Subj: Re: New e-mail address for the Croft family
Date: Saturday, June 30, 2001 11:47:26 AM
From: croftfam@talarion.cc
To: Dfrankjazz@aol.com
From: croftfam@talarion.cc (Croft Family)
To: Dfrankjazz@aol.com
Sounds good. I'll see what I can arrange. There's still a possibility I
may be able to pay you a visit in August (if you're in town). It depends in
part on how strict some cost-saving policies affecting travel are enforced
at HP in the near future. The economy has HP on the defensive right now,
along with virtually every other hi-tech company. I realize you're
traveling a lot during August, so we'll just have to see what works.
I've seen evidence in just the past couple of days that JOI has really
helped my ear grow a lot over the past two years. I was talking to another
jazz lover in my departent at HP the other day, and we were both talking
about standards with intresting bridges, especially those that modulate to
another key. He mentioned "Skylark" and wondered what was going on
harmonically at the bridge. I imagined the tune in my head for a minute and
said, "I'll bet the first chord of the bridge is the IVMaj7 with respect to
the original key." Well, I went home and looked it up and I was right on.
I've also found that my ability to pick out tunes and voicings by ear has
greatly improved. You told me two years ago that JOI would make everything
else I do afterward easier. I see now what you meant beause learning tunes
and musical concepts in general seems to be easier than before. I'm really
glad you put together JOI and helped me with those great private lessons
over the past two years. I can't wait for what comes next.
Have a great weekend.
Regards,
Tom
Subj: Re: Workshop
Date: Wednesday, September 20, 2000 12:08:59 AM
From: BashoPond
To: Dfrankjazz
Dave -
I think we said Sat. nite for concert and Sunday afternoon for the workshop. I've already gotten the OMTA (MTNA) certification chair to OK your workshop for certification points. All of the teachers groups that I belong to have been notified about the workshop and it's in their newsletters this month. Advance publicity is most helpful!
Carol
PS When is your next CD coming out? My daughters think the one I have is "kick ass."
Subj: Fwd: Master solo question
Date: Thursday, June 22, 2000 4:13:20 PM
From: Dfrankjazz
To: MacMIDI
-----------------
Forwarded Message:
Subj: RE: Master solo question
Date: Thursday, June 22, 2000 3:58:40 PM
From: EUSTCC@am1.ericsson.se
To: Dfrankjazz@aol.com
From: EUSTCC@am1.ericsson.se (Tom Croft (EUS))
To: Dfrankjazz@aol.com
Dave,
Sounds good. Even dinner with you would be a pleasure. I'll give you call
once we're in town. It should be around July 4 or 5.
Yes, I have really enjoyed JOI so far. It's been a challenge, but I've
learned that I can expect more out of myself musically than I ever thought
possible thanks to your program. For example, I never would have imagined
I'd be composing lines like the ones I've written in conjunction with Vol.
1. My technique is also finally starting to climb upward a bit after years
of my feeling as though I just "don't have what it takes" to play jazz (I
still feel that way once in a while, unfortunately). I've got a long way to
go, but you've helped me understand the process of developing the inner ear
and technical ability. For example, I haven't had a lot of time to work on
the triplet exercise you gave me at that last lesson, but it's amazing how
just a couple of sessions of doing the
two-or-three-triplets-back-to-back-and-then-resting exercise changed my
perception of triplets so that I now seem to pop them off much more
naturally than before. They are starting to come out of the flow, just the
way you intended, and the last couple of lines I've written have had what I
think are some decent usage of triplets.
I'll talk to you once I get into town and look forward to dinner. Take
care.
Tom
-----Original Message-----
From: Dfrankjazz@aol.com [SMTP:Dfrankjazz@aol.com]
Sent: Thursday, June 22, 2000 1:00 PM
To: EUSTCC@am1.ericsson.se
Subject: Re: Master solo question
Hey Tom. July 5-7 may work - we'll be leaving for New Mexico on July
8th, so
time will be too tight to do a beantown tour this time, but how
about if we
can arrange a dinner?
Great work with JOI, it means alot to me that you've enjoyed it..
Dig the vacation
D
Subj: joi to the world
Date: Wednesday, May 24, 2000 1:54:53 PM
From: Dfrankjazz
To: MacMIDI
-----------------
Forwarded Message:
Subj: Thanks again!
Date: Wednesday, May 24, 2000 1:47:48 PM
From: EUSTCC@am1.ericsson.se
To: Dfrankjazz@aol.com
From: EUSTCC@am1.ericsson.se (Tom Croft (EUS))
To: Dfrankjazz@aol.com
Dave,
Just wanted to thank you once more in writing for the wonderful workshop,
dinner, and private lesson. I feel as though I know exactly what I need to
do over the next six months to a year to continue progressing musically,
thanks to you. I know you're in high demand all over the world now, but I'd
love to see you come back regularly to Raleigh about every six months, if
possible.
