Denis Chang DVD Jazz Manouche: Technique & Improvisation Volume 2

Volume 2 starts where the first left off and really takes off. I've had this for about a week and am really enjoying this. While there are still useful licks to be had (even the stuff that he doesn't go over in detail), the idea of improvising in this style is laid out. I realized this about a third of the way through that this wasn't just going to be a series of licks, but that I could take an idea he discussed and work it out all over the neck, not just in the position that he showed an example in. It finally occurred to me that this is really meant to be more than just stuff to be inserted over song x or y. In order to truly incorporate it, I'm going to have to put some time in to study it. I nice example were the chapters on the Dark Eyes melody and embellishing the melody as a starting point to take some solos. I'm sort of oversimplifying this, for sure. But this is been a pretty big help, specifically in beginning to hear what I play and opening up the neck a bit more. While I'm tempted to zip through this and move on to volume 3, I'd be doing myself a huge disservice. There is probably a year of material to study on this dvd alone. Take that however you'd like in terms of working on the discs. But I'd go slow and make sure you get a topic (know how to apply it and when it would be useful) before you shelve it. Nice work, Dennis and Wayne.

Submitted by: jkaz on 12/29/2010 12:23:53 PM