drunk and at a party but someone made a request.
the best way to learn improvising is probably from different areas. You should start learning voicing paradigms. at the same time, start learning scale theory for jazz. Prractice with the aebersold stuff you can download from pirate bay and . Use a fake book which gives you the melody and chords and transpose it to every key so that you aren't just reading the chord but understanding the function of it.
but its alot of work and practice. But it is fun stuff at least. Unlike finger exercises. Although i used to do those while watching tv. Do play those really really fast runs, you just have to put the time in. I used to just do finger exercises 3 hours a day every day. At school, i had finger exercises as well. Let me know if you are already doing certain things like say Hanon which is something that is a waste of time. Bad teachers that were given this book give it to their students.
I am really ing good i mean , i was kicked out. But just to pass those auditions. Well. Anyways. If there is something you want to learn how to do, I can help you. Most of the exercises i used were my own and everyone person i have ever taught has always just learned things quicker. Basically, i jus find the problem, then a solution that is specific. Too many teachers just tell you to do scales not really knowing why you are doing them. Or how to them So you get students that practice 2 hours of rubbish that could of been condensed into 30 minutes.
As a casual listener, the thing I notice most about the two songs is the way you play each individual note seems purposeful. Each has its own volume, dynamics and subtle differences. It's an amazing talent to play that well.
Looney4Clooney
i used to be alot better but to stay at that level, you need to keep practicing. Thanks tho. I only play about 1 hour a day or actual playing/practice. I mean i use the piano for about 6-10 hours a day but it isn't really playing but using it as a tool for composing and stuff like that.
chris marsh
quote:
Originally posted by Looney4Clooney
l remember the chinese students would get their at 7 and leave at 10. I don't think they ate.
Well as long as you feel confident. Most people's idea of improvising is playing a chord progression with the left hand and then some sort of melody with the left all in the same key.
Here is me just ing around about 1 hour ago, Now if you had a fake book with melodic ideas, you could do more elaborate things that isn't just wanking.
DivShare File - ing around.mp3
OF course jazz is more theory intensive than classical so you really need to know your stuff to sound convincing.
here is something i just freeballed with a lead sheet. Although this was a few months ago.
just take jazz classics and do what ever. Jazz is all about chord substitution. ALthough that version was pretty simple.
Enjoyed your solo - very nice indeed - sounds excellent
Im just about to do my jazz grade 2, so still a beginner here
Looney4Clooney
didn't know they had a system like that for jazz. Is that with the royal conservatory. They should give belts instead of grades. Jazz is really challenging in that you sort of need to know all the classical stuff and then some. And playing jazz in a real setting is also quite different. You don't typically fill in every note of the chord as other instruments will do that for you. And some jazz is hard to really get into. Like bebop. the stuff after swing where do those that don't really try to understand what is going on, sounds like a wall of annoying noise. I used to hate jazz , well that jazz but forced myself to understand it and i can appreciate it now. I suppose classical music is the same way. You get the hook and then 5 minutes of development which sounds like completely random bull unless you can extrapolate what is going on.
Not really related but i found an old video , the only one recorded from a vhs camera my friend sent me. He needed a drummer for a show and asked me. I think i was 20 at the time and had stopped playing for 3 years so i was just practicing to get some semblance of the skill i once had but its still pretty weird to look at yourself 11 years ago. I actually wanted to be a professional drummer at one point in time. This video doesn't really do justice as to what i could do when i was actually playing but ya. some jazz stuff there. It was for a big band and i was reading the hit points. Anyways. Was rather impressed in how i still managed to retain alot of the technique after 3 years of not touching drums. I mean this was after 1 week of practice at my friends house as i didn't have a drum set at the point and you can tell i'm really stiff and akward. Was right around when i started producing. I played or practiced from i guess grade 7 , till i was 18. I used to be able to do all those rudiments, like at the end of the video, i could do that with a double kick drum. I'm a little glad i got more into piano than drums tho as drummers are kinda limited in what they can do.
sorry for the long prologue. Had to explain why i suck in the video at least compared to how i was when i actively played. The stuff i'm reading are like lead sheets with the accents as i was practicing for that big band thing. The end has some pretty ok displays of technique.
