| LearnJazzPiano.com archives: HOWTO: begin | |
| abless -- 04/01/2004, 09:08:01 -- #3137 | |
| Hi there, I am just new to jazz, having played about ten years classical music. I just joined a jazz band and that's quite hard for me, so help ;-) First of all, I have to accompany the band, so that means playing cool sounding chords in a well fitting rhythm. How do I learn to do this? Any idea? I think I get some notes for that, but I'll have to do it for my own, too. Any suggestions? Next, what do I have to do to learn playing jazz piano, that is with a band and playing solos. What is the first step to do, and what are the next ones? I really need some good hints :-) thanks everybody! | |
| smg -- 04/01/2004, 09:12:42 -- #3138 | |
| #1 answer to this-welcome to LJP man,spend some time here!!! | |
| abless -- 04/01/2004, 09:18:36 -- #3139 | |
| @smg: Cool, I feel this is a nice place here, much to learn. So, what do I do now? ;) | |
| marksdg -- 04/01/2004, 09:22:45 -- #3140 | |
| Step 1: Learn to comp. This is accompanying people by playing chords, sometimes rhythmically. You should be able to do this after having a basic understanding of chords. Step2: Learn to improvise. Step0: Listen to jazz Step3: Listen to Jazz Step4: Listen to jazz Really listen. Get recordings with small groups (trios and quartets) and really listen to what the piano is doing. | |
| smg -- 04/01/2004, 09:29:50 -- #3141 | |
| As a foundation to being able to do what marksdg suggests,why not check out 360 degrees here(and the rest of the site as well,use the "room map" to navigate it)and look at what's in the Virtual library.....SR has posted some invaluable stuff as have many others,not to mention all the sites in "Links",I really agree with the many people who believe that just hanging out here will hip you to everything you need......the more you ask about stuff(and don't trip re-language-rel BS)the easier all of us here can point you in the direction of EXACTLY what to start working on;plus you've got 10 yrs.of piano already so the "transition"will be an easy one for you.. BTW-Dutch-German not very similar?? | |
| abless -- 04/01/2004, 09:40:22 -- #3143 | |
| Thanks all of you. @smg: dutch-german, similar? Hm well, sometimes it sounds a bit similar and I can understand _some_ sentences when reading it, but it's really hard. So answer is more no than yes. @marksdg: I have to do step 1 first. The comping thing is really important. So what do I do for that? Learn _every_ possible chord of every scale? @all: is it actually normal and usual that the piano player plays some given notes rather than improvising (I am talking of comping, not solos)? | |
| Rick -- 04/01/2004, 14:19:06 -- #3150 | |
| Nope abless, you'd get given chord symbols, the only thing that will be written (normally) is the melody. Thats why it is so useful to get a good grip on chord structure, scale theory, all of that...and LISTEN! Seriously, this site will teach you so much, its a minefield of information! If you havent already, check the old forums, theres so much stuff on there- and buy the old compilation! | |
| RobM -- 04/02/2004, 03:42:01 -- #3164 | |
| you will need to learn the basic chord types (major 7th, minor 7th and dominant 7th) eventually in all keys, but start with the common keys (C, F, Bb, Eb, G major). A good way to do this is to practice the II-V-I, which in C major is Dm7-G7-Cmaj7. If you can at least play one voicing for each chord, then you're away. All the information you need is on this site. Good luck... | |
| abless -- 04/02/2004, 05:33:10 -- #3165 | |
| Cool thank you... So I just start here by picking up the informations stored on this site, right? Well, I'm gonna have a try ;-) @rick: Yeah, that's what I thought, too - but the old pianist of this band often uses some comping stuffs with given notes (for comping, not for solos). @all: Actually, what is a compilation and a transition? | |
| abless -- 04/02/2004, 05:44:52 -- #3166 | |
| Oups, I didn't mean transition but rather transcription. Sorry for that. | |
| paul11 -- 04/02/2004, 06:04:28 -- #3168 | |
| abless Check out the Ambersol series. Jamie Ambersol puts out albums (cd's) that you can play with. Piano, bass and drums. For a piano player, just listen to the left channel of your stereo and you get just the bass and drums. Great learning tool. There must be close to a hundred volumes. Everything from Blues to II V I exercises to standards. paul | |
| Dr. Whack -- 04/02/2004, 07:54:06 -- #3175 | |
| trans - to transfer or copy scribe - to write or "scribble" transcribe means to make a written copy of something | |
| abless -- 04/02/2004, 08:45:41 -- #3181 | |
| @Whacky: alright, so probably a transcription in jazz slang means to write down the chords of a song by listening to it, right? what about compilation, I know the original meaning but not the one for jazz.. | |
| marksdg -- 04/05/2004, 15:44:35 -- #3292 | |
| I don't know that compilation has any standard definition in jazz. Perhaps you are thinking of a different word. | |
| jester -- 04/17/2004, 18:33:37 -- #3572 | |
| Hi abless, Making the jump from Classical to Jazz is a real kick in the pants. Believe me, I've been there. It's just as difficult for vocalists. ;) Here are my suggestions. I'm not an expert, but this is how I got comfortable with Jazz Piano. #1. If you own music notation software such as Finalé, then download as many Jazz MIDI files off the internet as you can. Your notations software should be able to translate them like sheet-music for you. You should start to see some patterns. Compare the MIDI file transcriptions to the chord charts you can find in fake-books and the internet. You can see right away the liberties that musicians take with the chords. Don't get thrown by substitutions. They happen all the time. Learn some common practices in chord substitution. There's plenty of lessons on this web-site (this is a great web-site). #2. If you want to play as part of an ensemble, you're going to have to back off and learn how to leave room for everybody else in the mix. You'll have to get comfortable with comping. Learn drums. That will help you understand rhythm like none other, which is especially important in Jazz piano. Also remember that just as important as the notes that you DO play, are the notes that you DON'T play. There's no shame in playing it simple or minimalistic. #3. Did I mention that you should learn rhythm? #4. One thing that threw me initially was that in ensembles, the piano would rarely play the root of the chord. The bass usually handles that. It's been my experience that in jazz music, chords don't get inverted. 99 times out of 100, The bass-note is always root of the chord. Remember this when analyzing scores that don't include chord symbols. #5. All the rules of music theory you learned in your first-year music theory class were just "rules"... not "laws". Just because J.S. Bach wasn't allowed to do it ten-thousand years ago, doesn't mean you can't. #6. Intuition works too. Listen to Jazz. The more you listen, the more intuitive it will become. Find out where the nearest Jazz club is. Hang out there and listen to all the local musicians. You can learn a lot through them. #7. Buy one of those Jazz lesson books. The kind with lots of short examples taken from transciptions of other people's work. Those are great when you work yourself too hard, and you need a breath of fresh air. #8. Have fun. You'll love it. | |
| sai -- 04/19/2004, 11:02:57 -- #3622 | |
| Hi, I am new to Jazz piano also. Could you give some of the names of "those Jazz lesson books" that you are talking about in #7? I think it would be helpful to see such short transcriptions. | |
| smg -- 04/20/2004, 10:56:53 -- #3654 | |
| Right here at LJP there is a great section with transcriptions,also check "links" and "jazz instrumentals"(use the room map to negotiate)...... | |
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