Starting Again at 65

[Justin Chune]

Hello Phil, welcome to the cafe.

Jim.

 

[Philsaxophone]

Hi Guys
Sorry to keep this going but I have been thinking about this over the weekend and it seems to me that what is inferred from going back and learning all the theory of scales, arpeggios, modes etc, is that I need to be able to theorise all the possible scale fragment and arpeggios that will work over any chosen chord.
That just reminds me of all the mathematical progressions I learnt at Uni
When I listen to what I call Jazz, I listen for, and are pleased to hear, fragments of the head coming back into the improvisation.
It may be tweaked a bit and shifted in range or key but I love to be able to hear it and be able to relate it back to the head.
If the modern way is to go completely away from the head and play anything that the chord progression supports, then is that really improvising over the tune??
It could of course be argued that as long as what you play sticks strictly to the chord progression then you will by definition relate back to the head but I just don’t think that’s true
Perhaps this is where I parted company from Bop and if this is where Jazz has gone then its left me behind.

 

[BigMartin]

Sorry to keep this going but I have been thinking about this over the weekend and it seems to me that what is inferred from going back and learning all the theory of scales, arpeggios, modes etc, is that I need to be able to theorise all the possible scale fragment and arpeggios that will work over any chosen chord.

Not just theorise, but get them under your fingers and into your ear. That's by the bigger part of the process. Four years into learning jazz I find I'm just beginning to find my way round major scales, never mind the fancy stuff. And that's after 20 years of classical clarinet in my youth, when I just practiced scales up and down for technical facility, so I knew al the notes (theoretically) before I started.

When you've got that it will help you to do any kind of improvisation you want. If you want to play around the melody, you willl have a bigger range of ways to do that if you are familiar (in the above sense) with the harmonic structure of the kinds of music you play.

I felt like you do about jazz for a while. But eventually you get to the point where you can hear where you are in the song form just from the harmonies, and then the original melody is there for you as a reference even if the soloist isn't playing it. If you don't want that, fair enough, but it's worth going back to stuff you thought you didn't like from time to time and hearing it with fresh ears. Works for me, anyway.

 

[ProfJames]

I have bought this blues improv guide...http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Blues-Imp...all-Instruments-backing-tracks-/291376384312?
................has anyone else used this one?