The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #26

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    I've been messing with it the last couple of days and I think I'm going to adapt the program to fit my needs. We have a list of songs that my instructor and I use for lessons, and we add a tune every so often. I haven't been doing lessons that long, so the list is still pretty short.
    Autumn Leaves
    Blue Bossa
    I Could Write a Book
    Billy's Bounce
    St Thomas
    Since it seems like most of the value is in starting extremely slow and gradually building speed, the 10 minute sets of 1/8 notes, and the mandatory 6 days a week, I'm just going to do that with my list of tunes.
    That's 50 minutes. I can use IReal, but I'm going to try to use my looper as much as possible, so that I get some chord work in, too.
    This should still leave me some time to work on the other things my instructor has for me. As well as leaving time for "real" school...I'm going back for an engineering degree at 40, so I'm not lacking homework.
    If my teacher adds more songs to my list, I might have to adjust the 10 minute sets down to 7-8, or rotate songs on different days.

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #27

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    I've had this pdf for a while now and thought about giving it a go, so maybe I'll tag along and see how long I keep up. I think it would be a good way to ingrain a few things I'm working on.

    So is Week 1 starting now?

    By the way, the iReal backing tracks for all of the tunes are available -- just search for "superchops" on the iReal forum.

  4. #28

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    For the sake of conversation, here's how I plan on using the course. It gives me a way of practicing what I'm already working on in a structured and graduated format:

    10 mins comping:
    I have no interest in learning those HR voicings, so I'm going to spend 10 minutes practicing comping through the progression using improvised small voicings based on guide tones + extensions. This is challenging enough for now, but if I get frisky I can practice leading with dominants/ii-Vs, tritone subs, etc.

    3 x 10 mins of steady 8th notes:
    I'm working my way through Garrison Fewell's book at the moment, so I'm going to use that approach. So working through the progression using triads and melodic extensions, and targeting guide tones in various ways.

    Not a bad way to spend 50 minutes!
    Last edited by Jehu; 04-17-2017 at 02:22 AM.

  5. #29

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    Yeah......mere detail.....but check out the chapeau.

    Yeah baby!
    ......as the man said.

  6. #30
    Quote Originally Posted by destinytot
    Thanks - I hadn't realised!
    Burnin'! :-)

  7. #31

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    I discovered that I am unable to play mistake free through the progression even at 40 bpm. At that slow of a tempo I have to subdivide in 16ths and I am finding my attention scattered far and wide. I'm afraid there's probably not a practical tempo where I can remain absolutely error free-what do you folks recommend?

  8. #32

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    Quote Originally Posted by wzpgsr
    I discovered that I am unable to play mistake free through the progression even at 40 bpm. At that slow of a tempo I have to subdivide in 16ths and I am finding my attention scattered far and wide. I'm afraid there's probably not a practical tempo where I can remain absolutely error free-what do you folks recommend?
    The whole point is NOT to play 16ths. This is one of the greatest mistakes students make, to play too fast to avoid the discipline of learning to play slow. The goal is not to make it easy to move your fingers and feel good, it's to learn to feel great playing with the coordination of mind, hand and awareness.
    If you can't play eighths at 40, work on it daily. You have 50 minutes a day and 6 days this week.
    Hint: If you work at it, stuff you didn't think you can do, stuff you avoid, stuff you continue to not do because you avoid it... gets done.
    Really, you can't imagine that which you can't do, but keep at it and don't avoid the task and you may be surprized.

    David

  9. #33
    Quote Originally Posted by wzpgsr
    I discovered that I am unable to play mistake free through the progression even at 40 bpm. At that slow of a tempo I have to subdivide in 16ths and I am finding my attention scattered far and wide. I'm afraid there's probably not a practical tempo where I can remain absolutely error free-what do you folks recommend?
    Do you mean a specific section or just the whole thing?

    It's revealed weak spots in the progression for me. Stuff to practice in isolation later.

  10. #34

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    To clarify, I am not playing 16ths, rather I have to subdivide in my head into 16th notes in order to play eighth notes at such a slow tempo.

