Summary
In this episode of Jazz Piano Skills, Dr. Bob Lawrence delves into the melodic analysis of the classic jazz standard 'Misty.' He emphasizes the importance of a structured practice strategy, the seven facts of music as a guiding compass, and the value of listening to various renditions of a tune. The discussion includes effective practice strategies, daily challenges, and a thorough breakdown of the melody, fingerings, and different treatments of 'Misty.'
Keywords
Jazz Piano, Melodic Analysis, Practice Strategies, Seven Facts of Music, Daily Challenges, Misty, Jazz Education, Improvisation, Music Theory, Jazz Piano Skills
#jazzpodcast #misty #errollgarner #jazzstandards #jazztunes #jazztutorials #jazzlessons #jazzpiano #jazzpianolessons #jazzpianist
Takeaways
Establishing a well-thought-out practice strategy is crucial.
Information overload can hinder progress in learning jazz.
The seven facts of music serve as a compass for practice.
Listening to multiple renditions of a tune enhances understanding.
Transcribing melodies by ear is essential for jazz musicians.
Daily challenges can help assess and improve skills.
Recognizing melodies is key to effective performance.
Different treatments of a standard can alter its presentation.
Vocal-like playing is a goal for jazz pianists.
A structured approach to learning tunes is beneficial.
Titles
Mastering Melodic Analysis in Jazz Piano
The Seven Facts of Music: Your Guiding Compass
Effective Practice Strategies for Jazz Musicians
Daily Challenges: Maximizing Your Jazz Skills
Exploring 'Misty': A Melodic Journey
Sound Bites
"People don't plan to fail, they just fail to plan."
"Information overload leads to paralysis by analysis."
"The compass is the seven facts of music."
"You cannot formulate a coherent practice plan without the facts."
"Music is the production of sound."
"The daily challenges will help us get there."
"It's important to keep this in mind as we learn."
"We listen to a lot of renditions of whatever tune."
"Does everyone recognize it as I am playing Misty?"
"We want to sound vocal-like when we play melodies."
Welcome to Jazz Piano Skills. I'm Dr. Bob Lawrence. It's time to discover, learn, and play jazz piano. Well, here we are again, week two of the month, the month of June, which means, as week two always means, it's a melodic analysis week. Last week we took tune of the month, which is the classic standard Misty, and we did our standard harmonic analysis that we do every month.
we examine the form, the traditional changes, the harmonic function, common harmonic movement. And of course, we looked at the voicings, our block shapes, our traditional shells, our contemporary shells, and the two handed structures. Of course, we always follow a harmonic analysis with a melodic analysis, which we're going to do today to discover, learn and play the lyrics of the tune, the melody,
fingerings, phrases, target notes, various standard treatments. And we have a little fun with some rhythmic challenges as well. Every month, we take a tune we get comfy with it through harmonic, melodic and improvisation study areas of study that every aspiring jazz musician, not just pianist, everyone must gain a functional command of both conceptually and physically.
And how do do this? Well, it begins with establishing a well thought out and constructed practice strategy. And that's what we do at Jazz Piano Skills. We have a constructed, well thought out practice strategy. I remind students daily that people don't plan to fail, they just fail to plan. And I see this time and time again, when a new student, especially an adult student,
begins private study with me here at the Dallas School of Music. They've invested years of practice with very little to show for it. What a shame. They have purchased every book ever published on the topic of playing jazz, establishing some of the greatest libraries of jazz material to ever exist in the world. And yet they still struggle to play jazz. Why?
because they have a plethora of information and no plan. In fact, they're confused as to where to begin, which honestly is is a typical symptom of information overload. What is that old expression? Paralysis by analysis, which is like as a psychological phenomenon where
overthinking a problem or decision leads to an inability to make any choice or take action. Yep. That's what happens when we get too much information or too much information has the opposite effect. All this information, no idea what to do with it, but running around busy, busy, busy running around like a chicken with his head cut off. And the irony, most of the information
is not needed to become an accomplished jazz musician. Yep. Now more than ever, right? This trap is so easy to fall into. Jazz education has become saturated with information. And I like to say, it's the jazz candy store. It's larger than ever. Jazz temptation abounds. This is exactly why we . . .