The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
  1. #1

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    Hal sums up much of his life's work researching into jazz idioms and along the way shares
    many stories that entertain while offering much insight.

    Hey it's Hal! You know his approach from his well known clips of classes.
    I was lucky enough to have him as combo instructor for a week at one of the Aebersold clinics here in New Zealand.
    Wow, what a wake up call!

    Now this is a long form interview, just under the 2 hour mark but the time just flies.
    It's fortunate that he had such a well prepared and simpatico interviewer who
    mostly lets Hal run.
    At the end Hal says that this is one of the best interviews he's given and thanks the host for his preparation and knowledge.

    I can't recommend this video enough and will be going back over it taking notes as I go.


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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #2

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    Nikhils channel is an incredible resource. He has also interviewed many other jazz musicians as well as a lot of classical scholars.

  4. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by Christian Miller
    Nikhils channel is an incredible resource. He has also interviewed many other jazz musicians as well as a lot of classical scholars.
    Yes, the one with Richie Hart, guitarist worthy of wider appreciation, was really thought provoking
    and coming from a similar angle to Hal.
    Particularly that of learning by osmosis AKA the apprenticeship.

    His account of how he learned from George Benson was exceptional and very little discussed by
    younger colleagues.

  5. #4

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    For someone who is just beginning the journey, this part really jumped out to me:


    “All practice is ear training, and all performance is playing by ear. You do it until you hear it.
    How much do you practice? Enough. Enough to be able to hear it.
    You don’t practice everything to get it down, you (practice it) to get the sound of it in your head. And then you play off the sound that’s in your head. Everybody plays by ear.” (1:21:36)



    Also the comments regarding swing and asymmetrical subdivision of time (syncopation).

  6. #5

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    "Everybody plays by ear" is an interesting statement. I can hear :-), that not everybody plays by ear, (and many of them are admired).

    Also playing by ear worth a definition, at minimum there are levels or modes of it.

  7. #6

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    yeah !
    for me , Hal’s giving us the real stuff
    the real wisdom in there

    practicing
    getting the music into you through
    practicing the vocabulary .... yes
    not to necessarily play those phases
    verbatim on the bandstand , but so
    you get to know where you are , where you’ve been,
    and where you’re going

    eg not jazz but
    like why does John Lee Hooker sound
    so great , he’s really not playing that much
    but it’s ALL there
    the groove , the phrasing
    the ‘big beat’ the huge beat

    Hal Galper is a genius teacher

  8. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by Moonray
    Hal sums up much of his life's work researching into jazz idioms and along the way shares
    many stories that entertain while offering much insight.

    Hey it's Hal! You know his approach from his well known clips of classes.
    I was lucky enough to have him as combo instructor for a week at one of the Aebersold clinics here in New Zealand.
    Wow, what a wake up call!

    Now this is a long form interview, just under the 2 hour mark but the time just flies.
    It's fortunate that he had such a well prepared and simpatico interviewer who
    mostly lets Hal run.
    At the end Hal says that this is one of the best interviews he's given and thanks the host for his preparation and knowledge.

    I can't recommend this video enough and will be going back over it taking notes as I go.
    I can't get the direct link from my computer, if this helps anyone in a similar situation

  9. #8

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    i like the bit about jazz not being
    mainly about the notes , European

    its when you play the notes , African

    ‘it don't mean a thing
    if it ain’t got that swing’

    I remember Metheny saying to
    a student something to the effect of

    ‘I could just play a descending chromatic
    line and if my time was really good it
    could sound like the hippest shit ever’

  10. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by Moonray
    Yes, the one with Richie Hart, guitarist worthy of wider appreciation, was really thought provoking
    and coming from a similar angle to Hal.
    Particularly that of learning by osmosis AKA the apprenticeship.

    His account of how he learned from George Benson was exceptional and very little discussed by
    younger colleagues.
    Yeha it’s really cool. I would say (from my own studies of education and research into jazz history) people consistently overvalue the importance of pedagogy in jazz and in apprenticeship systems generally. Furthermore, as Hal points out mentor relationships were not characterised by exchanges of information. This is as true of jazz as it is for the trades.

    A lot of learning was done on the bandstand and listening to records, sure, but also by observing other musicians and just being around them.