The Loft

Let me start by commending you on a wonderful performance. There's a lot to praise about this: your energy throughout, your time, intonation, technical ability on the alto, and leading the band throughout it all. Bravo! Some of what I have to say gets into style preferences which is subjective, so I'll give you my thoughts and let you decide what to incorporate into your own musical personality. So permit me to nit pick! You wrote about wanting to play "more interesting ideas". That is the goal for each of us and something great players do well. A lot of your improvisation consists of 16th note runs, especially after 2:03. What more interesting ideas could you express by creating more variety in your lines - specifically held notes or at least longer notes that could make for an interesting motif and motivic development? I like finding notes that are common across bars or chords. Consider concert D, especially over the G7/C7 bars. That note works well over much of the tune and creates an interesting color over various chords. You did play some note length variety in the section starting at :40. That was good. Just watch the notes you lean on like that concert Ab and Bb in the second time through that A section. Raising each of those a half step (to A and B) would sound more harmonically congruent. But whether or not you do it as I described, variety adds interest. And that variety can be note length, articulation, playing deliberately outside of the harmony for a bit, or note range (which you mentioned). And I do understand your desire to finish with a flurry, but sometimes going out with a bang can be done without a lot of notes. (Of course a trombone player is suggesting that!) You mentioned the ending so let's talk about your cadenza. First make sure you nail that suspended chord's harmony (you weren't quite in the chord) because that's your opportunity to make the contrast with the resolved last chord. You might plan beforehand what your last suspended note is and improvise your way of getting to it. To my ear, ending on B (the major third of the chord) is a weaker note that gets lost in the G major chord the band is playing than, say A, which has a little more personality on top of G major. You mentioned playing more in the genre, but I think you did that well. That arrangement contains a bit of modern reharm off the basic changes, so it lends itself to playing the way you did. Again, this is subjective, but I could hear myself playing over this with lots of longer notes bending to squeeze out the emotion of the song. Consider the lyrics containing phrases like: "Sad as I can be", "Listen to me plead", "Crying all alone" and so on. It's not a happy tune! But let me conclude by saying you played really well throughout. I am nit picking, but then again, I don't think you would have submitting this sample if you didn't want to hear my thoughts on taking your terrific rendition of Willow to another level. Keep up the excellent work!

Variety within a solo and the use of common tones

Nice easy tempo Autumn Leaves is a really good practice track. And you were playing within the changes throughout. Good for you! You asked "Does this sound ok?" Yes, it does. Now let me help you take your improvisation to a higher level. Your playing has a couple of characteristics similar to a lot of players: 1. time that is not quite locked in to the rhythm section and 2. exclusive use of major and minor second intervals. Regarding the intervals, it makes perfect sense since those are the intervals of scales, and I'm sure you practice your scales. But good music makes use of a variety of wider intervals. Think the main motif of Beethoven's Fifth! Yes, wider intervals are harder to hear, but that is your next step. Rather than playing solos that sound like scales, expand your intervals to add more interest and variety to your solos. Down below in the resources section, I've included a recording of me playing over a slow Bossa rhythm track of Autumn Leaves (similar to yours). Notice that I play your first phrase and then play a similar phrase a minor third higher. This does a couple things: it adds variety to your solo, and it creates a familiar pattern that makes your playing more interesting. But the main point I am making with this solo is my use of wider intervals. I'm not doing anything crazy, and I think it is all within your technical skill level to play. Listen to the phrase in the second A section (bar 9). Notice how I use wider intervals (thirds, fourths and fifths). Can you hear how that is melodically more interesting than if I had stuck with major and minor seconds throughout? As I end the second 8 bars, I return to major and minor seconds as a resolution to the solo. How do you practice this? Good question. The second track below is me playing through various intervals within the changes, not as a melodic solo, but as an exercise in hearing and playing wider intervals. Consider transcribing that exercise and playing it with my recording and over your rhythm track. It will train your arm and ear on wider intervals. I mentioned above about you not locking into the rhythm. Listen to my note placement within the solo. I am playing a consistently laid back feel that sounds locked into the rhythm section. You might also transcribe those 16 bars of my solo and see how well you can lock into my time. Your goal is to lock in so well that as you play over me, only your playing is heard - that's a sign of how well you are mirroring my note placements. You may have heard me say that musical time is more important that note choice. As an example, listen to my note placement using the same notes as your first phrase (I believe I played rhythmically what you intended). Just by placing the notes in the 'pocket' of the time and by varying the articulation, a more musical result emerges. With all that said, though, I think you are off to a good start. You are hearing the changes of Autumn Leaves and your ear is guiding your note choices on the horn. Now, let's put those notes more solidly within the time and vary your melodic intervals to create more interesting phrases. I look forward to hearing the result!

