Here's some great drivin' music, with an attached lesson
I was a broke college student in my second year of music study when I found this song on a record (yes, those round things). I stood in the store, considering a $.99 purchase (the jacket was damaged) by what appeared to be a jazz group called Spyrogyra. This was my introduction to jazz fusion, a love that continues to this day.
I was enraptured. One day at university, some friends were on break from Jazz Band rehearsal. I asked the group, “Hey guys! If I wanted to study jazz, how would I start?”
They answered in a chorus. “Jamey Aebersold.”
It would be another 15 years before I bought my first Jamey Aebersold method books. This excellent teacher has you start with tiny, tiny baby steps. Learn one scale and the music theory illuminating how it fits with one chord type. You then improvise melodies while playing along with a jazz trio recording. Using one scale. Pretty boring.
You then learn another scale/chord combo and improvise on it for a bit, then Aebersold has you blend it in a two-chord song, your first song with “changes.”
Then another. Then three-chord songs. You learn that this three-chord change (ii7-V7-Imaj7) is all over jazz. Once you learn that pattern, you have dozens of available songs to play. The world opens up.
Emotional skills are built no differently.
They’re best developed systematically, a point that I’ve made repeatedly in my posts.
Take the tiniest step and practice it. Then take another step and combine it with the previous one when you’re ready. Crack on, and you’ll be improvising fluidly in a matter of time. You won’t even notice things that once bothered you. You may also learn that emotional trials can build resilience, and you can weather those trials more easily because you have some stress management skills.
It always starts with managing stress.
Read all the way down for an opportunity to learn a method to do just that.
Spyrogyra’s Morning Dance was on the album I bought that day, and I later played it in my one-man show. Once again, I’m playing my double tenors and soloing on marimba a couple of times as well. The solos are not very sophisticated; I was about 3 years into my 10-year jazz study at this point. But it’s a fun tune, great for driving to on a sunny April day. :-)
Enjoy!
8 Slots Left
As of now, 8 of 10 slots open for the FREE May 3rd SFAR training. This may be the only time I teach this at no cost.
The Stress First Aid Routine (SFAR) is way to rapidly and reliably shut down your stress. It costs nothing except thirty seconds of your time, and its effectiveness is backed by neuroscience research. Here’s your chance to learn it for FREE.
I’ll train participants how to use the SFAR live via Zoom on Saturday, May 3, at 2:00 P.M. Central Standard time.
If you’d like to attend, just email me. My email is:
john@johnheavner.com
There will be a second training of the SFAR on Saturday, May 10 at 2:00 P.M. CST. This is for those that missed the limited FREE training the previous Saturday. The training cost on this date is $25.)