⬇ Download my 7-T Jazz Practice Pyramid-A one-page map to creatively organize your practice time-FREE at jazzpracticepyramid.com

Whoever is looking for shortcuts, believe me, there aren't any. You've gotta do the work.

‘You don’t give a two year old a book.’ YES, I’m a massive language lover and am about to study a Spanish degree having recently started learning the sax, the number of common methods between the two are infinite, but perhaps the most important is simply listen, absorb, repeat, and continuously and contextually flood your ears with the sounds your trying to learn whilst actively working to understand what they mean in that context. Thanks so much for your videos

Being a jazz beginner, I have lots love insecurities and doubts but this video really cleared up lots of them. It’s good to see professionals sharing their learning process. Thank you so much.

@bobreynolds

5 жыл бұрын

So glad to hear it. Thanks for letting me know. :) Enjoy the process!

A great real-world practical tutorial!!! I never thought about playing scales in sixths! Brilliant! Learning music, like any language, requires putting in the work to learn how to speak and, more importantly, communicating!

Your ear tells you what you want to play. Theory helps you figure out how to play it...and what it's possible to play...which, in turn, inspires your ear to expand your imagination. Nice tone you get on that tenor!

@wookielocks

4 жыл бұрын

That's a great way to think about it

@jeromeking6001

3 жыл бұрын

Well said.

All those questions boil down to the same thing: How can I improve without putting in the work. It's as simple as that.

@Baribrotzer

7 жыл бұрын

Or maybe not quite. What about, "How can I improve without putting in unnecessary work?" Without a good teacher and a good practice routine, you can waste time going down blind alleys, working on things you already know, and taking five hours a day to do something you could accomplish in two.

@normanklein3155

7 жыл бұрын

I don't think that's a fair statement. More like "how can I progress despite these road blocks". For instance, musicians shouldn't be criticized just because they don't have perfect pitch, they'll concentrate on attaining proficiency with relative pitch instead of endlessly working to attain perfect pitch. Its a matter of which road to choose and not putting in the necessary work.

@bobreynolds

7 жыл бұрын

Exactly.

@bobreynolds

7 жыл бұрын

definitely some truth to that.

@mvalor2020

7 жыл бұрын

or...I will work the hard way to find the short cut which is why I'm lazy and the only stupid question is the one I don't ask. Makes sense?

You are a gem, thank you for being so plain without trying to "create your own system" which is often what players trying to reach for more get fed. Also, your pitch describing basic chord progressions before you play "I Can't get started" Is spot on lol. Almost/Sometimes perfect pitch is probably the reality of what most musicians experience. Appreciate you and your playing Bob!

I appreciate this. I get a sense from some people when I talk about theory stuff that I'm too much of a academic musician and not a true musician who just hears the music in my head and flows out of my playing. Those are not mutually exclusive, in fact they support each other, learning theory made my ear so much better, and learning things by ear was how I taught myself the basics of theory.

Good stuff Bob. I'm almost 60 and the reason I'm not farther along in my playing is because I haven't done the work. There are no shortcuts. You want the prize? Do the work.

@bobreynolds

7 жыл бұрын

Amen, Scott. Amen. (If there's a trick, it's to find JOY in "the work")

@eomer7284

6 жыл бұрын

Scott Johnson why is ur picture an axe

@gil-evens

5 жыл бұрын

@@eomer7284 Because he has great chops :)))))

@TheTWildy

4 жыл бұрын

I'm 73 and have been going to the local music school for 5 years now. My reading is improving having played by ear since 1969. so is my understanding of music. Yup, work on it every day. Currently playing with two bands and a Jazz workshop. I'm loving it, and much happier!

@zenscapeUKmedia

3 жыл бұрын

With all due respect, could it be that people aren't further along their musical journey because they just haven't got the talent to create? If everything could be taught, we'd all be major league baseball, football players, stadium filling musicians, Bill Gates or Steve Jobs. How come there are no great players who studied all their lives and only break into the charts at 60 - most do it before they learnt the rules - then its all downhill from there.

I just want to say you're a great teacher!!

@nathanphillips3893

6 жыл бұрын

I agree! Thanks for sharing this video. I am a bass player, but basically have a whole practice routine planned out based off this vid. So good!

@johnnyloungejazz5477

6 жыл бұрын

Guitargate agree

@hosericardo

4 жыл бұрын

I beg to differ. Beginners coming here are expected to know what a 3rd or a 6th is! He speaking a different language to me!

