Where You At? (Doh!)
Fuzztone, Ammo
more scholarly.
Let's look at Moose the Mooche by Charlie Parker. (but Confirmation
has a similar riff).
It would take eons to define everything in this song, but I would like
to define one particular melodic "trick" using "plain language".
In plain language, I would use one or more common cliches for the root
of a song. I could call it Home or Root or One. The fifith of that
scale could be called Dominant or "Down". But I like to visualize it
as the Kitchen.
Say the Root is the Foyer, or Living Room, a formal place for
assembling the notes of a scale. The fifth of that scale is like the
kitchen, and there are special approaches to the kitchen, and the one
Parker defines in "Moose" and "Confirmation" (at the end of the first
chorus) I call the Back Door Entrance.
It's simple: the target is the 5. The notes that precede it are b7 b6
b5.
Now, this just occurred to me. If it's dumb, I'm sure you'all will
correct me.
But I like to think of music in a three dimensional imaginary space,
and this works for me.
Does it help you when thinking about improvisation?
AMMO
Joey Goldstein
> "Name That Note" is another way to put it. "Define That Interval" is
> more scholarly.
> Let's look at Moose the Mooche by Charlie Parker. (but Confirmation
> has a similar riff).
> It would take eons to define everything in this song, but I would like
> to define one particular melodic "trick" using "plain language".
Whatever helps you to conceive of music is good for you. But it might
not be so good for other folks.
> In plain language, I would use one or more common cliches for the root
> of a song. I could call it Home or Root or One.
Songs and scales don't really have "roots". Chords have roots.
Songs and scales have tonics, in traditional theory.
The tonic is the central tone of a key. Aka "the key-note".
In traditional theory keys are a particular type of tonal centre where
the tonic is very closely associated with a major and/or minor triad
whose root is the tonic as well as a system of traditional scales
associated with the tonic. In key-based music (as opposed to modal
music) the tonic chord is approached by dom7 chords whose root is a P5th
above the tonic.
Traditionally, keys come in one of two modes, the major mode and/or the
minor mode. [Note that this use of the word "mode" is subtly different
than the other usage of that word floating around the jazz community.]
The major mode is very closely associated with the major scale and the
major triad that can be built from the tonic of that scale.
The minor mode is very closely related to a more varied pitch collection
consisting of scale degrees 1, 2, b3, 4, 5, b6 or 6, b7 or 7, as well as
the minor triad that can be built off the tonic of the scale.
Major keys and minor keys that share the same tonic are not really
thought to be separate keys. they are just different modes of the same key.
Eg. Key of Bb
Major mode = Bb C D Eb F G A Bb
Minor mode = Bb C Db Eb F Gb (or G) Ab (or A) Bb
I.e. Both the keys of Bb major and Bb minor are "in Bb".
> The fifith of that
> scale could be called Dominant or "Down".
In traditional theory the fifth of the key *is* called the dominant.
> But I like to visualize it
> as the Kitchen.
If I was going to use an analogy like that I'd probably use a location
that is "away from home", like "the office".
> Say the Root is the Foyer, or Living Room, a formal place for
> assembling the notes of a scale. The fifth of that scale is like the
> kitchen, and there are special approaches to the kitchen, and the one
> Parker defines in "Moose" and "Confirmation" (at the end of the first
> chorus) I call the Back Door Entrance.
> It's simple: the target is the 5. The notes that precede it are b7 b6
> b5.
The line you're trying to describe can also be seen as scale degrees b7
and b6 from the minor mode plus a chromatic approach from below the
dominant.
The chord that's happening then happens to be F7 and the Ab and Gb notes
can be seen as extensions #9 (or b10 if you prefer) and b9. Whenever #9
and b9 are sounding on a V7 chord in a major key it's a type of
borrowing from the parallel minor.
> Now, this just occurred to me. If it's dumb, I'm sure you'all will
> correct me.
> But I like to think of music in a three dimensional imaginary space,
> and this works for me.
> Does it help you when thinking about improvisation?
> AMMO
Giving names to things is one of the first things you need to do in
order to gain mastery over them.
