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Onward and/or upward!
For the month of February we will tackle Chapter 3 of GF's Jazz Improvisation: A Melodic Approach, and it's a biggie.
We will cover phrasing and articulation with an emphasis on incorporating the rest stroke, as well as a heap of melodic phrases related to the triads from Chapter 2, many of which are sort of a variation on a theme. We'll also start dipping our toes into GF's approach to substitution in order to get maximum mileage out of a simple framework.
We also get two -- count 'em, two! -- actual, bonafide standards to practice this stuff over: Hot Saw (aka So What) and the inappropriately apostrophised Three Bee's (aka Baubles, Bangles, and Beads). The former is a modal groove that everyone knows and loves, and the latter is a ii-V-I based tune that nobody has ever heard of. Both should be a breath of fresh air for those who weren't digging GF's original from the last chapter.
Let's do this.
Last edited by Jehu; 02-22-2020 at 03:47 PM.
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01-31-2020 06:02 PM
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As inspiration, here is The Man Himself showing us how it's done over Three Bee's (at 4:40):
... just to give an idea of where we should be by the end of the month.
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Originally Posted by Jehu
Really? Actually I didn't know it myself before I solved the enigma of Three Bees but then I found a version by Wes. Search for it on yt and you'll find quite a few interpretations by jazz masters like Jim Hall or Bill Evans for example. I noticed that it is often changed to a 4/4 meter.
Anyway: looking foward to all your contributions!
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Jehu, thanks for moving us along!
I'm in.
(And needed the push. ;o)
Here's a version of "Baubles" by Basie. My favorite version of it is by Benny Carter but I can't find that on YouTube.
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Well, I was partly joking, but seriously: Walk into a jam and call out "Baubles, Bangles, and Beads" and see what sorts of looks you get! Originally Posted by TOMMO
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I guessed you did. And you are most probably right about the jams but it's a series of II - V- I (VI) progressions that is ideal for practicing what has been learned so far. Originally Posted by Jehu
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Exercise 3.1
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Nicely done, Fep.
Must confess, I'm struggling. Was looking through the book last night and this morning and it suddenly struck me that I've already forgotten much of chapter 2. Was going through Ex 2.2 again and realised I couldn't recall the shapes for F#min and Emin (the two variations). Couldn't figure for the life of me how I'd ever managed to improvise over Elle...
So I'm doing some recap work before attempting Ch. 3.
Derek
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Keep at it, Derek. Just spend a few minutes each day drilling those shapes up and down the fretboard, and it will come. Originally Posted by digger
Everything builds on and reinforces what comes before, so I wouldn't panic too much about getting things perfect before moving on. (That said, the shapes are important to this method, so that's one thing I'd keep hacking away at until they're burned in.)
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The shapes are a bit unusually to me also. For me it's easier to just start a diatonic triad from any chord tone of the parent chord. You end up with the same notes that way and don't have to worry about shapes. But I'm still going to do the shapes, both ways actually, the authors way and my way. Originally Posted by digger
The shapes require extra thinking for me and make me feel a bit handcuffed...
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Good job, Frank! Originally Posted by fep
I'm trying to play this one without looking at the book and finding it difficult. (I have to think where to go next.) But I think the grunt work done here will pay off later. Major / relative minor is a foundational relationship and I shouldn't have to think about it in any key. But I'm not there yet...
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Here is Chapter 3
Chapter 3 vid
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Clean and smooth Frank! Well played. Originally Posted by fep
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Well done! I noticed that you played the descending F maj triplet with a different fingering - I don't like the jump from the 12th down to the 8th fret either. Originally Posted by Doublea A
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Really clean playing, well done Originally Posted by Doublea A
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Me too, I was thinking to myself the current chord name to help me keep track of the next chord. It's a bit of a mental exercise, e.g. I know I'm playing A maj7 right now, therefore I need to go through the cycle of 5th and the next chord is a D maj7. That is all going through my head while I'm playing. Add to that the line starts on the 6th of the chord (if you're thinking major chords). Originally Posted by MarkRhodes
It would be easier with different fingerings to just jump to a nearby 5th interval between lines which I'm able to do it without all that thinking. But the way this skips back and forth on the neck it forces me to mentally keep track.
I'm not sure we were suppose to run this whole cycle of 5th exercise in time as I did. After all, there are double bar lines at the end of each phrase.
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I think about all the chords in a particular key, especially the adjacent chords. Originally Posted by fep
C maj - D minor - E minor - F Major - G Major - A minor - B diminished
Bars 1 and 2 - D minor slides into E minor
Bar 3 - A minor slides into G major
Bar 6- G major slides into A minor
Bar 7 - D minor slides into E minor
Bars 9 and 10 - E minor slides into F major
Bars 10 and 11 - G major slides into F major
Bars 13 and 14 - A minor slides into B diminished and then from F major to G major to F major
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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My brain hurts...
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Okay, you guys are killing it and I wanted to at least show up. ;o)
Today I did this without looking at the book. I have to think about where to go next but I did this so much better than yesterday, I feel like I'm getting somewhere with this material. Mind you, this is far from perfect. But it's better than yesterday and that keeps me going.
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Exactly! But this may turn out to be something we do a lot of with Fewell's material and we'll marvel someday that this ever seemed awkward. Originally Posted by fep
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Nice, Mark! Sounding smooth and comfortable. Originally Posted by MarkRhodes
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Thanks, Jay! I'm feeling more comfortable. Originally Posted by Jehu
Wish I had switched to a Tele long ago. (And to the Kodiak pick---it's not second-nature yet but the benefits outweigh the detriments for me.)
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Yes and yes - well done! Originally Posted by Jehu
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For me, the instructions for Fig 3.5 are for the purpose of analysis and understanding. These are the triads, this is where they are coming from, and so on. But in terms of actual application, I think the point of pp. 28-29 is to show that to get the Dorian colour, you can use not only the minor family (triad+extensions) that we've been using, but also the minor family a 5th above (4th below). This expands your palette. Originally Posted by digger
So for the Dmin "pool", as I've been calling it, you can also dip into the Amin pool. If you're playing in the Fmin pool, you could also dip into the Cmin pool to get that Dorian sound. If you look at Fig 3.5 with that in mind, it's really just alternating between the Dmin pool and the Amin pool.
Again, I think GF is trying to simplify our thinking in the moment, not complicate it. It's all a matter of perspective: To you, your brain hurts; but to me, it feels squishy and gelatinous.
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Sounds good Mark ! Originally Posted by MarkRhodes
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