@ClaptrapRapture

4 жыл бұрын

@@hosericardo I think it's fair to say Bob's stuff is not aimed at beginners. On his website, when talking about his online school he mentions aiming it at players with 3+ years experience, and similarly the sax workshop he puts on each year specifically caters to intermediate+ players. There are good resources out there for total beginners though, Better Sax has some great content, as well as sites like Taming The Saxophone.

@jeromeking6001

3 жыл бұрын

@@hosericardo The numbers he's referring to are the scale note numbers . In the C major scale, C is the one, D would be the 2, and so on. If you count up from C, A is the the 6th. In the key of F, D would be the 6th.

That’s was a WEALTH of information….and it was totally free!! You are truly passionate about music and teaching. Thanks very much!

I appreciate this, sometimes it gets discouraging (but also inspiring) seeing monster players online who always seem to be killing it. You tend to forget all of the stuff outside of the camera rolling, but hearing from a player of your caliber that you still deal with some of the same things we do is extremely refreshing. Subbed

@noahlaughaha

7 жыл бұрын

Veritas MAN, it feels good to hear that from someone else. I felt like the only one that thought this. I'm trying to stop using Instagram (Or at least the search page, considering that's mostly what I use Instagram for) because all I see are amazing guitar players over, and over, and over again. It absolutely feels good to hear an amazing player say that they're not perfect.

@CraigLumpyLemke

7 жыл бұрын

Veritas My view is that EVERY musician has to learn, assimilate, become certain processes. And the three processes are simply the three components of music, rhythm, melody and harmony. The instrument in your hands at any given time doesn't define the music, it's YOUR ENVELOPMENT in those three musical concepts that define it right now, as its being played. Most casual musicians, like the email question guy, refuse/block the idea that there's something "Learnable" about music. It's strange, to me, that people can conceive that a surgeon, or bar tender or carpenter is good at his craft because he has practiced a lot. Yet they want to think that music is somehow different. They think good mosos are "Born talented". I've had more than one person say to me " You're really good, you probably don't have to practice anymore". Bottom line here, most people don't get it. The one's that do, succeed as musicians. The one's that don't will be the first to tell you "Well I'm not a REAL musician"

@edwardpritchard1782

7 жыл бұрын

I am no jazz giant, yet very good at what I do including teaching jazz improvisation. I can't read music. Technique is the nuts and bolts, everything else comes from within. It amazes me when I see some giants play standards without arrangements, from sheet music...ones I've played many times in many ways. Often I hear a song for the first time and before it's end I can play it complete with improve. Sounds like bragging but my experience differs so much from other posts.

@edwardpritchard1782

7 жыл бұрын

I guess I just don't get it. All the videos, websites, instruction books, play-along C Ds, transcribed solos and hours of practice will help but cannot substitute for whatever it is that the Me brings forth. Were I to have practiced what dominates the majority of jazz conversations I would have greater range, endurance and gigs. Would I trade what I have for that? No!

As a student in my last year of high school in Australia, i love jazz and i want a career out of it. Never before has a genre of music made me feel so different. This video was very informative and just what i need. MORE MORE MORE! keep up the amazing work man

I think this is one of the most important and encouraging videos I’ve ever watched on improvisation. I’m a chronic over-analyzer and am plagued by overthinking *everything* when it comes to trying to improvise, so thank you for being so kind and open as to share your wisdom and helping to dispel some persistent myths that I struggle with.

@joseceraia

5 жыл бұрын

Try without thinking.That is what what the greatest do.Don't think about scales etc... You have it or you don't, and when somebody does not have it build in since birth, he will never have it. Music is Art !

My concepts have always centered around playing the tune. A lesson I was taught was that the audience should be rewarded. If they can predict more than 50% of the time what you're trying to say, they get bored. and stop listening.. If they can't predict less than 50% of the time, they become frustrated and stop listening. It's a delicate balance. I got those words straight from Jerry Coker.

@bobreynolds

5 жыл бұрын

Yes! You just articulated something I say often: (for me) it's about a balance between predictability and surprise. If it's all predictable...boring. All surprise...also boring.

