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Please rate the improvisation and advise on what to look for and what i can work on. I mainly use pentatonic, arpeggio, chromaticism, harmonic minor and major scale...
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11-14-2020 10:42 AM
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I think you have the basic foundation. You had some nice licks and I liked the way you treated the head. That said, I think you're playing the "idea" rather than the "feel." Jazz is derived from, and is an extension of, blues, which is the "vocabulary" of jazz. Not only the lines but the tonality and the rhythm. If you play more solidly you need fewer notes. And let's not forget that "tone" is just as meaningful as note selection. Listen to Kenny Burrell on "Chitlins Con Carne." Nothing fancy, but very relaxed and appropriate. Hope this is of some value to you!
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To develop the topic, I want to say that I play this tune a lot now. I think that in order to study this standard fully, I will need at least six months, taking into account my free time. I mean: study the melody all over the fretboard, learn the etudes for solo and comping (I'm taking Frank Vignola's courses), transcribe the recordings, work on different concepts of improvisation, and so on. And the main thing is to put it all together. How do you think this approach is justified (to work on one standard for six months)? earlier I raised a similar topic in another post and for myself came to the conclusion that it is easier for me to concentrate deeply on one thing and from time to time learn other melodies ... don't you think i should choose a different tune to study (may be Rythm changes, or blues, All the things you are, Autumn Leaves)?. I chose "You'd be so nice to come home to" only because I like her)
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You sound nice. You know the tune and your affection for it comes across. I like how you breathe through the solo. A few constructively-meant thoughts:
> You're not quite locked-in with the time. You play a drop behind the beat (which some jazz heroes do on purpose, but I'm not hearing that intention on this clip). Consider practicing the tune with a metronome, try just 2 & 4.
> A lot of your soloing is on one or two strings, in one area of the fingerboard, at one volume, while picking in one place and so producing one sound. Move around. Use variation to build arcs in your phrases and your whole solo.
Here's my favorite version of So Nice To. You could keep learning from this version for decades -- I have, not that I know much. Check how everybody pulls together during the brief intro and stays locked-in after that. Hear them listen to each other. Check how everybody is building arcs, entirely in the moment. Check the tension between Mike and Jack in 2 and Joe in 4 for the first chorus, and how it just hits the center of the target when they kick into 4 at 1:24. Check how Jack Wilkins is a total bad-ass guitarist.
Keep going and enjoy the process.
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Thank you! I have not heard this version (and unfortunately this guitarist too).
Problems with the rhythm on the recording (among other things) are associated with the uncertain playing of the melody itself. now i am working on it too. Thanks for your advice!
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Originally Posted by Kmatuhin
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Well, I can tell you one thing right away. Bar 6 should be Bb7 but you're playing a major (0.10). That stuck out right away. You could change that easily. You'll notice when you do it the second time without a chord (.034) it sounds quite different and very nice.
Apart from that, you're playing the melody really nicely. A little tentative, maybe, but this stuff's not easy and you did quite a long take.
Have you got a slight buzz on your top string? I think it's vibrating a bit (0.46).
The notes you're using on the first solo sound pretty good. They're not clashing with the chords. Again, a little nervous but it's sounding good.
Pauses between phrases are good but it mustn't sound as though it's because you don't know what to do.
The start of the second solo's a bit ragged time-wise (2.02). I see what you're doing but it's a bit out of the pocket, as they say. You could tidy that up a bit.
Start that second phrase (2.09) confidently and drift your way down it. It's a good line. Make sure the notes hit the beat.
That repeated section (2.20 - 2.28) is a little repetitive but it works. Try emphasising the strong beats more, a bit of dynamics. That would transform it.
Actually, you're probably staying in that section, using the same notes a bit too long, like you weren't sure what to do next. You could tidy that up a bit.
After that it's okay. Again, (3.04), there's that major triad which I don't think works. It's too, I don't know, major! Not that subtle. But you've been playing for a good three minutes by that time and it's not easy.
And, obviously, your end lick's a bit ragged too. Probably sheer relief!
I've been very critical but I think you've done pretty well. This stuff's not a walk in the park and it's unfair to be an armchair critic too much. Easy for the critic, not so easy for the player :-)
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From one amateur to the other. Very nice work .. I like it a lot
Make your 8ths swing thru the piece and you have something nice
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Originally Posted by Kmatuhin
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ragman1, thank you for such a detailed analysis of my playing!
Christian, no, unfortunately, I devoted very little time to this. at least as far as jazz performers are concerned
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Originally Posted by Kmatuhin
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Originally Posted by ragman1
When you hear something that sounds like someone doesn't know what to do is it because the pause is too-long or in the wrong place (e.g. always starts on the same beat?). Just looking for advise on how one can address this.
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Originally Posted by jameslovestal
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Originally Posted by jameslovestal
If you like Raney then just transcribe or at least look up some or better yet many of his licks, where there is a pause. Get them under your fingers and after a while they'll take on a life of their own.
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Now i'm trying to transcribe this very cool version:
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Originally Posted by jameslovestal
Mostly the advice 'leave more space' is useless unless the player has enough rhythmic intention in their playing; it's trying to address the symptom, not the cause.
Lots of eight notes is easier, because you can keep your place so to speak. Speaking as a (slowly) reforming note-aholic lol. So you have to learn to feel the spaces on a deep level. Any kind of groove and rhythm training helps with this I find.
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Originally Posted by Kmatuhin
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Solo from Frank Vignola's course (with some mistakes). Just material learned.
RIP Nick Gravenites
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