2012 Goals

After working on this for a while I figured a couple of things. First of all. None of this stuff matters unless I constantly apply it to tunes and real life situations! So application is the key for this stuff to stick.


Two Part Goal: To focus on further development of an original sound while continuing to strengthen the foundation

1. Strong Foundation

a. Harmony
-Solo Piano Transcription (including Bill Evans and Stride)
-Finally learning all substitutions for blues, Rhythm Changes and Basic Chord Progressions

b. Melody
-Transcription
-getting more comfortable soloing in all keys (putting some bebop heads in 12 keys)

c. Rhythm
-uptempo
-playing on difficult forms, tunes with hits in weird places, odd time signatures
-metronome studies to develop better time

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2. Original Sound

a. Harmony
- Solo Piano techniques such as inner voices and LH figures I like.
- Chords / Voicings I like

b. Melody
-passing tones and writing my own lines
-exploring the different extensions on chords

c. Rhythm
-phrasing from transcriptions
-writing my own phrasing

d. Developing personal techniques (tricks) that people identify as mine

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Other things to practice:

Tune Learning
-Picking 50 songs I absolutely love and haven't learned and tackling one a week
-Review of learned tunes
-putting some standards in 12 keys

Latin Piano
-styles and tunes
-montuno development

Command of the Instrument

Free Play - expressive time on the instrument

Classical Repertoire

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Break down of Time Spent:

Very general, but I plan to spend:

1.5 hours on Garry's Material
-passing tones
-chords/ voicings
-solo piano

1 hours on:
-Command
-Tune Learning

1.5 Hour on:
-Transcription plus whatever I'm into that week

I'm trying to introduce my new vocabulary more smoothly and consistently. You've been doing this for years and I've always sucked at it. Can you break down your process? I just keep flailing at the kit until it comes out. A halfway hard lick can take MONTHS if not years to come out right.

Man, Im not sure what to tell ya. I wish i remembered half the stuff i shed on. I think in a perfect world, you would live with something long enough to really hear it on anything. One thing for sure is that the original idea gets morphed into something that has the original idea in it. but its changed rhythmically or the notes themselves. I think its effective to just "play on it" and let the idea take its natural course. Does that make sense? you might start out trying to insert it here and there, but its very rare that those exact circumstances present themselves again. so just allow it to become its own thing...

Does that makes sense?

Thanks, yeah that helps. If for no other reason than to help me stop looking for shortcuts. My issue is I want to move on to new vocabulary because I can play the old stuff, but I just can't get it to show up in my playing without being forced or awkward. I think I should move on with new material and just occasionally address the "old" new stuff as I go in like a maintenance schedule. Like a few times a month, review them.

How does that sound?

Yea new stuff for sure. It will help you analyze the process better. Also it will be a hell of a lot more inspiring....