Vision Music

[nylenny]

Is transcribing and then playing along with the artist a good way to develop a jazz feel (placement of notes relative to the beat, phrasing, touch, etc.)?

How conscious should a student be of what the performer is doing when playing along? For example, Dexter Gordon seems to stretch notes in heads and play behind the beat. Should I make a mental note of where he does that, or just groove along with his playing?

[Dean]

This is for the playing along part of your question.I would not take what I say as the best advice,but when I solo over blues tunes,I just stay within the rhythm.As long as you bring it back to the one beat,and end on the key note,it seems to work.What I mean by the rhythm,you can hear a players accents in the rhythm,and phrase your licks within the phrasing.If you go outside of the phrase ,you just keep going till you come to the next one beat to tie it together.As you can tell,I'am not as good at explaining myself,or talk the language as most on here.I hope you can get what I am trying to say,if it makes sense at all.Simply, I don't think it matters,as long as you can pull it back in, at someplace in the song.
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What don't kill you makes you stronger

[nylenny]

Who are great players to transcribe if my goal is to learn to be able to play behind the beat more consistently (i.e., relative to the beat) and fluidly?

[Larry_DC]

I've noticed from transcribing a number of Miles Davis' solos that he played behind the beat a lot. It drove me crazy trying to notate accurately. I finally realized it's more important to feel what is going on than to try to nail that dotted 1/128th note.

I never thought about it before, but Billie Holiday would be a possibility.

[nylenny]

Thanks, Larry. I'll check those out. It's interesting that you mentioned Billie Holiday. I find it much more difficult to transcribe voice and wind instruments than guitar, vibes, piano, or most anything else.

I've had the same experience transcribing when it goes behind the beat. Do you write it on the beat, or struggle to get the rhythm exact? I've found that if I listen to things slow, my tendency is to over-notate. I find it easier to listen at speed, then sing the line. Then I transcribe what I sung. My notation is a little less exact, but more what a mainstream transcription would look like.

[Mark]

[nylenny]

Which guitarists derive their sound largely from playing behind the beat?

[Mark]