Rick Beato - Ear training - A review

As many people know I am quite a fan of Rick Beato and his channel. If you take the time, there is so much to learn from an experienced musician who knows how to expertly present material of all kinds. 

I was drawn to the ear training course for several reasons. Firstly, like many others, I saw the phenomenal videos of his son demonstrating feats of the ear that were previously unimaginable to me. Secondly, this has been a long standing desire from my part to progress in this area.

So what works and what doesn't? I've completed 44 lessons at a 97.6 percent average, so I feel I'm in a good position to comment now. I bought the course about six weeks ago and am looking forward to working more.

What works:

1.    It is systematic and well organised into categories, subcategories, chapters and levels of difficulty. I like that you can practice, and then be rated with a test. It gives a sense of achievement and accountability. 

2.    Chapters are (mostly) well explained with videos.

3.    Clearly a lot of thought has been taken into what needs to be studied, when and how. You might ask, why not take an app which does the same thing? Well, here everything is properly laid out and organised in way that gradually introduces new concepts and levels of difficulty. Phone apps and similar programs do not tend to offer a course that can be worked through over time.

4.    You can practice and redo tests as many times as you like. This is a key point. I found that I both needed time on the more difficult chapters, and that I felt like reviewing certain tests weeks later, even though I had scored well in them. It was vital for me that I could keep the work fresh, and return to any chapter at a later date.

5.    The course contains a vast array of different ear training concepts. This includes, intervals, chords, modes, rhythm, scales and many more. There are more to come also in future releases. 

6.    It is challenging. I have covered some ideas in this course that are completely new to me.

7.    It is improving my ear. Here there is no doubt.

8.    You can do the course on your phone. This is a big plus when you are out and about. 

What could be improved:

1.     My biggest gripe was that for chapters with more than one answer (the rhythm chapter for example), if you click on a wrong answer it immediately starts the next question. Sometimes by mistake you end up clicking two or sometimes three wrong answers, thinking that you are still answering the previous question.

2.    Everything is online. Those days when the internet is slow, you sometimes have to wait an age before the answer comes. It would be nice to have some offline content at least.

3.    Surprisingly there are no videos for some of the more challenging sections. The minor section in tonal progressions could have used one. The chapter went from relatively easy to quite challenging without any indication. A short video would have been perfect. 

Summary:

All in all, this course is definitely worth getting. The price is steep, it must be said, but there are discount offers throughout the month. Regardless, it is worth it. I've yet to find a systematic approach like this that is clearly so well thought out. 

My final point would be a warning. Do not let this be the end of your practice. This is imperative. Use these exercises to work out your weaknesses. Invent your own exercises, find new ones elsewhere for the areas you need. It shouldn't stop here. This course is not going to be the end of your ear training by a long way. It can get you reasonably far, but there will always be more to do, even if it means reworking through chapters of this course itself. Furthermore, there are quite a few video ear training exercises on the Beato channel which do not appear on the course. Go find them. They are great. 

Arrangements and Reharmonizations

Now that I've been arranging and reharmonizing jazz standards for about 10 years I've decided to make some available online. I have had good feedback for my work, and have also included many of my pieces in recent albums. 

For now I will be including only the IREAL Pro chord sheet. If you are interested in more, do mail me. I can provide PDFs, a lead sheet and recording. Small donations are most welcome of course.

Here is one of my latest works. Lucky Southern by Keith Jarrett. As with most of my pieces I like to take the edge out of chords by employing a lot of Minor 11, SUS and Major 7th sounds. 

There are no changes in the melody so it can be played as is. I do however tend to play it in an open even 8ths feel rather than a Latin jazz groove.

Feedback is most welcome.

Transcribing and pattern recognition - what we can learn from chess

One of the biggest areas of discussion regarding jazz study among both musicians and students is the study of transcription.

Widely acknowledged as one of the most difficult, yet most beneficial parts of our study it is also the one the most misunderstood.

This post is not going to look at all the benefits, but will focus briefly on one area that is sometimes overlooked. Pattern recognition.

One of the easiest ways to understand this is to use the game of chess as an example. High level chess players are often thought to have an immense talent to see far ahead - and that being the reason that they are better than the rest of us. While this is partly true, this is only to a certain extent. 

Another very important part of their work is the idea of patterns. The reason they can deal effectively with a particular position or problem, is that they have seen the type of position before and can intuitively solve and apply their understanding to it. They can look at thousands of problems without thinking, because of a past work on a similar theme or idea.

This very same principle applies to music, and where transcription comes into play. Just as in chess, music, is full of patterns that occur over and over again. Learning the ones that you are unfamiliar with can have long lasting benefits.

