The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #826

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    Week 19. Day 6. Modal Madness in Bb/C dorian. Tonight I decided to push myself with the tempos. Playing steady 8th notes isn't an issue, but trying to have room for a run of triplets was challenging. I got up to 145 bpm. I just can't execute picked triplets at that tempo for more than a quick burst or two. It was a good session, but towards the end I started developing some tension and tightness on the right side of my neck. That quickly reminded me that my physical well being is far more important than Super Chops. Anyway, I can't believe I'm about to embark on week 20!

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  3. #827

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    Quote Originally Posted by D'Aquisto Fan
    I just can't execute picked triplets at that tempo for more than a quick burst or two. It was a good session, but towards the end I started developing some tension and tightness on the right side of my neck. !
    Back off on the stressful tight playing! Good posture, neck at an upward angle. Stretch and warm up. Know when to stop (the hardest). Take care!

    When I took up playing fretless guitar, it changed my playing completely; in a good way. I found myself shifting a LOT more, and even an arpeggio going up across the neck, I would shift so each note was under a strong finger. I found that this way of playing, of seeing, of thinking, of navigating opened up my playing to a lyrical style, a necessity for shifting and then an ease of shifting that became a natural part of my line making. It ALSO made it easy to create enclosures around any note, and to shift into tritone subs REALLY easily.
    I didn't realize until the week when HR opened up HO, PU and shifts just how much these tools of shifting are significantly different from position playing.
    If you try more shifting, you can accomplish greater shifts, avoid awkward stretches and "shift" your way around parts of the scale that, because they're not coming from a strong hand position, can wind up not flowing as smoothly. Ornamental enclosures also wind up fitting into triplet timing and because they function as melodic ornaments, they also become rhythmic ornaments too, so your phrases have a nice continuity of texture and surprise to them.
    That's how it's worked for me, anyway.
    Hope it works out, and take care of those hands!

  4. #828

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    Starting WEEK 20! The final week of the Super Chops course.
    Before I even post the agenda for the upcoming final week, I'd like to get any impressions, comments, observations and any comments from anyone who's even attempted the Super Chops course, either in these past 19 weeks, or in the past, whether successfully completing the course or if and why you stopped.

    I open this up to any lurkers, or anyone who's been following this thread in part, or in secret, or watching curiously from the sides without actually doing any of the projects with us. I'd like to know what happens with players and students with this kind of piece oriented method over 20 weeks of committed and guided practice.

    For those of us (you) who've taken it this far, what did you think you'd be able to do and what have the results been? What did you hope would be accomplished that you didn't? What unexpected and unanticipated benefits have you had? Knowing what you know now, what would you have done differently? Does this change the way you'll conduct your studies in the future?

    Any input would be very welcome.
    I began this thread with a run through a few years ago. This time was VERY different from the last time. I know so much more about the things that hung me up last time, and I have a much more humble idea about what is needed to actually become a faster more solid soloist (and comper). I'll talk about that more in a separate posting.

    Last week, unbelievable how much has changed in these 20 weeks. I look forward to your feedback. And thank you all for running this marathon with me. Honestly, the questions you've asked, the thought we put into looking at our own playing, my own playing, have given me more practical material, revelations and insight than the years I spent in music school. I drew upon all those years of advice, playing and valuable OJT wisdom in shining a light on our work on these projects.

    Thank you all! And do, please feel absolutely free to post your thoughts in this last week. They are all most welcome!

