Yes, there are dumb questions...

[bborzell]

I have been working on a Robert Conti DVD called "Ticket to Improv". The first tune (Satin Doll) has gone pretty well and I can tell that the patterns to which I am growing more accustomed seem to be providing familiarly with the fretboard beyond the specific notes in the solos. This is to say that I find myself going to alternate note locations without specifically thinking about where else on the fretboard the note might be hiding. That was a nice side effect to learning a single note solo.

Along the way, I have been thinking that, while I understand and tend to respond better to Conti's approach of playing the music rather than learning scales and modes and the like, there is a part of me that still wonders if there is a mid point between Conti and a straight academic approach to theory. It's kinda like:

"Yes, I really enjoy playing Satin Doll through with no hiccups and, along the way, adding a few baubles of my own, and I wonder if, in not focusing of the "language" or "elements" of jazz theory, am I ignoring tools and/or knowledge that are necessary to grow as a jazz guitarist?"

One obvious observation is that Conti doesn't seem to have suffered from the approach he teaches. The equally obvious counterpoint is that it is highly likely that Conti knows all this theory stuff, he just doesn't teach it.

But still, if all I ever do is learn note by note tunes, even if I learn to gussy them up, I think I will end up being a competent playback machine with a bit of AI thrown in along the way.

So, I started nosing around and stumbled upon Jimmy Bruno. Checked out a few demo videos and concluded that his "Five Fingerings" Or "shapes" offer at least one thing that is not readily apparent on the Ticket to Improv DVD and that is a manner of gaining familiarity with the fretboard beyond that which comes from learning a single solo note by note. I recognize that Conti might well cover this sort of stuff in other DVDs, but it is not easy to wade through the sea of DVD offerings and figure out specifically what is being offered.

So, I am augmenting my TTI practice with the newly signed up for Bruno online lessons and after watching the lessons that speak to the 5 shapes, I clicked on a "Tips" video where Bruno talked about people asking about the relationship between the shapes and modes and he pointed out that, "This is a dumb question that demonstrates that you didn't get the point of the lesson" or words to that effect.

My first reaction, after seeing that video was, "This is a crotchety old fart". Then I realized that he is 13 years younger than me so maybe that makes him a crotchety, middle aged fart. In any event, he certainly has a particular chair side manner. I think I will do OK with him.

[AlsoRan]

Ha! Ha! That Bru-no can be Bru-tal sometimes. But at least he calls it like he sees it.