Tim Price Bloggin' For Rico- Keeping The Channel Open

Daily practice also allows me to imprint the material in my mind until it becomes instinct. One long practice session will not do this. For most players, useful techniques can only be acquired through repetition. I always try to work new materials into songs, lines and grooves that I like. For me it's sort of like upgrading my musical mind so that my playing becomes reoriented in the directions I choose. Increasing familiarity with they materials is a good thing. It's like learning a language--music is a language. Through diligent , consistent daily work, a tangible musical substance is incrementally developed. First of all, you develop physical stamina through the repeated effort. Also , from day to day, you accumulate ideas and expand on the themes of your practice. If you are working Major chords; the first day you might just work on arpeggios, the next day you might see some connection with other musical sources, such as songs, or through or whatever is interesting to you. By continuing to work with focus on the same things from day to day, you will find that your level of proficiency has risen and expanded to include all these other sources. Your practicing every day results in the acquisition of technique, musical intelligence, improved tone, and stamina. Just the quest to continuously find something to practice will increase you creativity.

There are so many variations of scales melodies, and melodic patterns. So many sounds to make, articulations, songs to learn, music to listen to and analyze, technical problems to sort out. The only limitation is your focus and creativity. For example: let's say that you have adequately practiced your horn and now want something else to work on. You could sit down at the piano and transcribe a song, learn a song by ear that you may have previously learned by wrote. This , is one of the most beneficial practices you can do. Ear training, learning songs, listening to other players, hearing bass lines, melodies or whatever. Ok. Now you've spent a few hours and learned a tune the way its supposed to be played. You know the tune inside and out, in essence a great organizational mind skills study too. However your mind works. Don't overload-otherwise nothing sticks. Your capacity will increase.

Keep the channel open, and try your best.You'll learn something special. Been talking to my students about the many aspects of the creative mind set. Trying to just expand more ideas and thoughts. Here's some things that I'm coming up with ; 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 !!

As we approach the summer- here is a list of on line topics of mine to practice. Check them out. Enjoy and remember as Sonny Rollins said- " MUSIC IS AN OPEN SKY". Material to practice & study on line- from Tim Price ( free) For what it's worth.

Monthly Jazz Saxophone Studies: http://www.saxontheweb.net/Price/ all kinds of groovy stuff to play, check em'... Ear Training on Chord Tones - Phase 3, November 2004 Ear Training on Chord Tones - Phase 2, September 2004 Ear Training on Chord Tones - Phase 1, July 2004 Solo Sax Arrangement on "Happy Birthday", June 2004 Dom7 Chord Line using Your Ear, November 2003 Double Tonguing on the Saxophone July 2003 Major Thirds Moving In Whole Step Motion, July 2003 Bird-ology phrase study on "Ko Ko", July 2003 Rootless Major Chord Shapes - Bird-ology Study "Now's The Time", April 2003 Blues Scale Matrix on II-V Jazz Lines, December 2002 Analyzing Tunes, November 2002 II-V-I Patterns: Starting on the Tonic of the II Minor 7 Chord. This lesson in seven parts: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4| 5 | 6 | 7 |, August 2002 Book Review: Practice Like the Pros by Sue Terry June 2002 (Sue Terry's SOTW article: The Secret of a Good Sound with a foreword by Tim Price, July 2002) A Long Look At The Blues (Part 2) April 2002 A Long Look At The Blues (Part 1) March 2002 Melodic Improvisation August, 2000 Major Triads Sept. 2000 Minor Triads Oct. 2000 Dominant 7th Nov. 2000 ii-V7 Cord Change Dec. 2000 2-Bar Phrase Major Chords Jan. 2001 Bebop Idea Through Maj7th March 2001 Minor Exercises - Whole Step April 2001 V7 Through Cycle of Fourths May 2001 Dominant 7th Madness! June 2001 I - VI7b9 - IIm - V7 Change July 2001 Minor 7b5 to Dominant 7b9 August 2001 2 Bar II-V Phrases - via Entire Range of the Sax September 2001 Chord derived from 2nd Step - Jazz Melodic Minor Scale October 2001 Bird-ology Studies to Improve Time, Phrase Lengths, and Intensity Levels November 2001 AND- There's more.......sax studys and improv at... http://www.timpricejazz.com/lessons.html Suggested Bassoon Recordings(HTML Format) Bassoon Reed Insights(HTML Format) Modern Intervalic Study On ii-V-I (Page1)(Page 2) Sal Nistico ii-V-I Exercise (.PDF Format) Bassoon Topics of Study and Practice (HTML Format) Tim's Longtone Exercise #2 (.PDF Format) Sal Nistico IIminor7 to V7#9 to Imaj (.PDF) Learning A Tune(HTML Format) Creative Purity (HTML Format) Using Your Saxual Mind(HTML Format) Dealing With Reeds(HTML Format) The Jazz Saxophone Player's Chord Workout (HTML Format) Note: This is a GREAT place for beginning students to start at! Communication and Imagination(HTML Format) Improvising Jazz Sax Flyer(.PDF Format) Sax Skills - Articulations (HTML Format) Tim's Db Scale Patterns (.PDF Format) Tim's ii-V Study On "Another You" (.PDF Format) Tim's Ab Scale Patterns (.PDF Format) Tim's E Scale Patterns (.PDF Format) Tim's Low Register Sax Workout (.PDF Format) Tim's F Scale Patterns (.PDF Format) Tim's Longtone Exercise (.PDF Format)

