What did you learn from Miles Davis?

[Mick-7]

But they are. Or usually much easier stuff than that. As for chord melody, I don't think imitating Miles Davis' space and silence approach would be much good.

We haven't learned playing from Miles Davis. We may admire him as a performer but that's something else. In any case, I suspect it's more the people he got to play with him that really made the music what it was.

There are of course players who do try to emulate Miles approach and use of long sustained tones, e.g., Carlos Santana, but most here are following a different path.

[pamosmusic]

You guys could stand to be a little more imaginative

[ragman1]

You guys could stand to be a little more imaginative

I don't want to imagine something, I'm saying what I see around me. Miles' name comes up now and again but it's always about his being a great innovator and all that.

My point is that the thread is about what we have learnt from him, presumably musically. And the answer is...

[pamosmusic]

I don't want to imagine something

I've gathered that about you

[kris]

Sure man.

Those idiots should be transcribing bebop … and … erm … learning bebop tunes like … well … like Donna Lee or … Milestones or … or … Half Nelson.

+!
The opinions of players like Ragman are a ridicule of this Forum.
I have a bunch of brilliant books about the solos that Miles played on his albums.
There are complete analyses of the musical language used by Miles.
For example... :The work of the outstanding pedagogue D. Baker:

[pamosmusic]

Yeah Miles is as rich and interesting as anyone else.

I transcribed Miles on Half Nelson, Ornithology, Freddie Freeloader, So What, All Blues, Green Dolphin Street, and If I Were a Bell when I was in college.

I transcribed his melody statement on Bye Bye Blackbird and use it with students all the time.

People say "space and understatement" but the notes he actually played were generally rather good ones.

[kris]

Copying even one solo from his albums reveals new horizons and brightens your head.
I recommend Mlies' early solos from the songs: Solar, Tune Up,Did...etc
I really recommend it.
I bought the book with Miles' early solos 40 years ago from Aebersold—it's one of my best books with transcribed solos.
Good Luck
Kris

[kris]

I listen to Miles's concert recordings from the 1960s a lot.
It is jazz at the highest world level, despite the fact that the recordings were made 60 years ago.

[James W]

Copying even one solo from his albums reveals new horizons and brightens your head.
I recommend Mlies' early solos from the songs: Solar, Tune Up,Did...etc
I really recommend it.
I bought the book with Miles' early solos 40 years ago from Aebersold—it's one of my best books with transcribed solos.
Good Luck
Kris

Indeed. One of the first transcriptions I did was Miles's solo on 'Straight, No Chaser' from the Newport 1958 album.
I really appreciate his economic means of expression and the general vibe - articulation and phrasing etc. He tells a story with his solo.

[kris]

Great solo over Solar/early recording/...I practiced it when I was young because I liked this solo very much with a lot of interesting 251 and excellent feel and phrasing.

[kris]

Indeed. One of the first transcriptions I did was Miles's solo on 'Straight, No Chaser' from the Newport 1958 album.
I really appreciate his economic means of expression and the general vibe - articulation and phrasing etc. He tells a story with his solo.

+1
Miles was one of the greatest musicians in history of jazz.
Notice that he doesn't repeat his phrases - he plays something new all the time, despite the fact that he had so many recordings.

[Hep To The Jive]

Great solo over Solar/early recording/...I practiced it when I was young because I liked this solo very much with a lot of interesting 251 and excellent feel and phrasing.

It's interesting, as much as I appreciate the Miles solo, it's sure beautiful, I'd never would thought it would sound good on guitar. How do you maintain those long notes, beautiful articulation, decay? To me that's the essence of Miles. I play a beginner trumpet myself, and the main advice from teachers was awlays pracrtice the long notes! It's completely lost on guitar, but essential for trumpet. I'm just curious, as a fan of Miles I don't think he helped my guitar playing in any significant way, but I'm open to hear others experiences. Is transcribing Miles solos helped you as guitar player?

[GuyBoden]

My Funny Valentine from Cookin' with The Miles Davis Quintet recorded 1956.

[GuyBoden]

It's interesting, as much as I appreciate the Miles solo, it's sure beautiful, I'd never would thought it would sound good on guitar. How do you maintain those long notes, beautiful articulation, decay? To me that's the essence of Miles. I play a beginner trumpet myself, and the main advice from teachers was awlays pracrtice the long notes! It's completely lost on guitar, but essential for trumpet. I'm just curious, as a fan of Miles I don't think he helped my guitar playing in any significant way, but I'm open to hear others experiences. Is transcribing Miles solos helped you as guitar player?

I can't get a Trumpet long note tone on normal guitar, but I can get acceptable Trumpet long tones using midi guitar, it's ok(ish).

Here is a very good midi guitar player playing Miles Davis with a midi trumpet sound:

EDIT: Obviously, no one is very interested in playing midi guitar trumpet sounds, but midi guitar is nearer to sounding like a Trumpet than a normal guitar.

