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playing deliberately(?)

when i am playing, sometimes it sounds good and sometimes it sounds bad:) the problem is that i never know in advance how some notes are going to sound. it is more some sort of luck that the thing i play sounds good. i am playing a while, so i got some sort of automatic pilot that keeps the damage in control. but i would like to play deliberate (i hope this is the right term), so i can predict in advance wether the note(s) i will play sound good. what is a good exercise to achieve this? or should i not wish to achieve this?
it is not that the thing i am playing is total crap, but the quality is not constant, if you know what i mean.

by Bonzo on 07/09/2004, 04:36

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ha! i feel your pain :)

the more you play/practice, the smaller your margin of inconsistency (the better your chances of playing well)...sometimes you have it sometimes you don't...but your "dont's" get a lot better as you mature as a player...the best baseball players in the world only get a hit %30 of the time...but when they do, it's a beautiful thing :)

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by on 07/09/2004, 06:03

hi bonzo:
by reading your post i understand that your subconscious outcrops when you are playing. that's a priviledge!
you may know guys who play an instrument in a hight level, without studies of music... they do it thanks to subconscious.
your subconscious is a powerful computer... load correct info, practising "deliberately" as you mention chords, scales, arpegios, progressions, and all kind of musical elements, and you will be a great musician.
one of my oldest threads in my room "albetan's" is about subconscious in music. please read it...

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by albetan on 07/09/2004, 07:18

for all the masters (great players) i have talked to about this. it is all about playing in the zone. for them this always boils down to mastering time and in jazz more specifically the eigth note. when you can always find your grove (zone) when you start playing and immediatly upon starting to play then you will have consistancy. it does not have a whole lot to do with anything else... it only has to do with your knowledge of scales and harmony and theory in general if your lack of knowledge of these things are preventing you from from locking into your zone consistently.

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by Mike on 07/09/2004, 08:12

the material covered in the file over at 360 degrees called,"developing.."deals with this in detail;check it out and get in touch re-your specific situation..............

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by smg on 07/09/2004, 10:18

playing deliberately is important during practice. for example, let's say you create an exercise where you are working on a-train and your exercise is that your lines are all built out of minor thirds and follow a certain rhythmic pattern.

now, you wouldn't want to do that on stage for a whole tune, but for practice what it does is burn into your mind the minor third sounds and sizes, physically, that your hand and fingers have to reach.

let's say you do this for a month, and every day you switch the interval to something else.

after that, and during it, when you are stage, you'll notice that you are more in "the zone" and playing more what you hear, and even your subconscious tendencies will appear to be more in the zone.

proper practice technique is often the only thing that seperates the great players from everyone else.

If I'm not back in 24 hours, call the president.

Scot is available for skype jazz piano lessons (and google hangouts, phone call, etc...)
Use the contact link at the top of the page.

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by Scot Ranney on 07/09/2004, 10:19

so practicing my ass off is the secret....a-train here i come!!!
albetan: have read your thread before, but didn't realize this is what your meaning:)
smg: i've begun to read developing, i will finish it some other time. the efficiency of studying is not that great anymore. i am sure it will help me!!
thanks for your posts everybody!!

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by Bonzo on 07/09/2004, 15:05

i think something that might also be of benefit to you is trying to develop your "intervallic awareness". after all, roots, fifths, etc. are always going to have the same "feel" when being played over a given progression no matter what key you're playing in. when i was first introduced to jazz getting the feel of how scale intervals interacte with chord progressions was the single biggest hurdle to overcome when trying to devlop more spontaneous solos. i hope this helps you out...

gv

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by Sax'n on 07/11/2004, 08:03

actually, intervals on a piano don't always have the same feel which is why practicing in all keys is important. when i say the "feel" of an interval, i'm speaking of the actual physical feeling that is in the fingers when playing it- knowing the instrument/keyboard.

for example, perfect 4ths with different physical sizes: c-f, f#-b, c#-f#, etc.

If I'm not back in 24 hours, call the president.

Scot is available for skype jazz piano lessons (and google hangouts, phone call, etc...)
Use the contact link at the top of the page.

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by Scot Ranney on 07/12/2004, 12:56

here's some very basic advice that has helped me regarding note choice: you should know what will sound bad over a certain chord so you don't emphasize certain notes. for example, playing a perfect fourth above the root of a major chord can sound horrible if it's not resolved quicky.