  5. #829

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    I figured I would chime in after David's/JBN's post. It is amazing that we're approaching week 20. That in and of itself feels like quite an accomplishment. It shows discipline and commitment. I'm proud of myself for sticking with the course through the ups and the downs. I'll probably ramble a bit here as I think back to the journey of Super Chops. I'm sure I'll have more to add in future posts. I'm not entirely certain what I had hoped to get out of the course. I know what attracted me to it was the idea of a tune-based course. In the beginning I really got drawn in. The slower tempos allowed me to not only work on my right hand technique, but also enabled me to navigate Howard's changes. Very quickly I realized that Howard was going to throw some fascinating curve balls my way. I might stumble a bit initially, but each of those challenges allowed for growth and advancement. I also remember making my first recording/video and posting it to this thread. I was quite anxious and self-conscious. But I was met with encouragement and appreciation. Thank you! That positive reinforcement really helped to solidify my commitment to the course. I've acknowledged before that I haven't always adhered to strict, steady and unrelenting picking. Especially when we segued to triplets. But I embraced the athletic nature of the course. Sometimes that wasn't very appealing. I've struggled with finding a balance between constant picking and trying to say something musical. Have I developed Super Chops? No. Are my "chops" any better? Perhaps. I can't really tell. Although I have to imagine my right hand has improved. But I do feel that my overall musicianship has increased. My time feel. My courage to go for those bursts of triplets when often in the past I wouldn't push myself for fear of my technique breaking down along with the musical statement I was trying to make. I guess it's hard for me to determine the difference between myself 19 weeks ago and this evening. But one thing I've particularly enjoyed is knowing I always have an assignment. Some practical thing to do on the guitar. The last few weeks have felt a bit repetitive since we're not tackling new tunes and my tempos haven't gotten that much faster. Part of me is looking forward to completing this next week. But another part of me is a bit sad that this journey I've taken along with my fellow JGF Super Choppers is approaching the end.

  6. #830

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    Week 19. Reflecting and looking back.
    Amazing, to look back to December when we began this, and then to 2017 when I last was finishing up the Howard Roberts Super Chops program.
    Wow! It was a different world back then. Darkest winter ever. And nothing but time and the promises I'd made over years of being a better musician. So glad we did this together, guys.
    I've learned TONS this time through.
    I knew that speed has never been a serious point of focus for me, there was always something complicated I was working on and the speed was what it was. But it was never a commitment to developing "chops". As a matter of fact, chops calisthenics seemed the opposite of how I wanted to develop as a soloist. But I had time, and what else was I doing during a pandemic lockdown?

    I came in with some idea, some idea from when I'd done this in 2017, that I wanted to develop a language of sophisticated phrases that I could then bring up in tempo, phrases that utilized harmony and texture I didn't have the patience to really get together.
    In this way, the program was really good. It taught me that there's a big difference between knowing what could be played-and actually playing it.

    You can repeat the mantra "Playing and doing it is the only way to make it happen", but it takes a LOT of inertia to run full steam for 20 weeks. I'm very pleased at what I can do now, with solid time and clarity of thought, that I never imagined I'd have back at week 1. I didn't know, even having run through before, how much is in those 6 pieces, how I could read them completely differently EACH time.

    This time I had a notebook of things to conquer (melodic minor modes, crossing the bar lines, groupings of three or five in a 4 beat bar... and more) so every time I felt something trappingly predictable on the horizon, I came up with strategies to steer clear (wider intervals, shift to new position, create a new motif and work with it, make better phrase endings that dovetailed into the next phrase passage...).

    I also developed an entirely new way of playing that has Pull Offs, Hammer-Ons and slides playing heavily. And that necessitated a more solid fretboard navigation system. The "map" is now stronger than it's ever been.

    I saw clearly that Super Chops means super ears. If I can't hear it I don't play it but if I can hear it fast, I can play it just as fast.
    Hear it.
    Practice so and until I can hear it.
    Think it out, work it out on the fingerboard, teach the fingers, play it and down the road, come to hear it. Then it's ready for improvisation.
    My ear for informed listening has gotten sharper by a big amount. From working at faster speeds and with more intricate things, I can hear, tap into, relate to and take from live performances and recordings to a degree that just wasn't there before. That active-listening conscious-playing feedback loop is a reason alone to go through this course.

    It was driven home that it's Ear, Hand, Navigation and purpose/intent are each legs on the improvisational table; all have to be solid and all have to support the weight evenly.

    The speed of assimilation is not guaranteed. There's a ton of things I want to be able to do (using Symmetrical Diminished in a really creative and inspired way, superimposing harmony within harmony, using chords and dyads in my single line playing at speed) so this course gave me a LOT of homework. Got to write it all down while it's fresh.

    Finally what I'd do differently with the course or with the work. If I had the freedom, I'd make this a 3 hours a day program. 1 hour as it is. 1 hour doing this just as a Super Comps course. And 1 hour "Using space to frame ideas and make them into real rhythmically informed solos.
    I'd see this as part one, then part two is 20 weeks with a tune a week. Same routine. Dotted with sprinkles of ideas to work on like "fertilizer" on the soil we overturn here.