One will notice first of all that when transcribing a difficult solo or phrase, often the biggest mistakes come from areas that are new in terms of phrasing and rhythm. I notice it alot with my own work. The passages I've found the most difficult are not because they are fast or rhythmically challenging, but really because I've never played or assimilated that kind of phrase before. When I do, and have spent time working on it, it makes it very much easier to recognise in the future. Even the most challenging of lines. In fact, I may not even have to think, because it's a pattern I've already been exposed to and have used.

In short, one of the big advantages of transcription is the learning of new patterns. New language, new phrases, new rhythms and harmonies. If you do the work properly and learn the solo or phrase by ear, next time you will hear the same or similar phrase, it will be much easier to pick up. You will instinctively understand what type of musical idea you are looking at and then apply the tools to learn it. This can have long lasting benefits in both study, rehearsing and performance.

Sight reading

For all of us this can be a painful topic. We have all been in the situation where we need to learn a tune fast and either haven't had the skill to do it, or watched as others breeze through a tune first time as if they knew it for years.

It is an important skill to practice, but you must know how. Blindly reading through material day after day will probably not make you a good reader. There are several areas that you will need to focus on and master in order to do this.

Many good articles have been written on this topic so it is going to be difficult for me to add to what is there already. Bill Plake and jazzadvice.com have been my goto for material for years. This is not the only topic you should read about on their sites. They are excellent tried and tested resources, and they should be followed regularly. The third article comes from stringmagazine.com

Personally, my aim when working at sight-reading is A: to stay calm and concentrated (this by itself can perform wonders), B: prioritize, scan to see what you do need to play and what you don't. I'm actually quite good at this now! C: learn to recognise patterns that you can practice separately. There are so many rhythmic combinations that come up time and time again. Learn to recognise them and apply them when you see them. It will save you alot of time in the long run.

D: practice without your instrument. Learn to take a sheet of paper and sing it. Sometimes adding your instrument just complicates something that with a bit of logical thinking you can read quite easily. Sit quietly and simply hum and tap it out till you get it. E: rests can be tricky. If you find these difficult, take them out and sing or play the rhythm without them. Add them back in when you feel comfortable where the pulse is.

And finally F: Be prepared to take notes. Mark on the paper where the beat falls. Most of my sheets are covered with annotations to help me. I find this helps alot.


Those are at least my tips!

More from the experts:

https://www.jazzadvice.com/5-steps-to-mastering-sight-reading/
http://billplakemusic.org/2012/01/19/a-few-tip-for-improving-your-sight-reading-skills/
http://stringsmagazine.com/3-ways-to-improve-your-sight-reading-skills/

I'm back!

After quite some time out I will be back blogging. One of the biggest reasons will be for my teaching work. I have quite a lot of students from different places, and since we can not meet all the time, online work is very much part of what we do. I am going to use this forum to post topics on some of the work that we have been doing. At the same time, hopefully this will be useful for other students of jazz and improvisation.

See you soon!

Scribd

I've seen documents on Scribd related to jazz study for a while, but never really thought about subscribing until now. I'm not sure why I waited so long. There is so much on this site related to the study of jazz I'll probably never get through it.

I can highly recommend the 6$ or so it costs. It's really worth it. So many books are there as well as PDF documents to go through.

Right now I'm going through Greg Fishman's "Lobster Theory" of Jazz analogies for study. It's a wonderful book and I will review it here.

Happy reading!

Joe Allard - The Master Speaks

Joe Allard doesn't need any introduction to Saxophone players. Here is a wonderful video entitled 'The master speaks' which can be found on YouTube. Watch or download. Essential viewing.

Alto mouthpiece comparison - Selmer Soloist vs Otto Link 7*

I've seen these two mouthpieces compared before, nevertheless here are my two cents worth. The two mouthpieces in question are a vintage Selmer soloist C** and an Otto Link Tone edge 7*.

Firstly both are really nice pieces. I like them both but they are very different.

The Selmer has a very rounded, slightly closed sound, yet very mellow with a kind of warm, breathy fuzz around the edges. The sound is quite spread and if there are any criticisms it's that the sound is not quite as focused as I would like. It lacks a bit of definition and you have to push it a bit for that. It helps to use harder reeds. Softer reeds get overwhelmed and the sound starts to deteriorate. 

The Otto link has alot more definition and edge to it than the Selmer. It has a more focused sound but is therefore less warm than the other. I would say for a kind of "West Coast" feel the Selmer is nicer, as has a bit more character to it. The Otto link probably suits a more modern sound, yet it still has plenty of warmth and never gets too harsh. The link has a hard time with harder reeds. They get tough to blow so half a strength down on the Selmer is needed.

