How to boost my level during the summer

[Koen88]

Hey verybody,

I consider myself as an intermediate player. 1st alto sax at windband, several (cover) bands where I play alto and tenor, 1st sax marching band etc. I also transcribe(d) a lot of music and solo`s for me and for the bands. Not to brag just to give you an idea.

I play the sax for about 13 to 14 years I think, and I had lessons for about 5 years, 4 years kinda basic stuff and the 5th year mosly jazz. But... no improvising.

I'm an engineering student so in the summer "vacation" (still going to work 40+ hours) I'll have more time to spend on my music and I want to boost my level and gain some knowledge.

what I want to improve:

• I can only improvise by ear, I can pull it of quite nicely sometimes if I say so myself. But I want to bring more structure to my playing (knowledge of those II IV VI's ???);
• also I would like to work at my tone production on alto and tenor including altissimo;
• and maybe boost my playing of quick licks (Sonny style)

the problem is, I really have NO idea where to begin looking. Do I have to look for a skype teacher for the summer? Are there some books out there? how to approach my goal? (weekly planning?)/

truthfully I havent really worked on my playing level (consciencely) for quite some time, I just played a lot and played stuff I liked and well, thats all I needed to play the music for the bands etc. but I want to grow in my musicallity, and I think this summer may be a good chance to start.

any help is welcome.

regards

Koen

P.S.
I'm also posting this on SOTW, the more info the better!

 

[davidk]

Hey Koen

I recommend taking a week off work and immersing yourself in jazz improvisation on a summer school such as this one: http://www.jazzschool-dordogne.co.uk/. At the end of it you should have enough to work on for a long time. The disadvantage is that as well as the cost of the course, you'll lose a week's pay.

If you've got the discipline to teach yourself then the Aebersold series of play-along books are good for existing players wanting to learn to improvise. Quote from the book: "Suggested order of study: Volumes 1, 24, 21, 2, 3, 54, 70, etc. Volumes 1 and 24 work well together for a strong foundation." Books 54 and 70 will take you straight to the tunes.

 

[Koen88]

Hey Koen

I recommend taking a week off work and immersing yourself in jazz improvisation on a summer school such as this one: http://www.jazzschool-dordogne.co.uk/. At the end of it you should have enough to work on for a long time. The disadvantage is that as well as the cost of the course, you'll lose a week's pay.

If you've got the discipline to teach yourself then the Aebersold series of play-along books are good for existing players wanting to learn to improvise. Quote from the book: "Suggested order of study: Volumes 1, 24, 21, 2, 3, 54, 70, etc. Volumes 1 and 24 work well together for a strong foundation." Books 54 and 70 will take you straight to the tunes.

If I make a planning I can be quite disciplined I'll have to be! 800 euro's isn't anything I can cough up even nowhere near that money. And I dont have a car so inc. travel it'll be a €1000,- that's to much for a student. Maybe when I have a job sometime in the future.

I'll take those Aebersold books in consideration.

thanks for replying.

 

[Jacques5646]

No doubt: take at once a "Jazz camp". And why not elect the "original", Jamey Aebersolds' Summer Jazz Workshop, in Louisville, Kentucky. Been there three times: it's absolutely all-level (except real beginners), you'll be immersed for a whole week with hundred of jazz fellows, combining playing daily in a combo and following excellent basic or intermediate or advanced theory course with great educators.
And you'll have food for playing for the rest of the summer (and year).
If you hurry, it's still time to enroll

http://workshops.jazzbooks.com/

F

 

[Koen88]

please read the posts: I am a student with little to no money. So a camp of any kind is out of the question.

There must be DIY ways to boost your level?

 

[Jacques5646]

please read the posts: I am a student with little to no money. So a camp of any kind is out of the question.

There must be DIY ways to boost your level?

Sorry, hadn't read much of the preceding posts.
The whole Aebersold collection, starting with the very firsts, seems to me the best alternative solutions. You find them on www.jazzbooks.com. You might buy one or two of the basics and try to find friends using the others.
Cheers
J

 

[Jazzaferri]

I would suggest taking one thing you want to improve and spend several hours a day focussing on improving that one thing

If you want to improve your tone perhaps try Dave Leibmans .... Developing a personal sax sound ..... and just concentrate on sound all summer.

I think too many people try to do to much and never master anything before they move on to the next thing. Then they go back in a few weeks and find they have to learn it over again cuz it didn't really stick

As my first music mentor old me...play it a hundred times you know It, play it a thousand times and you own it.

Do you have any slow backing tracks or band in a box.

 

[Koen88]

I would suggest taking one thing you want to improve and spend several hours a day focussing on improving that one thing

If you want to improve your tone perhaps try Dave Leibmans .... Developing a personal sax sound ..... and just concentrate on sound all summer.

I think too many people try to do to much and never master anything before they move on to the next thing. Then they go back in a few weeks and find they have to learn it over again cuz it didn't really stick

As my first music mentor old me...play it a hundred times you know It, play it a thousand times and you own it.

Do you have any slow backing tracks or band in a box.

good advice, But I am not unpleased with my tone(s) but it can allways be better... But I am unpleased with my knowledge of improv. So I think I'm going to focus on learning/developing improv 101.

and I havent got any backing tracks and dont know how to use biab.

 

[Morgan Fry]

If it must be DIY --
sound -- Liebman's book, mouthpiece only scales, overtone excercises.
technique -- scales and scale patterns.
improvisation:
--learn your music theory. Mark Levine's book is good, but the voiceleading that is important to understand hasn't changed since Bach's day.
--transcribe. Take a solo you love. Something not too technically difficult, or just skip the fast bits, they're not important for you to learn. Doesn't even have to be on your horn, it just has to be something you love to listen to. Listen to it until you can sing it. Figure it out on your horn. Play along with it. Then write it down and see what is happening in relation to the changes, see how the melody connects the chord changes. Pick a turnaround from it that you like and learn it in all 12 keys.

schedule -- something like >15min on sound. Then some exercise in all 12 keys + diminished, wholetone, altered scales. Just do one different exercise, clean, any tempo -- clean is important, sound and pitch is important, fast is not. Then work on whatever else you want -- material you've transcribed, transcribing new stuff. The theory you can work on any time by reading and sitting at a piano.

If you can spare the bread, take a few lessons with a local pro. You'll save an enormous amount of time by going to somebody that can spot what you need to work on, as a developing player you don't necessarily even know what your strengths and weaknesses really are.

hope that helps
morgan

 

[Koen88]

hope that helps
morgan

that helps a buch! I havent had lessons in 8 years or so, so no idea how to approach such an endeavor. And I never had much Jazz theory.

I'm mostly classical trained as are most of the players around me( a bit of a cultural bias going around here...) I dont know any saxophone player from around here that even knows how to improvise or dont even play jazz. And I probably know most of `m in a 10 to 15 km radius. But I do know a pro who I could e-mail every now and then.

I do have 2 solo's that spring to mind. One is from a dutch band from the 80's with a tenor sax solo that lasts around a minute, I have to play that with my band too. I made(transribed) this solo with some (essential) features of the original solo and addittions I made up:
http://youtu.be/BbNS6pcwxBo

and I really like the Solo from the Logical Song from Supertramp. Or does it have to more of a JAzz solo? I could try something from Benjamin Herman..

that sounds like a fun way to put the jazz theory into practice. And I'll have to transcribe some other music for the band too (inc. trumpet and trombone) so I can look into that too.

Thank you for the advice, I think I can pull this off!

regards