Improvisation while learning "Gypsy Jazz Techniques" book.

Lango-Django · July 2013

Yes, a very smart post by Amund.

What sometimes interferes with my ear-to-fingers connection is if i start looking at my fingers and start thinking about visual patterns... Gotta try to not do that!

Plus I've got to make a habit of tapping my #%^! foot...

anthon_74 · July 2013

AmundLauritzen wrote:

Maybe most people don't experience it like this, but I certainly do. It has been a recurring phenomenon in my practice since I started practicing improvisation.

Yes Amund, this is a very real phenomenon. I first learned about this from a teacher in college who described a gymnastics teacher who found that his students would often complain that they were "getting worse" in spite of all their practice.

so he started video taping their routines over a year's time period. Then he would show them the routines from a year ago compared to in the present so they could see just how much better they looked, dispelling the idea they had that they were in fact getting worse.

As for some practical advice on improvisation - Pick ONE song and get REALLY good at that song. Get really good at all the arpeggios over it in every position, create your own lick etude over the song, and practice improvising over a play along of just that one song for like 2 weeks straight. AND if you want to go the extra mile, learn Django's original solo over the song.

You will be shocked at how much it helps you improve, even on your other songs. When I did this with 'all of me' it created a pretty major breakthrough.

Anthony

jlander9 · September 2013

I started Playing Gypsy Jazz about 1 year and 3 months ago. When I first started I had NO foundation on improvising…. I knew a couple of jazz chords and a ton of pop tunes, but no clue on how to solo. ( I mean NO clue). Of course the first thing I did was buy all the recommended books: Gypsy Picking, Getting into Gypsy Jazz, the Gypsy Jazz Workbook, Gypsy Jazz Licks, Gypsy Fire, The Gypsy Jazz Songbook etc… I went on a spree…..the immediate result was failure! I was lost, and to be honest I was pissed. Pissed off because these are great books, but for some reason they didn’t seem to work for me, i just didn't get it.

After much frustration, I finally listened too many of the regular posters on the forum… I decided to learn the foundation… arpeggios, chord progressions, technique (Gypsy Picking), a little theory , and songs….. I mean I took many major steps back ( looking back, steps I should have taken first)….. after about a year I revisited the books I purchased and WOW…..I understood what the hell was going on… the licks made sense, the patterns made sense… and most amazing to me was that I could execute them with relative ease and incorporate them in my playing. ……..also about three months ago I found someone to play with on a regular basis, got over a lot of anxiety, and this is where it started to come together……. I have a lot to learn, and I am in no way a great, or even good player, but I can get by… and I look forward to the day I can say I started 5, 10, 20 years ago….. I guess what I’m saying is don’t give up so soon….. take your time….because trust me, this takes time………and in many cases take a step back ( CAGED system )…..and find people to play with or at least jam tracks… Suerte!

sksaxgirl · September 2013

stuart wrote:

p.s. I recommend Stephane Wrembel's Getting Into Gypsy Jazz as a good primer for improv. It's easy to get hold of and has a chapter devoted to improvisation. I think the suggestions in my post came from that book.

I'm going to check this out. I know the recommendation wasn't for me, but thanks anyway!