  11. #35

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jehu
    So is Week 1 starting now?
    Monday,

    Let's do it!
    You know, I've been playing for a long time now, and starting this program, just looking at the first page this weekend, I've found a LOT of things, playing weaknesses, technical avoidances that I have let shape my playing. SO good to do this.
    I did this years ago. It was good but I didn't complete the 20 weeks at the time. Now it's actually an amazing experience in basic repair to go at this again.
    Seeing the fingerboard possibilities in a new way, thinking further ahead, paying attention to dynamics...

    Good stuff
    David

  12. #36

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    Quote Originally Posted by matt.guitarteacher
    Do you mean a specific section or just the whole thing?

    It's revealed weak spots in the progression for me. Stuff to practice in isolation later.
    I seem to be getting through the A section okay. I think it's definitely revealing gaps! I'm going to keep pounding away at it. I'm sure I'll see progress by the end of the week. Will get better once I can stop staring at the chart.

    I think I have a tendency to start out at a comfortable level, hanging out around the chord tones, maybe throwing in a passing tone or approach note here and there, but then I start getting a bit fancier, moving around more, and I'll botch a change, and pretty soon I'm yelling at the kids and breaking strings and playing triple time and wondering where my life took a wrong turn. :-)

  13. #37
    I like that it's basically open-ended, in terms of how far you want to go with techniques and approaches etc. I've never really done the key centered thing so much . I've mostly played around arpeggios etc.

    I'm taking this opportunity to really just do more key center, using my ear. It certainly brings out specific things to practice at "other times", and I certainly will - but during the exercise, I'm just going to "quiet the nerd" down some.
    Last edited by matt.guitarteacher; 04-17-2017 at 09:52 AM.

  14. #38

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    Damn, this is much harder than I even anticipated and reveals my lack of technique and fretboard knowledge. I picked Lullaby of Birdland as my first tune, since I'm working on it anyways. My focus is in chordtones / arpeggios and trying to connect them. Maybe I should start slower than 48 bpm, since I'm making mistakes (not hitting right notes, messing with alternate picking).

  15. #39

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    Just curious, have you all got a copy of the preface material? Anyone need the Line Shaping information? Anyone want to post it?
    So we're all on the same page... literally

    David

  16. #40

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    Just my personal opinion of course, but I feel that using a backing track instead of playing the chords for a solid 10 minutes (see step 5) might detract from my ability to get the changes off the paper and into my head (step 6). If you skip this step, you're missing 60 minutes of chordal work.

  17. #41
    Quote Originally Posted by wzpgsr
    Just my personal opinion of course, but I feel that using a backing track instead of playing the chords for a solid 10 minutes (see step 5) might detract from my ability to get the changes off the paper and into my head (step 6). If you skip this step, you're missing 60 minutes of chordal work.
    I won't speak for anyone else, but I personally need it. I've done it for several days and am having easier time with memorizing the changes . I've never memorized this one and it's pretty busy .

    I use my own voicings but have kept Roberts melodic line from his voicings. I kind of like the idea of another constant , besides just the chord quality itself and root movement. It's mostly the melody of the tune at the beginning of each chord. It may be exactly that, now that I think of it. I would have to double check.

  18. #42

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    I tried it today. A few observations
    1. Playing the chords for 10 minutes (my own voicings) is pleasant and does help drill in the changes, but I'd rather play some kind of rhythm to work on comping.
    2. On the lines, I found my playing boring. I guess that's an important first step, but still rather frustrating. I was using a lot of familiar licks to target the third of each chord. Perhaps the point is to notice those tendencies and then branch out.
    3. I learned of this course several years ago when I was first getting into jazz. (Say, 4 years ago?) At that time, playing continuous eighths through such "complex" changes seemed impossible. Now, it's no big deal, barring a few clams and some underwhelming lines. So, progress, I guess.

  19. #43

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    Here's some stuff


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  20. #44

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    I've always had great results practicing things very very slow, now I'm going to try this program and see what happens


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  21. #45

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  22. #46

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    Done for the night. I went for 48 BPM even though I knew I couldn't hack it mistake-free—not even close. As for positives, I remember a few short moments when things actually sounded kind of cool. I spent a lot of time completely lost in the form, plucking the same eighth note over and over, listening for its resolution in the slow parade of chords. The most obvious sign post for me was that C+11 chord. The F# really sticks out, but have no idea how to handle it, especially in the key center of F.