I've carefully written up notes summarizing the private lesson (by the way,
the tape turned out GREAT), have settled on a set of changes I like for "I
Remember You," have started playing around with the improvised bass line
exercise a little to get a feel for it, and have worked on "injected"
triplets and short triplet phrases. To top all this off, I'm having a blast
singing along with Bird's solo from "Parker's Mood" (Lesson 24) as I drive
to and from work. Good stuff!
I hope you have recovered from your demanding couple of days here and that
you enjoy your upcoming trip to Brazil. Take care.
Best Regards,
Tom
Subj: Fwd: To The Top Of The Mountain
Date: Monday, March 6, 2000 10:10:50 AM
From: Dfrankjazz
To: MacMIDI
-----------------
Forwarded Message:
Subj: To The Top Of The Mountain
Date: Monday, March 6, 2000 10:04:54 AM
From: spindrift@cybertours.com
To: Dfrankjazz@aol.com
From: spindrift@cybertours.com (Rob Spaulding)
To: Dfrankjazz@aol.com
Hi Dave,
Quick cyber contact. 2 months zoomed by. I'm still plugging away with JOI -
mostly re-reading thru lessons and tyring to absorb more of your phrases,
some of them are working their way permanently into to my improv
vocabulary. Training the ear is the harder part ...... still listening to
FATs.
Anyway, quick update:
1. TEACHING: I've got 3 days a week at a music school up here (25 students
- most 1/2 hr. lessons, begin. - thru advanced intermediate). Really
enjoying it.
I'm thinking about steering a few of my students to the JOI approach -
is there a particular level of development (I guess its probably individual
case by case) that you would recommend I begin with? One of the objectives
of this school is to train kids to read chord changes and otherwise gain
experience in ensemble situations.
2. PLAYING: My little quartet recorded a 14 min. demo. I wouldn't my
getting some feedback from you. There's nothing on it longer than 2 min.
w/only a few short piano solo spots, so there's nothing groundbreaking, but
it would be nice to think after an entire year (I know its a lifelong
process) studying with you that I've got a little more to say. I'll
foreward a copy - tell me whether we suck, are on the right track, what's
good. Musically, just straight forward renditions of standards, so a rather
non-appetizing listen for your ears, but anyway coach, any feedback
appreciated.
I imagine you're just returning from some far-off land and getting ready to
take flight again.
I've noticed you've stopped journaling on the Net - I check now and then
for updates.
When can I grab a copy of your new CD?
Maybe drop down for a lesson this Spring?
Yours truly,,
Rob Spaulding from Maine, where nothing is ever out of season.
Subj: this guy likes us
Date: Monday, February 28, 2000 1:28:26 AM
From: Dfrankjazz
To: MacMIDI
I'll be seeing Phil probably tomorrow.
D
-----------------
Forwarded Message:
Subj: Lesson 14 line
Date: Monday, February 28, 2000 1:24:16 AM
From: croftfam@talarion.com
To: Dfrankjazz@aol.com
From: croftfam@talarion.com (Croft Family)
To: Dfrankjazz@aol.com (Dave Frank)
Dave,
It's eight o'clock. Do you know where my line (Lesson 14) is? Kidding
aside, I can only imagine how busy your weekends must be. I hope you have
a great week, and if you do get some spare minutes to listen to my latest
line, I'd love to hear what you think of it. I'm only writing again so
soon because you asked me to :-).
I had kind of an exciting an encouraging experience Friday evening: I
heard an intro for an imaginary (not yet complete, well defined, etc.) tune
in D major in my mind's ear. Just for fun, I sat at the piano to see if I
could figure out exactly what I was hearing, voicings and all (two of the
voicings are so-called upper-structure-triad voicings--a triad above a
tritone). When I sat down, I had no idea exactly what specific chords
(five total) they were, but I figured them out entirely by ear and from
having heard some of them before. After I had it down, I analyzed it and
found it was simply a ii-V7-I in D in which a chord a half step above of
the same quality precdes the ii and the V7. In other words:
Cm7 Bm7 F7 (played as AEbGBD or F7 US II in Levine's nomeclature) E7
(played as G#DF#A#C# or E7 US II) A7sus A7 Dmaj7
I then realized that this is simply the basic ii-V7-I (Em7 A7 Dmaj7) with
the chromatic approach chords and the interesting voicings for the
dominants to make it sound interesting and "fancy." Anyway, I've now
concluded that JOI is helping me to hear CHORDS as well as lines. It's so
cool!
Best Regards,
Tom
Subj: Fwd: Lesson 10 Line
Date: Tuesday, January 25, 2000 2:07:09 AM
From: Dfrankjazz
To: MacMIDI
-----------------
Forwarded Message:
Subj: Re: Lesson 10 Line
Date: Tuesday, January 25, 2000 1:31:18 AM
From: croftfam@talarion.com
To: Dfrankjazz@aol.com
From: croftfam@talarion.com (Croft Family)
To: Dfrankjazz@aol.com
Dave,
Thanks so much for the feedback. That line, for some reason, seemed like
the perfect opportunity to explore some of those "circling" ideas
(approaching the chord tone from below and above before resolving to it).