--
Joey Goldstein
<http://www.joeygoldstein.com>
<http://homepage.mac.com/josephgoldstein/AudioClips/audio.htm>
joegold AT primus DOT ca
Joe Finn
"Fuzztone, Ammo" <am...@silk.net> wrote in message
news:4bd56b98-28f2-4c0b...@y10g2000prg.googlegroups.com...
That is certainly an interesting perspective. I never though of it that way
myself.
If it works for you by all means stick with it. ...joe
--
Visit me on the web www.JoeFinn.net
drthoma...@gmail.com
b6 b5 5 is called an enclosure lick by some jazz theorists. It's a
basic move that nearly all players use quite a bit. On guitar, Barney
Kessel in particular was a master of this trick, and played a lot of
nice variations on it. There are entire books about this technique.
Fuzztone, Ammo
Good points, Joey. Yes, the Fifth could be visualized as "The Office",
since it's away from "Home". I like that.
Valid correction re: Key versus Root. It's important for us to have a
common terminology for these things.
I have been using numbers for these things for a long time but just
now realized that others use colours or imagery in just as scientific
a way, and whatever works is good, as seems to be the shared opinion
in this forum.
That's right, the b7 b6 are the #9 b9 of the V7. But the image is of a
screen door swinging open and then slamming behind me as I step up off
the landing (the b5) and go into the kitchen (the 5).
In addition to imagery and colour one could also map out one's riffs/
themes/fragments/motifs as emotions or impressions, and that is
exactly what most non-schooled players do, since by and large they
have little experience with the numbers and names involved in music
theory.
But like Sweeney among the nightingales, it's a matter of "I gotta use
words when I talk to you." And there are no words that will precisely
define those emotions, so that the music that defines them may be
reproduced at will, not just when "the spirit moves you".
Or there may be words, but we are like babies not knowing language
yet.
Is the common-period music theory the best way we can communicate
melodic concepts? It's like trying to drive through dense fog.
AMMO
Fuzztone, Ammo
wrote:
>
> b6 b5 5 is called an enclosure lick by some jazz theorists. It's a
> basic move that nearly all players use quite a bit. On guitar, Barney
> Kessel in particular was a master of this trick, and played a lot of
> nice variations on it. There are entire books about this technique.
Enclosure lick, 10-4. Please let me know the names of those books.
AMMO
drthoma...@gmail.com
The Jazz Language by Jerry Coker addresses this and other topics, and
is a great book. There are other books that are only about enclosures,
but I can't remember any of them. Maybe someone else here knows.
Paul Mitchell Brown
Thomas Owens wrote extensively about this technique in his thesis,
'Charlie Parker: techniques of improvisation' (1974) and his book
'Bebop: The Music and its Players':
For an excellent practical reference, check out Steve Neff's books,
'Approach Note Velocity'. Steve's a sax player but his books are
filled with Charlie Banacos-style enclosure patterns in all keys that
any instrumentalist can use. They can be bought as as PDFs from his
site (in 2 separate volumes containing major and minor patterns) or as
a combined book from Lulu.com:
Paul Mitchell Brown
up a few pages in Google books from the relevant chapter on Parker:
Dan Adler
wrote:
> Try this link for the Owens book (the other one hangs). It will bring
> up a few pages in Google books from the relevant chapter on Parker:
>
> http://tinyurl.com/yb8zzc6
Very cool links! Thanks!
-Dan
http://danadler.com
335
wrote:
Do you have a link for this book? I can't find a book with that title
by Jerry Coker.
Joey Goldstein
Virtually any harmony book you open, geared towards jazz or classical
music, will have a section on melodic embellishment devices like
enclosures (aka cambiatas) and passing tones, etc.
Joey Goldstein
All depends what you're trying to communicate.
> It's like trying to drive through dense fog.
> AMMO
Fuzztone, Ammo
> All depends what you're trying to communicate.
>
> > It's like trying to drive through dense fog.
> > AMMO
>
> --
> Joey Goldstein
Did you just send me a Vulcan mind-meld, Joey?
I swear, that's exactly what I was thinking!
BO)
Hey everybody, thanks for the references. Once I catch up, I will be
able to ask questions that aren't so dumb!
