Tim Price Bloggin' For D'Addario Woodwinds- April thoughts.

OK- Here's one for the musicians; BALLAD FOCUS I CALL IT.

Do this- it works! Play the first two bars of the melody of a ballad 15 times, each phrasing the melody differently, but in a way that is expressive yet still melodic. The rhythm can be changed, the melody can be broken up differently with different length rests,dynamics and shapes within dynamics .OK- do not change the actual pitches; once you change the pitches and the rhythm it is no longer the tune that is was to begin with. VARY THE MELODY.
By doing this- you start to look deep inside melody's to find ways of playing and giving new life to the melody each time you play it.Then you can be more accountable for your creativity and the music also speaks with more coming from the melodic. Playing a two bar phrase versus the whole tune allows you to remember what you did two bars ago, than trying to remember what you did thirty-two bars ago. Try it- it works!


Coltrane's playing had the blues in it- just listen to " COLTRANE PLAY'S THE BLUES"...On Atlantic records or "Blue Trane". If you play jazz, and your playing is void of the blues feel, and sound you are lacking in something very basic, and a vital element to this art form.From Louie Armstrong to Ornette, it's heard and felt.

This weeks Rico Blog is highlighting improvistaion using blues and pentatonic ;


In Pentatonic scale use you can use a C Pentatonic scale over these
chords;

C maj 7
C7
Dminor7
D7sus 4
Emi7b5
Fmaj7
G7sus4
Ami 7
B7b9sus4
Bbmaj7
F# dom7
F#mi7b5

A player like "Thin man Watts" is a very strong blues&pentatonic
player. He know's what he's doing.
To take it a step further....

On a D minor7th....chord you can use C pent. over it & its gonna be
funky. On a C maj 7....chord you can also use a D pent and is going to be
singing and funky.

This one by the way...is a fav of Pharoah Sanders on Maj 7th
chords...it sounds beautiful.

BUT. Also on a C dom 7th chord you can build a pent scale off the SHARP
4th..and it will be hip to. EG~ C7...use F # pent. 

Check out the chords and line- try writing some of yours too.
 
Here's a helpful hint to gain new dimension ;

Replace the same old videos you watch on youtube with classic jazz recordings.Start listening more to masters and study the real history of what your playing! Youtube can be a great starting point- but keep on searching. Listen to more String Quartets, more Woodwind Quintets, read more about composers. Open a book, listen to Bill Evans, Bartok, read Boulez.Study scores, and get past the same stuff. The world is out there go find it.Live music needs your support! I continue to explore and learn all I can about all music in the quest to develop a voice.The more I know about what’s behind the music the more profound the effect is on my musical psyche. Being a complete musician goes well beyond the notes- much more than that. I’m grateful for the era that I came up in, and the teachers, musicians that made me aware of these values. Balance! I hope my words on this issue, in the process inspire people to do the right thing.Go hear some live music, support the people playing NOW, be part of it.

Till next week be in the moment and make every moment the best it can be.
~ Tim Price


PS ;

To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.
e. e. cummings



There's some stuff to shed below- check it ;

Tim Price Bloggin' For D'Addario Woodwinds- POPS - The Life Of Louis Armstrong ; book review

The impression that reading this book leaves is in complete agreement with Ellington's words on Armstrong: "He went from poverty to richness without hurting anyone on the way", which to me means a faithful description of the man and his work.
More than a biography, it is a well written & documented story of a beloved American and the music he nurtured for a lifetime.
Bottom line, if you want to learn about the man and ' the music ', this is the definitive source.
He was a man who applied his skills wisely to making a career in life, in the midst of terrible odds. He played his cards wisely (his God-given talent), minded his own business, and became an American icon. He is the 20th century epitome of hard work plus genius makes it. A true disciple of Frederick Douglass. He was also a man who couldn't hate or hold a grudge, and was despised for that by those pharisees in the business.History records soldiers, academics and others as American heroes. Rarely, if ever, are great artists so dubbed, although they are able to shape our thinking, change our perceptions and, subsequently, make changes in the world we live in.
As soon as popular critics and serious scholars started writing about that uniquely American pop music, jazz, they wrote about Armstrong. They couldn't avoid it because Armstrong, more than any other individual, set the standards and many of the conventions for jazz, in his playing and his singing. (Where would Bing Crosby have been without Louis to imitate?) He wasn't the first great jazz soloist: Sidney Bechet holds that honor by a few years. And Armstrong's seminal group, the Hot Five (later Hot Seven), played outside the recording studio just one time. It was never a working group, never a combo formed to play in the clubs and dance halls where jazz was being forged in the twenties and thirties.