Some theoreticians call them "enclosures" (I think David Baker uses that
term). I have to give JOI most of the credit for my new-found ability to
hear those kinds of things. Your Master Solo exercise and the lesson tunes
are fantastic for developing the "inner ear," I think. I'm having a blast
with the "Six Appeal" solo of Charlie Christian's right now, and the
standard tune for Lesson 13 is really interesting too.
Next week sounds great to me. As you probably noticed, I already sent you
the lines for Lesson 11 and Lesson 12.
Cheers,
Tom
>Lesson 10 line sounds really good, TC. Gettin better all the time..the
>crucial part of the line at this point is the use of chromatic approaches,
>and you're almost perfect on this one. The art is to nail the chromatics and
>chord/scale tones in the right place. You're doin something here which is
>like circling the chord tone with chromatics from above and below, and it
>sounds excellent. There was one spot in the line on the Em7-A7 maybe 8 or 10
>bars in, when you wrote an Eb, that was slightly questionable, other than
>that perfect.
>
>Also you had a nice opening theme, it makes all the difference, and a nice
>staccatto kinda melody thing towards the end, that worked great..
>
>I gotta get ready to go to N Dakota, it's been a whirlwind coupla weeks..
>
>More next week, OK?
>
>DF
Subj: Good news
Date: 12/18/1999 7:36:46 PM Pacific Standard Time
From: croftfam@talarion.com (Croft Family)
To: Dfrankjazz@aol.com (Dave Frank)
Dave,
Just wanted to let you know that I turned a 70+ year-old lady with an
extensive classical piano background on to your Joy of Improv course over
at my house the other night. We had her and her husband over for dinner
and got talking about a common interest in jazz after we finished eating.
I showed her the books, explained the philosophy, demonstrated some things,
etc., and she nodded approvingly over the Jazz Hanon, the Inner Ear Line
Method, the Master Solos, and so on. Here's a great comment she made:
"That singing along he's having you do involves all the senses and
activates both sides of the brain." Exactly! She took down the title of
your books and your name so she can get her own set and get started. It
was a blast. Basically, I taught my first jazz piano lesson to a very savy
classical player with a pretty solid theory background. She said her visit
for dinner had been worth $300 to her (wow!), but of course I didn't bill
her for that, he he.
I'm now in the midst of Lesson 10 and enjoying it very much. I hope your
recording session went well and that'll I'll hear back from you on my
Lesson 9 Line pretty soon (what a schedule you must have!).
Best Regards,
Tom
Subj: Fwd: Hello from Dave Frank
Date: Sunday, November 28, 1999 2:27:49 AM
From: Dfrankjazz
To: MacMIDI
-----------------
Forwarded Message:
Subj: Re: Hello from Dave Frank
Date: Friday, November 26, 1999 6:29:48 AM
From: PGSPersEng
To: Dfrankjazz
Hi Dave,
Your e-mail caught me off guard - I saw the header "Hello from Dave Frank" and immediately thought, "Gees, spam already - and I already own the stinking book!!!" So when I actually read it instead of hitting the <del> key I was pleasantly surprised.
>> Thank you for recommending Joy of Improv to the piano newsgroup.
No need to thank me - it has proven one of the best learning aids I've run into, and I'm glad to let other people know about it. I learned about it myself by lurking the newgroups (and, FWIT, bought it through EncoreMusic.com in case you track such marketing stuff).
>> I'd enjoy making contact with you if you'd like..
I'd be delighted, although I doubt if I could hold up my end of the conversation.
Here's a brief history: I'm now creeping up on 50 and am pursuing a life-long dream of studying piano. My 11 year old has taken lessons for about 5 years, and now professional obligations have lightened so I have a bit more time, too. But (and I know, against what anyone and everyone would say) I'm so far self taught. I can't justify the extra $$, especially given the teachers that I know. I "bought" one lesson with Jenna's teacher, and I realized that wasn't going to be the answer. I also have trouble with rigid practice schedules and assignments. I tend to go in binges depending on what else life is dishing up that particular week.
Meanwhile, in the past year I caught up to her and am playing the same pieces - which she greets with mixed emotions. On the one hand, she really needs the competition and drive ("No way I'm going to let Dad play this better than me!") or else she wouldn't do any serious work at the keyboard. On the other hand it's discouraging to her ("How can he play that already when I've been taking lessons for five years?")
Actually, I have some background in music. I studied trumpet for about 10 years as a teen, played in high school and university marching band. I was never able to develop a strong, durable and flexible embouchure so never got beyond being mediocre. That I was first chair lead in high school attests only to our lack of trumpet players, and I really got put in my place at Notre Dame where they shoved me in 2nd part to play harmony. The thing is, we had to memorize all the music for each game each week. Memorizing lead isn't bad, but memorizing harmony stinks - especially when the old fuddy duddy band director wants to please the 80 year old alums by playing Tea for Two and other greatest hits (we sat in abject embarrassment when the USC Marching Trojans came in to town).