I had a series of Jerry Coker books 25 years ago but lent them out
(permanently, to my chagrin). Same thing happened to my Mickey Baker
method books. Sigh.
Ah well - back to W A Mathieu. No cambiatas so far.
AMMO
Rick Stone
"The Jazz Language" is by Dan Hearle. It's a good book and covers a lot
of topics very concisely:
http://aebersold.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=JL&Category_Code=
Jerry Coker wrote some excellent (and easy) books as well. I'd
recommend "Improvising Jazz"
http://aebersold.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=IJ&Category_Code=
--
Rick Stone
website: www.rickstone.com
Some of My Other sites: www.myspace.com/rickstonemusic
www.facebook.com/rickstonemusic www.sonicbids.com/rickstone
www.reverbnation.com/rickstone www.youtube.com/jazzand
www.cdbaby.com/all/jazzand http://jazzguitarny.ning.com
Rick Stone
When I was at Berklee, we all used to use a saxophone book by Joe Viola
for this "The Technique of the Saxophone volume 2, Chord Studies"
http://aebersold.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=TOS2&Category_Code=
Joey Goldstein
Based on what I've read here the Mathieu book might be a little bit
dense for you.
But it kind of does address the types of things that you're asking about.
I don't think you'll find a discussion in there about melodic
embellishment devices like cambiatas in there though. It doesn't really
deal with melodic analysis much at all. It has very little to do with
traditional tonal analysis techniques.
I've been reading it myself over the last few weeks. I'm about 1/2 way
through and I don't think I'll be finishing it.
He makes some very interesting points about the relationship between
just intonation and how we tend to hear 12 tone equal temperament as
being an approximation of just intonation.
But I don't buy into a lot of it either and I can't really see the
practical applications of his theory for my own music making yet. I
think his book could have been *a lot* shorter too.
FWIW He doesn't really state what his theory is and what it's supposed
to accomplish until the 2nd last chapter of the book. Read that first
and you'll have a better idea whether you want to go through the rest of it.
Paul Mitchell Brown
> Paul Mitchell Brown wrote:
> > On Dec 29, 7:16 am, "Fuzztone, Ammo" <a...@silk.net> wrote:
> >> On Dec 24, 12:24 pm, "tombr...@jhu.edu" <drthomasfbr...@gmail.com>
> >> wrote:
>
> >>> b6 b5 5 is called an enclosure lick by some jazz theorists. It's a
> >>> basic move that nearly all players use quite a bit. On guitar, Barney
> >>> Kessel in particular was a master of this trick, and played a lot of
> >>> nice variations on it. There are entire books about this technique.
> >> Enclosure lick, 10-4. Please let me know the names of those books.
> >> AMMO
>
> > Thomas Owens wrote extensively about this technique in his thesis,
> > 'Charlie Parker: techniques of improvisation' (1974) and his book
> > 'Bebop: The Music and its Players':
>
> >http://tiny.cc/2gUuc
>
> > For an excellent practical reference, check out Steve Neff's books,
> > 'Approach Note Velocity'. Steve's a sax player but his books are
> > filled with Charlie Banacos-style enclosure patterns in all keys that
> > any instrumentalist can use. They can be bought as as PDFs from his
> > site (in 2 separate volumes containing major and minor patterns) or as
> > a combined book from Lulu.com:
>
> >http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=689312
>
> When I was at Berklee, we all used to use a saxophone book by Joe Viola
>
> --
> Rick Stone
> website:www.rickstone.com
> Some of My Other sites:www.myspace.com/rickstonemusicwww.facebook.com/rickstonemusicwww.sonicbids.com/rickstonewww.reverbnation.com/rickstonewww.youtube.com/jazzandwww.cdbaby.com/all/jazzand http://jazzguitarny.ning.com
>
> < 1KViewDownload
Steve's approach note books follow a similar format to the Joseph
Viola studies but they're more exhaustive. He gives about 30 basic
patterns for each key then another 20 made up of combinations. Unlike
many books of this type, each of the patterns have an 'authentic' feel
to them, i.e. not simply academic exercises but the kind of figures
found in actual jazz solos.
drthoma...@gmail.com
> 335 wrote:
> > On Dec 28, 4:59 pm, "tombr...@jhu.edu" <drthomasfbr...@gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> >> On Dec 28, 2:16 pm, "Fuzztone, Ammo" <a...@silk.net> wrote:
>
> >>> On Dec 24, 12:24 pm, "tombr...@jhu.edu" <drthomasfbr...@gmail.com>
> >>> wrote:
>
> >> The Jazz Language by Jerry Coker addresses this and other topics, and
> >> is a great book. There are other books that are only about enclosures,
> >> but I can't remember any of them. Maybe someone else here knows.