Locking in better time and incorporating wider intervals with one's solos

You wrote that you'd like to understand the changes better, but it sounds like you are playing well within the changes of the tune. I'm not sure what you think you are missing there. For the most part, I think your time is pretty solid, which is something with which a lot of players struggle. Good job there! Plus, I like the tune. Solid melody and performance by the group. Let's zero in on your improvisation. Overall, you have good energy and are pretty solidly within the changes. My question for you is: what would you sound like if you weren't as focused on the scales and fast notes - specifically the minor pentatonic scales? That's your go-to pattern, both at the start of the solo and the beginning of the bridge. That G minor pentatonic is well-rehearsed and comfortable under your fingers, so I understand why you use it. What is the alternative? MELODY. As one example, listen to Herbie play Cantaloupe Island on the Empyrean Isles album. Herbie starts his solo just before the 3-minute mark. Herbie has the chops to start his solo with a flurry of F minor pentatonic scale patterns, but instead he plays a simple melodic phrase, and then plays pretty much the same phrase over the Db7 which reinforces the melodic power of that simple phrase. He then creates a variation on those notes. He does something similar when the form starts again. Notice that Herbie uses an economy of notes throughout his solo. He's playing simple phrases with variations. When he plays faster, those fast notes are like ornamentation, not the focus of the solo. He's using space to 'frame' his phrases. That use of space that frames good melodic phrases and variations is what produces quality music that your listener will appreciate. Your goal is not to sound like Herbie, me, or anyone else. The goal is to improvise engaging music that is satisfying to your and your audience. Learning the theory of this music is beneficial, but my advice is to worry less about 'understanding changes better' and more about listening to the music inside you and reflecting that on the piano. You have the chops and you hear the time. Now, use those abilities and focus more on building/improvising music than relying on the flash of fast scale patterns.

Use of melodic phrases and space

You have a big strong command of the trombone. I'm guessing you also have good endurance. Your intonation is solid as well. All good to have for playing the horn well. We all have our own style of playing, and I make sure not to dictate a particular style of performing or improvising. But you use the word "smooth" in describing how you want to play. So for that, let's look at your hard articulation and forceful sound. Consider many of the trombone legends and how they approach improvisation. JJ, Carl Fontana, Watrous, McChesney... They tend toward a lighter (quieter) approach. The reason is that playing lighter - especially for brass players - allows for more dexterity and a smoother style. It's hard to run with a heavy backpack! Again, your personal style is what feels right to you. You have a very percussive approach that is very on top of the beat. An example is the phrase at 1:20. Notice how hard you attack those notes. You might be more satisfied by playing them lighter, more legato, and a bit less on top of the beat. Think of how Slide Hapton might play that phrase: still with a big sound, but with some ghosted notes, legato and a bit laid back. His would be a more traditional swinging style. The other advantage of a lighter approach would be that you could play longer phrases that could allow you to tell more interesting 'stories.' Trombonist to trombonist, let's talk about how you hold your slide. Your slide movement is more stiff than I think a more flexible wrist movement would provide. Why does that matter? Because just like the harder more forceful articulation I mentioned reduces flexibility, so does the more rigid wrist movement. Bob McChesney demonstrates in the samples I provide the relationship between slide movement and the perception of pitch. Watch how he sounds like he is playing a scales while moving the slide in random positions. You don't need to be multi-tonguing to get the point of his demonstration. The take-away for you should be that precise slide position is less necessary as you flow through a series of various notes. The start and end are most important and will allow an easier expression of your jazz playing. Do you practice Rochut etudes? One benefit of them is to develop a lighter articulation and connection of notes. Even the first phrase of Rochut #1 can be a challenging exercise to play smoothly and evenly with a light attack. I recommend putting that into your practicing. As extra jazz practice credit, play that phrase starting on random notes (keys). I don't want to discourage you, however, because there are many good things going on in your playing and within this solo. One thing I really liked was the creative way you ended the solo, using the slide as a creative device. I think if you lightened your approach in places, you could express more emotional swinging dimensions by playing longer phrases and with more dynamic variety. But you are a strong player. Keep up the good work!

