What Do You Struggle With The Most When Playing Jazz?
Hello readers! For today’s jazz post I’d like to start a very important discussion with you guys. One that should have taken place along time ago.
If you are reading this article you have no doubt a love and passion for learning jazz and improvised music. Playing jazz is an unbelievably rewarding journey.
Learning such a deep style of music can sometimes be a tough task though. It can be filled with many challenges along the way. What can we do to solve them?
Temporary Barriers
As musicians there, will always be things in our playing that we’re just not satisfied yet with. Everybody has areas of musicianship that they’d like to improve upon.
Let’s call these “temporary barriers” that are currently holding us back.
Maybe you can’t swing as well as you’d like? Perhaps you don’t know enough chord voicings? Is technique an issue for you?
What about soloing? How’s your ear? Do you need more help playing modally? Do you struggle with odd time signatures? It could literally be anything!
So, I’d like to get an open dialog started with the community here. Please leave a comment below and let us know what you struggle with the most in your playing.
Why Posting A Comment Is So Important For You To Do
By engaging in a community discussion we can all help each other and learn from one another. Your weaknesses could be somebody else’s strengths and vice versa.
For example, perhaps you struggle with memorizing jazz tunes ? Somebody hear will have a cool solution to help you.
In turn maybe your concept of how to swing is really well developed. Hopefully you can help somebody else who struggles with rhythm.
We all have things we can learn from each other. Think of this discussion as having hundreds of minds tackling one issues. The possibilites could be endless.
I will do my best to answer as many questions as possible but I encourage anybody and everybody to answer questions as well.
If you see something below that you know the answer to please chime in! Your thoughts and experience are important!
Also, be sure to keep returning to this post to follow along with all the new comments and insights.
Here’s to your musical success!
If you know any musicians would also benefit from this discussion I encourage you to invite them here as well! I look forward to the comments below. 🙂
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Hi Steve. Thanks for creating this discussion! Ok, I tend to get confused in regards to the right scales to play over minor and dominant chords.
I tend to sort of fudge my way through those when they come up in a tune and I’m soloing. Anybody have any ideas how help?
I solved this by being very simple-minded about it. I use a very unsophisticated system. Yes, I could get some better sounds with more sophisticated scales, but I generally just go with the major scale for a major seventh, the major scale one step below for a minor seventh, and the major scale one fifth below for a dominant seventh. That’s all there is to it. So, for example: Cmaj7 — use C major scale; Cm7 use Bb major scale, C7 — use F major scale.
As you may know, there’s a bunch of different scales you can use over dominant chords (whole tone, diminished, mixolydian, some melodic minor modes I think, etc) and a bunch you can use over minor chords (aeolian, dorian, melodic minor ascending, etc). I haven’t learned them all yet, but what came to mind is this: learn all the scales and really get to know what each sounds like. Then when a minor or dominant chord comes up, choose the scale based on the sound you want to get at that moment. Or for a simpler approach, you can just try to solo using the arpeggios and fiddle around with the in-between notes, or even try just using triads.
Thank you Steve!
I would like to know if there are books or partitures useful to develop a good technique to play solo piano standards.
I mean : etudes on standards, in example…
Bye,
Salvatore
A while back, I learned that – for me anyway – I learn much better if I start from the very beginning. When I want to try something new, I get the Dummies book. When I wanted to learn Mozart, I started with the very easiest Mozart Sonata … same for learning Joplin. So, when I decided to learn jazz, I started with the most basic thing I could find – namely, David Sudnow’s course. It is designed for rank beginner musicians, but I am also finding it useful for somebody like me with lots of musical experience but not in this style. It’s not jazz per se, but it’s a clearly jazz-influenced method of learning to play standards on solo piano. Sudnow is like Piano Standards for Dummies.
Hi Savatore,
There are some books on the market that can be helpful in certain ways but I don’t think there is a definitive one for solo jazz piano.
Alot of my concepts I picked up from transcribing people like Marian McPartland, and Dr. Billy Taylor.
The comments here don’t work as well as on a discussion board. Perhaps you could like to a thread on PianoWorld, or use a free discussion board?
In any case, the thing I always struggle with is playing fewer notes. Seems like it would be the easiest thing to do, but every time I listen to my playing, I wish I’d have left more space.
Hi Al,
Yeah, I’m strongly considering starting a forum on the site. I think it would be very helpful for lots of people.
I 2 things to help myself leave space. 1. Transcribe and start listening to players who are known to leave lots of space..people like Miles Davis and Chet Baker.
2. Since you’re also trombone player (and a piano player)you’ll definitely relate to this. Actually take breaths at the ends of your phrases when you’re soloing on piano.
Pianists and guitarists can technically never end their phrases because we don’t need to breath. Unfortunately, this can be very unmusical.