My contribution is to spread love and inspiration through music. In some small way I would like to think that this could make a difference. In the process I hope to inspire people to seek the truth in themselves and music, and get deep inside of the art form we love. It's all about that. As Lester Bowie said- " It all depends on what ya know". ~TILL NEXT WEEK....Keep on. Tim Price

Also- Study with Tim Price~ In NyC or Pa. Check it out at;http://www.timpricejazz.com/study.html Info on SKYPE SAX STUDY W/ Tim http://www.timpricejazz.com/skype2.html

Tim Price Bloggin' For Rico Reeds- Practical Application Experience.

~ With all the graduating, and jumping into the world. I want to say a few things. This music needs more play time, and less talk. Less yak on the Pro-Casta-Net aka-Facebook & all it's related time wasting spawns. Pro-Casta-Net = procrastinator net. I see all this talk, not enough music, hustling gigs gigs, playing for the sheer sake of playing music.

See that picture up there! That eliminates a huge set of discussions on the net'. Yeh- you can fly with a baritone saxophone. I use a BAM case and it fits up top. I never have a problem in the 8 plus years I use it- it's been to hell and back with me. Pre-boarding helps, as does please and thank you.I fly with a baritone sax for all kinds of things-school, university clinics, workshops, jazz festivals, horn sections at times for Lynyrd Skynyrd but it always flys overhead. THERE YOU GO- PRACTICAL APPLICATION. Done deal. Deal done.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION 1. of, involving, or concerned with experience or actual use; not theoretical 2. of or concerned with ordinary affairs, work, etc. 3. adapted or adaptable for use 4. of, involving, or trained by practice 5. being such for all useful or general purposes; virtual TRAINED BY PRACTICE. Get out there, and make the music stronger. I've been saying this. Sure. Thing is the guys that are my age when we went to Berklee in 1969, could already play a wedding, or bar gig. We were not Coltrane or Stanley Turrentine nor Stan Getz but we realized this music was- HANDS ON.

Michael Brecker, god bless him, was a great friend of mine. He knew tunes without a Real Book in front of him. Like my blog said last week- I hope people are taking heed and looking at that reality. Everything ain't Wayne Shorter tunes and " Inner Urge". Nor is it one chord funk jams- though we all love to play them. It's about a new reality and NOT trying to be like some guy you hear or read about. ~Beyond-the-classroom opportunities.ok? Search inside you for the the inner sources of spontaneous creation,where art in the widest sense comes from. The whole enterprise of improvisation in life and art,is about yourself.All the things in life you love to do, regardless of how well you or others think you do them. Whoever you are, and whatever you do, discover what creativity is, where it comes from,and how we can make it sizzle and on your own terms.Ypu do that with otheres on the bandstand, in the loft, practice room, garage, backroom bar and rehearsal room. But do it!Jamming becomes a shared manifestation of a single impulse at least an attempt at it – and when you all lock in together, there’s nothing like that feeling. If I had to choose between jamming and gigging, I’d choose jamming – just for the excitement of finding that groove with a different bunch of people. At its core jamming is all about collaboration, instinct and innovation. One musician may start things off but it is the obligation of every other musician to build on that, take it further, push the envelope and ultimately take it to a new place. To get jamming to work each player must pick up on other players thoughts, translate them, add to them and then pass it back to them for the process to perpetuate itself. Done well it creates a powerful chain reaction of energised collaboration and creativity that produces something new and wonderful.It also allows you to tap into a deeper, more diverse brains trust that can lead to ground-breaking new ideas for your organisation.

