| LearnJazzPiano.com archives: Jazz piano book | |
| misterman -- 11/02/2004, 16:09:17 -- #8566 | |
| Hey folks, I am really interested in learning jazz piano from scratch. I am reading the Jazz Piano Book by Mark Levine....I am studying the 2-5-1 progression and scales....I find scales very hard to understand because there are so many of them and there are these "avoid" notes.......am confused but am gonna learn this jazz thang cause I love playing the piano. Any feedback will be appreciated, is the Jazz Piano Book a good way to learn? please reply. | |
| Scot -- 11/02/2004, 16:23:49 -- #8568 | |
| I think the jazz piano book by Levine is a great reference book for jazz pianists who have a couple years experience. You may want to get a book that is a bit more for the beginner- but still use the Levine book as it is an AMAZING book. I go through the book three or four times a year just to brush up on things and make sure I'm not forgetting something. Any ideas anyone on beginning jazz piano books? I think John Mehegan has written some good ones. | |
| misterman -- 11/02/2004, 20:18:44 -- #8577 | |
| Thanks for the reply, am gonna keep pluggin away until I get it. | |
| marksdg -- 11/03/2004, 15:49:25 -- #8601 | |
| I would recommend that you go for a simpler book. I got Mark Levine's book, but found it really didn't directly teach you how to play from scratch. Does anyone have a good book to recommend to complete beginners. My idea of a beginner book would be one that starts out with solo playing, introducing some written-out baselines for a few tunes and then gradually teaching some improv techniques, in a very structured way. This is not the way I learned, but I think it would help. | |
| Scot -- 11/03/2004, 23:38:33 -- #8608 | |
| One of the things ALL beginners need to do is play some great solo arrangements. Look in the "links" room for Keith Jarret solo transcriptions. There is a great Over The Rainbow transcription out there. Also, get a subscription to Piano Today- play the solo arrangements they have. The more good solo arrangements that you play and learn, the more your brain will absorb the sounds, voicings, and stylings of jazz piano. As a beginner, it's really hard to get a handle on all the techno terms that guys like Mark Levine uses. But if you get the Piano Today magazine, or buy some good solo piano jazz books, you will find that the information in Levine's Jazz Piano book will help explain the cool stuff you are playing when going through other people's great arrangements. Make sense? As I said before, I think John Mehegan has some great beginner books. Go to the Book Reviews room get an idea of his books. | |
| CynBad -- 11/04/2004, 13:46:31 -- #8623 | |
| I think Randy Halberstadt's book "Metaphors for the Musician" is a darn good one! | |
| Jazz+ -- 11/04/2004, 14:18:45 -- #8624 | |
| I second that: Randy Halberstadt's book "Metaphors for the Musician" is a darn good one! | |
| Scot -- 11/04/2004, 15:30:54 -- #8627 | |
| Yep- that is a great book. Thanks for reminding us about it! | |
| wolver1 -- 11/04/2004, 15:47:38 -- #8633 | |
| standford has a jazz work shop and puts out books with pre printed bass lines and simple two note chord voicings for the left hand.. learn to play blues first,, it is the root of jazz.... jazz is to me what learning to become a physician was like,, you imitate until you create,, and there are no short cuts.. either buckle in and get ready for the journey or dont waste your time... ive been playing for several years and still am learning to appreciate blues.. also ,, learning to improvise will be a lifelong art form... in the words of the master bruce lee.. its like a finger pointing away to the moon.. dont concentrate too much on the finger or youll miss all that heavenly glory. the fun in learning jazz is in the journey as much as the destination.. bill evans liked players that matured over time as opposed to prodigious virtuoso type players.. something to be said about the great zen buddhist pianist points on the art form(read his comments on recording the great album kind of blue)... have fun with the music.. its as much a vehicle of self discovery as it is entertainment......................... struggling chops | |