Anyway, I've been listening to jazz since I was a teen. It was a tough haul in rural western PA, but things picked up when I went away to school. I worked on the stage crew at the Notre Dame Collegiate Jazz Festival every year so I could see the whole weekend for free. Drove my roommate absolutely crazy one year by playing _Bitches Brew_ over and over and over again. Then I moved to Boston and enjoyed a real music scene. In my bachelor years when I lived on Beacon St in the Back Bay I dragged many people over to Ryles; I've dropped a considerable sum over there over the years. Some were business associates from out of town, but I also took more than a few dates over there. I can also remember that my then girlfriend (and now wife) once dumped me, but a few months later our reconciliation date was at a McCoy Tyner concert in Harvard Square. And during our honeymoon we were in Vienna when I went wild because I spotted a poster for Eberhard Weber, who was playing at the University (and we did get tickets).
OK, so I'm married and now in New Hampshire, just outside Portsmouth. Recently I took my daughter to see Spiro Gyra at the Music Hall - I thought that would be an accessible way to get her interested. Actually, I promised to take her if she was able to count out the beat on all the songs on the Greatest Hits CD. She did get most of them. I was amazed to see that we take for granted as absolutely trivial - counting the beat - for some is exceptionally tough to catch on to.
So I love to listen to jazz but don't know squat about music theory (don't get much of it studying trumpet), and as an engineer I love to rip things apart to see how they work. I've always fantasized about attending Berklee, but we all have to make a living some how, and I won't every make any money from my music. But I have done what I can. Jenna plays on a (sorely in need of a tuning) spinet, but I keep really weird hours. So about a year ago I bought a junky keyboard for $100 and have been hacking around late at night. The last year I've emphasized the basics you get in any adult methods book. Now I know about the circle of fifths, what a triad is, how a 7th chord is constructed, some stuff about basic progressions. With that background, I'm now moving into jazz to see how much I can learn to play but also to study its underpinnings.
As I read various books and surf jazz web sites, I'm getting just blown away by the complexity of what jazz musicians have done in the past decades. That's where the real innovation in music - not just American music, but internationally -- is coming from! (Well, some classical guys are OK. I took my wife to see Philip Glass and told her she just saw somebody who will ultimately join up with the other immortal musical giants but she just said it was boring and repetitive stuff. Oh well…) Back to jazz, I'm amazed at the depth of complexity involved in what people are doing. That same complexity, though, can be quite overwhelming when you're trying to come up to speed. So I've bought lots of books (seems a better investment than dropping big $$ on local teachers who are great with little kids but have a different idea of jazz than you or me), and between them I manage to find the information I need at the appropriate level. They range from the base level with good explanations for the newbie (Baerman does a good job there) through the very complex (ie Levine, who makes giant leaps of meaning in a sentence or two), and then I've got your book for real-world exercises. Now it's just a matter of overcoming my frustration at wanting to be proficient at the keyboard right away! And, best of all, my Christmas present is a Yamaha P-200 so I can give my toy keyboard to my 5 year old to pound on.
>> Did you "get" all the titles (the music took me 2 weeks to write, the titles 4 years.. haha)
Hmmm…when you put it like that… I see some word plays, but I sense that there are some really subtle and tricky things going on with the names. And, given what I've told you about myself, I'm probably a far way from appreciating them. But I'm sure I'm not the only one who would enjoy learning about those little insider meanings. You might consider adding that kind of background to the next edition (along with suggested fingerings for people like me who are only guessing about the best way).
Anyway, I've wasted enough of your time. Got more than you asked for, huh? It's probably been more fun to write than it is to read - but the reminiscing has been sorta fun. And can't you tell I'm a writer/editor by trade? But let me thank you for writing The Joy of Improv. It has been a big help. People talk about learning voicings and all that stuff, and it makes very little sense without any kind of context. You give real examples that are fun to memorize and play for family and friends. The level of difficult seems about right - none of those sickening baby pieces, but not anything utterly impossible or where I'm pounding my fist on the wall out of frustration, either. It sounds like I'm playing real music!
Well, if you ever get up to Portsmouth and play the Press Room or another locale, please let me know. Also, if you schedule one of your "training sessions" anywhere around here, I'd like to drop in, too.
Paul G Schreier
Technical Writer/Editor, Marketing Consultant
phone: 603-427-1377 fax: 603-427-1427
e-mail: aa1mi@ARRL.net
PS: Where in the greater Boston metro area is the best place (ie big selection, low price) for used jazz CDs?
found on NG, in response to somebody looking for a book of "jazz patterns":
Try _The Joy of Improv_ by Dave Frank and John Amaral (Hal Leonard publishing). It assumes you know some theory and just need some good sample blues and jazz ditties to practice with (and hopefully assimilate into your memory). I own a number of jazz instruction/practice books, and this is the one I spend the most time
with. The CD has both audio and MIDI files of the "tunes", so if you can't
figure out a rhythm or can't hear a progression in your head, it's right there
for you.