Performing with a lighter approach laying back a bit in the groove

I love this tune. A Metheny classic. It SHOULD be "guitaristic"! You're developing a nice feel for the guitar. I like a lot of your note choices, especially as you play a phrase and then build on that phrase and keep going to keep the thread. The element of your playing I want to help you address is your feel for time. Being able to play in the pocket is 80% of the challenge of most players developing their jazz chops. For example, your strumming at 1:35 is more in the pocket than when you start running lines just before 1:50. Listen back to that section around 1:50. What do you hear in your time: in the pocket, drag or rush? You rush, and that is your tendency overall. Maybe it's because you are anxious to find the next note or the difficulty of faster lines. Through that section (1:50) of melody, your time floats between rushing and being close to the beat. Even though I'm characterizing your playing as rushing, it is more accurate to call it inconsistent. When you listen to Metheny, hear the absolute consistency in his time feel. The same is true of every great jazz player. THAT is your goal. Your bass player is laying it down for you. When you guys practice, deliberately play very simple lines without long strings of eighth notes. Just feel putting the notes in the pocket. After you feel that you in the groove with the bass player (or rhythm section) expand your rhythmic range. In other words, play longer strings of eighth notes, but listen for your tendency to run away with the time. When that happens, stop and simplify. It's always easier to hear these tendencies in other players, so the skill to continue developing is to hear this time inconsistency in yourself. What makes it difficult is that time inconsistencies are often subtle. You might say to your bass player, point out when I start to get ahead of the beat when we rehearse. You do sometimes return to the groove like at 3:10. Nice playing there. Again, listen to Pat play the melody. Hear how perfect he plays those two triplets in the second phrase of the melody? And hear how he lands right on beat one after them. With your metronome running on 2 and 4, practice just that phrase. Over and over, to get the feel of the groove in your ear. If you have trouble with that, sing it a few times, record it and listen back. Recording and listening is an indispensable tool for improving. While we play, it's more difficult to objectively hear ourselves. And yes, I am encouraging you to practice the melody, but any way you can practice your time feel will help your time when you improvise. And speaking of 2 and 4, I am a big fan of practicing your scales with the metronome on 2 and 4 - not on all four quarter notes. Record your playing and listen back. Can you hear the swing feel? Is it in the pocket? Are you certain? You are a good guitar player. Becoming more consistent with your time will be an important step in elevating the feel and soul of your playing. I'm sure you listen to Scofield and Abercrombie. Like Metheny, they are masters of time and rhythm. Even in a floating time piece like "Timeless" with Jan Hammer and DeJohnette, hear how beautifully Abercrombie weaves his lines through the beginning. And then when DeJohnette kicks in with brush time, Abercrombie is completely not only in the pocket, but maintaining the pocket abd the groove of the piece. Even throughout his flurries of notes, the pulse of time is there in the background. And DeJohnette was not always an easy player with whom to keep time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHsZ_-9442o Feel free to submit a future recording where you hear the improvement in your time. I'd love to hear that and share with you what I hear. Keep up the good work!!