    It took me about two hours to do my 50 minute assignment. I recorded all three 10 minute takes, but these bad-boys are going deeeeep into the vault for safe keeping. Tomorrow night I should be a bit more organized and comfortable. I need to pound this form into my head and stop staring at the changes. That alone would improve things a lot for me.

    I think my second take was probably the strongest. I felt quite a bit more comfortable second time through, and before the tedium of the third round hit me.

  23. #47

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    Quote Originally Posted by wzpgsr
    I spent a lot of time completely lost in the form, plucking the same eighth note over and over, listening for its resolution in the slow parade of chords.

    I recorded all three 10 minute takes,
    You might also look up the tune Cherokee or Koko and listen to that tune (albeit much faster) to get an idea of the form and see the big picture. It's also a very catchy piece so enjoy it as a song, as music and take that with you as you're working the changes. Get it off book, and there, the listening really helps, and don't be afraid to strive to play the chords by ear.
    Maybe listening to the tune as a standard could also help you with the chords. Get them down once and just use them for the whole session. But I'm loving how people are using this as a chord exercise too!

    David




  24. #48

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    I have had this book as a pdf for a while now and was thinkin about starting a study group myself. I have some trouble with what to practice. To me the approach is very free, maybe to free for me. Look at this quote form fep:

    Quote Originally Posted by fep
    More than that, look at page 11 to 16. Various scales (including penatonic, chromatic, whole tone, diminished, harmonic minor, melodic minor), common tones, arpeggios, and interval leaps. It seems to me anything is game as long as you keep up the consecutive eighth notes.

    In trying to discern the primary objective. From page 6:
    I guess practicing arps starting on different chord tones is one good way but then what? What is a good way to practice these scales and arps?

  25. #49

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    Quote Originally Posted by Desm0nd
    I guess practicing arps starting on different chord tones is one good way but then what? What is a good way to practice these scales and arps?
    You have 50 minutes a day and 6 days a week to figure that out.
    The whole point of this thread and the other I started on Commitment, enticement and satisfaction is to explore the role of self motivation and relating to actual musical sources as the central core to "keeping it real".
    When you go into a song form, never lose track of the fact that in the end, you're trying to find music. That means it's up to you to find it.
    For 50 minutes a day, you'll wrestle with your own abilities, your own limitations, your own boredom, your own frustration and your own little phrases you always come to and kick yourself over when you're done. Only this time, you make a mindful decision to do something else, based on the list of options you have in your mind.

    Learning options and creating filters is the hardest and most rewarding part of creating music. I'm telling you now, the way you choose to practice, if you give it time to develop, will become your own style. If you chose to play just one note, nobody's going to arrest you. But if you get bored and say "Hey I can try to go from THIS note to THAT note, you'll soon discover that there are many ways to do that and mastering the line from point A to point B can be really enlightening.

    Remember too, this is not the be all and end all. If you work on scale notes for 10 minutes, arpeggios for the next 10 and then mix them on the last, then you may find something about yourself by doing that. ANYTHING IS BETTER THAN AVOIDING DOING.
    What you do today is a reflexion of who you are today. If you return and do this again next year, or 10 years from now, it will be another you that you'll know.

    Jump in. Don't be afraid to sound like crap. Get your hands dirty. Play crap. When you're sick of that, you will discover something that no teacher can give you; and you'll make it into music. And it'll be yours.

    David

  26. #50

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    Quote Originally Posted by TruthHertz
    You might also look up the tune Cherokee or Koko and listen to that tune (albeit much faster) to get an idea of the form and see the big picture. It's also a very catchy piece so enjoy it as a song, as music and take that with you as you're working the changes. Get it off book, and there, the listening really helps, and don't be afraid to strive to play the chords by ear.
    Maybe listening to the tune as a standard could also help you with the chords. Get them down once and just use them for the whole session. But I'm loving how people are using this as a chord exercise too!

    David



    I'm in the middle of having a major declutter of what's to be my dedicated practice space, so I haven't yet started the work in earnest, but...

    It's already crystal clear that choosing limiting parameters works - and there's probably more 'freedom' in that than in the infinite possibilities where 'anything goes' (by which I bet I'm not alone in feeling paralysed).

    By the way, could someone please point out where 48bpm is mentioned, please?

    Thanks in advance.