The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #26

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    Quote Originally Posted by Reg
    Yea... ronjazz's description seems great. I graduated in mid 70's, only worked on guitar 1st year, took all my proficiencies during 1st semester. Somewhat just read through 3rd book... was good for reading through and I always liked Bill's use of relationships, like Chord Scale Relationships, the possibilities.

    Personally I believe his series of books were just part of a lesson plan etc... I remember the the Ensemble Workbooks, the private Lesson Supplements, the Chord Lab workbooks... all of Bills Chord solos ... the Rhythm Guitar Studies which were great for just getting labels together. Really the basic idea for most lesson plans were to just get your guitar skills.... your technique, your sight reading and performance skills together with organization.

    If you not going to organize the material yourself, most school books are somewhat incomplete without all the other supplement and on the spot input from teacher(s) etc.

    It seems as though the jazz curriculum has gone the way of the classical tradition, sponsored by the rich and famous...

    Reg - I've been both a classical and jazz major and I agree with all of this, but don't think I understand your point on the last sentence about the curriculum. Do you mean that jazz training has been codified and has hence moved away from "folk learning"? (so to speak).

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #27

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    Hey Jazzstdnt,

    Yes and also that the curriculum has become training for the rich. Most of the young and educational bands and programs which perform at different jazz festivals and other performances tend to be big $ to become involved with... And Jazz organizations are now helping fund performances in many cities... The learning on the job has become pay to play.

    Sorry... it's not that bad.... but watching for too many years, that's what it looks like.

  4. #28

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    Ah, I was not aware of that.

    I am aware of the, er, "challenged" ROI associated with music college however.

    I'm also aware of how much it costs to go to a good symphony concert and sit in a good seat. Wow.

  5. #29

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    In order to fathom the content of such a work, one must know the intent of the authour. Listen to the early career of Patti Page and Andy Williams to hear what the guitar was intended for in that era. These two vocalists were not considered to be jazz singers, but popular vocalists.

    Theirs was an era where real people could make a living playing real music for real people who actually danced together to this music as mature adults. Music was functional. No one would ever pay a guitarist if the guitar was not essential to that moment. William Leavitt obviously designed his Modern Method for college level vocational training. Musical training was rigorous then. It was not a cafeteria where one picks and chooses the most interesting theoretical topic of the day.

    The original role of the guitarist in any ensemble is not comparable to the current era. Since the 1960's, the guitar has been used for endless soloing of speedy riffs through a six foot piggyback amplifier. Outdoor mega-stage concerts. Full length recorded albums of continual jamming without constraint. The venue of the past was quite different. The guitar was essential to many introductions and finales. It was known and depended upon for its quiet, romantic chordal fills. Salvatore Massaro comes to mind.
    One could not just wank away at endless riffs that say nothing. The audience was discriminating and would never let anyone get away with it. It was all about the dancers, not about the guitarist. The paying clients.

    Too many young musicians have no knowledge of the Western Musical Tradition. Everything wasn't jazz and exotic scales. We have a jazz radio station coming in from Toronto. What they call jazz does not often sound like jazz at all, as the word "jazz" becomes watered down and few are still alive to correct us. Try to read the songs in both the Modern Method and Basic Method and it becomes plain to see/hear what guitar was once intended to sound like. Musical & Melodic. Accompaniment skills that could earn a living for a guitarist.

    Today there are hardly any guitarists earning a living from music. It is a recording studio driven industry supplying teenagers with pseudo-music. So, the skills once exalted by musical colleges are no longer relevant, except to hobbyists. Today you would need a course on constructing a pedal-board and a safe-place for dealing with GAS. Brylcreem, Suits with Ties, Hot Rods, Stereos and Women Without Tattoos are a thing of the past. Perhaps that is why Berkley no longer focuses on his books, but the Modern Method and Basic Method are wonderful companions to any dedicated amateur guitarist.

    For most guitarists today, it is pointless to struggle to finish the Modern Method by a given date. Simply mark one's place and keep it by the metronome. When one wants to sound like a guitarist, they can open it back up and learn something musical instead of mimicking the current guitar hero.

    Just a brief look at who he was indicates the type of method book he would write. Today we live in a cartoon world of decaying morals where anything of merit and value is taken away, pulled down or desecrated; where works by men of accomplishment are erased by men with earrings who cannot understand it.



    William Leavitt was a long-time chair of Berklee’s Guitar Department, serving from 1965 to 1990. He had a profound influence on Berklee’s guitar curriculum, as well as jazz guitar education worldwide, and he mentored thousands of musicians. As a performer and/or arranger, he worked with many renowned artists, such as Ella Fitzgerald, Andy Williams, and Patti Page.