[Mick-7]

It's interesting, as much as I appreciate the Miles solo, it's sure beautiful, I'd never would thought it would sound good on guitar. How do you maintain those long notes, beautiful articulation, decay? To me that's the essence of Miles. I play a beginner trumpet myself, and the main advice from teachers was always pracrtice the long notes! It's completely lost on guitar, but essential for trumpet. I'm just curious, as a fan of Miles I don't think he helped my guitar playing in any significant way, but I'm open to hear others experiences. Is transcribing Miles solos helped you as guitar player?

That's why I mentioned Carlos Santana, it requires a guitar that can give you the sustain needed to emulate Miles long notes. You can achieve it on a semi-hollow guitar but most folks here want traditional archtop tone.

[kris]

[ragman1]

Yeah Miles is as rich and interesting as anyone else.

I transcribed Miles on Half Nelson, Ornithology, Freddie Freeloader, So What, All Blues, Green Dolphin Street, and If I Were a Bell when I was in college.

I transcribed his melody statement on Bye Bye Blackbird and use it with students all the time.

People say "space and understatement" but the notes he actually played were generally rather good ones.

See, the thing is I'm not not anti Miles Davis or anyone else. In any case I don't do players, I do tunes, tracks. I don't transcribe whole solos either, I hear little phrases usually that grab me and look to see what they did. Luckily there are a lot of transcriptions on You Tube so they're right there, it saves time. But don't forget I learnt a great deal when I was beginning from records, lifting the needle up and down.

So I don't eulogise players. To me, that's absurd because to automatically like every single thing one player does doesn't make sense to me. I like certain things they've done. Also, I'm not a formal teacher so I don't have to amass material.

the notes he actually played were generally rather good ones

Absolutely. And let's not forget he was playing fast bebop with Charlie Parker and Mingus when he was only 20-something. He wasn't always spaced out.

[kris]

That's why I mentioned Carlos Santana, it requires a guitar that can give you the sustain needed to emulate Miles long notes. You can achieve it on a semi-hollow guitar but most folks here want traditional archtop tone.

There is no guitar that can replace a trumpet or saxophone or even a piano.
The point is that from Miles you can learn phrasing, playing good notes in the right places and using chromaticism in solos.
Playing music is a priority.

[kris]

See, the thing is I'm not not anti Miles Davis or anyone else. In any case I don't do players, I do tunes, tracks. I don't transcribe whole solos either, I hear little phrases usually that grab me and look to see what they did. Luckily there are a lot of transcriptions on You Tube so they're right there, it saves time. But don't forget I learnt a great deal when I was beginning from records, lifting the needle up and down.

So I don't eulogise players. To me, that's absurd because to automatically like every single thing one player does doesn't make sense to me. I like certain things they've done. Also, I'm not a formal teacher so I don't have to amass material.



Absolutely. And let's not forget he was playing fast bebop with Charlie Parker and Mingus when he was only 20-something. He wasn't always spaced out.

Ragman,
You don't understand one thing.
If someone wants to play a solo recorded by Miles, it means that he like or love this solo.
These are a kind of training materials.
I did it too.
This is a certain stage of the musician's development – playing the right notes and learning musical culture.
Miles has always been a great example of true jazz for me.
We Want Miles

[grahambop]

I notice that Ragman uses slow tempos, plays simple phrases and leaves lots of space between them - has he been secretly influenced by Miles?

[Hep To The Jive]

I don't have time to listen to all of the videos, but the first one, here we go... Look, playing along with the original track, I mean yea good job buddy, you transcribed it note for note... but imagine that solo by itself, if you actually play like that on guitar it would be the most boring solo ever. I mean really all those long notes and long spaces, who plays like that? It just doesn't work, not to my ears anyway.

It's fine to admire players on other instruments, and you can learn something, but it could be a waste of your time to religiously transcribe their solos that have no benefits to how you would actually play in real life. IMO, totaly fine to disagree.

[Hep To The Jive]

That's why I mentioned Carlos Santana, it requires a guitar that can give you the sustain needed to emulate Miles long notes. You can achieve it on a semi-hollow guitar but most folks here want traditional archtop tone.

Yes, to a certain extent. That what Sco or Mike Stern for example have been doing in jazz. But I don't hear much Miles style in their playing either. Let's put it that way, if you transcribe their solos and try to play on trumpet it would probably sound nothing like Miles.

[Jonah]

For me it was always difficult to define what in particular I can take from Miles.
To me he did not have clearly defined musical language in theoretic terms (like specific licks or turnarounds)... he is a kind of musician that you just listen to and appreciate, it is general feeling of very high level artistic presence that I feel there.
Most of his solos sounds to me like very musical statements much routed in his personal feeling of the moment.
And also the feeling that every not is just in the right place right now, that it is not optional, not one of the ideas - but just on and only possible solution.
For me it is a sign of a great personality in art.

The other important thing is his ability to create groups, to bring up the best from the best players (not to mention discovering young talents).

Therefore most of his records that I really appreciate give me more the feeling of compositional achievement. Many of his LPs are very integral pieces of arts with its own character but all of them are tinted with his presence.

[pamosmusic]

I notice that Ragman uses slow tempos, plays simple phrases and leaves lots of space between them - has he been secretly influenced by Miles?

No no no he does do players. All original, baby.

[James W]

Miles would have been 99 today.

Happy birthday Miles.