| Scot -- 11/04/2004, 17:46:40 -- #8638 | |
| The immortal Bruce Lee said some deep words, thats for sure. He also said something wonderful about flexibility- flow like water; water effortlessly takes the shape of the container it is in and flows over and around obstacles without getting caught up in the details. | |
| tim stl -- 11/05/2004, 08:10:23 -- #8650 | |
| I have both of Mark Levine's books (The Jazz Piano book, and the Jazz theory book) and they're amazing. Some people in here have been saying that it's not good for beginners. I beg to differ with that opinion. What I think is so good about Mark's method is that it gives enough direction to direct your studies withought telling you absolutes like, "When ever you see a Cmajor7 with the 5th in the melody play this voicing". While it may be easier just to read a book and have someone tell you excactly what to do, I think you learn more when you have a good understanding of the underlying theory (which Mark's books provide) and then you tackle the problems yourself. Isn't that how your develop your own sound? Tim | |
| CynBad -- 11/05/2004, 09:18:12 -- #8651 | |
| I didn't understand the "not good for beginners" criticism either. I think Mark Levine's books are great, too. Maybe it depends on how much of a "beginner" one is. The Mehegan books were the ones I started learning with years ago, when they were the ONLY jazz piano books. I find them tedious, but maybe that's because I understand all the theory. Someone who does not have X-number of years of classical training and theory already might have a different opinion. I find Levine's books to start out VERY simply, but then, I am looking at them as someone with a lot of prior knowledge of music theory. What I like about Randy Halberstadt's book is that is teaches some easy and practical ways to apply scales for improvising, and also basic SOLO PIANO. He's got a lot of theory in the book, but from his own unique perspective, and I think it makes it easier to put things together. | |
| misterman -- 11/07/2004, 17:58:35 -- #8735 | |
| I am not an completely new player or maybe I am. I have been playing for about 12 years mostly self taught, my reading ability and theory is very little, so maybe I'm a beginner still. I can play chords but I dont know what I'm playing for the most part, and I really dont understand scales. Now I wonna learn theory to be a better player and I like gospel and jazz music so I decided to learn jazz. I'm still open to any suggestions. the only thing is...while reading Mark Levine's book and learning the 2-5-1 progressions I'm not having as much fun because I'm learning the theory of the movements, right now I have 2-5-1 ringin in my head. hehe but am still having fun because I know am learning something. | |
| Jazz+ -- 11/07/2004, 20:00:47 -- #8739 | |
| "What I like about Randy Halberstadt's book is that is teaches some easy and practical ways to apply scales for improvising, and also basic SOLO PIANO." I agree. Levine book is less geared for playing solo piano. Randy Halberstadt's book is better for solo piano tips. 1+1, 2+1, 2+2, 1+3, 1+4, 4+1 voicng systems. Levine pretty much focuses on 1+3 and 4+1 systems. | |
| comrade c -- 11/08/2004, 02:07:32 -- #8743 | |
| how about Marc Sabatella's Jazz Primer book as a primer? It's available free off his record label's website (outsideshore). | |
| 7 -- 11/08/2004, 09:47:44 -- #8760 | |
| Here's a direct link: http://www.outsideshore.com/primer/primer/index.html The online version of Marc Sabatella's text, A Jazz Improvisation Primer. Here you can find information on almost every topic relating to jazz improvisation, from jazz history to music theory to practical advice on playing in a group. This text is freely browsable. | |
| CynBad -- 11/08/2004, 10:50:03 -- #8761 | |
| Misterman, you need to learn music theory inside and out to really play jazz. The Mehegan books might help. The fact is, there really AREN'T very many scales to learn. Learn the major scale, and all the other scales are just modes (displacements) of that scale. Learn the melodic minor scale, and the same is true for minor harmonies. I think the Halberstadt book covers a lot of that too -- gives you scales you can use over various chords. But you really need to woodshed the scales. | |
