Advice from Chick Corea

[docbop]

This was posted on FB and along with the Monk list posted in the pass are great advice from pros.

[citizenk74]

Very good points, one and all. Personally I would give #11 pride of place in a group context.

[christianm77]

Hail Xenu.

[docbop]

Hail Xenu.

I discovered a little while ago Chick credits Scientology in helping him kick his habit and turn his life around. Discovering that now I understand all his support for them.

[Irez87]

Again, separate the player from the person.
Chick is one hell of a player. He knows what's up, musically.
My jazz mentors have said similar advice.
Problem is, everyone is too busy wracking his or her mind with theory and scale choice,
I wish more horn players listened to #4 at jam sessions.
I get that you are practicing weaving together a long solo in public... but you are also in public... shut the FRONT DOOR
#8 and 9--gold. Be deliberate, and I'd add "listen to the melody until you bleed it from your ears--people practice improvisation way
too soon--get that melody pristine first and play around with the melody (ala Konitz)
#13 and 15 -- The Miles principal (and many others), don't just burn through all your chops--you'll just end up with blisters and no
meaning--purposeful phrasing is the hardest element of improvisation to master IMHO. That means knowing where the space is the
place--to let the line really speak from it's gullies to it's peaks.
and #2 -- EAR TRAINING any way you know how.

There

Chick's list is quite comprehension. It would take a lifetime to fully realize what he shared in his advice. The question is:

Are you ready to start that part of your musical journey--the one separate from mechanics and theory?

I am doing both in tandem--it's possible--but you practice each in separate ways.

[grahambop]

Hail Xenu.

I think you are overdue for an audit Christian.

[christianm77]

I discovered a little while ago Chick credits Scientology in helping him kick his habit and turn his life around. Discovering that now I understand all his support for them.

Of course, if he had become a born again Christian, no one would see fit to comment on it (much.)

Still, Scientology = funny + sinister.

[destinytot]

Of course, if he had become a born again Christian, no one would see fit to comment on it (much.)

Still, Scientology = funny + sinister.

[christianm77]

This is basically what the modern world is becoming.

[docbop]

Of course, if he had become a born again Christian, no one would see fit to comment on it (much.)

Still, Scientology = funny + sinister.

Agree, growing up in Los Angeles like many I in early days of Scientology I made the mistake of going to their bookstore to look around and pickup a copy of the book. I also gave them contact info being a curious type and was pretty normal back then. Like MANY that resulted in YEARS of phone calls and letters asking if I read the book, did I have questions, please come to free seminar. It was like you were assigned to someone and after a few months they would assign you to another person to keep trying. They would not accept NO as an answer.

Then going to GIT the old Scientology building was a couple doors down from GIT. They constantly tried to recruit students. GIT warned students to ignore Scientology, but at some point GIT and Scientology clashed and after that Scientology never spoke to anyone who looked like a student. There are many companies in L.A. that are owned and staffed with Scientologists, I ended up working for one that had distanced themselves due to big problems that happened, but the stories were scary. People in general only know of Scientology because of the celebrities they have no idea how big of an organization they are with communities, schools, and followers that value Scientology more than their own kids. All the fundamentalist religion, political, and other groups are really cults when you look into what goes on.

[Irez87]

I really feel like that movie was more of a documentary and less of a cheezy action flick:

I hate LA... sorry folks

[docbop]

I really feel like that movie was more of a documentary and less of a cheezy action flick:

I hate LA... sorry folks

Scientology is global you aren't safe anywhere

As for L.A. I grew up there and dam glad I did compared to where I was born. I have lived around the US over the years and all have their pro's and con's. I would love to live in NYC but think I waited too long my age and income not sure it makes sense to, but via internet I'm a more of a NYC person than the desert dweller I am physically.

[christianm77]

I really feel like that movie was more of a documentary and less of a cheezy action flick:

I hate LA... sorry folks

There's a few films from the '90s that seem to have predictive power....

How about the underrated Starship Troopers?

[Sam Sherry]

The fundamental tenet of Unitarianism is respect for the worth and dignity of every person. (Trust me, that can be easier to say than to live sometimes.) I don't expect people to believe what I believe spiritually, intellectually or emotionally. My job as a Unitarian is to hang tight with respect for each person and leave the door open for other people figure that out too if they want to.

It sure is easy to extend that to Chick Corea, "Mister Corea, sir, you can think whatever the heck you like, and thank you again, sir."

[Irez87]

No, not the Scientology.

I meant people at large.

I've met some really chill folks and heard some great music.

Guitar is good for LA.

But the traffic is next level... a damn shame because it is so pretty here.

And the people (en masse) are... let's just say that Hollywood has had it's fun at everyone's expense.

I'll sum it up with one brutal quote:

"One word... plastics"

I think a lot of the people out here become used to the lack of seasons. The end result is that the people lack

seasoning. I've seen a lot of bullshite out here that really hurt me. For instance, my job as a teacher has the same

political problems (more so out here in Cali). And, have to be truthful here, I saw a whole family of little girls

get their daddy torn from them by ICE. Los Angeles, what happened, people?

LA can be very disappointing. LA needs more seasoning and spice. Where's the gusto? Where's the moxy? Where's the tenacity that

isn't tied to Silicon Valley (don't get me started on Silicon Valley--where big business destroys humanities hope in innovation)

The most interesting people I've met here are not from California. They aren't even originally from the US.

So yeah... you can take LA LA LAND. If only the Big Apple wasn't such an expensive bite.

That's the end of my politics for the rest of my tenure at JGF

I'm talking in wide brush strokes here, people. I am sure if I met anyone here at JGF, I would think that he or she was a"real" person.

It's just different in LA. Maybe it's because no one...

[JazzinNY]

Great advice from a master but sometimes number 14 can have an exception (don't beat or pound).

Hiromi uses this to great effect, and you can add it to the list of contrasts: beat or pound / be graceful.

[pcsanwald]

I think #6, the "Blending your sound" part, is underrated and valuable advice. I've never fully appreciated it myself until recently.

I've been playing in big bands a lot in the past couple years, and finding a blend is really a critical thing (for all musicians in the band, not just sections), that just doesn't seem to come up in the same way when we talk about small group playing. Maybe it's because the dynamic range is wider with larger groups (because of the different orchestration possibilities).

I even remember Ralph Lalama talking about the vanguard band and how he had to learn to blend in a section.

[Jazzstdnt]

I think Chick follows his own advice. Just listen to this solo.