>
> > Do you have a link for this book? I can't find a book with that title
> > by Jerry Coker.
>
> "The Jazz Language" is by Dan Hearle. It's a good book and covers a lot
I was actually referring to "Elements of Jazz" by Jerry Coker. it
covers the major melodic techniques and tricks that make up the jazz
language (including enclosures), and that almost all players make use
of.
Once you figure out the basics of enclosures, listen to Barney Kessel.
Among mainstream jazz guitarists, he is the king of enclosure licks,
and plays all the cool variations.
> Jerry Coker wrote some excellent (and easy) books as well. I'd
> recommend "Improvising Jazz"http://aebersold.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=...
That's Jerry's first book. It's good, but I think Elements is better.
drthoma...@gmail.com
wrote:
>
> Steve's approach note books follow a similar format to the Joseph
> Viola studies but they're more exhaustive. He gives about 30 basic
> patterns for each key then another 20 made up of combinations. Unlike
> many books of this type, each of the patterns have an 'authentic' feel
> to them, i.e. not simply academic exercises but the kind of figures
> found in actual jazz solos.
I'd love to see Steve's book, but I can't bring myself to pay $30 to
have the licks transcribed into all 24 keys for me. For that kind of
money I could download a whole bunch of Barney Kessel tracks, take the
cool licks down myself, and have a lot more productive fun than I
would reading through a book.
Paul Mitchell Brown
wrote:
An alternative is to buy the PDFs from Steve's site ($10 each from
memory) and bind them yourself.
drthoma...@gmail.com
I'm sure his stuff is worth the money. I didn't mean to criticize it.
Paul Mitchell Brown
I know where your coming from, Tom. I think we've all bought books
that look promising and remain idle on the shelf. What I like about
Neff's books is that they're densely packed (without tab taking up
valuable room) and very musical. Of course, nothing beats transcribing
lines and ideas yourself from BK and others. The advantage with these
books is that they systematically and progressively outline possible
patterns. I use them as practice warm-ups and to trigger other
combinations - beats mindlessly bashing away at scales and arpeggios!
Rick Stone
Oh yeah, I HAVE seen that one but don't own it. It's MUCH more recent
(came out in the 90's I think). It IS an excellent book and I probably
should have a copy around just so I can recommend it to my students.
Amazon's got a good price on it too.
http://www.amazon.com/Elements-Jazz-Language-Developing-Improvisor/dp/157623875X
Rick Stone
> Steve's approach note books follow a similar format to the Joseph
> Viola studies but they're more exhaustive. He gives about 30 basic
> patterns for each key then another 20 made up of combinations. Unlike
> many books of this type, each of the patterns have an 'authentic' feel
> to them, i.e. not simply academic exercises but the kind of figures
> found in actual jazz solos.
The "authentic feel" part is something I always figured the WE were
supposed to do after we practiced them for a little while. I would
first get a idea under my fingers, and then keep playing it different
ways letting the rhythms mutate. You know, start on different beats, or
parts of beats, insert longer notes & rests. Basically start to "think"
like a "drummer" and just let the notes be the path that my fingers
moved along.
--
Rick Stone
website: www.rickstone.com
Fuzztone, Ammo
> Based on what I've read here the Mathieu book might be a little bit
> dense for you.
> But it kind of does address the types of things that you're asking about.
> I don't think you'll find a discussion in there about melodic
> embellishment devices like cambiatas in there though. It doesn't really
> deal with melodic analysis much at all. It has very little to do with
> traditional tonal analysis techniques.
>
> I've been reading it myself over the last few weeks. I'm about 1/2 way
> through and I don't think I'll be finishing it.