Trying to imagine jazz without Armstrong is like trying to imagine modern art without Picasso or the essay form without Montaigne. His contemporaries knew it and admitted it. Even those who were on the outs with him -Earl Hines, Coleman Hawkins--knew that Louis was The Man. Red Allen, the trumpeter with (to my mind) the most beautiful sound in jazz, wanted nothing more than to sound like Louis. Jack Teagarden tried to play him on the trombone (and succeeded).
POPS, Terry Teachout's biography of Louis Armstrong does that. With the skill of a fine writer, the accuracy of a fine journalist and the sensitivity of a musician (all of which he is) he approaches Louis Armstrong's innovative musical talent within the context of America's history; of the time that the book covers and America's past. Those things that made the man and his genius and personality almost inevitable.The admiration felt by the author does not mire the story: it is easy to read and fast paced, to the point, and no digressions are present.

To me- this book is one of the gateways into more than just Pops ....it's life and music as it should be.  

I loved it madly. . . . Tim Price








 

Tim Price Bloggin' For D'Addario Woodwinds- Musical evolution & more....

Tim Price Bloggin' For D'Addario Woodwinds- Musical evolution & more....

Hope your life is filled with nice notes and some new musical activity.  I’ve been home writing and listening to music for some inspiration.Teaching a lot too, on Skype and in the studio.
 

 My philosophy about personal musical growth is that musicians should learn how to think, listen and talk about music. Likewise, I pass this on to my students of all ages. IT'S WORKING! If your in 5th grade or a Doctor studying jazz clarinet with me for fun. There's something we all have. It's this criteria: brain, ears, and voice. Naturally, these three are interrelated. If you think about music, then it follows that you can easily talk about it. Listening is the most important part. Without ears, music would not exist. If I had to pick the most valuable musical tool for shaping musical growth, it would be personal taste. Always visualize only favorable and beneficial situations.Music helps with this.Try to use positive words in your inner dialogues or when talking with others. Once a negative thought enters your mind, you have to be aware of it and endeavor to replace it with a constructive one.Persistence will eventually teach your mind to think positively and ignore negative thoughts.It does not matter what your circumstances are at the present moment. Think positively, expect only favorable results and situations, and circumstances will change accordingly. It may take some time for the changes to take place, but eventually they do. 

Take it a step further Bob Dylan plays the same C7 chord that Pat Martino does. Same 4 notes, likewise when Sonny Rollins hits a D minor 7th, it's the same chord that Jeff Beck might play or Keith Jarrett. It's how YOU deliver it. Lots of cooks use tomatoes and basil you dig? Same deal.Keeping a open mind can create a path for a student. There's a big difference between Bud Powell and Duke Ellington. But they both have a message. Think about it.Personal musical taste expands infinitely. This allows for musical evolution. Just live it. Go for it. Play it. Write it. Above all, use your own personal, ever growing, musical taste. Hence, music is the real teacher. Share the music and propagate it as much as you can. As always,strive for tone and help your school music programs, in every way you can.
 

The Art Of The 4 bar phrase. Take this study below & play the phrases- hear the melodic shape of the 4 bars. Not just notes but the musical sentence or phrase. Look at my pencil marks in case you need. Do this for a week- 6 Times a day. No mistakes or do it over. Look at your transcriptions, you’ll hear a all new idea. To hear..is to see and visa versa. 



 True improvising has a completely different dimension to it. That element is “spontaneity”. This means that you are forced to create music right on the spot, without having any time to prepare anything in advance. Obviously, this kind of playing is challenging, both from the mental and physical standpoint. It is more challenging from the mental standpoint because you are forced to come up with cohesive musical ideas right as you are playing, without having any time to analyze which phrases will flow well together.

Always keep your focus on dreams and visions close dear reader, along with a larger picture of unconditional human faith. Your music will blossom- and results will be inspiring to you and others. 

See ya'll next week. This weeks blog is dedicated to Bob Feldman, saxophonist- actor-friend.
(1938-2018).    

~ Tim Price

This major seventh chord bebop line carries harmonic interest and a nice intervalic shape.

Listen to the line as you play it. Study the intervals, shape, and harmony of it. Then start to write some of your own major seventh lines based on mine.

Start with the part of the study at letter [A]. Try all tempos and use some phrasing you like.

Try all tempos and use some phrasing you like.

At letter [B] we employ the full range of the saxophone. You must get out your fingering charts and isolate the hard parts of the line until you get this. Hard work will pay off! The only way to play "off the horn" is to study it and put it to use on an idea like this. Take your time. - Click on the music to enlarge the page ok.

~Tim Price