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Hi Robert,
Glad you are enjoying the easy blues series! To answer your questions…In the segment of the video you mention, I am in fact moving throughout the fretboard freely linking the 7 fingerings. As far as whether or not you should try to emulate that, it depends on how comfortable you are with all the fingerings. If you can play Blues in the Closet in all 7 fingerings, I think it is a good start. If you can do that with most of these easy blues heads, it will force you to learn most of the basic interval combinations uniformly in all 7 fingerings. Assimilating the various rhythms in these blues riffs is also beneficial. However, if your not comfortable identifying the location of all the scale/arpeggio degrees within each fingering, I suggest you learn that first.
As far as your experience with improv, it is hard for me to help and give you personal guidance without actually hearing you and asking several questions in order to know what your thought process is while attempting to improvise. Many players who attempt to study jazz improv on their own, even with all the info provided in a course such as this one, don’t get very far. That is, unless they are already at a certain level and have the necessary ear training (formal or informal) to recognize and mentally store how different chord tone/ approach combinations sound like. The understanding of rhythms on the other hand, is also crucial! Only when this is firmly established can you spontaneously draw coherent ideas from the brain’s harmonic database during improvisation. This of course, is what we call “vocabulary”. In the same fashion as we think what we are going to say a split second before we do so using proper grammar…the same concept holds true when improvising. The only basic difference is that we are dealing with pre-hearing notes and rhythms. Again, for this to occur, several conditions need to be met and it is a slow process which often requires the guidance of an experienced mentor.
I teach many private lessons with students taking this course, and I often find that they are not getting results because they are jumping around all over the place with no consistency and trying to cut corners by shying away from exercises they do not understand. Frequently, I also find that the exercises they are working on, are being practiced wrong. That’s why I suggest to students that even if they don’t have much time, to consider taking a minimum of one lesson per month with me so I can guide them and make sure they are doing things correctly. That said, I have found that 2 out of 3 students have misconceptions of several concepts which in turn is delaying their progress. In addition, since everyone is at a different level and has different challenges, I have many exercises not included in this course, which I developed throughout my 30+ years of teaching jazz to deal with certain problems…
Let me know if you have any more questions or how I can be of further help.
Absolutely. The more expensive ones just have better audio quality and more real instrument samples. The important thing is the midi functionality which will play back the course files. You can always upgrade to a better version in the future.
Hi Gian,
I am familiar with Chuck Wayne’s technique as I had a student that studied with Chuck for a long period of time and introduced me to his picking technique, which by the way is great!
Yes, if you can do that and adapt it to the material in this course, it will be very beneficial at least in the long run.
I don’t feature any picking techniques in this course, because most players are already well accustomed to a certain school of picking and there is enough to learn as it is.I got into economy picking after years of playing straight “alternate” picking and it took me several years to be able to combine both without stumbling. As a matter of fact, I went through a period of 6 months where my right hand was confused with all the new moves and I could not play properly. I almost quit and went back to straight “alternate” picking. So, this is why I am hesitant to include these techniques here.
Let me know if you have further questions.
Hi Tom,
This is in the Workbook portion for Module 1. Did you not go to the downloads section for Module 1? You will find instructions there for all the assignments as well as all the PDF downloads.
Let me know if you need further help.
Richie
The symmetrical diminished chord and Coltrane changes are 2 intricate subjects which are beyond the scope of this course since they are mainly post-bop concepts. I will fully explain the use of the octatonic symmetrical scale during improvisation in Volume 2 of this series (coming soon). If I try to explain it here, I feel I would not do it justice. However, if anyone out there wants to give it a shot, I say go for it…
In general you should always use the finger you would use over the degree in question when playing its arpeggio. So in line 1 the b7 (pinky) goes to 3 (ring). If you drag your pinky it would no longer be aligned with the defining characteristics for pattern 4. It would now be pattern 5 where the pinky plays the 3rd on the 2nd string. It would also move you back 1 position. Of course this will be okay down the road, if that is your intention, but for now we need to learn how to play over changes while staying within the same fingering model.
Same concept applies to the rest…Let me know if this answers your questions…
Tom,
I’m attaching an original rhythm template file in Finale so you or anyone else interested can analyze it and maybe use it as a template to create their own.Richie
Hi Thomas,
Sorry about the delay in responding. I don’t know what it is with this software, sometimes it notifies me of new posts and sometime it doesn’t.
I created the Rhythm template in Finale. What are you having trouble recreating?
Graphic depictions of the arpeggio cycles is Video #5 in Module 2 and includes the downloads below the video.
As far as the Calisthenics, it is better to do all 3 fingerings for each one before moving on to the next. You need all 3 equally. Also, you don’t have to do them all in one sitting. You can alternate different portions for different days of the week. It does get easier with time, and eventually becomes second nature and starts coming out in your playing. The rhythm templates are part of this process…
Hi John,
Glad you are enjoying the course!
My recommendation of playing downbeats with downstrokes and upbeats with upstrokes, is for beginning sightreaders who have a hard time keeping track of where they are on the beat. The initial advice is to try to keep track of them with your foot. However, some players have a hard time synchronizing their foot to what they’re playing in the beginning, so the alternative is to use the alternate strokes of the pick as a guide. This seems to solve the issue for many. Once it becomes second nature, it is easier to get the foot going instead. At that point you can use whatever stroke is convenient anywhere, which is what we all should eventually be doing. So once again, its only a last resort strategy to help you develop an awareness of where you are in the measure when learning how to read rhythms.
I remember answering this through a private email, but here goes for everyone who has the same question…
Expiring memberships for Volume 1 can be renewed for an additional 15 months, by sending a payment of $49.00 on your paypal account to bebopguitar@richiezellon.com. Please state that you are renewing your membership. Allow 24 hours for processing. You will be able to use your same username and password to login.
If you don’t have a paypal account, or need further instructions, email me directly at bebopguitar@richiezellon.com
Sorry for the delay to reply. The most recent update of this software is not sending me notifications of new posts.
All memberships are 15 months, so you still have a couple. As far as volume 2, it will be separate from the membership for volume 1. It will cost the same, and last the same period of time.
I am currently half way through getting volume 2 done. It is an inordinate amount of work and I currently have limited help and time. I’m shooting for sometime in February.
As far as ear training is concerned, it’s been the most neglected aspect of the course. The great majority of members don’t even touch it which is a pity. What has your experience been? I could really use some more feedback on the subject to help me decide …maybe I’ll send out a survey.
