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  #1  
Old 06-07-2005, 05:26 PM
Mark Walsen (markwa)
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Default I'm submitting this simple

I'm submitting this simple short oboe and piano piece as a contrast to the AmericanProkofieff improvisation I submitted in the Contemporary Classical section.

<center><table border=1><tr><td>ShortTuneOboeAndPiano.not
ShortTuneOboeAndPiano.not (24.6 k)</td></tr></table></center>

I improvised this piece a few years ago in a little 10-minute session. I spent a lot more time, though, shifting notes a little bit to the right or left to clean up rhythms. But the melody and accompaniment is pretty much exactly as I improvised it.

A few years ago I used to improvise at the electronic keyboard a lot in this style, when testing Composer. I found that I could momentarily relax while doing the improvisation, before getting back to work to explore what problems there might be in Composer's recording or transcription logic.

You might notice that the piece ends in the dominant (V) chord, F, relative to the key of Bb. Technically, that is called a "half cadence". It begs for a return to the original key. So, I satisfied that with a repeat. But after the repeat, what did I do the second time the half cadence was hit? Perhaps I was just lazy by doing nothing. But, a half cadence at the end of a song is often successfully used in music to leave an intentional feeling of incompletion, an unsatisfied desire for something more to come.

Cheers
-- Mark
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  #2  
Old 06-07-2005, 05:55 PM
Sherry Crann (sherry)
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Default Howdy Mark, A perfect piec

Howdy Mark,

A perfect piece to listen to on a gloriously sunny day (such as today is here)! And that unsatisfied feeling? Makes me want to go back outside and enjoy the sunshine some more - good inspiration

For those of us who have to have the "finished" feeling, we can just hit the stop button before that last chord Otherwise, we can just wait for you to post more of your improvisations!

Thanks for sharing it with us!
Sherry

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  #3  
Old 06-08-2005, 12:34 PM
David Jacklin (dj)
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Default Hi, Mark: Both this and the

Hi, Mark:

Both this and the Prokofieff piece, based on improvs as they are, show your excellent keyboard facility to good effect.

I gnash my teeth constantly over the fact that my fingers don't do what I want them to do at the keyboard -- especially now that my kids are surpassing me! Listening to your pieces makes me want to spend more time with Hanon, but, dang it, there's only so much time.

I'm quite impressed by both pieces -- especially the American Prokofieff. So you didn't scare everyone with it!

David
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  #4  
Old 06-08-2005, 04:08 PM
Mark Walsen (markwa)
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Default Hi David, My keyboard techn

Hi David,

My keyboard technique is actually lousy compared to what I try to play and improvise. My ears gloss over all of my playing mistakes, just as my eyes gloss over typing mistakes (thank heaven for spell-checkers). Because of this I almost never play the piano for anyone else to hear. That I exposed the AmericanProkofieff piece is a rare exception.

I'm glad that my ears can hear through the mess to discern what I'm trying to do musically in real time. I find that if I work too hard on playing the right notes, the musical ideas quickly disappear, so that all that is left is music that is boring to my ears, even though there are fewer wrong notes.

This recording of the AmericanProkifieff piece was my second improvisation of the ideas. I didn't record the first take. I rarely turn on the recorder. I liked what I had improvised the first time, so I thought I'd try to capture it in a recording. Just the fact that I knew I'd be listening to my own recording later caused me to tighten up, so that this second improvisation wasn't as inspired or well-constructed as the previous one, and so that this second improvisation actually had more wrong notes.

What time I find to play on my acoustic piano, at least half of that time is spent improvising. One of the main things I work on when improvising is trying to stretch my musical vocabulary-- not so much to improve my keyboard technique, but much more so to just be able to contemplate different musical ideas. I wish I could do this by just sitting in a chair and listening to music made up in my head. I understand some people can do that, but I can do that only with an unsatisfying vagueness, lack of clarity.

Thus, improvising is my way of sitting in a chair and making up music in my head, in the way I understand some people can. I put up with all of the "typing mistakes", because I wouldn't begin to hear the music if I were attempting to do it quietly in my internal ears. I think that what improvisation skills I have developed are much different from those of, say, a jazz pianist. His skills are highly developed in certain musical idioms of his choosing. To succeed, he must be able to play jazz scales, and play lots of different types of musical figures, without thinking. If you think you need to spend more time with Hanon, perhaps your goal is more like that of improvising as a performance for others to hear. This would make sense, because you are in the business of bringing theatre and music to the public. On the other hand, if your interest is to develop improvisation skills as a tool for composing, then I'm not so sure that painful time with Hanon would be well spent. He might kill your spirit.