Charlie Mariano used to tell me- " YOU GOTTA PLAY".' With that, I'll close this blog- go play. Get off pro-crasta-net and play, shed, work in a new reed and DO IT. ~ Till next week- Tim Price PS- That picture at the top; ROSELAND BALL ROOM NYC. I played there! I took that picture when I was walking in the " hood" and knew that it might soon begone. I played there with no name dance bands, Cab Calloway, Latin Bands all kinds of bands including Harry James. It's gone now, but it once was! HISTORY. I first met saxophone player Harold Ashby there. He was with a NYC big band for a short period, after Duke Ellington, we become fast friends. I could go on and on. Practical application...real world. Get it? I hope so.....it's life!!!!

Tim Price Bloggin' For Rico Reeds- Steve Kuhn Live In NYC- Wisteria.

~ I went to one of my favorite NYC jazz clubs Friday night to hear jazz icon Steve Kuhn. He was supporting his new ECM release Wisteria.

I have been a fan of Steve Kuhns from day one, I found a record of his with Gary McFarland back in my high school days called the " October Suite" and have been listening to him ever since. He's a master player, composer and traveler of the music.

The wise and wistful title track of "Wisteria", written by Art Farmer, takes us back to the early 60s, when both Steve Kuhn and Steve Swallow sang softly of the blues in the trumpeter-flügelhornist's band. Swallow was also a member of the trio Kuhn formed shortly thereafter: they've shared a lot of history since then. Steve Swallow played on Kuhn's 1974 classic "Trance" while Kuhn contributed to Swallow's "Home" and "So There" in 1979 and 2005 respectively. Swallow and Kuhn after a half-century of collaborations indeed know each other's playing well; in accord at a very high level, they share the same love of melody, and develop their improvisational ideas together.Surprising,the recording of "Wisteria", marked the first occasion that Kuhn, Swallow and Baron had ever played in trio together.

For those in the saxophone seat here-Trivia: Steve Kuhn was John Coltrane's first pianist in the famous 'Jazz Gallery' quartet with drummer Pete La Roca and bassist Steve Davis. Steve Kuhn is someone you have to hear. He has that essence that IS history, and commands your ear. Heis an excellent voice in the history of the music. Also- from the saxophone seat; he studied with as a young man in Boston Madan Chaloff. Baritone Saxophone legend Serge Chaloffs mother. Who was a fantastic Bostonian piano teacher, teaching many of todays great players from Steve and Chick Corea on.

~ HEARING LIVE MUSIC IS A MUST. It's essential, and something, not only that demands your attention but you have to study the pianists, drummers, bassists and other instruments as well as you instrument.For instance- Steve Swallow's acoustic bass playing helped define the sound of the Jazz of the 1960s in contexts including the Jimmy Giuffre 3, the Paul Bley Trio, the George Russell Sextet (with Eric Dolphy), and the Gary Burton Quartet. In 1970, Swallow reinvented himself as electric bass guitar player and has been yet more influential in this capacity. A member of all Carla Bley's ensembles for more than 30 years, he co-directs the WATT label with her, and continues to lead his own bands and projects. His most recent release under his own name was the collaboration with Robert Creeley "So There", with Steve Kuhn on piano. A new Swallow Quintet disc (featuring Carla Bley, Chris Cheek, Steve Cardenas and Jorge Rossy), is in preparation from ECM/XtraWatt.Joey Baron-Joey Baron's ECM recordings include a series of discs with John Abercrombie: "Class Trip", "Cat'n'Mouse", "The Third Quartet", "Wait Till You See Her" and the brand-new "Within A Song" (recorded the same week as "Wisteria"). Other appearances for the label include John Taylor's "Rosslyn", Bill Frisell's "Lookout for Hope" and Marc Johnson's "Shades of Jade". He has also toured and recorded very extensively (several dozen albums) with John Zorn and played with numerous jazz greats including Dizzy Gillespie, Carmen McRae, Lee Konitz and many more. With Tim Berne and Hank Roberts he co-led the group Miniature, and he has also directed his own groups Killer Joey and Baron Down. You haveto make it your business to know these things, in order to not only play this music but to be a part of creating it.You got to know who the cats are! ( smile)

The two sets I heard Friday, were amazing. Everything was happening and it was very inspiring.I've heard Steve Kuhn many times before and always walked away feeling happy that I had the chance to hear such a great dedicated master. His comping to me is so advanced yet so logical it's just beautiful. I'm going to try to transcribe some of his left hand comping later today, and see what that is about. Talk about a power trio!

