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Yeah I don’t get rags comments really. Jordan’s playing sounds lovely to me, very focussed and clear, not a note wasted. I do think this concept encourages you to play that way.
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06-28-2023 03:16 PM
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Your posts are usually very clear but not at the moment.
Originally Posted by pamosmusic
It's funny how a player can demonstrate any number of ways of playing the usual stuff but, suddenly with this idea, no one can.you can’t find a convincing example of anyone using any concept in the wild because you can’t really be inside someone’s head in that way.
You keep changing the subject to Stefon Harris but this is about Jordan Klemons. Or rather his idea.Stefon is a good example
Absolutely right, but I was talking about a proper performance.If you want an example of someone demonstrating a technique, it’s going to sound like that: a demonstration of a technique. Which is to say that it’s not really going to sound all that interesting. A teacher showing how it can be used; a student showing how they’re coming along with it
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Speaking of clarity …
You want a demonstration.It's funny how a player can demonstrate any number of ways of playing the usual stuff but, suddenly with this idea, no one can.
But also not.Absolutely right, but I was talking about a proper performance.
And again … I’m not “changing the subject” to Stefon Harris. Jordan studied with Stefon for a year while he was at NYU. A lot of Jordan’s ideas come from a concept that Stefon started working on while he was playing with SF Jazz. If memory serves, Stefon claimed that he had a hard time navigating the crazy complex changes that his fellow members would write into their charts, and wasn’t satisfied with the sound of just triad upper structures, so he came up with the triad-plus kind of idea to allow himself to navigate those wild changes, targeting the notes that really hit, without sacrificing the stepwise melodic tension available in a scalar kind of thing.
You want to see those ideas in action and claim it’s not out there, but it is. Jordan is very transparent about that particular idea’s origin in Stefon’s stuff.
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I don’t get the hostility towards Jordan. He’s a jazz musician trying to make a living in NYC. Like being a sand merchant in Egypt. Of course he wants to sell you his lessons and method. But compared to most he is very low key in the hard sell department.
If the question is whether he is selling snake oil, the answer is no. There is merit to his system, which of course is derived from other jazz pedagogy. Nothing truly new under the Sun. On the other hand, it isn’t magic —nor does he sell it as such.
Check it out. He has a lot of free stuff to get your feet wet. If it clicks for you jump in. If not, plenty of others out there. I found it interesting, but ultimately found other places to put my time. YMMV.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
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I really like Jordan and his approach. In such a huge ocean of talent and approaches, he's got genuine musicality to his teachings and the ideas he puts out there are true springboards for imaginative playing, for opening the ear for the individual to engage their own approaches and propensities.
There are those who do find the jazz guitar world terribly intimidating, and for them there's great comfort in becoming acolytes for opinionated defenders of certain traditions. I know Jordan didn't want to take that approach to his teaching, rather providing guidance to those who seek to find their own melodic sense. I like him because he genuinely spent time with the masters, spent a lot of time with Sco and other progressive players and his teaching is a synthesis of solid theory and open minded personal exploration.
He dropped out of active participation on this forum a while ago because he was fighting a life threatening disease and, frankly, the judgemental negativity of factionalism was not healthy in a lot of ways.
I wanted to start a thread here dedicated to practice and experimentation with harmonic ideas on standard forms. He considered my invitation to run the thread with me but in the end, I'm kinda glad he was too busy.
We all have our own take on the best way to use our time, especially when it comes to becoming a realized jazz guitar improvisor. Plenty of directions to keep anyone busy. Maybe it's tolerant understanding that's the real hard thing to find.
Anyway, working with his triad approach has surprised me in how many unexpected things it's revealed to me. It's not an approach that mandates strict adherence and guarantees results, but it's one that gives a lot of great and beautiful material for the guitar student who wants to know what's possible on the guitar on the journey to a personal approach.
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That’s a nice summary that I wasn’t aware of … yes I find the approach extremely good for that. The only problem is I still have to work out the stuff on a complex chart… for standards I have it down ok though… just needs more practice. Probably need to go back to it a bit… Originally Posted by pamosmusic
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Every so often I put on Jordan's album and I wonder what happened to him, since he stopped posting here. I'm glad to hear he's active and hopefully doing well. He really went through a tough period which put his future in doubt.
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Yeah … caveat: that’s just my recollection of the origin. Originally Posted by Christian Miller
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I've personally spoken with every one of his ex-girlfriends.Your Thoughts On Jordan Klemons
6 out of 10 are not fans.
His music students seem to dig him though.
And I hear he's currently giving away access to his melodic triads course for free.
(which used to only be available as part of his online mentorship program starting at $1000).
Not sure how long he'll be keeping it free though... if anyone wants to check it out before it's paid access only again...
Study Melodic Triads With Jordan
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You’re a monster.
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Nice of you to join in! BTW, 4 out of 10 ain't bad Originally Posted by jordanklemons
If only you can hit that win/loss ratio with prospective clients for your Study Program, you'd be a billionaire! 
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not to mention funny. Originally Posted by pamosmusic
Jordan, it's been a long time since you posted here (that I've seen anyway). I hope you have been doing well, that your health problems are a thing of the past and that you're feeling good and healthy.