Subj: recent seminar attendee in NC, wrote this to website
Date: Monday, November 8, 1999 10:52:34 PM
From: Dfrankjazz
To: MacMIDI
Dave, I've finally gotten wired to Internet! I and several of my students are LOVING working with your books. The process is somewhat miraculous! I'd call it foolproof. If one just practices the chapters as recommended, it's impossible not to get better! thanks! Hope to have you back in NC soon.
Still inspired, Betsy Hannah
Date: 08-Nov-1999 17:16:53
From: Betsy Hannah (bbhannah@earthlink.net)
Dave,
I've finally hooked up to Internet!
I and several of my students LOVE working with your books since you were in Raleigh. They are really foolproof! If one simply follows the recommended practice steps, it's impossible not to get better! Just working with the 1st chapter sharpens the ear and memory dramatically! And it continues. thanks. I hope we can get you back to NC soon.
Swingin' along, Betsy Hannah
FROM STRINGLETTER:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Joy of Improv
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Joy of Improv, 2 volumes, by Dave Frank with John Amaral. Hal Leonard, 1997. $24.95 each volume. Includes CD.
WORTHWHILE COMPANIONS to, but by no means substitutes for, the Levine books, are these two volumes from Dave Frank and John Amaral. If you can stand the volumes' infomercial appearance, laden with references to JOI (Joy of Improv), there is much of value here. Whereas Levine emphasized theory, Frank and Amaral definitely focus on practice.
Through a series of 52 lessons (26 in each volume), students learn 52 different blues and 52 different ballads (most in 32-bar, AABA form), all original by Frank. The main advantage to this approach (besides having saved the authors a bundle in licensing fees) is the strictly controlled pedagogical crescendo, allowing clear, step-by-step advancement from easier to more complex concepts. In every tune, a single-line series of eighth-note riffs in the right-hand is superimposed over a three- or four-note chord in the left-hand, presented in halfor whole-notes, according to the harmonic rhythm.
Unlike the Levine books, very little reference is made here to the stylistic sources of these pieces, though it isn't too hard to recognize Bill Evans as a main font. While the limited range for each hand may seem an annoying restriction (left-hand comps generally occur in the octave below middle-C, right-hand licks within two octaves above middle-C), this narrow focus forces the student to think about intervals and the relation between melody and harmony notes.
Despite the originality of the compositions, standard chord progressions and song types emerge. "Bird's Bounce" is only a thinly veiled version of Charlie Parker's "Ornithology" (which itself was based on "How High the Moon"), "Hoosier Influence?" is based on the changes to "Indiana," and so on. Thus students not only learn well-known harmonic schemes, but also participate in the honored bebop tradition of borrowing forms and harmonies.
I wonder how a student who has worked through these 52 lessons will differ from one who has worked through one of Levine's books. By the sheer density of repetition and tightly managed variables, Frank's method may approximate the "total immersion" approach to learning a foreign language, in which syntax becomes intuitively understood, rather than explicitly identified. Spend enough days in Mexico, and you'll begin to know what to say when asked, "?Otra cerveza, senor?" ("!Si!") After having played through umpteen A^sup 07^ D^sup 7^ Gm progressions, you'll know what to do, even if you can't always say what scale you're using.
Of course, really cultured jazz artists, like Joe Henderson or George Shearing, can tell you what they're doing and do it, the goal of Levine's books. But as a start to learning the language of jazz, Joy of Improv should be of great service.
Copyright String Letter Press, Inc. Sep/Oct 1998
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subj: Fwd: Just have to report this
Date: Tuesday, October 19, 1999 7:48:21 AM
From: Dfrankjazz
To: MacMIDI
-----------------
Forwarded Message:
Subj: Just have to report this
Date: Tuesday, October 19, 1999 7:27:43 AM
From: croftfam@talarion.com
To: Dfrankjazz@aol.com
From: croftfam@talarion.com (Croft Family)
To: Dfrankjazz@aol.com (Dave Frank)
Dave,
I have to dash off to work here in a minute (it's about 7:15 a.m.), but I
just had to write to tell you that I just came from perhaps my best session
yet with the improv exercise ("Autumn Leaves" changes). I felt the "flow"
this morning as I've never felt it before and somehow got into it at a
deeper level than I typically do (it's always fun, but this morning was
just exceptionally good for some reason). I think the key may have been
that I tried to listen to my lines a little more carefully as I was playing
and to "react" to them according to the flow of the moment, which seemed to
help generate more ideas that mirrored or complemented the preceding
phrases, creating a greater sense of coherence and logic to the overall
process. I've never studied formal motific development or anything of that
sort, but it seemed to help generate more interesting melodies naturally
when I REALLY LISTENED to what I was playing. Anyway, it was a blast, and
I'm really having fun with this whole JOI program. Thanks again for all
your help and for writing such excellent books to help this growth process
begin sprouting in my musical psyche. Have fun with the master classes in
D.C. and LA.
