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A few of us went through the first half of the book... For some the progress was better than mine...
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11-30-2013 02:59 AM
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Originally Posted by fep
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So, I have been really wood shedding my triads, and I tried improvising over some tunes with just triads as my framework, and I was surprised how well it worked out. It is pretty easy to find the 7 or b7 on the fly. Throw in some chromatic notes, and off you go.
I think I heard once that Stan Getz based his improvising on triads.
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Supposedly Wes Montgomery and other significant guitarists also used this approach at times.
I don't know how authors like Garrison Fewell are able to know this by listening but triad improvising also contributes to the three-finger left hand technique that many have used.
Now you are starting to make me thing I should have stuck with triads.
Maybe later...
Garrison Fewell's book, Jazz Improvisation, A Melodic Approach talks about using this technique exhaustively. Stacking various triads to achieve natural and altered tensions. He is feels it can be a way to better and faster travel up and down the fretboard.
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Well, stacking triads is a lot more sophisticated than what I'm doing. I'm just simplifying 4 and 5 note chords into their basic triad. Eventually I want to have all of the seventh chords down cold too. This is just an intermediate phase.
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Originally Posted by Jonzo
So you are basically building your chord knowledge from its basic triad form: root, third (whether flatted or not), and fifth (whether flatted or not).
That should serve as a valuable fallback as you progress.
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I think of it more as a stepping stone. Three notes are easier to remember than four. Once you know three notes well, add the fourth.
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Originally Posted by Jonzo
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Originally Posted by Gertrude Moser
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Originally Posted by fep
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Originally Posted by Gertrude Moser
While practicing using arpeggios, it was not long before I noticed if I stayed on the first three strings, I was starting to feel comfortable. But when I went back to all six strings, I started losing my place and less sure how each note was going to sound.
Eventually, I added the fourth string and was able to integrate it as well.
This illustrates your point and it has been key for me making progress.Last edited by AlsoRan; 12-01-2013 at 10:43 AM. Reason: spelling
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Originally Posted by GAN
In the Introduction to Jazz Guitar Soloing study group threads I thought that 'SteveBellinger' and 'FrankLearns' did the best as far as improving through the course. I thought I improved too, but not as much as them.
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Originally Posted by princeplanet
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Originally Posted by Jonzo
When I think about the book, it certainly doesn't have any revolutionary theories. Any theory in the book can be easily found and has been discussed on this forum. The strength of the book, in my opinion, is the organized and structured practice approach that it leads you through.Last edited by fep; 12-01-2013 at 11:39 AM.
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Here is the aide I am using Jonzo.
Over on the "Thinking Ahead" thread by princeplanet, I posted my first attempt at using it.
My non-musician friends thought it was listenable and showed some promise for a first try at using the tools.
Anywhere, here is the visual aid and after a couple of hours of using it, I was able to "see" it clearly in my mind.
Ah but alas, it has started to fade since then so I am going to have to continue to practice it until it is ingrained, assuming my old, alcohol-damaged, fifty year-old brain can still do such things.
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I guess the point of this thread is that it is a difficult exercise at first, and there are a variety of ways to work up to it. I chose to do the exercise with triads at first, because I want to get away from visual aides as soon as possible, and I see the triads as useful to know. I have no idea if this is "better" than other methods. There are a lot of ways to make the exercises easier. You can start by working on just adjacent pairs of chords at first. You can go really slow. They all lead to the same place.
This connecting game is just such a great exercise, because if forces you out of the comfort zone of whatever pattern you use to practice an arpeggio, by making you jump into it at any point. This is exactly what you need to do while improvising.
By the way, the teacher at a jazz violin camp that my son attended had students working on the same thing.Last edited by Jonzo; 12-01-2013 at 01:36 PM.
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[Double post deleted.]
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Take triads up a notch to another seriously fruitful concept. I ain't selling nothing, just things to explore.
http://www.jodyjazz.com/images/dvd/georgemaster.pdf
Last edited by cosmic gumbo; 12-01-2013 at 09:53 PM.
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When moving to the next chord you go to a nearby chord tone and start the next arpeggio from there. In general, for the first half of the book, you play arpeggios for the chord.
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I don't have the book but have been working in staying in one position and playing the chord arpeggios to standards that I've memorized. First I play all arpeggios up, then down, then up down alternating, and finally just playing what comes naturally. Playing with metronome at 60 now, all eighth notes and it's been really helping me so far. I plan on adding extensions and playing from the 3rd up too. Probably will go 3 5 7 9, then practice 5 7 9 11, and so on.
Autumn Leaves (Fingerstyle Chord Melody)
Yesterday, 11:56 PM in Improvisation