

Building A Jazz Vocabulary

Discussion in 'General Instruction [BG]' started by burntgorilla, May 19, 2005.

  1. burntgorilla


    Jan 24, 2005
    I'm really not sure if this in the right place, it sort of fits here and Miscellaneous.

    Anyway, has anyone read this? I'm finding it slow going, but I'm determined not to rush through it. There's a few things I'd like explained though.

    Some cells are notated out, and as a practise, you're supposed to play them through all major scales, all minors, etc. I guess this has more benefit on something like a saxophone, as it's basically moving a pattern around on the bass. I need to look up the degrees of some scales, but others are given. Some, like the whole half diminished, have a flat sixth, then natural. If a cell contains a sixth degree, how am I to know to play it flat or natural? In a slight extension of that, he says to play them through the chromatic scale. How would you do that? I know that to play them through in the melodic minor scales, I just flatten any note that's a third, but the chromatic confuses me.
  2. Building a vocab. is just like learning a lick or song if I dare ask which if you start learning your licks or patterns you begin to play these without thinking in which it becomes automatic both with your fingerboard knowledge and the use of your ears so you can just concentrate on making music without having to think which is an important factor in playing jazz.
    But alot of time is needed to woodshed these patterns but not only these but as well as listening to the greats and how they articulate there notes and more importantly what notes they use sorry if I'm off topic but hope this will help in further developing a vocab.