    All in all, yeah this has been great! So glad I did it. I think of where I was 20 weeks ago and now, for the first time, I'm thinking "That wasn't bad. I should've done this a long time ago." I'm on a totally new plateau. Now to see where I can go from here.

    One more week to go. I'll have observations and reflections this week, I'm sure.

  7. #831

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    Week 20! Day 1. Exercise 1B. Wow! Week 20. Pretty amazing. I had an excellent session this morning. I felt smooth, lyrical. I was able to bump up the bpm to 140 without pain. Everything just seemed to flow today. As always, that first 10 minutes helps me to get my footing. But even halfway through the first 10 minutes I was able to let go and really explore not only the fretboard, but ideas. I'm actually about to run out to socially distance with a friend and play some tunes. Hopefully this morning's positive session will translate into good music this afternoon!

  8. #832

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    Quote Originally Posted by wzpgsr
    I hope you’ll give some thought to the idea of collecting your writings from the various Superchops sessions into a companion guide.
    I REALLY wish we could have used transporter technology (any Trekkies out there?) and brought you all together to have done this together every day for an hour. There's so much that goes into making this program come alive, a huge part of which is doing it together! And as a side note, transporters have bio-scrubbers that would have removed any COVID contamination in the process. Wouldn't that be handy?

  9. #833

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jimmy blue note
    I REALLY wish we could have used transporter technology (any Trekkies out there?) and brought you all together to have done this together every day for an hour. There's so much that goes into making this program come alive, a huge part of which is doing it together! And as a side note, transporters have bio-scrubbers that would have removed any COVID contamination in the process. Wouldn't that be handy?
    How does this program work in person? Taking turns comping for each for other in 10 minutes stretches?

  10. #834

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    Quote Originally Posted by wzpgsr
    How does this program work in person? Taking turns comping for each for other in 10 minutes stretches?
    Duo is easy to envision
    Trio is solo, comper and bass line. This is really nice because the bass line player really gets to know the form before trying out voicings that work by ear over the form, and when it's time to solo, you're playing with something really in your ear.
    Four people can work where one person lays out. This is not as boring as you'd think, because in listening, you acquire skills, see decisions being made, really hear and be aware of the limitations and pitfalls others are struggling with and it gives a very solid framework of hearing yourself as you're hearing others.
    Listening is a practiced art.
    More than 4, I don't do. It's the point of critical mass at which, unless you're all really good, there's much too much opportunity to zone out and not "be there".
    I have worked with free improvisation groups this way, and with pieces this way too. It's also possible to switch roles each chorus, or every two choruses.
    It might not come as a surprise that learning to go "off book" is much faster this way too.
    It's this experience that I was trying to more closer to when I suggested that you make your own backing tracks, or comp with a metronome before you soloed.

  11. #835

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    Week 20. Review of all six project forms in no particular order
    Suggested target speed at the end of the week is 192
    Actual speed for daily projects is up to the individual. This should be set at the fastest tempo where you can hear and execute a coherent and purposeful musical idea.
    Steady eighths and triplet accents with pull offs, hammer ons and slides in both hand attacks.
    Howard Roberts Super Chops: study group for a tune based practice routine-screen-shot-2021-04-18-10-15-37-pm-png
    Monday Project 1-B Cherokee in Db
    Tuesday Project 4-B ATTYA in Eb
    Wednesday Project 2-B Bauble in Bb
    Thursday Project 5-B Blues for Alice in G
    Friday Project 3-B Angel Eyes A min
    Saturday Project 6-B C dorian modal madness

    Our last sweep through the workout on forms.
    As we're pretty familiar with the song forms at this point, let's strive for some kind of shaping or unifying theme and see how long we can keep this as a guiding beacon. We can wander, but bring it back in some form for the duration of the run, or as long as we can.
    This mindful principle is also a strong backbone in constructing a solo in a real life situation, made infinitely easier once you can add space and rhythm.
    Using this idea of a unifying idea, it may seem like a lot to juggle and a lot to work out, but once you have command of your improvisational tools, this actually makes it easier to build, hear and play a solo as it removes the tendency for your hand memory to bring you to a place your ear can't work with.

