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Hi (:
Here is my improvisation over this tune, I'd like to hear what you think and how to improve it theory stuff and etc...
Hope you enjoy (:
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05-22-2015 05:44 AM
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There is a lot of promise/potential in there, keep up the good work!!!
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Thank you
Originally Posted by vintagelove
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Good work! Solid lines on a very heavy tune!
Maybe if you play a tune that is not so difficult you can try to stay more in the groove? You're sometimes almost running away
Jens
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Ok, overall strong technical grasp of the tune. Much better than average and frankly better than I can play that tune (which I will also confess is a tune I don't like because it tends to sound like a technical exercise rather than music). Areas to improve for all of us all the time:
1. Improvising is creating a new melody over the changes, not playing scales over changes. Sometimes you do this and those are the interesting bits that make me take notice- congratulations, many people don't manage this on this song at all. The bits that sound like scales aren't very interesting. This is true for all jazz musicians on all songs and is always a struggle. Playing something other than 8th or 16ths helps with this; repeating notes a few times helps.
2. Emotion and groove. Music is an expression of our emotions, intended to evoke an emotional response in the listener. What emotions are you expressing? What emotions do you want to elicit? This is the art of the art. Again this is a lifelong process of learning.
3. Tone. This is purely a matter of taste. If you're getting the tone you want then ignore the rest of this. I'd like to hear your tone be a little warmer and fatter. Sounds like you're using light gauge strings with a plain G. Rolling back the volume knob to 7-8 might knock off the harshness of the high end and you can adjust the tone knob to soften things just a bit. .012s would probably also help (I like pure nickle strings, they are a bit warmer and have a softer attack. I like Pyramid pure nickel roundwounds with a plain G on my Tele for a fat warm sound, Thomastik on my archtops. I don't have a semi-hollow like yours, though).
4. You have a great foundation, man! Keep going! And I don't mean "a great foundation for your age." Your time is pretty solid, you're confident, you get around the fretboard with excellent facility. This would be a good foundation at 55.
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Hi Dvir,
well first of all I need to say that I can't play this tune that fast
But I can give you my point of view as a listener :
- the theme is well played (great time) and sounds good (sorry if this sounds stupid !)
- I tought you were a bit rushing at the beginning, but it is not really the case after that
- you never seem to be "lost", which for me is the most difficult part when you try to play that tune using your ears (i.e. if you only visualize shapes it is easier not to get lost, but the result might lack of musicality)
- great technique ! I checked your improvisation on Cherokee as well and it's quite impressive
I think what you could work on would be to try and build your solo gradually, this is not easy but the results for the listeners is invaluable. For example you could start with fewer notes, motivic development is great too. Then as the solo goes you can play more notes, faster, etc.
My two cents
Anyway keep up the good work !
PS : btw you cracked me up Cunamara with "This would be a good foundation at 55"
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Wow thank you all, I appreciate it
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Nice work!!! You have obviously put a lot of time and energy into the guitar and this tune, it shows!!!! Some things you might consider to take an already impressive ability to an even higher level may be...1. Mixing pitch durations ie. Whole notes, half notes, quarter notes , eighth notes, sixteenth notes and using triplets of these durations. 2. Try harmonizing the melody, and throwing in chords throughout your improvisation, octaves too!!! 3. Try writing or improvising a new melody for this tune that mirrors the original melody's rhythm, make up lyrics for it too. 4. Aim for contrast, and set up your fast lines with slower more reptitious ideas. 5. See how few pitches you can use on this tune and how many rhythms you could play. 6. Keep it up you truly are doing very very good. Don't stop now!!!!!
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Hi Dvirulu
That is very promising.
Just that you can play inside all the time is impressive.
I agree with all advises given here. Maybe use a slower backing, so you don´t place your phrases the same place too often.
You are so very young, so keep up the good work.
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thank you Originally Posted by Uffe Steen
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Very cool -- I wish I had your chops at 20! And 30. And 40. And I just turned 50 this year, and I still don't have those kind of chops. Keep up the good work, and remember to breathe!
I just came across this video last night, and figured it was apropos for this thread. Garzone is one of my favorites, and Tom Lagana is a smokin' player; it cracked me up that there's heavy-duty modern jazz going on, and people are dancing! When the music moves ya ...
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Thank you all
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Wow, amazing potential and technqiue. You are definitely playing the changes.
