From tsellers@knology.net Wed Aug 06 22:05:47 2008
Subject:Re: Reading Music versus Learning by ear Suggestions?

What is even more amazing is that a lot of the earlier jazz and bebop players figured out great voice leading without the help of a "system". I've also been following this thread and really agree, at least in part, with all of the responses. Using systems like the one below, knowing how to read, transcribing solos, etc. all add to the "arsenal" that you can bring to any musical encounter. However, if you get stuck using any of those tools to the point where you are depending more on them and less on your ear and your own inate sense of musical creativity then you have kind of missed the point of creating music. Obviously in a jazz setting, but even (as a juxtaposition) in a classical setting, what you play and how you play the "what" should be filtered through your personality and feeling for the piece that is being performed and dependent on the creativity the other musicians are bringing to the performance. Sometimes over analysis gets in the way of a creative performance. I once had a very good musician comment on the G7 b5 add 9 chord I had played during a piece. I was amazed that he could recognize it and then proceeded to tell him that I really did not know that was the chord I was playing, but that it just seemed that the particular harmonic color (played spontaneously) fit what was going on in the music at that time. I wish I could do that ALL of the time, but instead tend to get hung up with the "next chord is X and Y scale fits over it." Once you figure out that well over half of the possible notes can fit over a given chord change, and the ones that do not can almost always be used to lead into a different idea, then you can free yourself and solo melodically with a minimum of constraints. I guess the bottom line is that there is so much in this discipline to explore, and once you get the feeling you know what you need to know, something jumps up and you realize that you don't know nearly as much as you thought you did. I wish I had another one or two hunderd years.......

----- Original Message -----
From: MRK7421@aol.com
To: CloneWheel@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, August 06, 2008 10:42 PM
Subject: [CWSG] Re: Reading Music versus Learning by ear Suggestions?

I think music reading is a good thing obviously .... though 99 percent of
what I do involves reading chord charts with melody lines.

I saw an interesting chord study recently called "Mr. Goodchord's Almanac of
Voice Leading" by Mick Goodrick. Some very heavy players are endorsing this
system such as Michel Camillo, Russell Ferrante, Lyle Mays and others.

The System explores chord movement possibilities Chords are written like
this - there is no notation involved
E E D
C B B
A A G
F F E

The whole thing is set up to explore a minimum of movement from chord to
chord.

I actually have been writing using this method as sort of a " shorthand"
system with some of my students and have been getting terrific results. Goodrick
also uses a system of arrows to indicate tones moving higher or lower, but
most of the time it is pretty clear just to use the letters.

I spent years trying to make sense out of jazz fake books, but now it is
starting to make sense. I try to look at a new tune every day. I still have
major questions concerning what scales to use over certain altered chord
sequences, and how it all connects. I am amazed at some of the great jazz and bebop
players, and am always curious to know some of the things that they used
to get to where they are.

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