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Hi there. was just wondering if there are any other people working through the book and what your experiences were.

I would be interested in how long it takes you to get through a lesson too

Saiman,

I have been on this method studying with Dave for over a year now, I am halfway through book 2. I spend 2 weeks per lessons.
We also do improvisation, composition, and imitation (singing along to solos). Often, I'll keep improvising on a tune for longer than 2 weeks.

Let me know if you have questions
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oh ok, that great to know. So you can definitely say its worth the hard work? It takes me 3 weeks easily to do the lesson properly if I practice 1-2 hours a day. Was just wondering if that normal cos it seems long to me.

I noticed that it makes sense to work out a good fingering and write it down. Any thoughts on that?

oh something else, when you do the JOY line in all key, do you do it with the left hand chords. In other words do you also work out the left hand chords in all key and practice them with the line. That also takes me a while

yes, from playing the tunes, you get a couple of things. If your reading is not too good, you'll improve that just enough to play from leadsheets later on.
It's a good idea to write down the fingering.

You can do the solo patterns in all keys, but you don't have to. We don't do it. Dave told you on the other thread that you don't have to do it, you'll save a lot of time that way. But it can't hurt.

The important part is to sing the tunes. PLay LH chords while singing the lines. That's important, so don't skip that.
Also you can record yourself playing them and take them along wherever you go. That's an easy way to find time to practice the singing part.

Is it worth the hard work?
I'm pretty convinced Dave is one of the best Jazz teachers out there. I've never asked myself what to practice on since I started, I got plenty to do. And if I was ever playing more, he'd give me tons of other things to work on .

Above all, I'm really having fun with it. The singing part will pay off.

take care

thanks knotty. yes dave is awesome. I just listened to his charlie parker lesson. Also had a look at your blog. Great stuff. You dont even sound like you need lessons

haha, thanks, but I think I'm a student for life!

you're not transposing the tunes in all keys, are you? Just the jazzhanon:)

Dave Frank

Oh no that would be crazy, I meant the solo pattern. Maybe I also worry too much about perfectionizing every piece. Its just that I never seem to be able to play a piece without messing up somewhere. So I keep practicing them over and over.

That's more of the classical approach. It's enough to learn the pieces, play them at a comfortable tempo, and try to get them 90%. The other 10% is gravy! In jazz, it's not about get everything note perfect, it's more about the process, the enjoyment, and the swing. Play the pieces a few times, sing them also, then forget em:)Go on.

It's so wonderful to have this music with you for your whole life. It snowed 20" today in NYC, I'm having a great day practicing in the great indoors on 52nd St. Endless improvisation, constantly expanding, a growing, intriguing, interesting and changing process, what a groove:)

Dave Frank

I ordered both volumes in a burst of enthusiasm after watching the Charlie Parker program. They arrived yesterday, and I started on the first lesson today.

Not sure what I'll do about transposing the solo lines. I'm thinking I might try a compromise - transpose to two or three keys - the easiest ones, of course. I can do that on the fly, once I know the line, but I'm afraid that if I try to do all keys it will become one of those dreaded chores that sap my enthusiasm.

BTW, I absolutely love the early Louis Armstrong recordings. "Struttin' With Some Barbecue" - - what a magnificent performance!!!

Ed

Hey Riddler, welcome to the club. One thing I'm realizing is that nothing in this method should ever get boring. With each lesson, you have a variety from jazz hanons and voicings, to playing tunes, composing them, and improvising on them. And then, there's the singing along.

there's stutting, the first singing along I did. However, I didn't record the singing then, but now, I started doing that. Let them laugh
http://jazzitup-knot.blogspot.com/2009/02/back-to-pops.html

One thing that amazes me, more so with Bird than the others, is how when you slow it down, you start hearing things you never realized were there. In particular, how beautiful the lines are. And then, at full speed, it starts becoming more understandable.
I can't imagine the surprise of those who first discovered Bird on 52nd St.

Knotty,

Thanks for the welcome! And for the encouragement!

I know what you mean about finding great lines when you slow things down. I don't have any Slowdowner software (I suppose I oughta get some), but sometimes I slow down recordings with Windows Media Player. I notice that, even in Armstrong's recordings, if I slow it down I hear things I hadn't noticed - balance, symmetry, resolutions, twists and turns at a microscopic level, that somehow end up where they are supposed to.

BTW, I listened to a different recording of Barbecue:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxGruxZVavM

Great stuff!

Ed

I have always avoided transcribing because I assumed it would be painful, but I now find to my great surprise that it can be great fun. For me, the secret is to pick really great solos which you like to listen to (Dave has picked some winners for us) and to avoid notating.

What I'm doing with the Louis Armstrong recordings after I know the solo by heart (from singing along) is to record it on my computer in midi (by playing it on my piano keyboard), then playing it back at the right tempo and key, using a trumpet patch.

So here is my version of Louis Armstrong's solo on Got No Blues:

http://www.box.net/shared/i3xnu4nln6

Of course, there is a lot of expression in horn solos that you can't play on the piano or capture in midi, but hey, no way am I going to try to take up the trumpet!

Ed

awesome!
Isn't it fun?

I ordered JOI because Riddler did and I didn't want to be left out !
You have to put in the effort but it's worth it. I'm on Week 1 and have seen tangible benefits already.
1. I have a better feeling for swing which is my weakness.
2. I previously thought I wasn't good enough to do transcribing but the JazzHanons force you to start. I've discovered that I'm actually good at the JazzHannons.
3. My strength is harmony and my ear has picked up on nice patterns within and between chords.

I'm thinking about buying these books. About how far along should you be in your piano studies in order to start and get something out of it?? Thanks!

Ronmon,

I really don't think you need much background at all. The only thing you need is to keep at it, like any other method really. Just stick to it.
Basic note reading will help. Basic understanding of chord will help too, but you can get that knowledge easily for free.
You can take it at your own pace, there's no set tempo on how to play the hanons or tunes for example. Just find what's challenging.

Knotty:

Right on!! Thanks a lot. I'm going to pick up this course and get started immediately. Can't tell you how pumped up I am to get back to playing some great jazz music. This forum has truly been awesome/inspiring!! Thanks again.

Ron

Great stuff Ron, you won't regret