Jimmy Bruno: Power of a Major Scale

[MarkRhodes]

From the fall of 2018, Jimmy improvising using just the notes of a major scale (and then adding some outside notes). He's playing out of his "five fingerings", which I learned well when I was doing his workshop.

[clebergf]

I'm into something like this these days. Trying to get the least scales as possible usable to improvise over "everything".

[Michael Neverisky]

I can't imagine a better way to start to learn jazz improvisation on the guitar than following Jimmy's lead. I'll rephrase that, After a few aborted attempts I finally got traction with improvisation when I became a subscriber to JBGW. That he makes music with just the diatonic notes here says it all.

[Drumbler]

Good lesson.

I'll look into this once I've memorized the 100 required scales necessary to play jazz. Only 43 more to go.

I have to say seeing Jimmy like this depresses me a bit. And that smoking? Why Jimmy?

[clebergf]

My improvisation is heavily chord shape oriented and I have a lack of knowing scales, so I'm trying to get the scales and visualize them into que shapes that are most familiar in my playing and it's great to have only one scale type to use it on all 7 chords from that key.

With time of course that you add some others scales and sounds, but I almost gave up of improvisation 7 years ago but Charlie Christian chord shapes saved me. hahahaha

[Joeontheguitar]

I didn't know this guy, but I love this video. Going to check out the rest.

[MarkRhodes]

I didn't know this guy, but I love this video. Going to check out the rest.

Jimmy is an amazing musician. He's also something of a character.
I spent time at the JBGW and learned a lot.

[mr. beaumont]

So look at this for what he's really showing you...make melodies...phrasing...the pitches are tuppence

[Michael Neverisky]

Drumbler's comment above about "43 more to go" highlights, for me, how making music has been co-opted from a natural event to an academic pursuit. Jimmy, in his own way, calls BS on that and what a relief it is to hear that message from a master,

[JazzPadd]

"Just gotta make a good melody."

[Jack E Blue]

Jimmy hasn't uploaded a YT video in over 6 months. Anybody know why he stopped.

[MarkRhodes]

Jimmy hasn't uploaded a YT video in over 6 months. Anybody know why he stopped.

I didn't realize it had been that long. Now I'm wondering too...

[MarkRhodes]

"Just gotta make a good melody."

Easier said than done!

One way to get at this (if one doesn't have a flair for melody to start with) is to take the melody of a tune you do know and keep the rhythm of the phrases while playing different notes.
A lot of great older tunes have strong rhythms in their melodies: All Of Me, When You're Smiling, St. James Infirmary, When The Saints Go Marching In, Five-Foot-Two (Has Anybody Seen My Gal). Isolating the rhythms and mastering them really helps. It also helps the way one plays melodies---the more aware you are of those rhythms, the more you can make them come alive for the listener.

Still, easier said than done!

[ScottM]

After a few aborted attempts I finally got traction with improvisation when I became a subscriber to JBGW. That he makes music with just the diatonic notes here says it all.

For me, it was about 25 years of trying to approach the music intellectually/analytically. The JBGI (I think that was the first online school.), then JBGW really straightened me out. Very liberating. I love that guy!

[christianm77]

Drumbler's comment above about "43 more to go" highlights, for me, how making music has been co-opted from a natural event to an academic pursuit. Jimmy, in his own way, calls BS on that and what a relief it is to hear that message from a master,

is not academic. It’s pseudo academic.

[Cunamara]

Yep, Jimmy's approach to playing guitar is very practical and not over intellectualized. He recognizes the importance of the ear and its primacy in improvising music.

But his "rant" videos… I tend to skip those. I just find them unpleasant. Other people seem to find them entertaining. To each their own.

[Strbender]

When I studied with Charlie Banacos we never talked about scales. I was never given any to learn. Improvising was based on arpeggios. He would have me learn them on single strings and positional, and also with adding embellishment notes. So watching JB create lines with just the notes of the major scale reminds me of my lessons with CB. I also did the JBW for a couple months when I was getting started again. He does an excellent job of keeping things simple and still sounds like a musical genius!

[Michael Neverisky]

is not academic. It’s pseudo academic.

Yes, that's better.

[rpjazzguitar]

I did JBGI for 3 months. I got something out of it.

Perhaps the most enlightening moment was seeing and hearing Jimmy improvise over a Bbmaj7 using chord tones (can't recall if he even went as far as the rest of the major scale) and sound great.

He has a gift for melody.

Another useful one was his video demonstrating what is wrong, in his view, with the idea of D dorian Gmixo C Ionian. He played any of them against any chord and sounded great. It's not that I was unaware of the issues with that, but the demo really hammered it home.

[Jkniff26]

I started on his fingerings around 99 and pretty much relearned the guitar. I don’t think it necessarily has to be used for Jazz, although the chordal stuff he teaches definitely is Jazz, and he plays Jazz up there with anyone. I like Country, 60’s 70’s rock and pop, folk, bluegrass, Jazz and almost everything raw and real before 1980. For me Jimmy’s teaching helped me overcome some big weaknesses, and gave me lots of confidence to connect the fingers and my ear. Love the guy. In person he was always nice. I used to watch him live in late 90’s a lot. His youtube videos are a treasure trove, but sometimes a bit over the top. Love the dude though.


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[MarkRhodes]

Yep, Jimmy's approach to playing guitar is very practical and not over intellectualized. He recognizes the importance of the ear and its primacy in improvising music.

But his "rant" videos… I tend to skip those. I just find them unpleasant. Other people seem to find them entertaining. To each their own.

Jimmy's whole thing is synching up the ear with the hand. Everything else he says and has students do serves that end, to get so that when you hear music in your head you don't have to think about how to make those sounds come out of your instrument. It's why he's so insistent about fingerings. (There are different approaches to fingering but I think every player who reaches a high level on the guitar has what Reg calls a "default" that can be varied as needed. But the default comes first.)

He has said he spent hours (daily) doing scales as a kid. He gets brusque with students who tell him such things aren't "musical". (Kessel has a great line on this: “Playing scales is like a boxer skipping rope or punching a bag. It's not the thing in itself it's preparatory to the activity”) Jimmy thinks you shouldn't be thinking 'where will I put this in a song?' when developing technique.

Yet he plays tunes with such direct beauty and love. Truly a master.

[lukmanohnz]

This is a joy to watch. It’s like a master class in phrasing. What gorgeous playing. Reminds me of the kid’s story Nail Broth. But instead of soup from a nail, he makes music from a scale.

[MarkRhodes]

Jimmy discusses "How to Practice". Includes a bit about "symmetrical fingerings", an important concept for him.

[lukmanohnz]

From the fall of 2018, Jimmy improvising using just the notes of a major scale (and then adding some outside notes). He's playing out of his "five fingerings", which I learned well when I was doing his workshop.

Still my favorite post on this forum.

[MarkRhodes]

Still my favorite post on this forum.

Good choice! Jimmy is an incredible player.