> As to whether they are conscious of their use of guide tones while soloing,
> all performing artists (dance,acting, music, etc.) seem to perform their
> best when it happens at a sub-conscious level.
SNIP
> My point is that practicing is when people think of guide tones, target
> notes, altered scales, outlines, fragmentation, augmentation,diminution, and
> other theoretical concepts. If they are practiced enough they become muscle
> memory just like major scales have to in the beginning. When soloing,
> conscious thoughts of those concepts just tend to get in the way and stop
> the natural flow of music. I think of guide tone practicing as something
> which helps me in learning a tune with difficult harmonies so I can get
> "inside" the chord changes, but I don't imagine they even enter my thoughts
> when I am on a gig.
>
Many on this list know a lot more than I do aboutthis subject, but it
does seem to me that there is a valid distinction between drilling to
learn basic technique and soloing. It is well known that Charlie Parker
did spend a long period of his early career practising scales after some
humiliating bandstand experience. He also drilled on the upper chord
tones while working at an eating establishment in which Art Tatum
played. Likewise there are things one does in learning a language as an
adult (grammar drills, vocabulary memorization, etc.) that have to be
left behind to gain fluency, but there is no avoiding them at the
learning stage. On the other hand, some language programs focusing on
usage have shown that it may not be as necessary or helpful to drill
every point in the traditional way as was thought. Maybe some of the
"formula" approaches to soloing are like traditional grammar and
vocabulary drills-training wheels that you start with, but must move
beyond.
-- \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\//////////////////////////// Lawson G. Stone-Asbury Theological Seminary-Wilmore, KY ////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Prediction is very difficult, especially of the future. --Niels Bohr