Maintaining consistent time in the pocket

First, nice job paraphrasing the melody a bit. That gives the listener something familiar to follow. Also, you played with good intonation, so one can tell you have a facility with the bari and other woodwinds. How one plays jazz is such a personal choice, but there are a few universals to the jazz language. One of them is time. Time can be more on top of the beat (Coleman Hawkins) or behind the beat (Dexter Gordon). But no matter, it should be consistent. What you may hear as "tentative" in your playing is an inconsistent time feel. When you are sure of your phrasing and the 'story' you wish to tell, your playing will land more solidly and swingingly within the beat and rhythm section. This will make you feel and sound more confident and melodic, as you are trying to achieve. Let's dive into this. Listen to your note placement. Sometimes your notes are on the beat, sometimes they are behind, and sometimes out of the time. But there’s no musical consistency. The result is a kind of nervous uncertainty, or tentativeness, as you put it. Speaking of Coleman Hawkins, listen to his great solo on Pennies from Heaven on the live Konnsethuset album. Pay particular attention to how he plays the melody. Notice the time placement being ‘in the pocket.’ I’m not suggesting you try to sound like Coleman, just that you get a better sense of a consistent sense of time and swing. Without that consistency you can’t really swing. As you listen to Coleman, don't be distracted by the flurries of note he at time played. Instead, list to how beautifully he places all his notes - slow and fast. One exercise you can do is practice your scales using the metronome on 2 and 4. Hear the swing you can play within those two clicks. Start with somewhere around 70bpm with click on 2 and 4. Transcribe 1:12 through 1:26 of Coleman’s solo in the recording. Practicing that to perfection will be like calisthenics for your sense of time. Start slow. The goal is to learn the notes so well that you can work on your time/note placement. Listen to your phrases starting at 1:16 of your recording. You had some really good melodic and rhythmic ideas going. If those few phrases were played with deliberate (what I’ve been calling consistent) time, I think you’d sound like the confident and melodic player you want to be.

Playing consistently and confidently within the groove

Robert, thank you for the submission. Static harmony like this is difficult to play over. It's because in moving and modulating chords, they create interest in themselves. In two-chord harmony like this, you have the full burden of creating the harmonic interest over each section of static harmony. I think your "What doesn't feel natural" write-up describes very well the things that will improve your improvisation. Rhythmic diversity, space, more syncopation, and doing more with fewer notes. The question is: how do you develop all that? Part of the answer is by listening to accomplished jazz players like Dexter. Transcribe a solo of his or a portion of a solo that is within your skill range. Dexter, however, is a difficult model to emulate. His subtle use of pitch, his unique sense of time, and his sound. But start with the notes. Can you play the notes Dexter played on a particular solo? Maybe start by singing the solo or part of it until you have it in your ear. Then over a rhythm track of that same song, sing your own solo. Take the sax out of the process. Singing is a more direct connection to your musical mind. Sing using the attributes you mentioned such as space, syncopation, rhythmic and articulation diversity, etc. What does that sound like. Notice in this solo that your lines consisted exclusively of major and minor seconds. You were basically running up and down scales. That is what comes more easily to your fingers than wider intervals and melodic phrases. THAT is why I encourage you to sing. Try this: record yourself singing an improvisation over changes. Then play that same solo (or fragments of it) on your sax. That is translating the music in your mind to come out of your instrument. Too many players let the friction of their instrument get in the way of the music they have inside. The limitation of instrumental technique limits what we improvise. Continue working on your technique, and at the same time, listen to the music inside you. Let yourself hear the lines living inside your musical mind. You can build that connection with the right kind of practice.

Removing the friction of the instrument

Your submission proves that improvisation can be performed in any type of music! Very interesting. Your ear led you nicely through the harmony, which shows you are developing that connection between ear and flute. Your tone and intonation is beautiful. I am assuming that your actual improv starts around 57:53? Sounds like melody before that. Let's consider your point about quarter and half notes... This is obviously a piece of music and an environment (mass) that doesn't call for burning fast runs or sophisticated harmonic lines. I think you are right to keep things more simple. Depending on how expressive you wish to be, there are a few things you can do. Notice how closely the rhythm of your lines follow the harpsichord (?) and the choir. You might try to separate yourself a bit by playing rhythms that compliment rather than follow the underlying music accompaniment. Play higher sustained notes in places. That also adds emotion. You have around 80 seconds, so think of that time as a musical arc - beginning, middle, and end. So build your solo by gradually adding these elements of complementary rhythms and range, and note length to build a complete musical statement. For example, when your improvisation starts, you could play a rhythm or a run that signals, "Here's something new and different." The music over which you are playing is like accompanying a single vocalist in a band. When the choir enters, your solo can stand out more my playing something complementary to the rhythm of the choir. Their sustained notes are an opportunity for you to play something that contrasts rhythmically rather than mirroring their rhythms of quarter and half notes. Their sustained notes are windows for you to play something that stands out. Last, think of your note choices. Much of your solo sticks to the basic chord tones. Now, this might be exactly what is called for. Again, your task is not to play harmonically complex lines. But, peppering in the ninth or seventh of the chords over the choir sustaining other chord tones can add interest and emotion. And despite all my usual advice about not running scales, this is the exception. A well-timed run up of scale tones (8th or 16th notes) to an interesting sustained non-triad note would also add interest and emotion. But, again, I want to tread lightly here because this is a sacred event, but I do think there is room for more rhythmic and harmonic interest you can create. I think that will answer you concern about playing primarily quarter and half notes. See below where I created a play-along track to practice all this. Over this track, you get more adventurous! Thank you for sending this. I would have not considered this type of music, but I think you did a very nice job. Now "season to taste!"