> He makes some very interesting points about the relationship between
> just intonation and how we tend to hear 12 tone equal temperament as
> being an approximation of just intonation.
> But I don't buy into a lot of it either and I can't really see the
> practical applications of his theory for my own music making yet. I
> think his book could have been *a lot* shorter too.
>
> FWIW He doesn't really state what his theory is and what it's supposed
> to accomplish until the 2nd last chapter of the book. Read that first
> and you'll have a better idea whether you want to go through the rest of it.
>
> --
> Joey Goldstein
> <http://www.joeygoldstein.com>
> <http://homepage.mac.com/josephgoldstein/AudioClips/audio.htm>
> joegold AT primus DOT ca
Thanks for the helpful hint Joey, cause I read pretty slowly. Some
heavy concepts in Mathieu, for sure.
I'm also scanning "Forward Motion: from Bach to Bebop" by Hal Galper,
and for amusement, "Bebop and Nothingness" which consists of reviews
and interviews from 20 years ago.
I checked Siegmeister's "Harmony and Melody" but no mention of
cambiata. It's in Schoenberg's "Counterpoint" though. I'm browsing it
on Wikipedia hoping something will sink in.
Ammo
Joey Goldstein
<http://www.tpub.com/harmony/16.htm>
<http://www.tpub.com/harmony/17.htm>
http://www.tpub.com/harmony/18.htm>
<http://www.tpub.com/harmony/19.htm>
<http://www.tpub.com/harmony/20.htm>
<http://www.tpub.com/harmony/21.htm>
<http://www.tpub.com/harmony/22.htm>
<http://www.d.umn.edu/~jrubin1/JHR%20Theory%20NonHarmonic.htm>
drthoma...@gmail.com
You might like "Thinking in Jazz" by Paul Berliner. It's not a theory
or how-to book. It's more of an anthropological study of how jazz
musicians think while improvising. It's one of my very favorite books
on jazz. The Owens bebop book mentioned downstream is another nice one
to check out.
Paul Mitchell Brown
> Paul Mitchell Brown wrote:
> > Steve's approach note books follow a similar format to the Joseph
> > Viola studies but they're more exhaustive. He gives about 30 basic
> > patterns for each key then another 20 made up of combinations. Unlike
> > many books of this type, each of the patterns have an 'authentic' feel
> > to them, i.e. not simply academic exercises but the kind of figures
> > found in actual jazz solos.
>
> The "authentic feel" part is something I always figured the WE were
> supposed to do after we practiced them for a little while. I would
> first get a idea under my fingers, and then keep playing it different
> ways letting the rhythms mutate. You know, start on different beats, or
> parts of beats, insert longer notes & rests. Basically start to "think"
> like a "drummer" and just let the notes be the path that my fingers
> moved along.
>
> --
> Rick Stone
> website:www.rickstone.com
>
> rickstone.vcf
> < 1KViewDownload
Sure, it's a given that a serious player wouldn't just reproduce his
patterns. What I'm saying is that the basic patterns and combination
lines Steve offers in his books are already very musical and therefore
highly suggestive in terms of their possible alterations and
mutations.
Paul Mitchell Brown
wrote:
One of the essential texts in my opinion. There's really nothing else
quite like it out there.
Paul Mitchell Brown
>
> <http://www.d.umn.edu/~jrubin1/JHR%20Theory%20NonHarmonic.htm>
>
> <http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&safe=off&client=firefox-a&rls=org.m...>
>
> --
> Joey Goldstein
> <http://www.joeygoldstein.com>
> <http://homepage.mac.com/josephgoldstein/AudioClips/audio.htm>
> joegold AT primus DOT ca
Thanks for the link, Joey. I know that you cover most of those
concepts in your book but that's an excellent resource.
paul
wrote:
>
> One of the essential texts in my opinion. There's really nothing else
> quite like it out there.
I really really love that book also.
paul
> being an approximation of just intonation.
> But I don't buy into a lot of it either and I can't really see the
> practical applications of his theory for my own music making yet.
> --
most of the value I've gotten from this book has been through the
singing exercises, which have done more to improve my ear than
anything else I've done, ever. I also think the composition exercises
are tremendously useful for anyone at any level.
