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Lydian Chromatic Concept rant!

2389 Views 12 Replies 5 Participants Last post by  jazzbluescat, 
slobberchops
I recently wasted $135 on the new edition of George Russell's Lydian Chromatic Concept. To anyone thinking of taking the plunge... don't. This must rank as one of the most poorly written treatises I have ever read on any subject. The Concept itself is an interesting lens through which to view harmony, but is presented in a much more coherent fashion in the previous edition (white cover, red spiral binding, fold-out charts with rocketships...)

How a music professor can put into print the following just staggers me:

(p.8) "The major scale is truly a diatonic scale, as "di" is the prefix meaning two."

The pros and cons of the Concept itself have been debated elsewhere. My rant is about the abysmal quality of the latest edition of the book. It is peppered with misleading psedo-scientific analogies, apparently in an attempt to show that the LCC is some sort of logico-musical necessity. If you like the Aquarian language and woolly reasoning of self-help and astrology, you will love this. If, however, you are a serious student and wish to evaluate the LCC as an aid to understanding harmony, use the previous edition.

S.
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Swampcabbage
I happen to think there has got to be a much less confusing way to present it than even the first edition showed. But, I'm not a Dr. so what do I know. I think it's a very useful concept and a great sound though.
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spartacus
I bought a copy in the late 50s when it first came out. Thought it was very interesting and I think I paid less than $10 for it. Unfortunately I was deep into the Schillinger course because my sax teacher was a grad of Schillnger House in Boston and I did not pursue it. It was popular with the west coasters. Make a photo copy of it and send it to me :D
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slobberchops
I agree that studying the LCC is useful. But this latest edition of the book ain't it. It's hard to believe that the author of this edition is the same as the author of the previous one! And I agree too that the previous edition isn't easy going, but at least its presentation is reasonably sound (no pun intended :) ).
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hakukani
I personally prefer David Baker's presentation of the the concept.
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spartacus
hakukani said:
I personally prefer David Baker's presentation of the the concept.
Click to expand...
Where have you been. Nobody missed you. Did you get the CDs I sent??:)
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slobberchops
hakukani said:
I personally prefer David Baker's presentation of the the concept.
Click to expand...
I haven't read Baker's presentation (tho' I have used his `how to play be-bop' books'). I hauled my sorry *** through the first edition of Russell's book back in the eighties when my brain was younger, and`got it'. I just think it is a crying shame that the author of the Concept, a widely known, and generally respected framework, can't produce the definitive book on his own invention! It should be a fabulous treasure-trove of alternative musicology, insight and `back-in-the-day' anecdote. The LCC deserves better. Sigh.

S.
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hakukani
spartacus said:
Where have you been. Nobody missed you. Did you get the CDs I sent??:)
Click to expand...
I got the CDs. Thanks. I didn't expect anyone would miss me. See this thread:

http://forum.saxontheweb.net/showthread.php?t=60873&highlight=vacation
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spartacus
hakukani said:
I got the CDs. Thanks. I didn't expect anyone would miss me. See this thread:

http://forum.saxontheweb.net/showthread.php?t=60873&highlight=vacation
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Well, I did.. Everyone was expecting you to overtake Gary and be King of the Hill.. but alas Gary is back :)
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slobberchops
-1 offtopic
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hakukani
slobberchops said:
-1 offtopic
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That's one of my specialties.

<ahem> David Baker's Jazz Improvisation explains LCC quite succinctly. I always assumed that he knew the concept well, because he was in Russells combo.
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slobberchops
Nice recovery...
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jazzbluescat
I thought the basic lydian concept was just adding a #11 to all the chords, cuts down on avoid notes.
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