Why Do I Still Suck?

Forget ALL you know about harmony & melody. In this Guided Practice Session™, Adam Maness demonstrates the “Notes Don’t Matter" method of rhythmic training over two classic Thelonius Monk compositions (Rhythm-A-Ning & Straight, No Chaser).

0:00 intro
2:12 syncopation & swing
4:06 Rhythm-A-Ning
8:08 try it!
12:23 play along (Rhythm-A-Ning)
13:44 Straight, No Chaser
20:13 play-along (Straight, No Chaser)

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[mgoldson]

This was an mindblowing lesson!! I knew this already intellectually, but the way Adam explains it was so clear that it gave me goose bumps. This was the most amazing lesson since the magic voicing system on open studio. Thank you Adam.

[captainkoo]

This has changed my playing completely. I used to suck without rhythm. Now I suck with rhythm.

[MikeLindup]

This shit works! I can testify....I've just come off stage, and before my second solo, all I focussed on was rhythmic timing, and boy, did it make a difference. 1) It "swung" a helluva lot more (I'm playing jazz-funk, straight sixteenths), 2) I didn't have to think about the notes, just go with the flow, 3) the band enjoyed it and 4) I enjoyed, rather than endured it :) Coincidentally we had the loudest cheers at the end of the show on this tour so far ... go figure! I Thanks again, Adam. A follow-up would be much appreciated.

[dazzjazz]

Didn’t Dizzy Gillespie say “think of a rhythm and put some notes on it” ? That is the secret and when I figured it out, everything changed for me. The rhythm activates the notes, not the other way around.

[thedjangofretts]

I'm getting the sense that the notes just don't matter. What scale or mode works best with this idea?

[henry]

Coming from classical music and having this robotic sense of perfection drilled in my head, this rhythmic phrasing stuff really unlocked a lot in my head, I can’t thank you enough for this!

[FabenVrac]

The bassist Victor Wooten wrote a great book for all musicians « the music lesson ». The first lesson of the book is «  you should never lose the groove in order to find a note »

[jessegarris]

As a drummer this took very little convincing

[NickoFilipo]

There's a diminished scale? I've been playing my drums all wrong.

[meanmrbean]

One of the best things about this video is it reminds me how friggin awesome Monk’s music is

[jackhanson]

Been playing jazz piano for 10 years. This is so simple and obvious but at the same time revolutionary. A super duper important reminder, very well explained, that just helped my playing a ton!! Thank you!!

[vTv]

Those Marsellus brothers, beyond their music genius, was their sheer excellence in explaining it so well.

[JonFrumTheFirst]

In an interview, Bird said that bebop was all about rhythm. It was his phrasing that was revolutionary, not the altered notes or the speed.

[lindagerard]

Omg. I love your approach. I actually started having fun cuz I got outa my head! Thank you. A 64 year old newbie to jazz.

[pickinstone]

Adam, Peter. Hear me out. You guys NEED to turn the idea of rhythmic vocabulary, phrasing, micro and macro time, and time feel into ONE course. Get all the Open Studio Peeps on it, especially Ulysses and Hutch! We need more material on rhythm! Please, make a course about this topic! Not enough on the internet about rhythmic language--especially when non-drummers talk about improvisation! Enough scale talk. We ALL gotta learn how to embody our inner drummer. More like this video, please. More courses like this :)

[joesauvage]

This is truly one of the most open honest right to the core jazz videos that is out there. Presented with great humility and humor. Love you guys at Open Studio! Deepest gratitude Adam!

[the.bloodless.one]

It’s funny you put Dolphy there when you flashed “the notes don’t matter” on the screen haha. When I was studying in Uni, practicing long hours everyday at school, working on my blowing over standards, there was a period I was listening to Dolphy incessantly on my way to school and while taking breaks from practicing, and he taught me just that. I realized, man even if Dolphy was playing over a modal tune he’d sometimes just completely disregard the changes and break free, but it still always sounded so good and not at all like he was playing all the “wrong” notes. And it’s Kuz of that confident phrasing and rhythmic language. Fuckin’ love Dolphy so much. So thankful for that lesson he taught me.

[armando]

Notes are what is said.
Rhythm is how it's said.

Therefore notes matter, but they don't mean squat if they aren't said convincingly.
Put another way: Rhythm is energy, it does the work of conveying the notes message.
Another thing worth considering is that notes are technically another way of experiencing rhythm, since they are frequencies, which tells us that it's all movement in certain proportional relationships.

[CWBella]

So important!! “You cannot think your way through this; you just have to dance/feel your way.”

[jrdan]

Funny you’ve posted this now. A couple of weeks ago me and the other piano player in our band were jamming on an upright after a gig. The guitarist (who doesn’t play piano) came up and started messing around, and the guy playing left hand accompaniment (a music teacher) said to him “don’t worry about the notes, just focus on rhythm”. I'd never heard that before. And surprise surprise he actually made it sound convincing! Now you post this…

…I think the universe is trying to tell me something. Time to get practicing. Thanks for this!