This Technique Saves 100s of Practice Hours

#bettersax #saxophone #adamlarson
Jay Metcalf shares how practicing the technique in this video will speed up your ability to improvise over chord changes in any style of music.

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[disgruntled_llama]

I got this exact same advice from my sax teacher as an undergrad about 20 years ago. It also really helps when you're trying to memorize tunes and the chord changes.

[JeffreySaxophoneTallNewton]

"Play what you hear in your head. If you don't hear anything, don't play anything." ~ Chick Corea.

[kennyfoster]

From a historical perspective this makes sense too! Many early jazz players played lines that were essentially ornamented chord patterns. When playing in pe-WW2 style swing bands this really helps you sound authentic.

[davidwood]

Outstanding, so many beginners need to start somewhere, like here.

[timothytikker]

I'm a classical improviser -- organist -- and just watched this just to see what it might have to offer in terms of improvisation learning techniques. I have to say, I think these methods given here make TOTAL sense, and I'll be looking for ways to apply them to teaching classical style -- bravo!

[ubustudio]

Nice. This is critical info to have in your brain bucket, this quarter note practice reinforces this. With this info ingrained I’d also encourage one to listen to recordings of an improvised piece and identify the chord notes and listen to how they are emphasized and listen how the passing notes complete the picture. Good work Jay is laying it down!

[musicwithmatt]

I love using this method on tunes that I am just starting to learn. I've found that using the idea of creating quarter note melodies helps me hear harmonies better in the tune!

[Elijah-yp]

I'm 13. I'm a former Clarinetist, and current guitarist, and now I'm Inspired to play Saxophone! I want an Alto Sax BAD, that's how much I want to learn. I might get one though for my Birthday or Christmas. You're vids are very educational! Thank you! I'm hoping the switch from Clarinet to Saxophone will be a good one for me.

[MarkPeotter]

@bettersax Thank you for endorsing this improv course. I am one of those guys who grew up with Aebersold, and, as you stated, he showed us the Scales and Chords, but left us on our own to figure out what to play with the knowledge. I love teaching jazz improv to my students, but I always feel like I am still learning for myself.

[Ethantea]

I got very similar advice for playing the trombone as scales are much harder to play at speeds due to the nature and physical limitations of the instrument. Chord tones are a winner for anyone here that's learning to improve at improv on Trom

[Jessikas-Klarinettenoase]

This was the first exercise I get from a Jazz collegue. It helps also to know, where I am in the music 😀

[robstevens]

Good method for getting started in playing over chord changes! And getting the chord tones under your fingers!

[pmnt_]

Thank you so much for this. In these seven minutes you brought my motivation back after months of slowly burning out. I'm a hobbyist practicing for a big concert with our concert band, with some songs/passages being uncomfortably difficult. The fact that I'm the first Alto doesn't really help, it's just adding pressure. Now I have something to look forward to, after months of practicing. Actually play sax, also in the sense of playing around. Thank you so much.

[terria]

Thank-you VERY much! I'm a sax player applying your principles (which are GREAT) to learning to improvise with fiddle on bluegrass! All the best to you! 😀🎻🎷

[markdrezdzon]

The Adam Larson course is great! I'm decent at improv, but backing down to doing chord tones on quarter notes is brilliant. More time to think about creating a melodic line versus playing a million notes!

[JoelWarkentin-si]

Funny, because when I see the Aebersold charts I see the same arpeggios that were demonstrated, not just straight scales because if you know the chords, you can't help but see it.

[jazznutz]

What they don't tell you here is that your fisrt attempts are not going to sound as good as these because these quarter note lines are carefully constructed with voice leading as well.

[chinua]

I was skeptical, but man this is powerful. Its training my ear tohear the chord tones and know where to aim. It's like studying anatomy for painting.

I am a pianist, and this exercise giving me a direct way to experience the inherent emotional impact of the various chords through melody, something I strangely never felt improvising on sax before, the questing sadness of minor 7th chords, or the lush velvet completion of major 7th chords, the pomp of dominants.

Its like having GPS for soloing, and its just sinking in, i can feel it. I also get upper structure stuff for free, where I play the appropriate triads starting on different scale degrees. I go through the tune playing chord tones from the root, then diatonic triads starting on the third, then fifth, then seventh of all the changes. It's not creative, but it is its skeleton of creativity.

[JapalekeFlybirds]

APPRECIATE THE HONESTY SIR; Jacobs music Philadelphia and Tower records or borders made a tone of $$ off of me trying to instill the Jazz spirit. can't even recall where my Abersold play alongs are today, but I did not start internalizing until Late Larry McKenna's intervention of teaching Jazz idioms and solo transcriptions ....

[peteryakubu]

can you make a video about what chord progressions for beginners