Best Regards,
Tom
Subj: Re: Question on JOI
Date: Sunday, October 10, 1999 9:08:20 PM
From: Dfrankjazz
To: MacMIDI
cc: croftfam@talarion.com
nice chatting with you boys. This is an interesting thread. Despite John's praise, actually I've always had a tough time improvising chords, whereas lines have come much easier..
John's postulate will take some thought. The best players, to me were the ones who were great at chords and line. Keith Jarrett and Lennie Tristano fit that description. Bill Evans had great line and chords, too, although most of his chordal arrangements were worked out (the way I do it). Listening to live recordings of his concerts, though, he was a mutha at improvising chords, too..Dave Brubeck, on the other hand, was good at chords but had a sucky line. Bud Powell was better at line than chords..I think for many of us one type of hearing comes easier.
DF
Subj: Fwd: Question on JOI
Date: Sunday, October 10, 1999 4:07:04 PM
From: Dfrankjazz
To: MacMIDI
-----------------
Forwarded Message:
Subj: Question on JOI
Date: Sunday, October 10, 1999 3:02:12 PM
From: croftfam@talarion.com
To: Dfrankjazz@aol.com
From: croftfam@talarion.com (Croft Family)
To: Dfrankjazz@aol.com (Dave Frank)
Dave,
Greetings from North Carolina! I hope all is going well for you.
Things are still going well for me with respect to JOI. I'm really
enjoying the JazzHanon, the JOI tunes, the Master Solos, the improv
exercise you showed me, etc. However, there is one question that I,
unfortunately, must ask at this point: How important is the line writing
exercise you've been having me do? Here's why I'm asking. So far I've
been setting aside two weeks for each JOI lesson. I start on a Monday and
finish on the second Saturday thereafter. I do the JazzHanon in two keys
each day for the first six practice sessions and then repeat the tougher
keys (E, Gb, A, etc.) on the remaining days. I do half the voicings for
one key each session so that I finish all four keys within the two weeks.
I work on the JOI tunes until I can play them well at about 120 on the met
and until I can sing them a capella. At some point toward the end of the
two weeks, I tape the songs and Master Solo for the next lesson so I have
those resources ready. Also, I write the fingerings on the tunes for the
next lesson. Those two things (taping and fingering writing) take about an
hour and a half to do, which is in addition to the normal 45 minutes per
day six days per week of practice at the instrument. The line writing has
been a real trick to squeeze in, so I've been trying to do that during my
last couple of practice sessions on a given lesson. However, I'm finding
that it takes quite a bit of time, and I have yet to write down a complete
line within that 1.5 hours (two 45-min. practice sessions devoted entirely
to the line writing). I write them down by hand first on manuscript paper
and then create a nicer score using my notation program so I can save them
in a binder (the computer part doesn't really take that long). The line
for Lesson 3 that you really liked took me about three hours to come up
with, and my wife got quite irritated at me about it. For Lesson 4, I
hurried faster and tried to be a little less picky, and that one took about
2 hours total (including computer transcription).
When I started the JOI program, I assumed that I would take a practice
session now and then (maybe once every two weeks) to arrange a new tune or
two, work on aspects not covered by JOI (stride, upper structure voicings,
block chord playing, etc.). If that didn't work out, I assumed I could
just sneak in some extra practice here and there (while my wife's not home
:-) ) to do those kinds of things. The problem is that the JOI program,
the improv exercise, and the line writing are taking ALL of my musical
time. That's why I'm asking how vital the line writing exercise is. I
love doing it, and I think I've already benefitted from it, but I'm also
concerned that two years from now (when I project I'll be done with Vol. 2
of JOI) I'll be very good at playing single note lines and left-hand
voicings but that other aspects of my playing (such as those listed above)
will have gotten weaker from lack of use. Any thoughts you have to share
with me on these concerns would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for the long
epistle.
Best Regards,
Tom
Subj: Re: Question on JOI
Date: Sunday, October 10, 1999 4:06:50 PM
From: Dfrankjazz
To: croftfam@talarion.com
cc: MacMIDI
Cool Tom, I really dig the way you're going about this..I knew when John and I developed this that there would be SOMEBODY out there nutty enough to do it right - congrats, you won the prize, an out-of-print copy of Lawrence Welk's breakthrough Hi-fi lp TAKE A TRAIN...
Unfortunately, the line-writing is quite important. Try to cut down the time you spend, for noe, by TAPING it, don't waste alot of the time with technology, etc.. maybe write it out in simple fashion..when I write, I write only the notes on music paper (no timings!), and tape my progress on a cassette. It saves scads of time. Cut down on some technical work to do some composition, and just write a few bars every day, can be 10 or 15 minutes. maybe do the chords one week and write a line the next..
