Giant Steps, JUST DO IT! - Page 3

jster · #61 01-20-2012, 06:58 PM

Thanks so much Jake. That helps a lot. And those links, especially the first, are good too.

Man I wish I had the internet a zillion years back when I was practicing 10 hours a day. I had a real book, Berklee 1-3, a duet book, some big chord book, and a teacher with major issues. What a nut job he was. Berklee grad actually. lol. I'm actually pissed as I write this. So many freaking resources. No mysteries. But now so little time. I'm quite content never having become a pro, but I would have devoured all these things you guys post. 12 hours a day a lot of the time. Now it is 30 minutes while I'm waiting for her to get dressed. If I ever hear a young musician whine, I'm just going to say shut up kid you had the internet forums.

JakeAcci · #62 01-20-2012, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jster

Thanks so much Jake. That helps a lot. And those links, especially the first, are good too.

Man I wish I had the internet a zillion years back when I was practicing 10 hours a day. I had a real book, Berklee 1-3, a duet book, some big chord book, and a teacher with major issues. What a nut job he was. Berklee grad actually. lol. I'm actually pissed as I write this. So many freaking resources. No mysteries. But now so little time. I'm quite content never having become a pro, but I would have devoured all these things you guys post. 12 hours a day a lot of the time. Now it is 30 minutes while I'm waiting for her to get dressed. If I ever hear a young musician whine, I'm just going to say shut up kid you had the internet forums.

Great, glad I could be helpful.

A lot of people graduate Berklee...I think at this point it doesn't mean all that much.

bako · #63 01-20-2012, 09:02 PM

http://www.music.sc.edu/ea/Jazz/tran...STEPSscore.pdf

Heavy lifting already done, courtesy of Bert Ligon for anyone inclined to analyze the motivic content of Coltrane's original solo.

JakeAcci · #64 01-20-2012, 09:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bako

http://www.music.sc.edu/ea/Jazz/tran...STEPSscore.pdf

Heavy lifting already done, courtesy of Bert Ligon for anyone inclined to analyze the motivic content of Coltrane's original solo.

What a cool way to present the transcription, thanks for that.

I really gotta get that darn book of his.

augusjazz · #65 01-20-2012, 09:40 PM

For me it is a very difficult song, because I want to come play it improvising, not liks memorized.
This ball of ugly notes is the best I could achieve so far.

YouTube Video

I will continue studying.

JimBobWay · #66 01-21-2012, 12:26 AM

Way back when I was obsessed with playing fast, I memorized the solos for Giant Steps, Moment's Notice and other Coltrane (and McLaughlin, and DiMeola, and the list goes on and on...) classics as practical studies.
One day I came across a *really* nice transcription of GS in Guitar Player by Larry Coryell, a chord-melody approach. In the notes Larry said "I'm not ready to play this yet, I'm presenting it for study purposes" or something to that effect. That woke me up - here's one of my heroes basically saying this is out of his league. It also validated what all my friends and anyone else who could stand to listen to me play were trying to communicate to me.

And then I got a copy of Rahsaan Roland Kirk's 'Return of the 5000lb Man' which included a beautiful version with lyrics, at a bluesy pace, Kirk playing Coltrane's solo pretty much verbatim but with his own spirit and at a second-line tempo. I took that direction and tweaked Larry's version, and I still play this a lot and get good responses. It remains a fantastic exercise as a bonus.

Another song that illustrates the importance of appropriate pacing in my experience is Monk's 'Straight No Chaser'. When I first learned this from the Real Book with some friends, the tempo was blistering, and it never felt or sounded right to me. When I started to really investigate Monk and heard the original, I was spellbound. Now THAT's 'jazz'!

I'm grateful to all the virtuoso musicians who impressed me with their fast playing, it helped me in many ways. But I'm even more grateful to those who could play as fast as any, but knew that sometimes those steps should be taken a bit more deliberately. ...'not the pace, but the steps...'

JakeAcci · #67 01-21-2012, 11:03 AM

Sure, it's a good point, we don't have to burn these tunes. But we don't have to play them slowly either. The motivation to set a tempo usually is based on a few factors, and I think it's fair (and unfortunate) to say that 'wow factor' is sometimes one of them, but not always.

I think it's good for everybody to keep their ego in check and make good musical decisions, but sometimes the musical decision really is to play a tune briskly and fill up the space.

In the case of Giant Steps, I don't ever call the tune anymore, and when I do I don't call it super fast, nor do the people I play with, even though we all have played it at sessions or gigs at quicker tempos. But if that's somebody's jam I figure more power to them as long as they're doing it because they like the tune, as opposed to trying to win the Jazz Championships.

AmundLauritzen · #68 01-21-2012, 11:40 AM

I think it's a fun tune to play above all. The harmonic movement in the tune is good when I want a break from the usual standards.
In my opinion, being able to play a tune in many different tempos is a good skill to have. If someone decides to be a jerk an call it out in 290bpm, you'll be prepared for that.

I've heard the tune played as a medium-slow bossa and even as a ballad. It really became a whole new tune that way and allows for some interesting phrasing.
I haven't really put in the time to master the tune to the point where I'd dare to call it out. But it's fun to mess around with in the shed, and I can navigate the changes when I've been shedding it regularly. Making music on it is a whole different story though.