I have no idea how, but you just make me so much less stressed about being a jazz musician. The way you break things down and explain them is so methodical and easy to understand that I feel more confident in my abilities and my future practice (rather than terrified as I usually am)

"Pre-Hearing" the KEY concept here. When the mystery is less and less mysterious, and more music is clear, this is an enhancement for you as a player. The audience is supposed to be enthralled, but we, as players must have as few mysteries as we can unveil to ourselves. MBB

The language analogy is fundamental here; not because of how accurate or inaccurate it is, but because it reveals a deeper truth to learning how to play and later understand the mechanics of music: I'm sure we have all heard many times the expression that "this is just my way of learning (Bob even said something along those lines in this vlog) but the fact is - just like language - we actually all learn the SAME way. And furthermore, we all learn the ONLY way there is to learn. Regardless of the individual language; English, Italian, Farsi, or MUSIC, we all learn by imitation, repetition and extrapolation. Learning the language of music (scales, intervals, chords, rhythm, etc) is not the great challenge...using that learned language to express our emotional non-verbal selves is the great challenge.

@bobreynolds

7 жыл бұрын

+NostalgiaSmith BOOM!

7 жыл бұрын

I couldn't agree more!! :D

@javelmorris5515

6 жыл бұрын

hey i like ur pro pic where can i find it

@musiccampwithlumpyandlisa9025

6 жыл бұрын

" ...Learning the language of music (scales, intervals, chords, rhythm, etc) is not the great challenge...using that learned language to express our emotional non-verbal selves is the great challenge...." - I believe that there a LOT of casual players who absolutely refuse to enjoy the second half of that idea. Music is SUPPOSED to be about "expressing our emotional non-verbal self". But the majority of casual players just plain refuse to embrace that. It takes a lot of self confidence and just plain chops to express your emotions to strangers (an audience). Most casual players, and men more than women, aren't comfortable revealing their personal emotions. Dissect it a bit further and I think most professional musicians will suggest that it's not about "Expressing MY emotional self"... it's about "Making the music happen so the LISTENER can experience that emotional non-verbal thing". Maybe that's all a little nebulous. Maybe more simply, YOU'RE AN ACTOR when you're playing. ACT like the kind of character the audience wants to see and hear. Learn that language (scales, intervals etc) and you greatly reduce or often completely eliminate the worry about playing the right notes. Allows you to put the fingering on the back burner and allows that "Expressing emotion" thing to come to the forefront.

This is the first vlog of yours that I saw, and immediately subscribed. Now I'll be busy going through your entire archive. I love the comments too. So encouraging!

@bobreynolds

7 жыл бұрын

+Martin Heinsdorf thanks, Martin.

That stuff you said about transcription really opened my mind up to it as a drummer...

Hi Bob. This video is BRILLIANT ! Playing jazz in a nutshell. The way you put together all the pieces in a pragmatic and humble way is sooo refreshing. Thanks a lot, really.

I am a first-time listener of your videos - a beginning jazz pianist. Love your down-to-earth matter-of-fact way of explaining. Super helpful insights!

I really like the style of your videos. They're not like a private lesson or a class, it's more like when I go into my instructors office with a question, a she whips out her horn and some manuscript paper and just helps me figure out stuff

@jeromeking6001

3 жыл бұрын

Absolutely 🤗

Thank you for this. You are a brilliant teacher, who really understands the challenges and realities of being a hobby musician, trying to learn the instrument and the music alongside work / other commitments. Great video.

I was sounding like my daughter while watching this whole video, "Yaaassss....yaaassss....yaaaasss". I've been playing sax for more than 30 yrs. and I agree with everything you said on this video about theory and ear playing should definitely go hand in hand!

What a great message about developing you playing. You said a mouth full about how to practice and learn your craft. Beautiful stuff. Thanks

@bobreynolds

2 жыл бұрын

🙏

Great video. I can definitely trace back my periods of greatest musical improvement to when I did the most transcribing. I don't remember the licks, but I developed my ear and learned the language.

1:40 anyone else hearing the beginning of the giant steps solo?

@bobreynolds

7 жыл бұрын

Yup.

@Larriex97

4 жыл бұрын

Yees, it's the first phrase of Giant Steps' solo

Bob, I've seen this one before and have referenced it to my students..but checking it out again and just want to give you a big hug for each and every great perspective and approach you've offered here. Looking forward to playing this for our jazz lab tomorrow, with discussion on how to incorporate theory, listing, transcription (for language and FLAVOR), and tune learning in manners that are viable, relatable, relevant, meaningful, inspiring, creative...and JOYFUL. Love to you and yours, bro.

@bobreynolds

2 жыл бұрын

Wow! Thanks, John.