    An interesting and revealing read by one of his students:
    My Mentor, William G. Leavitt | Karl Aranjo
    Last edited by StringNavigator; 06-02-2021 at 08:08 AM.

  6. #30

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    Thanks for that.. interesting and revealing read by one of his students. Brought back many great memories.

    Yea i knew Bill, but not that well. I could already play and what made it easy, could sight read well before I went through Berklee... I went there to get better understandings of music, jazz music, compose and arrange...

    The story from your read... sounded very familiar from my memories of the better guitar majors while I went to Berklee.

    Thanks reg

  7. #31

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    I've finished Vol's 1 & 2 (I went through them in college). Vol 3 is more of a reference book IMO, although I've practiced parts of it.

    I think once you've completed 1 & 2 you'll be a solid reader and you'll know the neck very well. But for me it was still only the beginning. I still had to learn how to play tunes.

  8. #32

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    Now that I have begun my 7th decade circling the sun, I can truly appreciate this post in all its “old man shakes fist at the clouds” glory.

    Since I first dedicated myself to the Leavitt books in my early twenties in the 1980s, I have been happily out of step with musical fashion for four decades, yet managed to develop and sustain a modest but successful career in music, to a large extent because of the fretboard knowledge, technical facility, and reading skills these “out-of-date” books provided.

    Quote Originally Posted by StringNavigator
    In order to fathom the content of such a work, one must know the intent of the authour. Listen to the early career of Patti Page and Andy Williams to hear what the guitar was intended for in that era. These two vocalists were not considered to be jazz singers, but popular vocalists.

    Theirs was an era where real people could make a living playing real music for real people who actually danced together to this music as mature adults. Music was functional. No one would ever pay a guitarist if the guitar was not essential to that moment. William Leavitt obviously designed his Modern Method for college level vocational training. Musical training was rigorous then. It was not a cafeteria where one picks and chooses the most interesting theoretical topic of the day.

    The original role of the guitarist in any ensemble is not comparable to the current era. Since the 1960's, the guitar has been used for endless soloing of speedy riffs through a six foot piggyback amplifier. Outdoor mega-stage concerts. Full length recorded albums of continual jamming without constraint. The venue of the past was quite different. The guitar was essential to many introductions and finales. It was known and depended upon for its quiet, romantic chordal fills. Salvatore Massaro comes to mind.
    One could not just wank away at endless riffs that say nothing. The audience was discriminating and would never let anyone get away with it. It was all about the dancers, not about the guitarist. The paying clients.

    Too many young musicians have no knowledge of the Western Musical Tradition. Everything wasn't jazz and exotic scales. We have a jazz radio station coming in from Toronto. What they call jazz does not often sound like jazz at all, as the word "jazz" becomes watered down and few are still alive to correct us. Try to read the songs in both the Modern Method and Basic Method and it becomes plain to see/hear what guitar was once intended to sound like. Musical & Melodic. Accompaniment skills that could earn a living for a guitarist.

    Today there are hardly any guitarists earning a living from music. It is a recording studio driven industry supplying teenagers with pseudo-music. So, the skills once exalted by musical colleges are no longer relevant, except to hobbyists. Today you would need a course on constructing a pedal-board and a safe-place for dealing with GAS. Brylcreem, Suits with Ties, Hot Rods, Stereos and Women Without Tattoos are a thing of the past. Perhaps that is why Berkley no longer focuses on his books, but the Modern Method and Basic Method are wonderful companions to any dedicated amateur guitarist.

    For most guitarists today, it is pointless to struggle to finish the Modern Method by a given date. Simply mark one's place and keep it by the metronome. When one wants to sound like a guitarist, they can open it back up and learn something musical instead of mimicking the current guitar hero.

    Just a brief look at who he was indicates the type of method book he would write. Today we live in a cartoon world of decaying morals where anything of merit and value is taken away, pulled down or desecrated; where works by men of accomplishment are erased by men with earrings who cannot understand it.



    William Leavitt was a long-time chair of Berklee’s Guitar Department, serving from 1965 to 1990. He had a profound influence on Berklee’s guitar curriculum, as well as jazz guitar education worldwide, and he mentored thousands of musicians. As a performer and/or arranger, he worked with many renowned artists, such as Ella Fitzgerald, Andy Williams, and Patti Page.


    An interesting and revealing read by one of his students:
    My Mentor, William G. Leavitt | Karl Aranjo

  9. #33

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    Max, not to derail the thread, but your take on Wichita Lineman is a pleasure to listen to... tnx

  10. #34

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    Thanks a lot, I’m glad you enjoyed it, I love that tune. FYI, all the guitars on that tracks are tuned to DADGAD.

    Wichita Lineman | Max Smith

    Quote Originally Posted by stringmann
    Max, not to derail the thread, but your take on Wichita Lineman is a pleasure to listen to... tnx