>Richard's exposition on his bag of jazz tricks was unbelievable to me as
>a beginning improvisor.
>
>Reading that kind of information can do several things to you. It can
>inspire. Or, it can intimidate you to such a degree that you put your
>instrument down and take up wood-working. Or, it will finally convince
>you that you're better off absorbing the melody and chords of a tune,
>stringing together some variations that sound right and then lettin' it
>rip
>
I've been assuming that I was the novice among experts! I get quite
discouraged at times. I've picked up some theory (and find it
fascinating), but I'm really a beginning improvisor when it comes to
playing. I can do quite nice non-realtime arrangements from fake books,
but then I launch into a solo, and I freeze up or get stuck in the
middle. But I notice small improvements, and when I can trace them to a
particular thing that "clicked", I like to share that.
I was hoping to encourage all of us, no matter what level, to contribute
insights about things which help us learn, so we can all learn better. I
know there's no quick fix, but this stuff can be overwhelming, and I
sometimes think jazz educators could do a better job of devising
"optimal" practice regimens, for those of us with limited time.
I expect that others will correct and amplify my points, but if there's
anything you want me (or anyone else) to try to explain better, let me
know.
Regards,
Richard