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Jordan, I’ve just signed up for your course. Thanks a million for offering it for free. I’ll buy a couple of your albums by way of thanks. Best wishes to you!
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Considering they’re “ex”, 6 out of 10 ain’t half bad. That might mean that 40% could be…. revisited. Exciting times. Originally Posted by jordanklemons
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Just to be fair to Jordan, I feel I should do a quick update. As someone who has actually taken some of Jordan's online courses I may not talk with the same authority as 10 girlfriends from "Canada" that no one has ever met, but...
I've logged into Jordan's full course and like it MUCH better than the "boot camp" course I had done with him earlier. I enjoy his examples more, and I find the concepts much more musical. While I struggle with the backing "sustain petal" that he uses, the whole thing is much easier to listen to. I suggest listening at 1.5x or even 1.75x (no offense, Jordan). He does tend to speak slowly and repeat himself. But the material is very good and well worth checking out, and he's a fellow forum member. If you are relatively new to improvising over changes and are struggling to keep up and sound musical, Jordan's method is really one of the best I've seen to get your foot in the door and start making music.
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Fresh from spending an hour of precious leisure time with the resources, my answer is 'Yes, I would'. Originally Posted by princeplanet
Thanks to clear and concise presentation of the process, I'm already curious to explore it - and, perhaps more importantly, to personalise it by bringing my existing 'bag' to the flow of steps.
I've already got value from the image of a tree on the PDF illustrating the 'roadmap'; I think Jordan makes effective use of this clear metaphor, zooming out in order to show the whole - from the lowest roots to the highest branches (and the fruit thereof) - before zooming in to focus on the details of each constituent part.
The parts requiring consolidation and practice leap out, becoming immediately obvious to me.
On that subject, I will add that I am moved and inspired by what Jordan has to say about what he describes as 'mindset'. I strongly approve of that term, although I don't think it does full justice to the qualities that Jordan himself exemplifies (not least by making his work available for free).
Yes, I would be happy to devote 10 years to this approach. The sounds 'speak to me', and I think the approach will not only complement the musical path along which I'm plodding, it may well make the journey more exciting and fun - a very different proposition from being boring, frustrating and pedestrian. Let it be abundantly clear that the latter terms refer to my own musical situation, not anyone else's: "Agua que no has de beber, déjala correr."Last edited by DestinyT; 07-03-2023 at 07:17 AM.
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I'm 19% of the way through Jordan's "Free Melodic Triads Method" course and have found it very worthwhile.
I love LOVE that he starts with rhythm first. I have Mike Longo's "The Rhythmic Nature of Jazz" series and Jordan explains the 4/4, 12/8, rhythm pile concept in a much more concise and easy to understand way. Not to take anything away from ML though, his series is still valuable for how he demonstrates putting it into practice.
Most of the sourpusses with fragile egos in this thread clearly haven't explored Jordan's approach in any depth. He states at the outset that this approach is a way to get to the 'low-hanging fruit' of jazz improvisation. No, you're not going to sound like Bird or Bruno using just this method. But you can make music that sounds good and is enjoyable to play.
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Hey everyone...
I genuinely don't want to disrupt the OP by taking part. My last comment was more tongue-in-cheek. But you all have the right to share your positive and negative feelings without me derailing anything by me sharing my thoughts in response or making anyone feel like they need to hold their tongue.
Just a quick note to those of you that I saw wishing me well with my medical stuff.
For anyone who's curious...
Yes. The fiasco is fortunately behind me. I had my 3rd and (hopefully) final brain surgery in fall of 2021. They removed the port that had been implanted in there back in 2016 and covered up the hole with a nice little titanium plate. My neurosurgeon has cleared me for head butting in barroom fights... if anyone needs me.
Much appreciate the positive and negative pieces of feedback here. Positive is always nice to read. Negative is also greatly appreciated. As a lover of education... I think educators owe it to their students to be on a lifelong journey of improving and refining their ideas, methods, and means of communication. No different than musicians are with their playing.
So I always love hearing both what's working AND what's not, as it tells me where I should go to make tweaks.
So thank you for the well-wishes, the very heart-warming words about the method and the new course, as well as the criticism.
It's all good and all appreciated.
I simplified down the new free course for anyone who's curious to check it out... to help prevent anyone from getting overwhelmed.
It's still available, just a bit less in-your-face to help new folks get started.
Going to leave this thread and not spin it off into something it wasn't meant to be.
But I'm around if anyone wants to hit me up or talk.
Hope everyone's doing well and the music is treating you right!
Jazz and Love... and Triads ?
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I bought Jordan’s CD when it came out (yes, an actual CD). It was an actual CD. And it was great. I donated to his medical care, which I think was redeemable for free lessons. Never took him up on it. No worries. I’m glad he’s thriving.
I wish everyone well. A good friend of mine just got brain cancer for the 2nd time. the first time was hell. He wasn’t going to go though that again. So he ventured out and massively overdosed on heroin/junk. Problem solved. No more brain cancer. Problem Went away. Along With everything else.
Life is short. Play the guitar. Play some tunes. Play a lot of tunes.
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