Complementing the musical backdrop - singers and choirs

David, I can see that you've worked on your chops. You are developing nice technique which is crucial for moving around improvising jazz. We need technique. Good for you! I don't know what you meant by by ...trying to play/hear "everything!" But I have three things that can help you play with more energy and personality. First, widen the intervals you play. Notice that the vast majority of your intervals (from note to note) are major and minor seconds. What do those intervals make? SCALES. Listen to your recording. Can you hear the scales going up and down? Consider the great music of the world. It's rarely made of scales. It's composed from well-placed wider intervals. (Think Beethoven's Fifth.) I recorded myself playing over Out of Nowhere. I made it as a kind of exercise that I'm recommending you do. In the solo, I was creating melodic interest but by purposefully playing various intervals. When you play over the Aebersold track, see what you can create by moving away from scale fragments throughout your solo. Think of the melody of this song. It make use of beautiful intervals. Next, just like I am suggesting to use a variety of intervals, use a variety of other musical things like dynamics, articulation, and range. Variety creates surprise and delight. And I think it would make playing more fun for you! Last, as you start to play with more variety and interest, you will start to see musical YOU coming out of your flute. This is where you'll really shine! I included a video of Richie Beirach talking about developing one's musical personality/vocabulary. I really think you are on your way. Use the tools within MusicSavvy.com to help bring that out of you. That's exactly what I built them for!!!

Playing scales instead of more interesting phrases

Dean, you have a nice command of the trombone. Intonation, tone, high range, clean articulation is all very nice! You've done good work to get to your level of proficiency with the horn. Bravo. You wrote that you need a little more emotion, and you are right. When you listen to yourself, can you hear WHY it lacks the emotion you wish for? Part of the answer is that most of your improvisation consists of scales. Maybe not root to root scales, but hear the predominant intervals between most of your notes. They are half steps and whole steps: scale intervals. I recorded myself playing over the tune as an example of the effect of playing wider intervals. I think it creates more interest. The listener doesn't know what is coming next, as apposed to the more predictable major and minor seconds up and down. Next, consider the variety of note lengths in your solo. Most of yours were eighth and quarter notes. Variety adds emotion. We like surprise and are bored with the predictable. So, consider the variety of range, intervals, note lengths, harmonic tension and release that you can put into your solo. listen to great songs. They contain some of those same ingredients. You have a lot of good stuff going on with your playing. I think a little spice could go a long way to taking you to the next level.

Playing scales instead of more interesting phrases

Tony, first, you CAN play in all 12 keys which is excellent. You can obviously hear the ii-V-I progression which is foundational to playing over tunes. I don't think it's fair of you to say you have no language. If that were true you couldn't play the phrases you played. You wrote, "Too slow." I'm not sure what you mean by that, but perhaps you are referring to your need to hear the chord played before launching into a phrase-you are reacting to the changes slowly? And you would be right. The chord sequence is predictable - moving up by fourths - so the trick is to hear and anticipate the pattern without having to hear the chords/key first. This will help you play better on tunes, where your ear leads you through the changes. I call this harmonic anticipation. I'll link to an ebook with exercises for this. Try this: play the rhythm track and sing phrases. Do your best not to wait for the ii chord, but instead, hear that predictable modulation and sing one phrase smoothly leading into the next. It really is a matter of hearing that transition. Remember, you can't play what you don't hear. I linked to a track of me playing the first four cycles as an example of playing melodically from one key to the next. Nothing fancy, just smooth transitions. This is not to "play like Mike" but hearing an example is clearer than me just writing about it. I think you have a very solid foundation. Your next step is to train your ear to HEAR and anticipate the upcoming changes and the modulation. I look forward to hearing the result of your practicing that!! Keep up the great work!