@riccitone

2 жыл бұрын

@@bobreynolds 🙏🏼❤️

I'm an extremely casual saxophone player, though love hearing your thoughts on music (as well as your music, of course!). I really love your thoughts on music as a language. Victor Wooten wrote an excellent book called "The Music Lesson" that really emphasizes that point, mostly in the way you so eloquently described. It's a great read, even for a casual player like myself. Thanks for putting out such a great blog! (Also, excellent solo on "What About Me" during that Cheltenham show!)

@bobreynolds

7 жыл бұрын

Thanks! Victor is the man. I co-lead a summer saxophone retreat (insideoutsideretreat.com) at his facility outside Nashville and have had the pleasure of hearing him speak-and play-the lessons from that book. That language correlation didn't really hit me until I had kids. ;)

@MakAttackMusic

7 жыл бұрын

I am so glad to hear this. I've been preachin' this for years that music is pretty much a language like any other language where we learn by listening and copying what we hear! Not sure you realized it but you even demonstrated it earlier on this video before mentioning it. (change of topic) Tellin' ya, one of these days I will have the pleasure of meeting Victor the man. I have two good friends that are family friends of his and it's like DAMN IT...I'm like 1 degree away from getting to hang with such an individual! HAHA! One of these days as I continue to grow musically, I'll get that chance! ;) Love your videos. Definitely helps in my progress!

@bobreynolds

7 жыл бұрын

Thanks, David. Yeah, Vic is a powerful and positive force of nature.

@user-rh2ez9wo4z

7 жыл бұрын

+David Maki (David G. Maki II) さ、

Bob this is really awesome of you to share. Thank you kindly for the words. Really appreciate it

This video is so wonderful. As a classical player my whole life, this makes me want to transcribe and learn some tunes.

Now I don't feel alone. After 18 years without touching a TS and only playing by ear I can understand where he comes from since I too am 60 with no formal training. Your instructions in this video are gold!

Love this talk. A couple of years ago I was talking with a friend who played in bands with me 40+ years ago. At one point I mentioned a song that I always wanted to play but never got the chance. "We played it." "Really?" "For two years." I have no memory of ever knowing it.

I love what you're doing here Bob Reynolds. Excellent content and lots of great insights, basically some of the best lessons i've had in years!

I was on youtube looking at something else and when it finished this video just came up. I am so glad I stayed to hear what you have to say. Your two cents (as you put it) is well done and I feel like your approach to music is excellent. Thanks for the encouragement and good advice.

Great lesson. This are concepts that I have been thinking of, it is wonderful to hear it from a great professional. Hearing, choosing, practicing, the best way to keep up with the musical language (I am a language teacher myself).Thanks a lot!

this man really knows what he's talking about! tanks you Bob

I am a tenor sax player and a speaker of a few languages. Your analogy to language learning is really good. So many people say: "I would love to learn French", but when you tell them they need to conjugate/memorize a few verbs so that they can express basic thoughts and then build vocabulary, they typically give up, because conjugating, like playing scales, is no fun. But there is no short cut. I seem to have near perfect pitch for languages and a good ear for music, but certainly not perfect pitch. The two are linked. People who are tone deaf for music are usually deaf for languages, as well. To improvise better, I need to take your advice on becoming more conversant with all the scales and especially the chords on my horn. Our ears will take us only so far.

Thank you Bob! Theory & ear are a two wheel bicycle with tires on BOTH rims!

Good stuff. The genius of it is the simplicity in which you demystify it.

I'm a guitar player with pretty decent theory knowledge and perfect pitch. It really helps transcribing songs without a guitar in my hand and I'm also fine with doing it tuned down to Eb, D and C# (I'm from a metal background) but I really struggled with jazz improvisation when I was at uni. It really hurt thinking about what I was going to play in the solo because I hear the notes as intervals relative to whatever chord is going on behind and I just can't ignore it. It's like having a tuner on in your head all the time. So I'm glad to finally hear someone without perfect pitch who realises what it might actually be like.

Last two minutes are gold, thank you. Boosts my confidence!

Just rewatching this for the idk’th time ... gold!

I just watched this again (I'm up to five viewings) and this vlog has tremendous advice. This one really resonates with me. I am inspired to drop what I'm doing right now and go pick up my horns.