It's no secret when you think of it because Kuhn's career found him moving in exceptional company while still a teenager: he accompanied Chet Baker, Coleman Hawkins and Vic Dickenson in the clubs of Boston. At the Lennox School of Music he played in a band with Ornette Coleman and Don Cherry. He was in Kenny Dorham's group for two years, and then became, briefly and famously, the first pianist of the John Coltrane Quartet (an experience recalled in Kuhn's "Mostly Coltrane" album). After Coltrane came Stan Getz in a line-up with Scott LaFaro. At the end of the 1960s, Kuhn spent four years living in Europe, mostly in Scandinavia where his performance had a significant impact upon local players. I left Birdland inspired, and will go hear Steve anytime he plays NYC or any place I'm near. He's worth the time and listen. He takes your mind and ears on a great trip and there is no pianist in jazz like him. Now or then! Check out his new ECM recording and support live music.

Till next week- enjoy your music and keep on. ~ Tim Price

Tim Price Bloggin' For Rico- Be about action not distraction. May 2012

~ May 7- 2012. Great time of the year on the East Coast. The last day of teaching, via my semester in the New School University, Jazz Dept, NYC. I'm walking through the Village, and enjoying that another good year of education in jazz has passed and is going very well. The students are getting the idea and I feel good as well. My Reading, Pa students are being accepted to some major University's as well for the following year. Rutgers, William Patterson, Berklee, Oberlin and New England Conservatory. One of my bassoon students is even been accepted to a very important school in London for a five year program.It's a good time, work has been hard and everyone has been on the mark. Practicing and doing their job as a student of the music. Yearas ago, Sal Nistico told me- " When you practice, work".That really opened my mind at age 18. Big time.

Sal Nistico- was a major influence on me. Sal ...was one of the most articulate tenor players that ever played. There is a Cd on Red records from Italy..where he plays " Inner Urge" so amazing...so burning....it might be the best version of the tune ever. Sal lived in Europe the last years of his life. Sal when he lives in NYC lived in Reno Park. Mostly he traveled to L.A..Europe and those spots for gigs. When he DID move to Europe for good finally he worked more than ever till his untimely death from a brain tumor. Sal was a friend.I studied with him on and off,from 1970 till the last time I ever saw him in 1982, he NEVER wrote anything down either.He said-if you want to learn it YOU WILL remember it. When I first met him he was playing a Menza mouthpiece on his Conn 10M with # 4Oliveri reeds. That was 1970 in Boston when he lived in our apt building for a few months. I'LL NEVER forget when Emilio overhauled Sals 10M, Sal just spilled out the hippest lines ya ever heard and rolled that 10m on like a king of the tenor. Years later around the time..he lived in NY. He had switched to a balanced action Selmer and metal link.Then I 'm sure LaVoz were something he was using. Like Med Hards. Sal was a fan of Frank Wells. I know if he was using Links during his Woody period Wells worked on them. Probally his Bergs to.Pepper Adams told me once , that Sal read the Thad and Mel band book AT SIGHT on his first gig. THAT must of been something !I know Sal was one of the hardest workers I ever met. There is a record-Called " Neo Nistico" on Beehive records. My transcription of - 'Fe Fi Fo Fum' by Shorter is in my " Great Tenor solos book". To me THAT solo shows Sals growth from a big band asskicker player to where he was wanting to be as a player. Sal told a great story about Trane. They were buds- but the first time Sal met Trane was on a subway. Trane came over to Sal , and told him he loved how great he played. Sal told me ya could always know if Trane was home cuz you'd hear his sound all over the block when he practiced. I have a huge poster of Sal in front of my music stand in my studio.That guy changed my life !

The first step in practicing something is to understand what areas of the piece or scale are less familiar to us, what we used to think were the hard parts. The next step is to spend time visiting and revisiting those areas until our fingers, ears and breathing become comfortable and familiar with them. Sound too simplistic? Maybe it is, but it is true. It may take weeks or months or sometimes years for our bodies to allow these actions to occur without conscious thought. One of the most important steps in this process of learning is to not look at a printed page of music. Play things without looking at the music You might say, I can't memorize things so easily. Well this is NOT memorization. This is learning something very deeply. Play a small portion of a phrase over and over. But while playing it, use your EAR and LISTEN to the music you're playing. Then try to sing the phrase away from the instrument. Try to play the phrase starting on different notes. If this seems overwhelming take another approach. Sing the first few bars of the song Happy Birthday. Now play the song on your instrument starting on any note. Now once you figure it out and it feel comfortable, play it starting on other notes. When this feels comfortable playing the tune on all twelve notes you can feel confident you know that tune.