Hopefully I'll have time and post a short demo.

Getting the most out of charts

How many of us take the time to sit with a chart or score and actually read it properly and slowly without the instrument? I know it's not something I've done a great deal but when I do, even for 10 minutes, the benefits are numerous. The mind is more alert, those difficult areas seem easier, you can visualize the chords in your mind, and you start to see phrases you might play on your instrument.

Try this experiment. Take a standard such as All the things you are. First thing in the day, play it without any warm up with a backing track. Maybe record yourself to see how you are doing. The next day, instead of playing immediately, spend 15 minutes quietly with the score. Go through each chord. Visualize each arpeggio. Where are the difficult areas where you suddenly slow down? Go back to that section. Spend some time on it. What are the basic guide tones? How could you approach a line given those notes.

I think we can already see without too much trouble that if you were to do this the results would be alot better once you tackled the piece.

So why not do this more often? Maybe before a gig perhaps? Maybe as a warm down after you have finished for the day? Many possibilities are there. If you are going to use the chart for a piece then why not use it properly!

Inspiration - can it be worked on?

Here's a thought that has been on my mind, something that in future I might expand on. The idea of inspiration vs the idea of hard work.

We all know to be able to perform at the highest level, the hours dedicated to honing our art have to be there. Without them we are simply unable to express what we would like, even if the ideas come. Technique should be just where we need it, in the right place at the right time.

What about inspiration? Can this be worked on? I think the answer is yes. Chess grand-master and legend Garry Kasparov in his new book Deep Thinking, says that in order for anyone to perform at their best, absolutely everything must be in place. That must include not just what we can control such as work and preparation, but the things that we can't foresee such as, innate abilities and talents that are simply part of us and can be opened to given the right circumstances. Those moments of 'genius' that we can't explain must be there too.

We have all been there. What happens when we play at are best. Can we explain it? Usually not. Mostly what happens in these cases is that we are in a zone way beyond something that can be calculated in terms of hours. We no longer think, and the endless calculations needed to improvise at the highest level no longer apply.

So can this be cultivated? The ability to be open to those special moments? Probably the easiest way to see it is when things don't go well. What has usually gone wrong? Maybe we are not able to concentrate, maybe we are unwell, are tired, distracted, thinking of other things, trying too hard. The list is endless.

So perhaps the answer to working on the inspiration part of music is to make sure as much as possible that everything is fitting into place when we need it. Have we slept well, exercised, eaten the right things, spent time away from distractions, warmed up before the show? Maybe these simple things can go a long way to help us reach the places we would like to.

Weekly Jazz Lick - No 5

I'm getting a bit more professional now. I used the wonderful Noteflight online to make this.

I love playing ballads and here is a little lick one can use for the ending of a phrase, either in a solo or embellishing the melody.

This short phrase uses the #9 b9 and #11 resolving to the V of the major chord.

Listen to the silence - Inner time feel

Last week I was preparing some classes for kids. For a quick rhythm warmup I thought that as a group we could clap a simple 4/4 beat at 60 BPM for one measure and have a silence for 1 measure. For such a simple exercise it turned out to be surprisingly fun. 

Once we started, many kids wanted to try on their own and even try harder examples with longer gaps of silence. I also noticed that it was rather calming and almost meditative, so I thought I'd try it for myself later in the day.

Practicing on my own I started to explore further the value of this. The first thing I noticed, was as with the children it was very calming and gave me a strong focus on both what I was practicing later and as well as a greater awareness of my time feel in general.

Before I knew it an hour had past. I tried 2 measures on 2 measures off, different tempos and longer exercises, and even practicing basic rhythm exercises during the silences.

Since then I've been doing this every day as a warm up and even with the limited time I've done this I can tell it's something I'm going to use for a while. Firstly it sets the tone for your practice. It give you a sense of focus and quietness to start your work. Secondly it's clearly good for your inner sense of rhythm. I've seen the benefits of  this exercise written about elsewhere.

Lastly and maybe more importantly it seems to give a sense of focus on your playing in general that is unlike other rhythmic exercises. One of the more striking things I noticed was that I was more often accurate when I didn't count, but just "felt" the beat. When I tapped my foot or other parts of my body, surprisingly I was often wrong. However, when I was able to stay quiet enough to listen to the silence in between the gaps, rather than physically trying to beat the rhythm out, I was more often correct.

I'm not yet sure what this indicates, but definitely it opens your ear and feel to something new and interesting. I will write more on this later once I've had the time to explore it further.

