Backing Tracks Aebersold playalongs

Jay

Senior Member
OMG, I can't cope with Aebersold playalongs. The piano totally stops my brain being able to work and when I turn down the piano, despite the bass player, I can't seem to hear all the key changes. Some but not all. It is making me feel very stupid - I've never not been able to hear key changes, and everyone and his uncle seem to have learned playing to Aebersolds.

1. Try different playalongs such as......
2. Keep listening to them, you'll eventually be able hear them properly
3. Clearly you are never going to make a sax player if you can't even play along to Aebersold CDs, give up now
 
I find the Hal Leonard play-alongs better than many of the Aebersolds.

If you have difficulty hearing the changes (really chord changes rather than key changes, except where the key does change !), then try:
  • Relaxing - don't worry;
  • Not playing, just listening. Try to follow the form or the song and especially hear sections which usually come in chunks of four and eight bars;
  • Just playing the tune, not improvising;
  • Just playing root notes of each chord;
  • Just outlining the chord tones;
  • Starting to improvise really simply - just one or two notes per bar;
  • Play the tune with just a few simple variations or decorations.
It will get easier !

Rhys
 
Thanks Rhys.

I'm ok with playing actual tunes, it's the improvising one, where there are 8 bars or 4 or whatever of 3 different minor keys. I hear the first set of changes, I can count them obviously but if I don't then I get lost.

Perhaps I would be better with just the song ones for now. I'll look into the Hal Leonard ones, thank you :thumb:

Thank you @Pete Thomas. I will search those out too :thumb:

Eta: having much more success with iRealPro - thank you 🙂
 
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Don't worry, I've been learning for 3 years and haven't even touched impro 🙂

Just enjoy the journey

Jx
 
Some of the Aebersold's are really awful to play along too - and many are at quite fast tempos (tempi?).

If you can get along with Band in a Box, then I'd get it. It is really great for creating whatever you require as a backing track - in any key or tempo, and it can display the chords in Eb or Bb keys. But...... it can be very daunting to get to grips with, and has some mind boggling quirks and features.

Or as Pete suggests Ireal Pro on your tablet can do something similar, but doesn't sound or swing as good as BIAB.

Start simple on one chord and then 2 or 3 chords at whatever tempo feels good, and work from there.
 
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OMG, I can't cope with Aebersold playalongs.
When i started i got a few Aebersold playalong books, i got confused very quickly and still dont understand much of what he teaches, i think he's whats known as a simple issue complicator!

As for the changes just forget about the sax for a while and just listen to the track a few times and consentrate on the bass.. sooner than you think you will hear the changes.
 
I've been playing for about 3 years (2 on tenor) and I find Aebsersold hard. Vol. 54 (Maiden Voyage) is probably the easiest to get into. I find improv hard as it's not something that at present I find very natural. I need to work on keys/scales as well. I can sight read reasonably well. I've just spent an entire day at a cello ensemble workshop - 12 celli and a tutor. Entire day of sight-reading ensemble pieces, some easy. some very hard involving tenor and treble clef (cello is a bass clef instrument). I find that much easier to do than improv.
 
Yes all my learning so far has been reading music, haven't a clue where to start without a piece of paper in front of me, it's like a whole new ball game improvising😱

Jx
 
Thank goodness for this thread - I've been suffering from the "I don't understand Jamie Abersold playbacks" syndrome for almost 15 years. Yippee I'm free, I'm not not alone, there are other people in the world that are just like me. What a relief. Phew !!! :cheers:
 
I've been playing for about 3 years (2 on tenor) and I find Aebsersold hard. Vol. 54 (Maiden Voyage) is probably the easiest to get into. I find improv hard as it's not something that at present I find very natural. I need to work on keys/scales as well. I can sight read reasonably well. I've just spent an entire day at a cello ensemble workshop - 12 celli and a tutor. Entire day of sight-reading ensemble pieces, some easy. some very hard involving tenor and treble clef (cello is a bass clef instrument). I find that much easier to do than improv.

Yes all my learning so far has been reading music, haven't a clue where to start without a piece of paper in front of me, it's like a whole new ball game improvising😱

Jx
I think you pair are the complete opposite of me, i sight read reasonably badly but (despite being partiely deaf) let my ears take control and lead the way.

@Jeanette just play two notes, just lets say a C. and an F, or it could be any combination, play them repedidly and just listen, what comes into your head?, just play what you hear coming next, thats it.
 
Thank goodness for this thread - I've been suffering from the "I don't understand Jamie Abersold playbacks" syndrome for almost 15 years. Yippee I'm free, I'm not not alone, there are other people in the world that are just like me. What a relief. Phew !!! :cheers:

😀 You are all making me feel much better about my inability to Aebersold.

@tenorviol, I was looking at Maiden Voyage and thought I would try that next, so it's helpful to hear you found it the easiest to get into.
 
I got bored with backing tracks made by some one else. Band in a box is really simple if you want to just write backing tracks. Type in the chords, pick a style/tempo and press play. The chords are high lighted as the piece plays. There's a ton of songs to download, pre arranged, with the melody.



12 bar blues will help to tune your ear to I IV V.
 
'3. Clearly you are never going to make a sax player if you can't even play along to Aebersold CDs, give up now'

I'd better give up, I've never played along to anything.
 
The books have all the appearance of old-style notes you'd hand out to a class that had been copied on a Roneo or a Gestetner machine, i.e. pre plain paper copiers. They need re-editing in my view...
 

Similar threads... or are they? Maybe not but they could be worth reading anyway 😀

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