Bob this was a brilliant discussion to the question I thoroughly enjoyed hearing your perspective. I too primarily play by ear and do my best to transcribe from recordings (on the fly). I am now in my mid 40's and continue to do this but have now become more serious about theory as I can grasp concepts easier now than when I was young. I too had the II,V,I epiphany, although it was more recently.

Just discovered your channel. It is intriguing to delve into the mindset of other musicians. You are a great communicator with and without your sax. Nice description of a balance between left and right brain while improvising. Left brain - in the box. Right brain - "what box?".

Great lessons Bob. Love your playing, and get my students to listen to your videos so they realize that I am not just making this stuff up. It is language completely, and then practicing the language on our instruments. Thanks for the great lessons

14:36 ....,"which notes are ghosted, which notes are accented,..." I love that!!

This is awesomely inspirational to hear such down to earth advice about doubts and questions i have every day.

You put it in a way that makes me feel like I can get back into it. Thank you!

@bobreynolds

7 жыл бұрын

never too late! :)

Excellent video Bob. Yeah I think part of the problem with learning jazz is that a lot of people tell you to learn scales, modes and arpeggios without a musical context. You mentioned the 2-5-1 A minor, D7 and G major 7 but you'll find a lot of teachers online will say "play A dorian and D mixolydian" etc and it doesn't really give you an understanding of *why* melody works. Your example on the arpeggios and the F# being key for the D and the B for G major was exactly the same for me in realizing why certain lines work over certain chords. Because there is a lot of crap about modes you've got to get out of the habit of thinking from the root. With A minor C and E are also key notes but theory teaches you to think A, that's what I find awkward. I'm not a sax player but a guitarist, but I find that a lot of the great solos come from sax and trumpet players. I'm currently transcribing Sonny Stitt's Body and Soul and there is a superb turn around in that over the A7 when it goes into the D major part, one of those dotting arpeggios which begins as a sort of C # minor 7 flat 5 which then descends through scale tones down to the F #, the major third which you know you can apply over the 7 chord in other keys. I thought exactly what you said, "genius"!! I wish I'd been taught that sort of thing from the beginning as I wasted probably a few years in learning scales without proper application, I couldn't solo! It's refreshing I've got to say that you say you're still transcribing and learning things like Moose the Mooche and Can't Get Started as you're a pro player. There's probably a misconception in my mind that every pro player can play like every standard in the book note for note from Ablution to Zing Went, several thousand standards in any key and improvize upon will over anything and somehow don't have to work that hard at playing so many tunes. That's something I find really intimidating because I'm trying to learn one or two new standards a week and also trying to learn pro level lines from transcribing solos over the most popular tunes. It seems eons of work and an impossible task. I know Larry Carlton has said he often learns tunes and then forgets them. The more material you learn the tougher it is I guess to maintain them long term, but certian licks will become deeply engrained in your improvisational vocab. Thankyou anyway Bob, there's a lot in this which gives me more confidence.

@FrankSax77

7 жыл бұрын

Michael Brecker would say, "No need to practice at this point?! NO! I need to shed for hours every day to be able to do this!"

@Herehear49

7 жыл бұрын

FrankSax77: Maybe M.B. was saying that what is essential at that "point" is just to play and let it all work together. Making music is the goal. I never refer to working on stuff as practice anymore. If you are playing the right stuff it will be a combination of making music AND staying conditioned to being able to meet any technical challenges. I firmly believe that a lot of practice actually keeps us from being what we are seeking to be: musicians.

"It's not that complicated. You just have to do the work." I don't have any tattoos, but if I ever get one, it will be this.

I hear everything you are saying. I would like to say a big thankyou. You have reassured me that I am on the right track. I've accidentally been directed to your video, and now I know why. One of my greatest challenges is relearning from scratch all the basics. Today is over 6 and half years since surviving a car accident with lots of physical and head injuries. You have revived in me that I will get back playing better, by "Doing the Work" each day , which for me some days I just have to go back and find out what the name of the note that goes blank in my head, so, I write the name under that note in the score. Which leads me to memory. The neurosurgeon said to learn a language would help me to rebuild the damaged pathways. After several years of learning how to live that I remembered I used to play my alto sax in a community concert band. Its slow, Its frustrating, However, Im doing it, and I'm glad Ive accidentally found your video. You spoke of memory, things learnt first and recent ... Committment, yes I'm committed. Patterns. I hear tunes in my head , my fingers eventually find the correct note. I love playing the slow songs , which helps with breathing. I run out of breath before I get to the end of the song. Guess what??? I"m alive and relearning my horn is probably the greatest thing. so once again thankyou for putting everything into perspective for me. In this video, I heard you were playing tunes that you'd recently played and couldn't remember , that made me feel normal again. My tutor from the original learning days is still encouraging me from time to time. I may not ever achieve the same level of competency from before, However, it's the fact that I AM playing, that keeps me going. I am only comparing my playing now, to what I am learning now. Oh and just like Scott Johnson posted over a year ago, I'm just over 60. Playing my sax makes me feel younger. Cheers.