Cheers
-- Mark
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  #5  
Old 11-25-2006, 03:09 AM
Derek Sanders (derek_sanders)
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Default A neat little oboe piece Mark,

A neat little oboe piece Mark, I think I'll try it on the clarinet. About improvising, a great musician I once knew told me that whenever he sat down to "Doodle" as he called it he always set his tape recorder going. He soon forgot it was there but when he was finished some of his best "Doodlings" were there on tape and he saved them so he could go back to them later on and use them, believe me, some of his work was out of this world. I have used this idea too and it does work. TTYL...Derek.
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  #6  
Old 11-25-2006, 04:53 AM
Mark Walsen (markwa)
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Default Hello Derek, That little pi

Hello Derek,

That little piece should work pretty well with the clarinet, but it isn't going to show off the clarient like, say, the opening of Rhapsody in Blue.

Have fun doodling with your clarinet and Composer!

Cheers
-- Mark
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  #7  
Old 11-25-2006, 04:23 PM
Fred Winterling (harbor1)
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Default Hi Derek, That is probably th

Hi Derek,
That is probably the best advice you can get. I never touch a note on my keyboard without pushing the "record" button first.
Cheers,
Fred
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  #8  
Old 11-25-2006, 04:29 PM
Fred Winterling (harbor1)
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Default Hi Mark, Quote:> Thus,

Hi Mark,

Quote:> Thus, improvising is my way of sitting in a chair and making up music in my head, in the way I understand some people can. I put up with all of the "typing mistakes", because I wouldn't begin to hear the music if I were attempting to do it quietly in my internal ears. I think that what improvisation skills I have developed are much different from those of, say, a jazz pianist. His skills are highly developed in certain musical idioms of his choosing. To succeed, he must be able to play jazz scales, and play lots of different types of musical figures, without thinking.

I once had a record that my music teacher put me onto of a "play along with" jazz ensemble. I also had a record player that you could tune up to your accoustic piano. It did wonders for me, but I can't find the record or the record player. I am sure the record player is gone, but I will keep looking for the record and the book that comes with it. If I ever find it, I would be glad to send it to you. (or if I could remember the name of it, I'll let you know).
Cheers,
Fred
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  #9  
Old 11-25-2006, 07:39 PM
Mark Walsen (markwa)
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Default Hello Fred, Along the same

Hello Fred,

Along the same lines of developing live jazz improv skills, for years I've been meaning to use PG Music's Band-in-a-Box to jam along with. You can tell BIAB the chord progressions and music style you want, and it will provide the accompaniment as you play the lead. This sounds like a lot of fun, in addition to improving one's chops.

I've been a slow learner picking up jazz technique, partly because I'm not spending enough time getting it into my ears by listening to good jazz. Also, keyboard jazz technique just seems to require a lot of hard-earned keyboard technique.

Cheers
-- Mark
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  #10  
Old 11-26-2006, 04:19 PM
Fred Winterling (harbor1)
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Default Hi Mark, Believe it or not, I

Hi Mark,
Believe it or not, I found volumes 1 and 2 of the books and the record for volume 2. (God knows where the record for volume 1 is). I now remember that my tunable record player was stolen years ago by one of the foster children we had taken into our home. The system is called "A new approach to jazz improvisation" by Jamey Aebersold. Volume 2 is called "nothin' but blues". The books are jam packed with everything about jazz improv anyone could ever find in a lifetime. Actually, the "play along" record for volume 2 was never opened. I lost interest because I no longer had the record player and could not afford another at the time. It got a little difficult trying to learn the techniques and have to transpose everything at the same time. I was used to transposing 1 full tone up on the saxophone, but the piano was only a half tone flat and it drove me nuts. If you would be interested in the books and the record, I would be glad to send them to you. I did not have a very tough time with the theory because I had completed the "Schillinger Jazz" method, but it did help quite a bit with getting used to applying that to the piano ( it sure is a lot easier playing one note at a time on the sax ). Just let me know if you would like to have them.

