Most Helpful Exercises For Jazz

[J D Sauser]

I’ll keep it short, I’m fixing to fly to Cartagena Colombia for Easter tomorrow. Lot’s of Salsa for 10 days!
They have three culbs down there which are like an Opry… with about 6 or more bands each nite. I sm likely be coming home dragged outta there on a strecher!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ntjjX6Mlng

definitely a fitting place for a first kiss...
NOWADAYS, there's a bit more action going on: https://youtu.be/z05NgxzKe0k

Here's the Havana Cafe I like to hang out at... several bands each night, like a little Opry. Post "Republican" building from the late 1920's: https://youtu.be/fqjkjvYw4sE



Anyhow, I always carry at least my S12 SuperSLIDE with the BOSS WazaAIR headphone amp along.


Talking of an "Exercise" which makes MUSICAL sense, here's one by Jazz Guitarist Chris Whiteman (https://www.youtube.com/@ChrisWhitemanGuitar/videos), I did yesterday over the afternoon hours too hot to walk the walled city:

- Part 1: https://youtu.be/We2irhaCoew
- Part 2: https://youtu.be/uZb7F-o-U-g
- Part 3: https://youtu.be/aFEDu81S1is

I would formulate it a LITTLE differently, in that the "phrase" originates from Fats Waller's Honeysuckle Rose theme over ii-/V7 and was carried over to Donna Lee over the ii- only and V7/I Maj vocabulary added. I think it's important to "see" it as not only a "Donna Lee'ism", so we know to use it more ways.

I have long come to the conclusion that while "transcribing" (well, since we don't WRITE but trans-whatever from ear to an instrument, it shouldn't be called "-scribe") solos IS important, it's only beneficial to learning to to IMPROVISE, when one doesn't insist so much on playing it EXACTLY as presented (that's "rendition" a whole different discipline, really CONTRARY to "Improvisation"!), and instead to early on "fool"/"PLAY" around with it in timing (inclusion of triplets and pauses, shifting, etc) and -while conserving the "message" changing chromaticisms and other approaches around to make it one's own or even better come up with a variety of versions to the point of being able to just "kind'a" play it without thinking much anymore.
What I really like his presentation is, that not only is he inviting and demonstrating doing that, but he takes it further and goes to morph it into a minor ii-b5, V(alt), i- phrase and then applies it to Autumn Leaves, turning it into an Exercise which not only winds up making real music, but also can be kept in the back pocket to throw into a great many tunes.

Enjoy!... J-D.

[Tim Toberer]

definitely a fitting place for a first kiss...
NOWADAYS, there's a bit more action going on: https://youtu.be/z05NgxzKe0k

Here's the Havana Cafe I like to hang out at... several bands each night, like a little Opry. Post "Republican" building from the late 1920's: https://youtu.be/fqjkjvYw4sE

Seems like you have you have quite the adventurous life JD! My idea of "fun" most of the time is dodging people I know and making up excuses to find more time to tinker in my workshop and practice.

That is a great lesson series! I made it through the first one and he hits on a number of valuable pointers. For me it is reassuring I am on a good path. Even if folks aren't interested in watching all the videos, the intro up to about 8 minutes is really the important part. He is laying out an approach to learning which I think seems to work for most people. Repitition, repetition for 3 months to create neural networks. This is a good treatment for ADHD

I can summarize it in that understanding the harmony is more important than being able to play every note perfectly and since we are translating this to steel guitar, it won't be exact anyway. Another huge thing that you hear a lot is relating it to language because it is a near perfect analogy. Just because you memorize some paragraphs, doesn't make you fluent in a language. I don't think it is necessary to be able to take everything through all 12 keys and I will probably never learn standard notation, but if you are masochistic, this is often recommended. Maybe more importantly at least for me, is knowing how to take it through 12 keys and have several ways to move through the cycle, which is another way I am using the last exercise I posted. Another important point is relating phrases to chord tones and positions, which on steel guitar is almost required since it is a chord based instrument/tuning. Also some advice I need to take to heart, don't put too much food on your plate. Take small bites and chew chew chew. Lastly, his exercise phrase is a good one because it is instantly recognizable and contains the "Bebop trill" on the Dominant chord b9 #9 b9 which instantly pulls the ear into altered harmony. Find a way to personalize the phrase, find different ways to resolve it, play with the rhythms and apply it to different songs.

[J D Sauser]

definitely a fitting place for a first kiss...
NOWADAYS, there's a bit more action going on: https://youtu.be/z05NgxzKe0k

Here's the Havana Cafe I like to hang out at... several bands each night, like a little Opry. Post "Republican" building from the late 1920's: https://youtu.be/fqjkjvYw4sE

Seems like you have you have quite the adventurous life JD! My idea of "fun" most of the time is dodging people I know and making up excuses to find more time to tinker in my workshop and practice.

I have indeed been blessed with a VERY interesting and often adventurous life, Tim.
A live which gave me one of the best educations and professional formation in Switzerland, a life free of wars, living all over Europe, South America, the US and now mostly the Ceribbean. And no, I am not a sailor .
Still got a home and businesses in the US where I got blessed with some friendships I never thoght I’d be part off when I left Switzerland.
But nowadays I am mostly writing from the North Coast of the Dominican Republic.

Thanks!… JD.

[Detlef Webert]

Tim & JD,
it might be a good idea when coming up to a certain point and a conclusion, to wrap up all the mentioned ideas and summarize them as a guideline for the reader in the forum.