    If you hear or feel yourself going to somewhere you didn't intend, practice creating an idea you've decided upon before.
    This is control, and therein is speed, conviction and interesting story telling.
    Just a suggestion.

  12. #836

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    Week 20. Day 1. Monday
    Project suggestion Project 1-B Cherokee in Db
    Speed to test and push your comfort zone.
    Cherokee is a racecourse built to test your diatonic ear and your facility with secondary dominant turnarounds.
    Move around a lot, it's the way to crack these non diatonic II V's. Shift to a strong position and anticipate the resolution to your chord of strength. Practice this. It gives speed and a strong line.
    Use articulations in both hands and learn to shift and control with both hands to find elegant articulation.
    Have fun
    Howard Roberts Super Chops: study group for a tune based practice routine-project-1-b-cherokee-db-png

  13. #837

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    Week 20. Day 1 Monday
    My playing style is really changed with hammer-ons and pull offs and slides. I'm not playing positions much at all, but rather guiding lines up and along single strings to find strong notes. This keeps my phrasing organic, my swing moving and even if it's just a fret or two out of what positional playing would put it, my lines are a lot more legato and actually easier to increase the speed on.
    It feels really good.

  14. #838

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    Week 20. Day 2 Tuesday
    Suggested Project 4-B ATTY in Eb
    Speed at the edge of thoughtful awareness.
    Left and right hand notes, steady eighths and triplets
    Howard Roberts Super Chops: study group for a tune based practice routine-project-4-b-attya-eb-png
    There's a lot of key and key area shifting with this piece.
    Suggestion: Anticipate the new tonalities and reserve the last beat of each tonal section to insert pickups into the next key. Target the root. And then find an entry through the 5th of the next chord, then the third. See if you can become comfortable with this "running start over the bar line". This kind of listening and playing can be steadily pushed further and further... last 2 beats, or even further. It forms tension even before it'd naturally come in the piece.

    Have fun!

  15. #839

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    Week 20. Day 2. ATTYA in Eb. I actually took a run at this last night. I was totally feeling it last night. Of course, I had been playing all day, and I wasn't burned out from a long work day like today. This evening's session was pretty good. I wasn't nailing things quite as well as I would've liked, but I was pushing myself, getting off book, playing freely. I'll have to experiment to see if I can up my tempos further. Tonight I got up to 145 bpm. I know I could go faster, but I would have to use even more hammer-ons and pull-offs to keep up. I'm trying to firm up my right hand picking, so I don't want to rely on the crutch of hammer-ons and pull-offs too much. Anyway, I'll take another stab at it now and see if I can go a little faster.

  16. #840

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    Quote Originally Posted by D'Aquisto Fan
    Week 20. Day 2. ATTYA in Eb. I actually took a run at this last night. I was totally feeling it last night. Of course, I had been playing all day, and I wasn't burned out from a long work day like today. This evening's session was pretty good. I wasn't nailing things quite as well as I would've liked, but I was pushing myself, getting off book, playing freely. I'll have to experiment to see if I can up my tempos further. Tonight I got up to 145 bpm. I know I could go faster, but I would have to use even more hammer-ons and pull-offs to keep up. I'm trying to firm up my right hand picking, so I don't want to rely on the crutch of hammer-ons and pull-offs too much. Anyway, I'll take another stab at it now and see if I can go a little faster.
    How was playing with your friend, playing without the constraints of the "program"? Important question: Do you think it's changed your playing?

  17. #841

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jimmy blue note
    How was playing with your friend, playing without the constraints of the "program"? Important question: Do you think it's changed your playing?
    Sunday's session with my friend was actually quite good. We've been getting together and playing socially distanced for some time during the pandemic. It's warm where I live, so that made it easier to pull off. Anyway, I've always been cognizant in the back of my mind about the time I'm putting in on Super Chops and how it appears to be translating when I'm actually trying to make music. I definitely think I've grown. I'm more confident in my right hand. My ideas seem sharper. Some of Howard's cool harmonic tricks have very slowly migrated into my own playing. Of course, some days you're on and some days not so much. But this past Sunday was a very good day. It's so rewarding to actually experience the fruits of your commitment and work on the instrument. The pandemic has created this larger expanse of time that allowed me to focus more on guitar and music in general. Between finally sitting down and learning a few solos by ear earlier in the pandemic, and now the Super Chops program, I truly believe my playing has evolved. Of course, the journey continues. That's the beauty of it!