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by Paul on 07/12/2004, 15:20

"actually, intervals on a piano don't always have the same feel which is why practicing in all keys is important.  when i say the "feel" of an interval, i'm speaking of the actual physical feeling that is in the fingers when playing it- knowing the instrument/keyboard."

okay, okay... what i was referring to was the sound of a particular interval over progressions for soloing purposes.  as far as feel (really real feel in the fingers) goes i am unfortunaltely ignorant on that subject as i am currently stuck with a cheap board with no feel whatsoever.

anywho, i believe it would be important to practice in all keys whether you're using a lamer board like mine or not just to get the pattern down, no?  as for the tactile thing, well... i'll leave that to you experts for now ;)

gv

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by Sax'n on 07/13/2004, 05:24

you're absolutely right...the black keys are higher and shorter than the white, so our hands are forced make unique and awkward key combinations sound uniform...that takes practice...

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by on 07/13/2004, 05:45

you know what that's something that i've been meaning to ask about! is there a link someone can provide that will show me some basic hand positions? i have this horrible feeling that i may be developing some bad habits and i'd like to nip that in the bud if i can...

thank much,
gv

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by Sax'n on 07/13/2004, 05:48

i'm not up on links too much, but i can throw in my 2 cents worth...

basically, if you hold an imaginary bottle of your favorite beverage or goo, and pour it onto the keys, you would end up with a pretty good hand position...play on the tips of your fingers instead of the finger print pads....use the weight of your arm to play evenly...swing your elbows outward to help using your 5th finger (pinky) and inwards to help your thumb...voila - you be jammin:)

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by on 07/13/2004, 12:03

whacky is totally right.

i just explain it a different way:

"ergonomic" is the key word here.

if you hold your hand out in front of you with your hand level to the forearm, your fingers naturally assume the correct position.

the last part of your fingers is where the power comes from. fingers 2, 3 & 4 should be basically perpendicular to the keys for maximum control.

yet not so perpendicular as to feel in any way uncomfortable.

the thumb must always be able to reach deep into any white key. the pinky naturally falls into line.

the part of the finger closest to the hand is basically level with the hand, wrist and forearm (which are basically level with each other).

playing flat fingered makes you sound sloppy and floppy.

7

ps: keep your nails short

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by 7 on 07/13/2004, 23:21

but, but, but - "i keep my finger nails long so they click when i play the piano" marcia ball - a fine pianist in my opinion. of course maybe she was jokin?

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by Bert on 07/14/2004, 11:50

if you think you might be developing poor technique, spend a hundred bucks on a month of lessons with a good classical teacher, bring in your hanon book, and tell him/her that you want to work on that stuff for a month. guarantee that you'll get your butt kicked and come out of it with much better technique.

If I'm not back in 24 hours, call the president.

Scot is available for skype jazz piano lessons (and google hangouts, phone call, etc...)
Use the contact link at the top of the page.

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by Scot Ranney on 07/14/2004, 12:05

thanks gang.. that was prob'ly a hundred buck worth right there! and was right... playin' flat fingered! already noticed the difference. i appreciate you putting me on the right track.

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by Sax'n on 07/14/2004, 13:07

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playing deliberately(?)

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by on 07/09/2004, 06:03

by albetan on 07/09/2004, 07:18

by Mike on 07/09/2004, 08:12

by smg on 07/09/2004, 10:18

by Scot Ranney on 07/09/2004, 10:19

by Bonzo on 07/09/2004, 15:05

by Sax'n on 07/11/2004, 08:03

by Scot Ranney on 07/12/2004, 12:56

by Paul on 07/12/2004, 15:20

by Sax'n on 07/13/2004, 05:24

by on 07/13/2004, 05:45

by Sax'n on 07/13/2004, 05:48

by on 07/13/2004, 12:03

by 7 on 07/13/2004, 23:21

by Bert on 07/14/2004, 11:50

by Scot Ranney on 07/14/2004, 12:05

by Sax'n on 07/14/2004, 13:07

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playing deliberately(?)

There are no comments, leave a comment.

by on 07/09/2004, 06:03

by albetan on 07/09/2004, 07:18

by Mike on 07/09/2004, 08:12

by smg on 07/09/2004, 10:18

by Scot Ranney on 07/09/2004, 10:19

by Bonzo on 07/09/2004, 15:05

by Sax'n on 07/11/2004, 08:03

by Scot Ranney on 07/12/2004, 12:56

by Paul on 07/12/2004, 15:20

by Sax'n on 07/13/2004, 05:24

by on 07/13/2004, 05:45

by Sax'n on 07/13/2004, 05:48

by on 07/13/2004, 12:03

by 7 on 07/13/2004, 23:21

by Bert on 07/14/2004, 11:50

by Scot Ranney on 07/14/2004, 12:05

by Sax'n on 07/14/2004, 13:07

Reply to Thread

Jazz Piano Notebook Series

"Latinesque"

LJP Jazz Piano Blogs

Most Recent Discussions

Articles

Top Sheetmusic Picks

Jazz piano education is cool.

Rock on. Follow your passion.

Sign In