My advice would be to focus on locking in with the rhythm (perhaps at a slower tempo) and making everything as even as you can.
Secondly, work on varying your rhythmic phrases as described above....
This is very hard to do on Giant Steps. It's very hard to play musically on this tune.
I would like to hear you play something slower with more standard changes - perhaps a blues or rhythm changes before offering any further feedback.
But - really - well done!
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Your fingers are fast enough. You should work on your time and melodic content.
Did you do it all by yourself, or there is some teacher/ instructor in the "background"?
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THnk you (: Originally Posted by christianm77
I did it all by myself... My friend recorded me... Originally Posted by Vladan
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Recording is irrelevant for music, it's better if the recording is good and Hi-Fi, but it is not mandatory, by any means. Originally Posted by dvirulu
However, the fact you learned it and rehearsed it all on your own, without any teachers and instructors is as plausable as it could be revealing for many members of this forum.
Keep your brain fresh, never stop searching and discovering, work on "time" and "groove", after a while, try checking into great "musicmakers" as oposed to "music players", not so easy to distinguish in Jazz, but anyway, virtuosity and command on the instrument is much less than half of the fun surrounding it.
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My teacher did heard me playing it and gave me some tips... Originally Posted by Vladan
and thank you.
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Hey Dviluru,
Great job man. Really! How old are you? As everyone so far has said, you seriously have got some great chops.
That said, there's always tons of stuff to work on. We may have different aesthetic tastes, so what I recommend might not jive with you. But here's my two cents.
Most importantly, as everyone else has talked about already...TIME. You're not terrible with it. You've got a strong foundation built. But no matter what direction you choose to take your music in, tightening up your time is going to be a huge part of what will take you into the next level of your playing. Time is one of the differences between good players and great players. Listen to any of the best players, their time is always impeccable.
So slow down. Like CRAZY slow. I sometime practice with my metronome at 30 and even 20 bpm...as the quarter note! Some people are naturally good with time. But the rest of us have to work at it hard. Be patient. Don't worry about Giant Steps when you're doing this. Just put the metronome on and play a scale slowly with it. Or an arpeggio. Or a single repeated note. Or just tap the triplet subdivision on your legs.
Listen to ballads and tap the triplet subdivision on your legs. Get it internalized at slow tempos. Then step up to medium tempo tunes. Then fast tunes. Try tapping the triplet subdivisions on your legs and sing a melody at the same time.
Aside from time (and this is where we might not see eye to eye aesthetically), I would have preferred to hear more melodic statements. You were making the changes, but it wasn't necessarily a musical statement.
One game I like to play is to start improvising with a simple motif, a simple idea. Usually I start with a 2 note idea to keep things very simple. I try and move through the changes but always using the motif as my melodic idea. I try to never let go of it and just play a scale or arpeggio. The only time I let go of it is when the music tells me it's ready for a new idea, and then I let go of the old idea and a new idea comes out. And then I hold onto the new idea for as long as I can. It takes a lot of patience and focus. And is VERY challenging over Giant Steps because the changes are hard. But it's worth a shot. You'd be amazed how quickly you can add melodic depth into your playing just by practicing this one game a little bit. The more you try it, the easier it gets.
Here's a little video to show you what I'm talking about. I just recorded it after reading this thread as it seems like it's easier for you to understand the game if you watch and listen to me try it rather than just read about it.
It really forces us out of our comfort zone and prevents us from playing our riffs. It makes us truly improvise.
If you decide to give it a shot, please let me know how it went for you. I'll be very curious.
DISCLAIMER: DO NOT TRY THIS AT A FAST TEMPO! GO SLOW! HAHAHAHA
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Thanks man, Im 15, I think I will give it a shot, thank you (: Originally Posted by jordanklemons
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Dang. That's awesome man. I didn't even start listening to jazz until I was 20. Keep following what you love and work your @$$ off for it. You've got a great foundation man! Originally Posted by dvirulu
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I'll be seeing you in the spot light in a few years.
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Thank you buddy Originally Posted by edh
I'll be seeing you in the spot light in a few years.
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Originally Posted by dvirulu
Hi Dvir. I agree with others on here that it is very impressive that you are managing to make the changes at this tempo!!
Having said that, the groove and time-feel does suffer a little..
I wonder if you'd benefit from trying out this groove-based version of Giant Steps...
Keep up the fantastic work!!
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