  18. #842

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    Tuesday. Week 20.
    I pick up the instrument and I surprise myself. I notice this in the fact that I'm listening to my own lines and liking what I can do. That's a feedback loop. The more I listen, the more I hear. The more I work at the details, the more the big picture doesn't elude me.
    I think the biggest thing I've gotten is not technical, it's confidence and a greater working relationship with the instrument.
    I also am really grateful that I decided to use a once in a lifetime pandemic to make an end run for this prize: Real hard earned love for the instrument and the freedom that follows.
    Yeah I believe in the program, but honestly, anything that breaks you out of the temptation for distraction, puts the guitar in your hands rather than the TV or computer, taps you into your creative potential is going to have a pay off.
    Having others to work with. SO important.

  19. #843

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    Week 20 Day 3. Wednesday
    Recommended project: 2-B Baubling in Bb
    Recommended speed: Your upper end of staying on the horse.
    Recommended technical tools: Right and left hand attacks. SHIFTING!
    Howard Roberts Super Chops: study group for a tune based practice routine-project-2-b-baubles-bb-png

  20. #844

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    Week 20. Day 3. Baubling in Bb. It was a pretty good session. I bumped the bpm up to 160. Since it's been weeks since I've done a recording, I shot a little video of tonight's session.


  21. #845

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    Quote Originally Posted by D'Aquisto Fan
    Week 20. Day 3. Baubling in Bb. It was a pretty good session. I bumped the bpm up to 160. Since it's been weeks since I've done a recording, I shot a little video of tonight's session.
    NICE!!! You're right on the form and really digging into the shape and intricacies of the tune. I love the sound of the tritone subs. Every time you hit one, it's a real rush.
    This is inspiring! Great feel! Love it! Thanks for posting. You do justice to that box you're playing.

  22. #846

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jimmy blue note
    NICE!!! You're right on the form and really digging into the shape and intricacies of the tune. I love the sound of the tritone subs. Every time you hit one, it's a real rush.
    This is inspiring! Great feel! Love it! Thanks for posting. You do justice to that box you're playing.
    Thank you so much, David! I really appreciate you taking the time to respond and reinforcing that all the work we're putting in is paying off! I must admit that as soon as I hit record on my iPhone my eyes stayed on the iReal Pro chart more than my earlier passes when I wasn't recording myself. Oh, and I need to do a lot of hammer-ons and pull-offs to move at that tempo. I'll try to bump up the bmp in the last remaining days. Thanks again! Your positive, enthusiastic support throughout the program has meant so much!

  23. #847

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    Quote Originally Posted by D'Aquisto Fan
    Oh, and I need to do a lot of hammer-ons and pull-offs to move at that tempo.
    Y'know I don't think of hammer ons, pull offs and slides as speed techniques, but phrase and legato techniques. Finding the strongest note or note groupings on each string as I'm playing and then sliding to them with a strong fingering position. This has an effect of minimizing any rhythmic awkwardness that may come from a "too strict" right hand technique.
    It's also giving me a new "vocabulary" of good melodic ideas that comes out of the left hand.

  24. #848

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    PSA: Mikko Hilden is going to have a lesson/discussion about Superchops on his YouTube channel tomorrow.

    Mikko Hilden - YouTube

  25. #849

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    Week 20 Day 4 Thursday's project
    Suggested for Thursday Project 5-B Blues for Alice in G
    Diatonic studies for the left and right hand
    Maximum speed to the player's limits.
    Howard Roberts Super Chops: study group for a tune based practice routine-project-5-b-blues-alice-g-png

  26. #850

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    I think for Thursday's project I'm going to do this project in Db, just because I've been playing Body and Soul a lot and I want to use this diatonic project to further familiarize myself with the keys covered in Body and Soul.
    I'll do the first chorus in Db
    Transition to an A7 at the end of the chorus and do the second chorus in the key of D
    end that chorus on D-, G7 and do the third chorus in C.
    I think this'll be fun and a good challenge to do the form of Alice in 3 keys.
    I'll let you know how it goes.