Cheers,
Fred
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  #11  
Old 11-26-2006, 05:10 PM
Mark Walsen (markwa)
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Default Hi Fred, I'm tempted by

Hi Fred,

I'm tempted by your offer. Would I be able to make good use of the books without the recordings, as I no longer have a turn table either?

I have a couple of jazz keyboard books here, with lots of musical examples in them. But they haven't clicked with me. Upon your recommendation, maybe your books would work for me, especially if they included printed musical examples.

Thanks for the offer!

Cheers
-- Mark
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  #12  
Old 11-26-2006, 06:15 PM
Fred Winterling (harbor1)
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Default Hi Mark, >>I'm

Hi Mark,

>>I'm tempted by your offer. Would I be able to make good use of the
books without the recordings, as I no longer have a turn table either?

Absolutely! Who needs a record player when you have Composer?!
I would think they would also work very well with BIAB. You could use the chord progressions in the book and insert them into BIAB to play along, plus it would be in tune with your keyboard whereas a record player would be flat unless it was tunable. The book is loaded with common jazz licks ( I call them riffs ) and you can elaborate on them to compose your own jazz tunes. The books make extensive use of the Blues Scales and is the basis for endless improvisation. I think you would enjoy working with them.

Cheers,
Fred
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  #13  
Old 11-26-2006, 06:29 PM
Mark Walsen (markwa)
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Default Hello Fred, If you can part

Hello Fred,

If you can part with these books for a while, I would be honored to borrow them from you, a pro jazz musician. Since you will have gone through the trouble to send them, I'll feel obligated to work with the books, and that's probably an extra incentive I need to give jazz an honest try again at the piano. I few years ago I took lessons for a half year, but failed pretty miserably.

Thanks for sharing these books with me!

Cheers
-- Mark
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  #14  
Old 11-26-2006, 07:21 PM
Sherry Crann (sherry)
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Default Howdy guys, What fun [img]h

Howdy guys,

What fun

I'm just sticking my head in briefly to help the offer along. I have a turntable and a regular studio CD burner, both of which are hooked up to my stereo system. If you would like a copy of the LP (who else knows what that means? ;) ) on CD, just send it here to the beanfield first, and I can burn one for you.

If you're interested, let me know off-line, and I'll give you my snail-mail to send it to.

ttfn,
Sherry
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  #15  
Old 11-26-2006, 10:18 PM
Fred Winterling (harbor1)
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Default Hi Mark, Sure, Mark. I'd

Hi Mark,
Sure, Mark. I'd be glad to send them. Just tell me where to mail them. If you would like the record, I could send it to Sherry as she offered.
P.S. Don't feel bad. I failed miserably as well after 5 years of piano lessons with one of the greatest jazz pianists in Baltimore. I learned more in the last year and a half with Composer and my keyboard hooked up to it. Don't get me wrong, he is a great teacher. The student was the problem.
Cheers,
Fred
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  #16  
Old 11-26-2006, 11:27 PM
Mark Walsen (markwa)
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Default Hello Fred, Thanks for send

Hello Fred,

Thanks for sending me this pair of learning jazz books. Our corporate headquarters are at:

317 - 109th Ave SE
Bellevue, WA 98004 US

(I spend so much time at Notation Software that I live there also.)

I'll take a look at the books to see whether I might need the crutch of the record for Vol 2, which I probably will.

My piano teacher would never play anything for me, even though she was capable, because she wanted me to explore on my own. That's probably a great way to help a kid learn to love playing the piano. It's a different question as to whether that is a great way to help a kid to learn to play the piano well. In my case, though, my teacher probably had the right plan. I might have learned to play the piano better at my age level, but then I would have quit at a young age because I would not have loved to play the piano, as I still do now 40+ years later.

Cheers
-- Mark
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  #17  
Old 11-27-2006, 07:48 PM
Fred Winterling (harbor1)
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Default Hi Mark, The books are in t

Hi Mark,

The books are in the mail. I hope you enjoy them. I see now that Jamey Aebersol offers 114 volumes ( there used to be 34 volumes ). The play along volumes now come with CD's instead of LP's. Of course, when I got them, I didn't know what a CD was. At least the CD's would be in tune with the keyboard. You can see all that is available by visiting jazzbooks.com.
Aebersol now also offers a free jazz handbook that looks great. It would also be worthwhile downloading that. I looked at a few of the pages on the site.

Best wishes,
Fred
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