--paul
Fuzztone, Ammo
wrote:
I like that stuff - studied anthropology and folklore back in 1972
(and had a thesis along these lines) so I'm familiar with the soft
sciences.
Thanks, Tom, I'll look it up!
AMMO
Fuzztone, Ammo
I really like Mathieu's approach (in "Harmonic Experience"), but hey,
I'm left-handed.
Singing is where it's at. You learn music ten times faster with your
voice.
I'm going to study this one as long as my library lets me.
Meanwhile, I thought Hal Galper had some good - also "wacky" -
insights for me in "Forward Motion" but you know, the publishing of it
really is distracting. He needed an editor and a designer. I mean,
it's hard enough to get the concepts across.
Speaking of wacky - the library just delivered Stanley Crouch's novel
"Don't the Moon Look Lonesome" and I am trying to read it without the
prejudice I've inherited from newsgroups that disapprove of his
influence on Wynton Marsalis and Pres. Obama. I've read Crouch's
reviews online (which conclude "White Guys Can't Play Jazz"). This is
different - it's fiction. Will try and keep an open, anti-racist mind.
'Twill be tough - it's about a white female singer and a black tenor
sax man.
AMMO
Dan Adler
Rick Stone
> I really like Mathieu's approach (in "Harmonic Experience"), but hey,
> I'm left-handed.
> Singing is where it's at. You learn music ten times faster with your
> voice.
> I'm going to study this one as long as my library lets me.
> Meanwhile, I thought Hal Galper had some good - also "wacky" -
> insights for me in "Forward Motion" but you know, the publishing of it
> really is distracting. He needed an editor and a designer. I mean,
> it's hard enough to get the concepts across.
> Speaking of wacky - the library just delivered Stanley Crouch's novel
> "Don't the Moon Look Lonesome" and I am trying to read it without the
> prejudice I've inherited from newsgroups that disapprove of his
> influence on Wynton Marsalis and Pres. Obama. I've read Crouch's
> reviews online (which conclude "White Guys Can't Play Jazz"). This is
> different - it's fiction. Will try and keep an open, anti-racist mind.
> 'Twill be tough - it's about a white female singer and a black tenor
> sax man.
> AMMO
Agreed!
Interestingly, I find that I just about ALWAYS sing when I'm practicing,
even just scales and technique. I was doing a bunch of pentatonic
exercises the other day and I realized that my VOICE was getting really
tired. Tried doing them without singing and found it MUCH more
difficult, like there was a disconnect between me and what I was playing.
I was lucky enough to study the "Forward Motion" stuff privately with
Hal (long before the book came out) and found the concept to right on
the money. I read the stuff in the book and had no trouble
understanding it, but I guess having seen and heard it all explained
previously made it all very obvious. It's a VERY simple concept and it
applies to ALL styles of music. It just requires a paradigm shift in
the way we think about phrasing. I say "think" because all great players
are already DOING this, even if they aren't "calling" it forward motion
(even Bach did it!)
--
Rick Stone
website: www.rickstone.com
Paul Mitchell Brown
>
> rickstone.vcf
> < 1KViewDownload
I also can't imagine not singing along, at least internally. The fact
that so many people (including guitarists) are amazed that Benson can
vocalise his solos is a little worrying. I started learning the piano
before the guitar and naturally played solos on one string probably
due to the more 'horizontal' nature of the keyboard. In fact, it
wasn't until some years later in my early teens that I learnt about
pentatonic boxes. While I undoubtedly sacrificed speed and energy with
the single string approach - I was amused to find Mick Goodrick
describe it many years later as 'the science of the Unitar' - it
probably made me less reliant upon finger patterns and helped secure
the melodic connection between string, ear and voice.
On that note, I'm sure the reason so many pianists from Glenn Gould to
Keith Jarrett sing (or grunt) along with their playing is that the
disconnect is all the more apparent due to the mechanistic nature of
the keyboard. Wind players use their breath and in many cases have no
option but to mentally pitch notes before they're produced. Guitarists
at least have the advantage over keyboards in having a direct tactile
relationship with the string.
