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47 Posts
Let me just start by saying I'm mainly into jazz and, although I'm a novice on the saxophone (tenor), I've been taking a few stabs at jazz improvisation on the guitar and clarinet to no avail. Yeah, it's a long and treacherous road and I know very well if instant gratification is what you're after you're in the wrong genre.
Everyone's heard the proverb "The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones" (at least in one form or another). The problem is I don't see any small stones at all. Just this huge, intimidating mountain that stops me dead in my tracks. I know a bit of theory, I can harmonize the major and minor scales no problem, I know the standard key signatures like C, G, D, A, E and F, Bb, Eb (working on the rest), familiar with the modes and how they work (don't think they have much application in standard bebop), and so on. I don't know that much about jazz harmony to be honest, I'm familiar with the 2-5-1s, extensions, non-diatonic chords, modulations but I don't really know any standard progressions.
I don't have that much problem improvising though. I can come up with some lines and I try to be a bit bold when playing, but it's' not jazz at all. It may lack coherency but it's not completely aimless. I've been learning John Coltrane's solo on Blue in Green on my sax these past few days and apart from the quick runs he does I have it mostly down. I haven't really worked through the theory of it but I don't think Blue in Green is the best introduction to jazz theory. I've also been learning Dexter Gordon's solo on "Guess I'll Hang my Tears Out to Dry" and I've been having a lot of fun with those two.
I simply can't get into the thinking process. I don't really want to always be on top of the changes and precisely what notes I can use, and then finding out what notes have what purpose. Like if I play an F# over this Emin7 and hold it over the next chord Gmaj7(add11) I am moving from playing a major 9th to a major 7th, and that = good!. I find that incredibly depressing. I've been reading some of the threads here and it seems most of you don't do this but instead a combination of knowing the theory and just playing. How exactly can you combine the two (seemingly) contradictory schools of thought? By sporadically ignoring the harmony? I don't really understand.
Not sure if anyone is willing to read my ramblings but I hope someone can offer advice. I'm sure I'm not the only one who is totally lost.
Everyone's heard the proverb "The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones" (at least in one form or another). The problem is I don't see any small stones at all. Just this huge, intimidating mountain that stops me dead in my tracks. I know a bit of theory, I can harmonize the major and minor scales no problem, I know the standard key signatures like C, G, D, A, E and F, Bb, Eb (working on the rest), familiar with the modes and how they work (don't think they have much application in standard bebop), and so on. I don't know that much about jazz harmony to be honest, I'm familiar with the 2-5-1s, extensions, non-diatonic chords, modulations but I don't really know any standard progressions.
I don't have that much problem improvising though. I can come up with some lines and I try to be a bit bold when playing, but it's' not jazz at all. It may lack coherency but it's not completely aimless. I've been learning John Coltrane's solo on Blue in Green on my sax these past few days and apart from the quick runs he does I have it mostly down. I haven't really worked through the theory of it but I don't think Blue in Green is the best introduction to jazz theory. I've also been learning Dexter Gordon's solo on "Guess I'll Hang my Tears Out to Dry" and I've been having a lot of fun with those two.
I simply can't get into the thinking process. I don't really want to always be on top of the changes and precisely what notes I can use, and then finding out what notes have what purpose. Like if I play an F# over this Emin7 and hold it over the next chord Gmaj7(add11) I am moving from playing a major 9th to a major 7th, and that = good!. I find that incredibly depressing. I've been reading some of the threads here and it seems most of you don't do this but instead a combination of knowing the theory and just playing. How exactly can you combine the two (seemingly) contradictory schools of thought? By sporadically ignoring the harmony? I don't really understand.
Not sure if anyone is willing to read my ramblings but I hope someone can offer advice. I'm sure I'm not the only one who is totally lost.