Buying saxes online

This is the question I get asked most. Should I buy this sax? - Mostly something found online on a non music website, and often abroad.

I'm going to try and answer this so that it may help interested saxophone players in future. I am also going to try to answer this in a way that can be helpful to anyone, whether they know about saxophones or not.

Firstly there is an easy way to answer this without having to delve into models and technical issues.

Imagine you were buying a car:

Would you buy a car online without having seen it, let alone tested or driven it?

Would you buy a car not knowing the person selling it?

Would you buy a car not knowing the correct price to pay?

Would you buy a car that was an an unknown model or company to you?

Would you buy a car from a website that doesn't specialize in cars?

I think you can see where I am going here!

Ask your self those questions and put sax instead of car and you have the answer pretty quickly. One doesn't even need to start thinking of saxophone brands let alone looking at details such as specific models and other issues.

I hope that has helped.

Half Diminished Chords - Jazzadvice.com

I love Jazzadvice.com. Anyone studying jazz should read through their articles. There is so much there.

Here is another great article by Forrest on Half Diminished chords. I'm posting this as it's an area many people have troubles with - including myself over the years. This article is a good one to get you on your way with these troublesome chords. Follow this and you will a lot better at tackling them in any key.

I like what he says here "Most standards tend to hang around certain keys and therefore, use the same few half diminished chords. What we end up with is seeing the same four over and over, while rarely encountering the other eight, making for a world of pain when we do."

Sounds familiar? - have a go at this and it will be sorted once and for all.

http://www.jazzadvice.com/how-to-not-suck-at-half-diminished-chords/

For something a bit more advanced once you have the basics down have a look as this article again by Forrest. He looks specifically at Bill Evans to find a multitude of ways to be creative on a minor ii v i.

http://www.jazzadvice.com/a-lesson-with-bill-evans-14-techniques-to-master-the-minor-ii-v-progression/ 

After that if you still have trouble THEN the aptly named!

http://www.jazzadvice.com/why-you-still-suck-at-half-diminished-chords/

YAS 280 vs YAS 62 ii

I have recorded a small test to illustrate the difference between the YAS 280 and YAS 62 ii.

Here are a few things to note:

I recorded these with a stock mouthpiece. It has no brand and came with one of the horns. It's to show like the reviewer at SH woodwind says, you can literally stick any mouthpiece on these horns and they sound quite good. (for that reason there are a few tuning issues - I've never used the mouthpiece before)

The reed was a used Vandoren Java strength 2

I used a RODE NT3. The only effect was a little reverb.

 https://soundcloud.com/mattav/body-and-soul-yas-62-ii-test-comparison

https://soundcloud.com/mattav/body-and-soul-yas-480-sax-comparison-test

How do I feel?

Aside being a little uncomfortable on the new mouthpiece I feel that considering that, they play pretty well and fairly similarly. I was afraid to push too much higher up and as the sound on this mouthpiece was a little brittle, but they both handled it really well.

The YAS 62 ii is clearly a little warmer and has more depth to the sound. A bit fuller and a little more bite in the sound. Still the YAS 280 has a good clear sound, warm and pleasing, though with a little more of the metalic edge than the other. Both are clearly playable in my opinion. I'd be happy to receive feedback from others.

Yamaha alto saxes - cheap vs expensive

I play Yamaha saxes mainly. I have had alot of them other years and they are great horns from bottom to top. They suit me and I like their sound. Having owned both the cheapest and pro model horns many people ask me what the difference is?

To answer that fully is probably beyond the scope of this blog. There are lots of technical articles on these horns and a good start is here at SH Woodwind. http://www.shwoodwind.co.uk/Reviews/Saxes/Alto/Yamaha_YAS475.htm Excellent technical reviews of most modern saxes. Here is a YAS 475 for example. Check out others if you are interested in buying a horn. It's really a great read. For something a little simpler have a look here: http://www.bestsaxophonewebsiteever.com/yamaha-saxophone-overview/

So what about Yamaha Altos. Let's say YAS 480 vs a YAS62 II? What do I say?

The YAS 480 is a great horn. It's well made, plays in tune throughout and has a good clear tone. It's probably on the brighter side of saxophones in terms of tone, and with a solid mouthpiece it can give a very decent tone. I've used mine with a variety of mouthpieces and been happy with them all. The sax has a solid feel to it, the key-work fits great in the hands. Overall a solid sax and for the price you really can't go wrong. I've played mine in lots of gigs.

