Jazz Class July 9 Fingers and Ears

[Paul Abrams]

When the world of harmony starts to get more complicated (or your just trying to add stuff to your present repertoire of licks) guitar players have to move away from "my 3 finger plays this on this fret and it sounds like that" system. The essential 3rd step is- "What is it?". If you use the first system and add to that for eg. G Major 7, now, if it is a moveable form then that shape/sound can be applied to 12 different starting places. G,G#,A etc. all with the same fingering but different root names to be used in other places/songs and it's not frozen only in that song. If you use a rhythmnic interpretation now the possibilities are endless of what you could now do with that information. Got to get "your brain in the game".
See you at jazz class,
Paul Abrams Instructor

[Stan Lawrence]

I'll try not to take this personally since I was the one in the room whose brain wasn't in the game that night (shoot... my brain wasn't even in the ball park), but even when I'm prepared and have a game plan, I'm always a beat or two behind where I need to be in trying to keep up with the changes, and even when I'm successful in keeping strainght where the root is, adding anything to that root to play seems to come a little late because we're already on to the next chord. I suppose this will come with time, but right now I'm playing much worse than I used to because my brain isn't processing this stuff fast enough. Promise me that if I keep the roots straight that the rest of the notes in the arp will eventually follow (and soon. . )

[Paul Abrams]

Actually this is a common problem among guitar players. Pretty much every student I have resorts to "fingers and ears" from past systems that have "worked" for them. The frustrating part is these old systems are not transferable to more challenging tunes and you have to break them down first in order to build them back up. What I usually recommend is that when a player is in their usual environment they should use the system that has been working for them and eventually start to add the new way as they are able to. It will probably stay in the woodshed for awhile unless your not afraid to play fewer notes with the focus on rhythm. Playing less is almost always the answer. The "brain in the game' is a phrase I repeat about 100 times a week because it is not common for guitar players to have to think this much and play as if it is effortless (which it's not). The study of jazz guitar is hard and get's worse. It's our idea of "fun" as we accumulate more stuff to play. It's really self inflicted-no one really cares how many ways we can play an arp/scale/chord or any other thing they just care if we play it right. Sorry I can't guarantee the "soon" part.
Paul

[Stan Lawrence]

And one other thing (I guess I'm a little on the defensive here), when you're keeping the root in mind and playing the arp, the place where the arp starts (the reference-finger for finding the arp, for me at least) and the root of the chord are often in two different places, so that' TWO things to keep track of while these changes are going on two to a measure. I can't wait til I can do this. . .I hope I don't die of old age first.

[Paul Abrams]

We absolutely need to have that "reference finger" targeted so that we have a better chance of executing the notes that we've rehearsed-the ingredient to add is the "what is it part". We will eventually start to associate the "where is it" and the "what is it" quickly enough to deal with chords that are moving out of tonal centers. All of the arps that we have studied have chord forms that would match we just haven't covered all of that yet. When I write these discussions topics arise in the class that really pertain to all my students and also the F&P population who aren't attending these classes. I never mention anyone's name but each one was sparked by someone or something in a class that I think would be helpful to the rest.
Paul