Only work with very small segments of music and don't move on to other areas until that one area is thoroughly learned. When we ingrain the techniques of playing an instrument and understanding the rudiments of music so thoroughly we remove the need for conscious thought to help us execute the music. ( This is the start of the Alpha State. ) At this point one's unique voice can be expressed through the music. Master means to learn something so thoroughly that one always executes it correctly - This type of practicing can seem to take a long time. Your the time spent internalizing something is shorter than one thinks. Try to remember the times when you practiced a piece over and over and there were a few passages that were always difficult which never felt quite right. You perform the piece and kind of get through those passages and say , glad that's over. But a month later you have to play the piece again for a gig or and those same passages are no easier.

If one took the time to properly internalize that music it would not only always be with you but any of the problems that were conquered while spending time with the piece would carry over to other pieces that have similar challenges. The more material which is learned in this thorough manner, the easier music in general starts to become. When enough stuff is gained, most music played will be done with little or no conscious thought, thus allowing one's voice to happen. This will happen because there will not be any technical hurdles to conquer in the music or on the instrument. When practicing, don't try to conquer an entire work at once. Live with a small passage until it becomes easy. If a mistake is made, then go back and spend more time working the passage slowly until you don't have to think about what you are doing. Have patience,listen to what you play-find the problem areas and fix them via slow repetition. Also enjoy the process of practicing and the sounds you produce. Jazz is food for the soul and this includes music made while practicing.

Check this video; Tim Price Jazz- Jazz Repertoire http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vsarjAoQtE

The following tunes are among those most commonly played by jazz musicians. I have made an attempt to categorize them based on how they are usually played. Most of the compositions are by jazz musicians, except for the ones marked "standard". You should try to become familiar with as many of these tunes as possible. Most of them can be found in the Real Book or in Chuck Sher's books. All Blues blues, modal All Of Me standard All The Things You Are standard Anthropology rhythm changes, swing Au Privave blues, swing Autumn Leaves standard Beautiful Love standard Beauty And The Beast rock Billie's Bounce blues, swing Black Orpheus Latin Blue Bossa Latin Blue In Green ballad, modal Blue Monk blues, swing Blue Train blues, swing Blues For Alice blues, swing Bluesette 3/4, swing Body And Soul ballad, standard C Jam Blues blues, swing Caravan Latin, swing Ceora Latin Cherokee swing Confirmation swing Darn That Dream ballad, standard Desafinado Latin Dolphin Dance modal, non-tonal A Foggy Day standard Footprints 3/4, blues, modal Freddie Freeloader blues, modal Freedom Jazz Dance non-tonal Four swing Giant Steps swing The Girl From Ipanema Latin Goodbye, Pork Pie Hat ballad, swing Have You Met Miss Jones standard I Mean You swing I Remember Clifford ballad, swing I Thought About You standard If I Were A Bell standard Impressions modal In A Sentimental Mood ballad, swing In Walked Bud swing Just Friends standard Killer Joe swing Lady Bird swing Lullaby Of Birdland swing Mr. P.C. blues, swing Maiden Voyage modal Misty ballad, standard Moment's Notice swing My Favorite Things 3/4, modal, standard My Funny Valentine ballad, standard My Romance standard Naima ballad, modal A Night In Tunisia Latin, swing Nica's Dream Latin, swing Nostalgia In Times Square swing Now's The Time blues, swing Oleo rhythm changes, swing On Green Dolphin Street Latin, swing, standard Ornithology swing Recorda Me Latin Red Clay rock Round Midnight ballad, swing St. Thomas Latin Satin Doll swing Scrapple From The Apple swing The Sidewinder blues, swing So What modal Solar swing Some Day My Prince Will Come 3/4, standard Song For My Father Latin Speak No Evil modal, non-tonal Stella By Starlight standard Stolen Moments blues, modal Straight, No Chaser blues, swing Sugar swing Summertime standard Take The "A" Train swing There Is No Greater Love standard There Will Never be Another You standard Up Jumped Spring 3/4, swing Waltz For Debby 3/4, swing Wave Latin Well, You Needn't swing When I Fall In Love ballad, standard Yardbird Suite swing

The process of internalizing music is a matter of slow repetition of very small segments of a piece of music or a technique of playing the instrument. This repetition ingrains what is being learned deeply in our subconscious. The goal is to work on something until it seems to play itself. Once a musician has a repertoire, they can go out and play with many others.At least this is how it has worked for me,and many others through the decades. Being a complete musician goes well beyond the notes. Think about it- it's THAT easy !

Be thankful for another day on the planet.Music and life are a gift! Put positive energy out there, and be glad you have the ability to play music and enjoy your life.

Till next week- strive for tone-and do something good for someone else-Cheers- Tim Price