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Learning New Material

 
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Tony



Joined: 27 Nov 2008
Posts: 16
Location: Milwaukie Oregon

PostPosted: Mon Dec 08, 2008 9:30 pm    Post subject: Learning New Material Reply with quote

I am curious how the rest of you go about learning new material.
I received my first " Swing Blues" lesson from Mark and this is how I go about learning it.

I don't know about you guys but I have to work hard to memorize new material. I try to analyze the material by what Mark writes. Look for familiar patterns and then slowly finger all the notes. Perhaps only the first bar or one bar at a time. After a few times through it I put the guitar down or work on something else. Maybe after ten minutes or so I will attempt to play it again just to see how much I can remember.
Once I get all the notes down then I start to work on speed and phrazing.
After I accomplish proficiency I will begin working on the next lick...
I try not to take on too much at one time.. If I am with my guitar for an hour I will repeat this over and over again till I get it. It seems like the period of time between practicing really helps reinforce what it is I am
learning and outlines the difficult parts.
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woland99



Joined: 31 Mar 2007
Posts: 155
Location: Austin, TX

PostPosted: Tue Dec 09, 2008 10:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

With all due respect to Mark - who probably is the best person to answer
this question anyway - what worked the best for me was learning notes,
learning one fingering - just roughly without perfecting speed and then
EXPERIMENTING with them - playing them all over the neck in different
positions - that last part was the most helpful in integrating those licks
with other licks and also creating your own licks based on Mark's
material. Use them as a seed - that way you start hearing them in context
rather than a separate phrase. You still will have to spend time perfecting
them but chances are that you may like the lick in different position better,
more useful - or you may may like your own variation more. So instead
spending all the time practising the original version you may want to
practice version you like the best.
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nylenny



Joined: 31 Mar 2007
Posts: 291

PostPosted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 12:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for posting a great topic.

I'm not sure that there is one "correct" answer to this question. I'd be interested in hearing what others think.

Of course, my method varies from time to time, depending on the music, or what I am focusing on. For example, if it is a repetitive figure on bass, I might just focus on figuring out the figure and then understanding the form. Or if it is a solo, I might learn the licks one at a time and fool around with them.

In general, here is how I try to learn many things:

1) I listen to the recording and figure it out by ear.

2) I try to play each phrase in all different positions until I find one that works for me.

3) Once I can play along with the recording at at least 1/2 speed, I check my work against the printed page.

4) Depending on what I'm working on, I may continue to play along with the recording, slowly increasing speed. At some point, it will be memorized. Or I might consciously memorize it by drilling (i.e., trying to play as much as possible from memory).

5) If I spent enough time playing with the recording, and I can remember how the tune goes, it probably is memorized by the time I've played along with the recording enough times.

6) At some point, I usually "teach" myself the tune as if I were giving myself a lesson -- for example, I analyze each note, figure out the form, try to understand chord progressions, etc.

7) I recently started using each tune I'm learning as a vehicle to develop skill. For example, if I am trying to work on a particular area of the neck, I'll play the tune there. Or if I'm trying to learn a particular lick (like a two-five), I'll practice using that lick in the tune.

By the way, one of the best learning methods I've learned is to ask myself, "what do I like about this lick"? I may not remember the lick verbatim, but I do tend to remember the part of it that drew me to it.

Another useful thing I've learned from Mark is to only learn things you would play for someone -- you are what you eat. So if I am transcribing a solo, and I don't like parts of it, I will skip memorizing them and focus on the good parts.

All of these ideas require discipline, so it's no wonder that I don't always do them perfectly! Smile
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Mark
VM Coach


Joined: 26 Feb 2007
Posts: 479
Location: Portland, OR

PostPosted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 8:18 pm    Post subject: Re: Learning New Material Reply with quote

Tony wrote:
I am curious how the rest of you go about learning new material.


Tony,

I thought I'd chime in here, although I thoroughly enjoyed reading the posts by JT and Lenny. Thanks, guys!

What JT said as a lick being a "seed" is the way I view it, too. In the first series of Jazz Language ideas (II-V's) I purposely set up the fingering in three different locations and on three different starting pitches relative to the IIm7 (Dm7) chord: D (1st), F (3rd), and A (5th). This organization become critically important as your vocabulary expands. There is also an often overlooked, hidden factor in that you can connect the front end (first bar) of each example to the back end (second bar) of the others. Not all of this is obvious at first, but I did this based on a lot of thought after years and years of learning the language and finding optimum ways of applying it "on the fly" during solos.

Initially the most important thing is to get the lines thoroughly under your belt in the assigned positions, and ideally at all tempos with a goal of 8ths at 250+ bpm. That may seem too fast, but in reality a good jazz improviser ends up double-timing these phrases as 16ths when it comes to non-swing situations, like latin, funk, etc. So what is 110 to 125 bpm becomes the equivalent of 220 to 250 bpm as 8ths. Long story short is to push yourself on the chops front, because you'll need the horsepower and ideally with a little left over in the tank. Wink

Once you have a solid grasp of the licks as presented, start using them as harmonic seeds to explore the neck, trying additional fingerings. Where some aspiring players are basically wasting precious time playing scales, modes, and arpeggios all over the fingerboard, you'll instead be practicing something that (as Lenny quoted yours truly) you would actually PLAY for someone. No one wants to hear a scale, that's for sure. For the record, when I would review licks I'd begin in one neutral key (C) and move them from the nut to duplication at the 12th fret. In theory that gives you all possible keys and potential fingerings. All for now...

- Mark
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"Anyone can make the simple complicated. Creativity is making the complicated simple" - Mingus
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Larry_DC



Joined: 31 Mar 2007
Posts: 207

PostPosted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 1:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The only thing I can add is that it is necessary to have patience and determination because it takes time to to build up layers of knowledge and technical skill. The good news is that the learning process is so enjoyable and rewarding.

One other thing, memorizing a song by voice goes a long away towards learning it on the fretboard.
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