Anticipating harmony rather than waiting to head each chord

I really liked your first two phrases. The second one played off the first very well. And from there, I could hear that same syncopated phrasing throughout. Using a repeated rhythmic or melodic phrase can be an effective way to give the listener something to follow. As you repeat that rhythm or melody, however, it all needs to build. You can accomplish that through increasing the dynamics or widening the range or adding complexity to the harmony. In your solo, there was very little variation in any of these attributes. Listen to how little the dynamic range changed. Listen also that until the very end, there was very little chabge in the note range. The solo is basically staying within a pretty narrow range. You did a really good job ending the way you did by playing the highest notes of the solo and by using longer notes as variety. Nice. One thing that would greatly improve your solo would be to relax into the time. Notice that your time tended to rush and be inconsistent. I believe that time and rhythm is the most important aspect of playing jazz well - more important that actual note choices. To demonstrate that, I took the liberty of playing over these changes, and I played the same notes as your first two phrases. Can you hear the difference in two aspects: 1. I relaxed into the time and, 2. my articulation was not as hard as yours. This last point will help you relax more into the time because by not hammering each note so hard, you can play lighter and find your way more easily into the time. This will help your swing feel. It's really hard to swing when you are attacking each individual note so hard, one after the other. Listening to my solo, I added a third variation of the rhythm you set up in those first two phrases. Notice that after those first three phrases, how I resolved them. Phrase one, phrase two variation, phrase three variation, then resolve. On the second chorus, I changed up the rhythm entirely. On your solo, you kept playing variations on that syncopated rhythm. Instead, give your audience something fresh and new to follow. The last aspect of my solo to consider is that I played some 'effects' using the unique quality of the trombone to provide additional variety. While the trombone is a really difficult instrument to play jazz on (kudos to you for playing it!), it does allow for ways to express a unique voice on it - slide effects, pitch variations, etc. Regarding your comments, 1. following the form of any tune just requires you to really know (hear) that tune well. In silence, can you image in your mind's ear, the changes and form? can you 'her' the chnages going by? Once you do, you won't get lost in the form. 2. I'm not sure what you meant by "more stylings", but if that means that you want more variety in your soloing, I've covered a lot of that for you here.

Relaxing into the time for better overall feel

Rodney, the solo you sang was great. Musical phrasing, interesting ideas, it had a musical arc to it. Bravo. I know your question is more about trumpet but regarding your scatting, I think the only thing you should tighten is the pitch. Getting to the right intonation quicker, especially on held notes. Regarding trumpet, I can tell that you are hearing a similar melodic quality of phrasing that you can sing. Your 'issue' is the same for all of us: the friction of the horn. As a fellow brass player, I can attest that trumpet of a more difficult instrument to perform the music you obviously have in your head. That said, I think the more your fingers, mouth, and tongue can follow the music in your head, the easier will be the physical playing. Here's my recommendation for the daily 15 minutes you asked for: 5 minutes of sing a note or phrase, then play that note or phrase on trumpet. Start by playing the note or phrase softly if this is your trumpet warmup for that day. 5 minutes of playing some basic Arbans-style exercises for tonguing and flexibility. Use the metronome (slow to start) as a measurement and discipline for accuracy. 5 minutes of improvising short phrases followed by playing each phrase beginning on new starting notes. Start simple with, for example, the first three notes to "Three Blind Mice". Other phrases could be the first phrase of "Mary Had a Little Lamb", the main motif of Beethoven's Fifth, The first phrase of "Happy Birthday", the first phrase to "Autumn Leaves", or the first phrase of the "Simpsons Theme." Do not calculate the intervals, but instead let your ear guide you. If you make a mistake, resist (again) calculating your way through the phrase. Sing it from the new starting note, then play what you sang, similar to the first 5 minute section of this practice. Expand this 15-minute sequence to 30 whenever time allows. But listening to the track, I can tell that you have very terrific music inside. Keep on playing!!

Connecting mind/ear to instrument