martynspeck - Posted - 01/10/2015:  11:56:32

jazzadvice.com/3-essential-imp...-to-know/

The three tools are all language:

• Language for Chords


• Language for Chord Progressions


• Language for Tunes

"The language that you need to learn is on recordings"

He talks about finding these tools in recordings of your favorite soloists and applying them.

"Start simple and aim to find one tool for each of these musical situations – chords, progressions, and tunes.

Eventually your goal will be to collect as many tools as you can.

As you practice and perform, these tools will slowly become subconscious, another option in your creative arsenal."

Edited by - martynspeck on 01/10/2015 11:58:21

martynspeck - Posted - 01/10/2015:  11:59:10

Now he's talking jazz but surely this is applicable to "making a tune your own".

Dave S - Posted - 01/10/2015:  12:36:41

Thanks, good article, and I agree that it applies to messing around with fiddle tunes. The more of them that I learn, the easier it is to swap bits of them. Listening to Benny Thomasson is a good way to see what's possible in what amounts to fiddle-tune jazz. He kept the feel of the tune while straying pretty far from the melody. 

martynspeck - Posted - 01/10/2015:  13:58:00

Linked this to the Learning Jam Technique Group. fiddlehangout.com/group/learningtechnique

Dick Hauser - Posted - 01/11/2015:  07:13:13

I think the actions in the list apply, to varying degrees, every musician attempting to improve their musicianship.  

fiddlepogo - Posted - 01/11/2015:  15:41:55

I think he left one out:

Language for rhythm!

When I improvise on guitar, I often start with a rhythm... the rhythm suggests a starting melody, and off I go!

Of course, that's part of what drummers are for, but there IS a payoff for learning to think rhythmically like a drummer- you can provide your own inspiration, instead of waiting for the drummer to provide it for you.

Of course, you can GUESS what I think that "language for rhythm" is on the fiddle.....

Dave S - Posted - 01/12/2015:  13:04:18

That's easy, coming from you -- has to be...............................toe-tapping!  ;-)

martynspeck - Posted - 01/12/2015:  13:24:04

quote:

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Originally posted by Dave S

 

That's easy, coming from you -- has to be...............................toe-tapping!  ;-)

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Drumming.

fiddlechops - Posted - 01/12/2015:  16:29:59

Interesting what he said about licks..........

These are just a few things that you can do with a line if it’s truly language and not a lick. The main difference is the flexibility you’ve attained. If you’re bored with your playing, then you know you have licks, not language, because if you had language, you’d be constantly creating new ideas and combinations. With language, you’re always finding new places where you can use it, or different ways to distort it. It’s constantly evolving, changing , and merging with other things you’re working on.

If you want to truly understand how to construct lines that flow effortlessly over chord changes, have infinite options when you encounter the same changes time and time again, if you want to stop sounding like a foreigner to the jazz idiom but instead a local…Stop learning licks and learn language. You’ll be happy you did.