The YAS62 II - Having owned a great YTS 62 II this wasn't a difficult choice when one came my way. I only stopped playing the tenor because of wanting to focus on Alto but it was a great horn with a wonderful sound. The 62 is basically an improved 480. Immediately the action and handling feel very similar and it makes you feel right at home from the get go. Tone wise as you would expect from a more expensive horn, it is fuller and somewhat less bright especially higher up, but still has alot of power and projection like the cheaper model. The lowest note are fuller and have more snap or punch to them than the less expensive sax.
 Again if you prefer a more mellow saxophone maybe this is not your thing, but in my experience you can play pretty much any way you like, and with the right kind of mouthpiece for your individual sound you can set it up to your way of playing. I use a Selmer Soloist C* and I'm very happy. It's got alot of clarity, with a smooth warm tone which plays well from bottom to top.

I've made some recordings with both which I will post here. As always the ears are the best judge. I will add to this post in due course. For now here are some from the web:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9cirfzmGCs

Bob Reynolds - From 5:33 - Watch this great video. Later he plays his YAS 62. Wonderful tone for someone who says he doesn't play alto.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ct0w-gVTqmg

Greg Vail demonstrating the YAS 480

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FI88dv_CdTk

Greg Vail demonstrating the YAS 62 III

What scales ARE and what they are NOT - Jazzadvice.com

I was about to write about this but when I read this post on jazzadvice.com I thought better of it because it sums up exactly how I feel. Just because you know a particular scale to play over a particular chord, doesn't necessarily give you the sound you are looking for when soloing. We have all been in this position. "What do you play on that chord?" - We get an answer, try it out and it sounds awful. Yes, scales give us a starting point, but unless we know what to do with them, it doesn't go a lot further than that. Sometimes it can even be a hindrance. "So and so told me they play that scale so I need to play that" -  when actually our ears are screaming at us to play something different! I think players of all levels would enjoy reading this article. We all need the reminder from time to time. Yes, scales are important and the basis for many things, but until we explore the different possibilities and sounds by hearing and trying them out in context to see what fits our particular way of playing, it is unlikely to take as far as we would like.

http://www.jazzadvice.com/scales-are-not-the-secret-short-cut-to-jazz-improvisation/

Video teaser

A little teaser from our recent appearance at the Madras Jazz Festival. Thank you Lisa Suchanek for the video:

Some recordings can be found here:

https://soundcloud.com/mattav

Saxindia - Older posts

Thank you to those who still read and comment on my posts at my older blog www.saxindia.blogspot.in There are alot of posts there, and more than 9 years of material. Some useful - some maybe not! Still - I am getting quite a number of readers everyday and and I appreciate the useful feedback and comments I am receiving.

For now - I will continue to write here. Please follow me also on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/Mattlittlewood

And Soundcloud:

https://soundcloud.com/mattav

Three tracks from our latest recording are there with Holger Jetter and Sreenath Sreenivasan.

If you want to play the Sax better (or teach) - You must watch this!

A brilliant video by Saxophonist Bob Reynolds. Pretty much sums everything up needed for both students and teachers alike to remember. Everyone should watch this.


http://lessons.bobreynoldsmusic.com/join/becoming-a-member/


Update -


If you are clicking on this link and it says WE ARE FULL. Unlucky for you. Check again and have a look for the next time around. Fabulous stuff from Bob Reynolds.

YouTube - Jazz Solo Transcriptions

Somehow I wasn't expecting this to be such a popular feature on YouTube, even though I had seen a number of solo transcriptions over the years, and had worked through this fabulous soprano solo by Bob Sheppard on Pat Metheny's tune First Circle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNiLO7lxizg

Now having searched a little, I've have found a huge selection. Anyone wishing to study famous solos has a large choice. Personally I like the ones that play the original and scroll. Even if you don't end up working them out it's a great little study tool to have a listen and follow. I've linked some of the ones I like:


Kevin Hayes - It Could happen to you

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hi8DR1XDW6o

Wynton Marsalis - Struttin' With Some Barbecue

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyMiq13Kc5Y

Miles Davis - Straight No Chaser

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLfsQSpefbA

Miles Davis - Seven Steps to Heaven

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MajA3cs94Wc

Kenny Barron - Someday My Prince Will come

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E28gAG9K4rs

Charlie Parker - Just Friends

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4u8-V5q91Xk

Stella By Starlight

As promised one of our tracks from our recent recording.

Matt Littlewood - Piano
Holger Jetter - Double Bass
Sreenath Sreenivasan - Drums

Stella by Starlight - Victor Young - Arr Matt Littlewood

https://soundcloud.com/mattav/stella-by-starlight-victor-young-arr-matt