Tim Price Blogging For D'Addario Woodwinds- REMEMBER ~ you do not have to reinvent the wheel !

So we have two very different ways of learning the mechanics of
improvisation but, and here's the big but, when Bird or Trane got on
the bandstand to perform neither of them spent much time "thinking"! In
performance they were both in the same state of incredible
self-awareness. The mechanics became unimportant on the bandstand and
the emotional side of their improvisations took precedence. They played
from their heart and soul. This is the key to their greatness. They
both had an incredible natural gift for being able to open themselves
up to their inner creativity and let out their amazing ideas with
wonderful ease, excitement and wonder.



Another way is that a musician can
learn to improvise let's look at the COLTRANE thought process.
He was a searcher. He searched for new scales and modes from all over the world.
He studied out of violin books and harp books. He used the Slonimsky
book of scale patterns. Trane learned by studying as well as using his
own incredible ears!  

As Charles Lloyd said to me " Bird invented the atom.....TRANE smashed
it."

  LETS REMEMBER.....jazz is personal expression.

:REMEMBER ~ you do not have to reinvent the wheel !!! ::::
Thinking on your feet ; Creativity is the bringing into being something which did not exist before, either as a product, a process or a thought. Right? So let’s apply this to ALL levels of saxophone playing, thought and improvisation. You would be demonstrating creativity if you: · Played something which has never existed before. · Reapply an existing lick or concept into a new area musically. · Develop a new way of looking at something (bringing a new idea into existence). · Change the way someone else looks at something. We are all creative every day because we are constantly changing the ideas which we hold about the world about us and our relationship with it. Creativity does not have to be about developing something new to the world, it is more to do with developing something new to ourselves !! When we change ourselves, the world changes with us, both in the way that the world is affected by our changed actions and in the changed way that we experience the world. It’s a thought process.

 These are just some thoughts on this.Maybe it hits ya maybe it
don't.

HERE'S A ASSIGNMENT - The ultimate expression- Transcribe LESTER YOUNG'S CLARINET SOLO- ON- " PAGING THE DEVIL"....take 2. Watch what happens to your playing.


REMEMBER ~Improvising means creating music that is spontaneous, of the moment, and uniquely your own. So think of it as the instrument becomes a process of self-discovery, finding out what your music really sounds like. You develop a period of looking within, stripping away the excess and listening for the simple voice that really is our own. It’s there, listen for it.  You have to focus your practicing for maximum progress towards creating a powerful forward motion as a player. Always in jazz, you have to be a communicator of the song as well as an artist. Without that, there's no point. You need to know common tunes and reach people. Remember- don't worry about re-inventing the wheel - play some music and be expressive- all else will follow.

IN A WORD- BASICS WILL LAST YOUR ENTIRE CAREER!

But most of all keep trying-playing-listening.
That is MOST vital to personal growth.See you next week; Tim Price