Man, you're working under some pressure there, worse than being under contract with a major label..hehehe
DF
Subj: Fwd: Our e-mail address has changed
Date: Sunday, October 3, 1999 6:41:12 PM
From: Dfrankjazz
To: MacMIDI
-----------------
Forwarded Message:
Subj: Re: Our e-mail address has changed
Date: Sunday, October 3, 1999 6:36:14 PM
From: croftfam@talarion.com
To: Dfrankjazz@aol.com
From: croftfam@talarion.com (Croft Family)
To: Dfrankjazz@aol.com
Dave,
Thanks so much for the encouraging feedback. Yes, I think with your
guidance I have made some real progress. The JOI program is definitely
improving the speed at which I pick up new lines in the Master Solo
exercise and the accuracy with which I hear things in general. This is
starting to make my attempts to improvise easier already, I think. Thanks
also for using my new e-mail address. The old one will likely go away
within the next month or so. Take care.
Best Regards,
Tom
>hey Tom, the line on froggy Day is EXCELLENT. I dig the double-time section
>at the end of the first line, it's grammatically perfect and adds a rhythmic
>punch. The repetition of ideas and subsequent development is great. On the
>last line, first measure, you could make it a little weirder by making the
>last 4 notes Gb Eb B A, resolving to Bb..
>
>I think you've made good progress since we met, no?
>
>DF
Subj: Re: Lesson 30
Date: Monday, September 13, 1999 10:41:49 AM
From: Dfrankjazz
To: daxl@ibw.com.ni
cc: MacMIDI
thanks, RD, I'm looking forward to seeing you again. All these observations are happening because of the HANDS-ON approach of JOI, where jazz theory is integrated into the PLAYING and HEARING elements of the total expereince. This makes for balanced progress as well as makes possible the kind of insights you're mentioning.. Developed out of the total experience, these insights have much more value than book-learned information, I think you'll find yourself integrating these insights into your improvisations quickly..
Your appeciation means alot to me, keep swingin!
Dave
Subj: Fwd: Lesson 30
Date: Monday, September 13, 1999 10:35:40 AM
From: Dfrankjazz
To: MacMIDI
JOI fan in Nicaragua
-----------------
Forwarded Message:
Subj: Lesson 30
Date: Monday, September 13, 1999 10:27:20 AM
From: daxl@ibw.com.ni
To: dfrankjazz@aol.com
From: daxl@ibw.com.ni (Rainer Daxl)
To: dfrankjazz@aol.com (Dave Frank)
Dear Dave, I am working on JOI lesson 30 "Try this at home" and I feel compelled to tell you how fascinating and beautiful it is to me. I think this is a keystone lesson that opens a door to an idiom I always wanted to be able to play. The show really starts with this Ebmin7. Then at Dbdim7, what a great way to interpret a diminished chord! The Dbmin7 chord would look better written as stacked thirds. The Cbmaj7 is a 6/9 chord. Now comes the real beauty: G7alt - Cmin7, and F7alt - Bb7/9. At last I'm beginning to see what to do with alt-scales. This lovely III-VI-II-V-I progression from Dmin7 to the end is a gem, so spicy. If I were a real man I would practice it down the circle of fifth in all keys. Now these alt chords are at the same time their tritone-subs as #11/13s. Which is logical as both lydian-dominant and altered are modes of the same melodic minor scale. So at G7alt I'm playing Ab mel.min.; at F7alt I play Gb mel.minor. What a lesson! Incredible. That's what I call Jazz.
In This Blues For You I love that VIalt voicing with b13, #9, b9. It can also be seen as Db7/9, chromatic approximation to the following Cmin7. It never occurred to me to voice a VI7 chord as a tritone sub. --
I wonder what wonders the other lessons have in store. -- Take care, Dave, muchos saludos,
Rainer.
Subj: Fwd: Fingerings
Date: Wednesday, September 8, 1999 3:35:40 AM
From: Dfrankjazz
To: MacMIDI
-----------------
Forwarded Message:
Subj: Re: Fingerings
Date: Wednesday, September 8, 1999 12:25:32 AM
From: tcroft@worldnet.att.net
To: Dfrankjazz@aol.com
From: tcroft@worldnet.att.net (Tom Croft)
To: Dfrankjazz@aol.com
Dave,
Thanks a lot for the feedback, including the tip about the A nat. It does
indeed sound better that way. I guess that Am7b5 chord in the preceding
measure doesn't want to yield totally to the D7alt (that's they way I think
of it anyway). Besides, I usually play D7#9 anyway instead of a true D7alt
voicing, so A nat makes perfect sense. What you said about the *sound* of
the line--independent of any nice theories--being the most important thing
is right on.
Just in case you're up to looking at another one, I'm faxing you my Lesson
2 line (which I like a little better). The improv exercise (still on
"Autumn Leaves," of course) continues to be a source of fun and excitement.