Anybody else hear have some phrasing suggestions for Al?
Frank Sinatra said he owed his phrasing skills to Tommy Dorsey, who told Frank to listen to how HE phrased things.
I really dont know the technique involved in using two handed chords. I just play the melody with the right hand and the chords with the left but I know jazz players use both hands to produce one chord often and it sounds much fuller than what I am doing. Any suggestions welcomed. Thanks Steve.
I have trouble improvising from the melody on the lead sheet. How is that done? Does improvising come from the chords we’re playing or from groups of notes in the melody?
This is such an important question, and there is very little said about the “how” of how do you improvise. All one is supposed to know is scales and more scales….but what do you DO with these scales and how are they used?
Very helpful to know the one, three, five, .and seven of each scale. These are chord tones. Don’t make the mistake of treating chords as separate entities, The chord tones of one chord have to melt into the next chord. If you have a
a Cmaj chord for one measure and a Dmin chord for the next measure, look at the chord tones of each chord. You have to have a chord tone which is common in both chords.
In this instance, the common chord tone is C. Start your D minor with the C and go from there. In this example C is the I chord tone od Cmaj and C is the 7th chord tone of the Dmin chord. If you don’t have a common chord tone or just don’t want to use one, start your next chord a half step away from and of the chord tones. The C in the Cmaj chord could go to say, the A chord tone in the Dmin chord by way of the A flat. You should place chord tones on the beat and the halfsteps on the “and” of the beat. Try practicing halfsteps with all the chord tones…in Cmaj play the B to C, the Eflat to E, the Gflat to G, and the Bflat to B. Also, try what is called an “enclosure” around chord tones…..
Csharp, then B and another half step to C.
Rythm is all important when improvising. Make sure to count…One and, Two and, Three and, Four and….to start out with, putting chord tones one the beats and half tones or whatever on the “ands”. You will be able to improvise melodies in no time, and you’ll begin to hear your own little patterns to use.
Hi, Steve
What I tend to struggle the most with is odd-time signatures. A second weak area for me is dealing fluently with iim7b5/V7b9/im7 situations.
Best wishes
Jorge
The timing of this post is impeccable. I was just wondering if there’s a good way of learning/memorizing voicings? My goal is also solo piano. I can get the voicings while doing drills, but falls apart when I’m play off fake books or a tune. Any ideas?
Thanks in advance!!
Hi Mizzie,
There is a ton of voicings lessons, articles, and videos on this site. Hundreds of chords on this site 🙂
I would chose 2-3 voicings you particuarly like and 1. Learn them in all your keys. 2. Also, apply them to your favorite jazz standards.
Anybody else use other strategies to learn chords?
Hi Steve and others,
I struggle with what to practise for the most benefit, and sticking to it.
I’m never sure when old material is mastered and it’s time to move onto new! There is so much choice, and what about reviewing really old stuff?
Enjoy your blog
Keep up the good work
Cheers & Ciao
Jimu
Hi Jimu,
Have you read my article on organized practice sessions? I guest posted it on Matt Warnock’s site http://www.mattwarnockguitar.com/6-steps-to-an-organized-jazz-practice-routine. Check it out.
Also, make sure you have very clear and organized goals of what you want to accomplish musically. That way you’re not going to be pulled in 50 different directions. Learn a few things on a very high level and then once those are mastered you move on to new things.
Hi Steve,
Thanks for the reply, yes I did read that Matt Warnock article and actually did it for a couple of days….which I thought was good however, I reverted back to old patterns…Must get control of myself. Jazz learning is an inside job!
PS Ordered two copies of Zen Guitar, one for my drummer friend!
Ciao Jimu
I think that’s something that lots of musician’s can struggle with Jimu. You’re not alone. I’ll try to write another article on that subject exploring it further for the future.
Let me know what you think of Zen Guitar.
Any exercises (mental, physical or otherwise) that can help with Thumpy the Thumb. The more you point out how heavy my thumb is, the more I hear it every time I play.
Hi Tom,
There are lots of additional articulation exercises you can do to practice where you place your accents. They can get you to start thinking more consciously of where you want to place your accents.
I also know you are transcribing from our personal sessions and doing very careful listening of master players like Chet Baker. So, ultimately you’re doing the right stuff!
Hi Steve,
Thank you so much ! Your e-mails are inspireing
and very motivating. I know i`ll “get there” !
Mark
Appreciate it Mark. Keep working hard and I’m sure you’ll get there too 🙂
Hi Steve! I’m struggling a lot with rhythm stuff. What must I do to improve my “swinging”?
My memory ain’t what it used to be.
My two cents …if you want to get better fast… Pick some easy tunes to begin with and play with other people!
Great advice Dustin!