Hi Bob ... The guy you're talking about on the video could very well be me ... Great video , you made my day today ...

Bob, I don't know if you'll read this, but you are spot on. At 62, I've been playing for a long time...it took me a long while to divine the information you're giving here-had I the opportunity to hear this at 18 I would've progressed much faster. You have obviously put in the work-and continue to do so. Nothing is more important, but if equal importance is knowing what to work on. You give some great stuff to practice-this was the first of your vids that I've seen, but I'm a subscriber now. Brilliant stuff-I'm gonna tell my buddies up here in Seattle about you. Lotsa good tooters up here-please come visit!-Jon

Although I am but a comparative sax kindergartener, Bob [lol], please do accept an "A" zillion plus (to YOU) for a well-done discourse on Theory vs. Ear. The Child Language-Acquisition Analogue - as it pertains to receptive and expressive skills - is right on point. You're the man! Take another Grammy Award! [lol] Thanks, Bob!

As always, your ideas and info is invaluable. Much thanks! Also, I'm so glad you kept the pillow from your last video!

Thank you very much for this brilliant lesson. This is teaching at its best, combining an amazing span of chops and inner thinking for musical expression. Great job!

You have a very beautiful and warm tone .....which add perfection to the examples you play !

dude. this is great and makes me feel better about my playing and how I learned. I definitely need to get in the shed again but man need to find the time between gigs and my job as a Band teacher gets crazy. thank you and I enjoy listening to you brother!

I have always wanted perfect pitch. You just changed my mind. That is a fantastic way to think of it.

This just hit exactly the things I've been thinking of recently. Thanks for the valuable thoughts Bob!

I'm glad I stumbled across this video. Chords up, scales down is going to give me something to chew on. I only had the Aebersold tracks, and never knew about this foundational fuel. Great stuff!

Thank you very much for the time putting this video together. Really really appreciate this 15mins as I have exactly the same questions bogging me for a while.

Beside all the tips, your sound is astonishing!

I am a trumpet player, but I love your vlogs far more than any trumpet channels out there!

@bobreynolds

7 жыл бұрын

+Drew Insley thanks, Drew

@drewinsley7463

7 жыл бұрын

Its my birthday tomorrow, I'm hoping for a new vlog.

I watch this video once a week!

started watching your vids with my sax so I can pause and copy your exercises, feels great!

HI Bob . Your sound is unbelievable. I was exhausted after hearing this lesson . So much information , so genuine, i wish i was 20 again and had you tube and access to guys like you. thanks. I wish i had read the front cover of the Jamey aebersold too now.

Made so much sense of this! 👏🏾👏🏾 love your tone sir

Love your intensity and passion for the music. Great tips -- I especially liked the one about spelling/playing chords up and playing a scale down as a practice thing

@bobreynolds

6 жыл бұрын

thanks, Paul. :)

Thanks Bob! From a guy that age who has been really bummed lately as work/life has gotten in the way, I am ready to try and get it going again. As always, love your tone!!

I love that along with all the helpful advice, you listen to and love chorale music. It gives me good vibes and hope for humankind and art.

Well done bob. Thanks for your time.

Besides the amazing tips you give you inspired me to practice. As simple as it sounds I think it's amazing that you made me grab my guitar and get to work. Thanks for the impulse!

Thank you! That was excellent. I can't believe how much I got out of fifteen minutes. This came at a good time, I needed to hear a lot of what you discussed. Thanks again!

Bob Reynolds thank you. You are such a huge asset to sax players everywhere.

Dude I got so much out of this video, thank you!

Thanks for this vid Bob, much appreciated, all the way from St.Lucia in the Caribbean.

Fascinating what you said about your friend boiling down the American Songbook to 16 chord progressions! Would love to hear more about that! Love your work! Greetings from Bulgaria!