I particularly enjoy the moments when I break out in a smile after playing
a phrase I really like. "Joy of Improv" is a very appropriate name for it.
Best Regards,
Tom
>Nice line, TC... the only note I might change is in the bridge, 2nd measure,
>2nd to the last note. You're making a chromatic approach to G from Ab - Gb.
>While the theory is sound, it doesn't SOUND that good..the sound of the line
>is the lithmus test as to what should be ultimayely used. i'b use an A nat
>instead of the Ab.
>
>I especially like the following line on the bridge, and thought that the
>overall phrasing was real nice, you can trust your innate sense of how and
>when to phrase..
>
>Nice job, talk to you later,
>
>DF
Following from a piano newsgroup:
I highly recommend Mark Levine's The Jazz Piano Book (published by
Sher Music Co.) for theory and coverage of many fundamental aspects of
jazz piano in particular.
For getting a direct feel for the music, ear training, and laying a
solid foundation for studying improvisation in greater depth later on,
I also highly recommend Dave Frank's JoyofImprov (The Joy of Improv)
series published by Hal Leonard. It's a two-volume program designed
to take 1-2 years (closer to two, IMO) to complete. Each lesson
includes six parts: a short "lick" to be transposed to and played in
all keys, a technique exercise that very effectively reinforces
knowledge of all the major scales and develops control over the
fingers at ever faster speeds, a voicings (chord) exercise, a blues
tune, a tune based on the chord changes of a well-known standard, and
a suggested solo ("master solo") to sing along with from one of the
great improvisers (Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker, etc.). Each
volume includes a CD with demonstrations for every lesson and MIDI
files that can be loaded into a computer MIDI sequencer so they can be
altered in tempo or key. It's a very balanced program that really
emphasizes internalization (through extensive scat singing with one's
own playing and the master solos), jazz vocabulary (musical, not
words), and connecting the mind's ear to the fingers so you can
eventually "hear what you play and play what you hear." Its approach
to theory is to expose the student to it through actually listening to
and playing the music so as to develop a musical intuition (similar to
the way a child learns to speak before learning to read). The Levine
book explains jazz theory from the traditional intellectual viewpoint
(intervals, scales, modes, etc.), so the two products complement each
other quite well. By the way, I have no connection with Dave Frank
other than as a very satisfied student. Dave has found some very
effective ways to apply what he learned from Lennie Tristano to the
teaching of improvisation, and it really works. Both Levine's and
Frank's books require that the student be able to read music in both
bass and treble cleffs fairly well already.
Having said all that, I can't emphasize enough the value of a good
teacher. I have been fortunate to make significant progress on my own
over the past three years, but I have always progressed faster when
I've been studying under the direction of a good teacher (currently
Dave Frank). Good luck to your son. Learning to play jazz is a
fascinating journey!
Tom
Following from a piano newsgroup:
I highly recommend Mark Levine's The Jazz Piano Book (published by
Sher Music Co.) for theory and coverage of many fundamental aspects of
jazz piano in particular.
For getting a direct feel for the music, ear training, and laying a
solid foundation for studying improvisation in greater depth later on,
I also highly recommend Dave Frank's JoyofImprov (The Joy of Improv)
series published by Hal Leonard. It's a two-volume program designed
to take 1-2 years (closer to two, IMO) to complete. Each lesson
includes six parts: a short "lick" to be transposed to and played in
all keys, a technique exercise that very effectively reinforces
knowledge of all the major scales and develops control over the
fingers at ever faster speeds, a voicings (chord) exercise, a blues
tune, a tune based on the chord changes of a well-known standard, and
a suggested solo ("master solo") to sing along with from one of the
great improvisers (Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker, etc.). Each
volume includes a CD with demonstrations for every lesson and MIDI
files that can be loaded into a computer MIDI sequencer so they can be
altered in tempo or key. It's a very balanced program that really
emphasizes internalization (through extensive scat singing with one's
own playing and the master solos), jazz vocabulary (musical, not
words), and connecting the mind's ear to the fingers so you can
eventually "hear what you play and play what you hear." Its approach
to theory is to expose the student to it through actually listening to
and playing the music so as to develop a musical intuition (similar to
the way a child learns to speak before learning to read). The Levine
book explains jazz theory from the traditional intellectual viewpoint
(intervals, scales, modes, etc.), so the two products complement each
other quite well. By the way, I have no connection with Dave Frank
other than as a very satisfied student. Dave has found some very
effective ways to apply what he learned from Lennie Tristano to the
teaching of improvisation, and it really works. Both Levine's and
Frank's books require that the student be able to read music in both
bass and treble cleffs fairly well already.
Having said all that, I can't emphasize enough the value of a good
teacher. I have been fortunate to make significant progress on my own
over the past three years, but I have always progressed faster when
I've been studying under the direction of a good teacher (currently
Dave Frank). Good luck to your son. Learning to play jazz is a
fascinating journey!
Tom