[ShedShark]

I saw the 'Online Improv' lessons thread, and figured I'd post a technique development inquiry.

After many years, I'm moving into a situation where I can shed freely (no neighbors to worry about, no co-inhabitants), and I'm going to double-down on shedding technique. The one thing I have done when I could shed was go through the Allard overtone exercises. Most of the time that's all I could get through before someone would arrive home and I'd have to stop. I have pretty decent control of the overtones, so my sound is pretty decent, and I'll continue to shed this.

So, technique. I've gathered a ton of info over the years (relax, fingers close to keys, shed with metronome, etc, etc), and have put those things into play when I could, and sometimes without putting air through the horn. I'm looking for a few courses to go through, methodically.

One I'm looking at is Adam Larson's course: https://www.infinitemusician.com/p/lightning-fast-and-crystal-clean, do any one you have experience with this? I've checked him out and he can certainly play.

Are there others that you all are aware of?

Yes, I know, get a teacher, but that's not what I'm asking.

 

[HeavyWeather77]

I haven't checked out Adam's course, but I know him and have done gigs with him, and he's a great player as well as a well-thought-out guy overall. I think he'll likely have good communication and organization skills to go along with the musical chops, and that isn't always the case with killer players. Plus, Adam has a relatively new baby, so I'm sure he'll appreciate the support.

The same goes for Chad Lefkowitz-Brown (minus the baby). His books and methods are very well-liked, and he's another monstrous player who is very mentally organized and is able to communicate his methodology quite well.

 

[raghav]

I got the Adam Larson course some weeks back. I was looking for a consolidated approach that would deal with all my weaknesses on the technique front. The exercises Adam puts you through are pretty comprehensive yet very efficient. While it isn't that different in overall content from many other technique approaches, he breaks up the material in a way that works for me, given that I only have an hour a day to both work on technique and on my improvisation.

More exhaustive than Adam's course but also a somewhat overwhelming in terms of how much ground it covers is Barry Finnerty's "The Serious Jazz Practice Book." Both of them have similar sets of exercises, in that they emphasize, beyond scales, to practice both smaller and larger intervals in a multitude of inversions and directions. Given my time constraints, I find it easier to work on the chunks of practice that Adam has defined in his course.