Jazz Improvisation

[Don Claybrook]

Are there any jazz musicians or listeners here? I'm looking for a good jazz discussion forum, one that talks about chord changes, improvisation, reharmonization, technique, etc.

There seems to be at least one good website for any other hobby or pursuit, but I'm not able to find any active jazz forums. I'm a rank amateur, and I'd like to immerse myself in jazz, learn as much as I can.

Does anyone have suggestions?

Thanks.

[BlueJazz]

1. Do you play an instrument? I would start off with some albums..

...(CD's) that are not extremely "involved" like maybe some standards done by Stan Getz or Paul Desmond or Larry Carlton..Etc..

Many (want-to-be) Jazz lovers try to "understand" stuff like Giant steps by Coltrane and come away with the feeling that it's "Way over my head"
It usually is... :)

Just start off with the Basics first...

[Don Claybrook]

2. Thanks for the reply

I play piano (well, sort of a piano...I have a Yamaha P250). I've passed the "3 Yellow Duckies" stage, but I'm nowhere close to Wayne Shorter or Herbie Hancock.

I took some piano lessons as a kid, decided to pick it back up a couple of years ago, and bought a series of self-paced instructional guides. It didn't take me too long to discover that I'd never be able to properly play Liszt's Transcendental Etudes and that moreover, I really didn't want to. Around this time, I started wondering what a fake book was, so I got one. What a joy it is to play chords and, even at my neophyte level, to be able to have some latitude as to how to play these chords.

With respect to listening to jazz, I do this passively. I'm trying to become acquainted with the music, and not trying to replicate what I hear. I'm just not there yet.

Thanks again.

[BlueJazz]

3. Check out this Site >>>

http://www.aebersold.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc

They have very cool books that let you start off easy and also
"Play along" stuff. (One track will be the complete song and the next track will be the complete song MINUS the instrument you're playing.
It's truly fun having (in your case) a complete small band of say, Sax, Drums, Bass and being able to see what they're playing. (The Cd's have the complete score and on the various tracks you can actually "See" what the piano player is doing)
It truly helps to not only hear the songs but understand what's going on...

That's the way I learned :)

[Don Claybrook]

4. Very cool. Thanks again. n/t

.

[funkybutt]

5. Check out this new cd!

The End of the Beginning. Really awesome!

[Telly Savalas]

6. Don't know where any forums are, but here's a book recommendation:

Mark Levine's The Jazz Theory Book

This book is a goldmine for ideas about the topics you listed.

[Don Claybrook]

9. I have Levine's Jazz Piano Book

It's wonderful; and it's dense, packed with information. I'm slowly making my way through it.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

7. I don't really know about forums but two books you should own

Are Ted Greene's books, Chord Chemistry and his book of Chord Progressions...it everything you ever wanted to know about chord changes, chord cycles and chord substitutions

[Don Claybrook]

10. Thank you.

I haven't heard of these books, but I'm very much interested in chord progression, so I'll put them on my list.

Thanks again.

[billyskank]

8. To begin with

stick to something easy. Find something to which you can improvise in the blues scale; especially something which sticks to chords I, IV and V (i.e. C, F and G if you are in the key of C). Anybody can do that.

Also, you could learn about modes. That is, playing in modes 2, 5 and 1 mean: playing runs from the 2nd note of the scale (supertonic), then the 5th (dominant), and finally the 1st (tonic).

[Don Claybrook]

11. I have questions about modes

But I don't know enough to even form the questions correctly. I'll try anyway.

If a song is in C, for example, I know that the 2nd mode runs from D to C (or D again). I know that the 7th chord based on the 2nd mode will be minor (major on 1, dominant on V). But I don't yet understand what that gains me. In other words, I'm still in the key of C. What special...thing...is conferred to me by knowing that I'm playing from the 2nd mode?

By the way, I'm aware that this is a function of my ignorance--I'm not saying that modes serve no purpose, just that I don't yet understand enough to know their purpose.

Thanks.