@MrGuto

7 жыл бұрын

that is well covered in this book: www.amazon.com/Jazz-Theory-Handbook-Peter-Spitzer/dp/0786690305 Peter calls them Harmonic Cliches

@koostq

7 жыл бұрын

GRibas Thank you! Will definitely check that out!

Excellent video! So, so good. Thank you for presenting such practical info so articulately with examples. I was at the same Master Chorale performance on 6/23/17. The piece by ‘Lux Aeterna’ by Morten Lauridsen was sublime. Incredible.

Thanks Bob, I have been playing about five years, don't know half what you said but you helped me. You have a great sound on the bottom.

Thank you, Bob for the encouragements! I am not perfect pitch too and also will forget solos I actually learnt. Thank you again!! Really appreciate all the advices and inspirations!

Bob, you are so awesome. Thanks a lot for the advice. I agree with everything you said and I learned a few things too.

Wow, awesome video. You have a knack for communicating. The video clearly addresses common challenges almost every serious musician wrestles with at some point while trying to get better on their instrument.

@bobreynolds

6 жыл бұрын

+Joseph Brooks thanks, Joseph

Your teaching is inspiring. Really lifts me up!

@bobreynolds

7 жыл бұрын

thanks, Joel. Glad it resonates. :)

You're my new teacher. I learned alot today. Thank you

Terrific video, Bob!

I just started playing sax. I’m a guitar player or I was until transcribing so many horn solos by ear, I’d finish learning a song, let’s say Sidney bechet but still felt empty because it was on my guitar something still fell dissonant within even after such achievements with my then recent transcribing on guitar… it started when I learned my first, blues for Alice. I spent hours and hours trying my best to replicate on my guitar. I did so humbly ( check my page to see an attempt) but it taught me an array of things things that when not knowing theory that song taught my ear potential intervals with chords but nothing permanent. Further on maybe 3 months later i transcribed some old tunes like a smooth one Benny goodman and the horn parts, which were to be quite frank, very hard because I couldn’t remember things like why the song worked the way it did and form and melody but luckily I have so much endurance I did retain it a little bit like you said in this video… here we are now I just 4 weeks ago attempting to learn Donna Lee on guitar with the speed on .75 yet still getting my ass kicked , mind you while on guitar I just started to understand the basics of swing 2 and 4 etc. but out of the blue… I felt compelled to get a sax. I was actually going to get a clarinet for 60$ but I went to the wrong store /the right store and ended up leaving with a sax. Sold my guitar and now I’m using the money for lessons. Secured 8 lessons with a fine teacher very fine. Simply has me learning circle of 4/th and 5th . This is a new ball game, in guitar I was mediocre with that talk but now I know it almost in the back of my head. I’ve even learned to use piano functionally well. In fact piano has been helping me learn my triads and other little things. + now I know 7 scales and all the notes in them all in a span of 4 weeks (really because the embouchre phase) I say that to say if that phase didn’t happen and up until 2 days I decided to learn the scales with piano at night when I can’t play it’s probably be 2 weeks give it take. So! Thus far I’ve on my new sax Transcribed humbly, a jimmy Forrest song and Georgie auld song as well. I’m a alto player though. Decided with this instrument I’m going to take time and be cautious and learn from the beginning. Now I’m my guitar I’m way more calm and open minded. Man everything does have its place when we say yes to the challenges and seemingly taunt like questions of our mind ☮️

Incredible tips and insights! Thank you so much!

Thanks a lot. This really changed my negative perspective of me. I though that it was only me that could not remember the lyrics of the song. Now I know that I should and its okay to go back and listen to the song again in order to play it on my saxophone. Great Video!!

Excellent thoughts Bob, thanks for sharing your expertise!

You're the man, Bob! Thanks!

Bob - Thanks so much for this. Super helpful, inspiring and motivating. I play flute and working hard now learning blues and jazz. Going through the basics and doing a bit of everything you've said. It takes time, and my joy is seeing the slow and steady progress. Thanks for the enlightening pep talk on memory and the misconceptions. Will work on sixths and chord-up/scale down. I like it. -Mike

Great chat and playing. Subscribed.

This is very helpful to me, because I was starting to feel guilty about relying on my ear while at the same time taking in some theory. Also I feel the same about perfecting what I am working on now and not clinging onto a perfect past effort. Thanks for your good advice!

Another great set of tips. These are great, instructive videos.

Terrific content. Very straightforward in the way you present your advice/response to questions and I really appreciated it. Thanks to Adam Neely for sending me here.