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Originally Posted by a_small_coyote
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06-18-2012 09:56 PM
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Originally Posted by Buster Loaf
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Originally Posted by JohnRoss
I maybe was exaggerating a little bit when I said I couldn't play an entire song, I do have very few songs I can play all the way through, and have a few more that are at about 90% for me.
Either way, it sounds nice to be able to play a bunch of different tunes and have a good foundation of a library to build on. Plus the thought of twisting up some classics in my own way sounds really cool too
monk: I'm thinking I'll go ahead and pick up the book you suggested and a chord encyclopedia, feels like the Real Book has more complex tunes I should build up to and seems like the GAS would be a good place to begin learning songs. It takes me like 5 minutes to figure out what a Bb7#9 is and apply it to the fretboard lolLast edited by a_small_coyote; 06-18-2012 at 10:26 PM.
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Originally Posted by a_small_coyote
I hope this is helpful.
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And the good news is you end up teaching yourself anyway. You just have to be good at selecting the proper material and KNOW how to practice.
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Originally Posted by a_small_coyote
Also, practicing at night may not be productive if you are mentally fried by then. Try to do a bit earlier in the day.
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Some teachers still might not do it. I'm a real stickler. I have to be convinced that the student will work it for an every two week lesson. I generally don't allow this. Sometimes we take it on a trial basis. One week is too short and two weeks is too long. I like the pressure one week brings. And I don't do private lessons in association with any store or school.
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Coyote, not sure how much time you have to practice. If you're really training for triathlons, that's gonna eat up a chunk of time. Here's what I'd do if I had, say, 2 hrs a day to practice and was serious about learning quickly.
For the next 6 months:
- Listen to jazz for at least an hour a day outside of your practice time. Do you have a smartphone? Cue up the Pandora "Vocal Jazz Standards" or "Bebop Combo" stations and listen on your headphones at work, during your commute, etc. This will give you an appreciation for how to sound like you want to sound.
1) Keep spending 30 mins a day working through the Leavitt book. It'll start to apply in time.
2) Buy the Mickey Baker jazz guitar books and spend another 30 mins a day working through those.
3) Spend 30 mins a day learning your chords. You'll need these together to play the tunes. I'd spend 90% of your time right now on learning to play the standards as a rhythm player and wait to start really shedding the solo stuff. You're getting plenty of foundation in single line stuff through Leavitt anyway. Here's what I'd do:
- Learn to play your major, minor, diminished and augmented triads on all string groups (EAD, ADG, DGB, GBE) in all inversions. Pick a key, say C, and try to play all four of those triads in all positions. You will learn the fretboard extremely quickly if you do this, and you will start to understand how chord construction works. This means for C maj you need to find all the places you can finger CEG on the neck. Then EGC for 1st inversion. Then GCE for second. Let the theory stuff you already know guide you.
- Learn to put those triads over bass notes to make 4-note chord voicings. Learn maj, min, maj 7, min 7, dom 7, min 7b5, and dim7 voicings first. Can you finger your 2nd inversion C min triad on the top three strings and find a C note below it? In the same key that you did your triad work, do all the four note chords.
- Pick a different key every day until you feel like you are kicking ass at this.
4) Spend your last 30 mins a day playing songs out of your Real Book. Pick an easy tune like "Autumn Leaves". Listen to a bunch of different versions of it on YouTube. Learn to sing the melody. Learn to play the chords while you sing the melody (even if you are not a good singer this will help you TONS). See if you can do it in a different key. See if you can do it in all 12 keys. Rinse and repeat.
Once you get up to speed comfortably playing standards with good groove, go find some other musicians and jam. Then start working on your soloing. Learn some new chords. You should already know loads from Leavitt and Baker that you'll start figuring out how to apply by this point.
Just my 2 cents.
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Hey guys, just wanted to check in and say your replies are much appreciated. Its my weekend right now and since im not at work I don't have internet and am browsing with my smartphone. This thing is terrible for this so I will get back to this when I return to work. Thanks again!
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Hello jazz community? Its a pleasure being accepted as one of your members. Thank you
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Welcome, eston!
Starting a phrase late
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