Jazz playing...

[MajinX]

I think what was meant by that wasn't to invalidate a mode as a legitimate thing in music, but it was to appreciate the fact that you can break down music into modes, however you need not be restricted by a single or a few modes because people tell you it works with jazz, and it's more complicated than just playing specific modes.


anywho, I REALLY REALLY SUGGEST you download the aebersold collection.

http://www.mininova.org/tor/372683 (bit torrents).

It has 106 or whatever volumes of backings to jazz tunes, including several volumes on stuff like how to improvise, etc. you can also disable one of the two channels to only get the piano/percussion tracks, and play the bass yourself.

[rumandromanism]

Thanks for putting it in more sensible words, Majin. I hate the term "jazz language" and people who say you can only play X over X. If you think of Dorian as 1-2-b3-4-5-6-b7-8, you will be able to play it in any key. Also, you won't think of it as the second mode of a major scale. It is its own sound.


But I also reccomend the Aebersolds for a beginning jazz player. I don't know what I would've done without them in the beginning years.

[chronicplatonic]

Originally Posted by Shalom Salaam

The thing about Jazz is this. jazz is feeling. Yeah, you need to know all your scales, arpeggios, all that shit, but at the end off the day jazz is about playing what you feel. I've played Jazz Guitar on a pro level since i was 16 and i have never thought of soloing in terms of scales. If you are good enough at your instrument, you can take amazing solos with out any thought payed to scales or theory. i do recomend that you buy a few books to get your theory together, but after that stuff is under your fingers, just try to play and listen to jazz as much as you can.

REMEMBER! Jazz is feeling. music theory just helps you see it in the big picture.

Keep playing.

Couldn't have put it better myself. In my opinion fancy scale books and tapes are worth shit. If you want to REALLY learn jazz, you need to transcribe as much as humanly possible. There is no other way around it. Yeah, its hella tedious, but transcribing 30 seconds of a clifford brown solo will do you more good than 10 years of Aebersold books. That stuff is good for beginners and building the basic foundation, but don't mistake it for real, down-and-dirty musical knowledge. knowing every scale in the world won't make up for a bad ear.