| LearnJazzPiano.com archives: Mark Levine - The Jazz Piano Book | |
| Scot -- 10/12/2004, 00:17:28 -- #7938 | |
| I recently went through this book and immediately my playing took a turn for the better. Mark really cuts through stuff to get at the core of what's going on, especially when it comes to more ideas for voicing and harmonizing melodies. Official plug: "Mark Levine, long-time pianist with Cal Tjader, is a Concord Jazz recording artist who has recorded with such jazz greats as Joe Henderson, Camen McRae, Richie Cole, Mark Murphy, Houston Pearson, and many others." | |
| CesarBraga -- 07/25/2005, 23:38:28 -- #16924 | |
| yeah... I've been with it since July 2000, when I came across Jazz in a workshop I attended. At that time, I didn't really know how to study. I went through the book in less than 1 month, but I didn't grasp much of its content. It's going 5 years now, and I am still studying it. it's like a library of ideas for me: Just pick your favorite and dig in! For a Jazz beginner, I would say it's a little tricky as it develops to more specific tech, if the aspiring pianist isn't quite familiar with the Jazz sound. But I must confess that it took my music view to a new place. Yes. The book is great. I love the language he uses, as if he was talking to us personally. Very nice work. Mark Levine is a great, nice and very kind gentleman. He answered my emails in a very friendly way. Get the book. Learn it. Take your time and take your playing to the next level. Peace! | |
| CesarBraga -- 07/25/2005, 23:38:28 -- #16924 | |
| yeah... I've been with it since July 2000, when I came across Jazz in a workshop I attended. At that time, I didn't really know how to study. I went through the book in less than 1 month, but I didn't grasp much of its content. It's going 5 years now, and I am still studying it. it's like a library of ideas for me: Just pick your favorite and dig in! For a Jazz beginner, I would say it's a little tricky as it develops to more specific tech, if the aspiring pianist isn't quite familiar with the Jazz sound. But I must confess that it took my music view to a new place. Yes. The book is great. I love the language he uses, as if he was talking to us personally. Very nice work. Mark Levine is a great, nice and very kind gentleman. He answered my emails in a very friendly way. Get the book. Learn it. Take your time and take your playing to the next level. Peace! | |
| CesarBraga -- 07/25/2005, 23:38:28 -- #16924 | |
| yeah... I've been with it since July 2000, when I came across Jazz in a workshop I attended. At that time, I didn't really know how to study. I went through the book in less than 1 month, but I didn't grasp much of its content. It's going 5 years now, and I am still studying it. it's like a library of ideas for me: Just pick your favorite and dig in! For a Jazz beginner, I would say it's a little tricky as it develops to more specific tech, if the aspiring pianist isn't quite familiar with the Jazz sound. But I must confess that it took my music view to a new place. Yes. The book is great. I love the language he uses, as if he was talking to us personally. Very nice work. Mark Levine is a great, nice and very kind gentleman. He answered my emails in a very friendly way. Get the book. Learn it. Take your time and take your playing to the next level. Peace! | |
| CesarBraga -- 07/25/2005, 23:38:28 -- #16924 | |
| yeah... I've been with it since July 2000, when I came across Jazz in a workshop I attended. At that time, I didn't really know how to study. I went through the book in less than 1 month, but I didn't grasp much of its content. It's going 5 years now, and I am still studying it. it's like a library of ideas for me: Just pick your favorite and dig in! For a Jazz beginner, I would say it's a little tricky as it develops to more specific tech, if the aspiring pianist isn't quite familiar with the Jazz sound. But I must confess that it took my music view to a new place. Yes. The book is great. I love the language he uses, as if he was talking to us personally. Very nice work. Mark Levine is a great, nice and very kind gentleman. He answered my emails in a very friendly way. Get the book. Learn it. Take your time and take your playing to the next level. Peace! | |
| YourMove -- 01/09/2007, 00:09:59 -- #7938 | |
| Got the book for christmas and had to find out that the pure basics of theory are left out, am I right? So I delay working my way through the book until I have a basic understanding of theory, playing and knowing all the major scales, basic harmony, knowing the Jazz Chord Symbols and what they mean etc. I do this by going through Albetans beginner area here and on www.musictheory.net Can't wait to start the "real" learning, though, but without basics, well you know... | |
| Scot -- 01/09/2007, 11:01:34 -- #7938 | |
| No, don't delay your working through the book, there's no point in delaying. You don't need to completely understand and know theory to know what sounds good. Just go through the book, find things that sound cool, and work on them. If you wait until you understand everything theoretical, then you're going to be left behind. The idea of jazz is to have some fun, start jamming as soon as possible, just jump in and do it. No matter what your level, I'm sure you can find something that will be useful in the book. A new chord voicing, a cool lick, a new progression that you can use. There is no such thing as "real" learning. Learning is learning, no matter what level you're at, so don't handicap yourself by thinking that way. | |
| kensuguro -- 01/28/2007, 12:30:32 -- #7938 | |
| I've been with the book and struggling.. The first few chapters will be a breeze/review for people who know basics, but from there on, it's all extremely specific, as Cesar Braga said. Don't get me wrong, it's a solid, "better be in your shelf or die" kind of book, extremely well written with info you won't find elsewhere. But it seems to me that at time the book starts sounding like a "list" of voicings.. sometimes there's a song for the chapter, but most times it seems a little blunt.. ("Figure 8-6 shows two variations of the G7 alt chord") I'm taking my time with each chapter.. sort of using the book as a general guideline of all my practicing. So I'd stay on a chapter for months, while doing all sorts of other songs and exercises 'till I gain enough experience to understand atleast a good portion of the chapter. | |
| Scot -- 01/28/2007, 15:29:47 -- #7938 | |
| Yeah, it's definitely not a beginner book, however this book along with a book such as the Blues book (or the jazz book probably) by Tim Richards would probably work really well together. | |
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