| savage -- 11/08/2004, 12:31:21 -- #8764 | |
| Just wondering: Jazz+, when you say for example "4+1 system", do you mean "four notes in the left hand and one note in the right" or are you refering to something else? | |
| misterman -- 11/18/2004, 03:59:47 -- #9048 | |
| Hey folks, I'm reading about scales from the jazz piano book, its complicated to me...It kinda makes sense but I cant seem to grasp the concept just yet, the author talks about modes and scales, am confused. | |
| CynBad -- 11/18/2004, 14:40:17 -- #9068 | |
| Take a step back and learn basic music theory first. Get a thorough grounding in all the keys and major scales. Have you used Levine's Jazz Theory Book? | |
| quartal -- 11/18/2004, 16:52:28 -- #9069 | |
| I wish someone would go thru the jazz piano book and make midi files of all the examples. I think that would be an enormous help to people starting out... | |
| savage -- 11/19/2004, 15:01:58 -- #9102 | |
| Or, it would be even better to buy the recordings that the examples are taken from. Sure, this is the expensive way to do it, but the only way to really learn is to listen to the masters... | |
| nihonjin -- 11/29/2004, 02:10:43 -- #9311 | |
| Hello Misterman, You should check out some of Barry Harris' theory stuff if your are tired of learning many scales. He argues that there only exists 3 fifferent scales!!! Sincerly Nihonjin | |
| nihonjin -- 11/29/2004, 02:11:33 -- #9312 | |
| Hello Misterman, You should check out some of Barry Harris' theory stuff if your are tired of learning many scales. He argues that there only exists 3 different scales!!! Sincerly Nihonjin | |
| Scot -- 11/29/2004, 08:58:05 -- #9320 | |
| I've been looking around for Barry Harris stuff, but with no luck. ANyone know of the names of his books, where they can be found? | |
| Jazz+ -- 11/29/2004, 09:58:35 -- #9322 | |
| These are my scales: Major Scale (7 modes x 12 keys) Melodic Minor Scale (7 modes x 12 keys) Diminished Scale (only 3) BEBOP SCALES (12 Ionian, 12 Dorian, 12 Mixolydian and 12 for each mode of Melodic Minor) Pentatonic Scale (12) Minor Blues Scale (12) Major Blues Scale (12) Augmented Scale (only 2) "10 note black white, black white" Chromatic Scale | |
| Peteboypete -- 11/29/2004, 11:03:33 -- #9324 | |
| What is difference between the major and minor blues scales? | |
| savage -- 11/29/2004, 11:46:12 -- #9326 | |
| Jazz+, can you give an example of a context where you use the 10 note chromatic scale? If i understand the scale correctly, C and F are omitted, or is it E and B? Why these two notes? savage | |
| Jazz+ -- 11/29/2004, 12:10:45 -- #9327 | |
| C Major Blues Scale C D D# E G A (avoid E if you want to sound less happy) C Minor Blues Scale D Eb F F# G Bb 10 note chromatic scale as used by Chick Corea and many other: omit B and E It is a "hand friendly" scale and sounds nicer than the 12 note chromatic scale because it has a couple of major secinds in it for releif. Use it like the chromatic scale: over any chord, as a connective line, sort of as a neutral gear to shift thru when in merging into another scale or as an escape mechanism when in doubt. | |
| sdm -- 11/29/2004, 13:08:12 -- #9328 | |
| Scot, he has a web site that should give you what you want. http://www.barryharris.com/index.htm | |
| Akram Maximos -- 11/30/2004, 04:22:50 -- #9349 | |
| Thanks sdm. There are 14 music samples (60-second MP3 segments) of the GREAT Barry Harris. That's exactly the style/methodology that I love in Jazz Piano, and I have always been dreaming to play this style. Unfortunately, the files are MP3, so one could not see the piano-notation that Barry is playing. I’ll try to figure it out by ear. If so, I will provide transcription for these small segments to give an idea of Barry Harris technique. By the way, does anybody know whether there is software that can covert the MP files into MIDI files? | |
| Copyright © 2005 by Scot Ranney. All rights reserved. | |
| Click Here for more information about performances and clinics. Click Here to sign up for Scot's music announcements. | |