Dan Adler
wrote:
>
> > rickstone.vcf
> > < 1KViewDownload
>
> I also can't imagine not singing along, at least internally. The fact
> that so many people (including guitarists) are amazed that Benson can
> vocalise his solos is a little worrying. I started learning the piano
> before the guitar and naturally played solos on one string probably
> due to the more 'horizontal' nature of the keyboard. In fact, it
> wasn't until some years later in my early teens that I learnt about
> pentatonic boxes. While I undoubtedly sacrificed speed and energy with
> the single string approach - I was amused to find Mick Goodrick
> describe it many years later as 'the science of the Unitar' - it
> probably made me less reliant upon finger patterns and helped secure
> the melodic connection between string, ear and voice.
>
> On that note, I'm sure the reason so many pianists from Glenn Gould to
> Keith Jarrett sing (or grunt) along with their playing is that the
> disconnect is all the more apparent due to the mechanistic nature of
> the keyboard. Wind players use their breath and in many cases have no
> option but to mentally pitch notes before they're produced. Guitarists
> at least have the advantage over keyboards in having a direct tactile
> relationship with the string.
After all, it IS the second ingredient in the jazz anthem:
It don't mean a thing, if it ain't got that swing
It don't mean a thing all you got to do is sing
drthoma...@gmail.com
>
> Meanwhile, I thought Hal Galper had some good - also "wacky" -
> insights for me in "Forward Motion" but you know, the publishing of it
> really is distracting. He needed an editor and a designer. I mean,
> it's hard enough to get the concepts across.
Hal was able to get those concepts across very clearly and concisely
in the space of two short Downbeat columns, published two or three
decades ago. I don't think there's a whole book's worth of material
there, but the core idea is choice. He used to have it on his website,
but IIRC he took it down around the time he published the book.
I somehow have acquired the impression that TD's book might cover a
similar beat, but I've never had a chance to browse it. Maybe he'll
check in here and enlighten us...
Fuzztone, Ammo
> Speaking of wacky - the library just delivered Stanley Crouch's novel
> "Don't the Moon Look Lonesome" and I am trying to read it without the
> prejudice I've inherited from newsgroups that disapprove of his
> influence on Wynton Marsalis and Pres. Obama. I've read Crouch's
> reviews online (which conclude "White Guys Can't Play Jazz"). This is
> different - it's fiction. Will try and keep an open, anti-racist mind.
> 'Twill be tough - it's about a white female singer and a black tenor
> sax man.
> AMMO
O boy what a stinker. He waxes poetic about the sax player as if he's
a superman but the character is two dimensional for all that. The
girlfriend is pretty much an airhead. I don't think I can afford the
time required to read this piece of Harlequin Romance trash.
AMMO
Fuzztone, Ammo
wrote:
> to check out.
I've been reading the Owens book Bebop: the music and its players
online thru books.google.com since the link was posted in December.
The Berliner book Thinking in Jazz just arrived thru inter-library
loans and it is massive, nearly a thousand pages, stunning work of
scholarship. I was studying ethnomusicology back in 1972 and this
academic language is meaningful for me.
Still, I would be thrilled to be access Thomas Owens' Ph.D. thesis on
Charlie Parker. It seems to be very rare, and perhaps available only
on microfilm.
Thanks to all who responded to my initial questions.
AMMO
Alexei Aganin
: Still, I would be thrilled to be access Thomas Owens' Ph.D. thesis on
: Charlie Parker. It seems to be very rare, and perhaps available only
: on microfilm.
You can download it for $42 straight from the microfilm publisher:
http://disexpress.umi.com
Fuzztone, Ammo
Thanks! What a great resource. It's like a secret door opened where
there had been a brick wall.
Since I didn't mention the title earlier, it's "Charlie Parker:
Techniques of Improvisation" presented by Thomas Owens in 1974 at
UCLA. The samples printed in Berliner's "Thinking in Jazz" look very
promising. Wjat I've been looking for, for eons (not just more
biography, which as Berliner points out is useless for a musician).
It's available in PDF too (for $37). Apparently this is a massive
work. Perfect for reading on an iPad. Ammo get it.
AMMO
drthoma...@gmail.com
If you know someone who works or studies at a university with a good
research library, they can probably download it for free for you.
There may be a person like that in my household....