In the Course of Performance: Studies in the World of Musical Improvisation (Chicago Studies in Ethnomusicology) [Paperback] Review

An excellent set of articles on improvisation, with one on the psychology of improv, and articles on Gamelan, Arabic music, jazz, Cantonese opera, Latin dance, Hindustani music, children's games.
Improvisation is not the same everywhere.And there are differences from culture to culture, and performer to performer, in just how much of a performance is improvised.These essays address these and other issues.

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In the Course of Performance is the first book in decades to illustrate and explain the practices and processes of musical improvisation. Improvisation, by its very nature, seems to resist interpretation or elucidation. This difficulty may account for the very few attempts scholars have made to provide a general guide to this elusive subject. With contributions by seventeen scholars and improvisers, In the Course of Performance offers a history of research on improvisation and an overview of the different approaches to the topic that can be used, ranging from cognitive study to detailed musical analysis. Such diverse genres as Italian lyrical singing, modal jazz, Indian classical music, Javanese gamelan, and African-American girls' singing games are examined. The most comprehensive guide to the understanding of musical improvisation available, In the Course of Performance will be indispensable to anyone attracted to this fascinating art.

Contributors are Stephen Blum, Sau Y. Chan, Jody Cormack, Valerie Woodring Goertzen, Lawrence Gushee, Eve Harwood, Tullia Magrini, Peter Manuel, Ingrid Monson, Bruno Nettl, Jeff Pressing, Ali Jihad Racy, Ronald Riddle, Stephen Slawek, Chris Smith, R. Anderson Sutton, and T. Viswanathan.

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How to Improvise [Paperback] Review

As a classically trained musician, jazz has been slow to reveal its secrets to me. I have enjoyed listening to it, but getting the hang of the jazz style in general and the art of improvisation in particular have been less enjoyable. However, the demands on musicians today makes it vital to have some understanding of all kinds of music, and this book is a great way to start your exploration of jazz. With a lot of short and well organized exercises, and a stress on learning to listen to what is happening, it tells the frustrated student how to master the mystery of making jazz happen. I know I have to work on the exercises to get where I want to, but the layout of this book makes it easy to organize my practice!

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by Hal Crook. Book/2CDs. What exactly are the steps that lead to ability? In which order should they been taken? What will be required to master each one? These are questions the author has explored in this book, resulting in a rather unique "one-thing-at-a-time" approach to studying improvisation - one that incorporates discipline, technique, creativity and musical intuition. Each topic is explained and demonstrated using written musical examples and it is accompanied by suggested exercises and a sample daily practice schedule, which can be modified to fit your own needs or liking. The book has been used by the Performance Studies Department of the Berklee College of Music in Boston for teaching improvisation since September 1988.

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Saying Something: Jazz Improvisation and Interaction (Chicago Studies in Ethnomusicology) [Paperback] Review

Ingrid Monson's volume, "Saying Something: Jazz Improvisation and Interaction" is a somewhat lesser known work following in the shadow of Paul Berliner, whom Monson pays ample tribute to. Her volume is intended to say something to all of its overlapping audiences, and it succeeds well, using interviews and close musical readings of very important pieces. There is much to say about the musical analyses, but I choose here to concentrate on the less formalistic aspects. That job will remain for another reviewer.

Monson claims that when "a musician successfully reaches a discerning audience, moves it members to applaud or shout praises, raises the energy to dramatic proportions, and leaves a sonorous memory that lingers long after, he or she has moved beyond technical experiences....and into the realm of 'saying something.'" But what does this mean? For Monson, this means to make discourse, and multivalently, to make community.

Monson moves towards thinking of music making as a community-building function, rather than communities organized by race, class, geography, or gender. In fact, those categories are attended to in terms of music, rather than the other way around. Music performance, and well as repetoire, promotion, and booking agents, create imagined communities between performers. Her approach to community-building is based in Anthony Giddens (1984) rather than Benedict Anderson (1991).

In outlining the special contributions of the rhythmic and accompaniment sections of the jazz ensemble, Monson draws special attention not only to the specifics of drum, piano, and bass, but also to the word "listening." For her, listening means "being able to respond to musical opportunities or to correct mistakes." It is an active term. Musicians must pay attention to what is going on if they "expect to say things that make sense to the other participants." Moreover, since improvisation is key to jazz performance, listening is a prerequisite for playing to the moment within a musical narrative. In the free play of conversation/improvisation, the discursive conditions may change spontaenously and unexpectedly from moment to moment, since no one person authors the narrative alone. In addition, to be told that one "doesn't listen" is a paramount challenge and insult in jazz performance. It means the performer isn't communicating with other performers, but ineptly (at best) or arrogantly (at worst) attempting to control the entire parameters of the discourse. Sociability and interaction is at the core of collective improvisation, and if it is denied, the conversation is foreclosed.

But what of the statements themselves? How do jazz phrases and sentences work in what we might call improvisation/conversation? Monson takes a page from Bakhtin (1981), discussing the notion of internal dialogism, in two aspects: 1) multiple semantic meanings that change and are changed according to the shifting demands of the relationship between the meanings and the cultural context that makes meaning sensible. 2) the "temporal context" in which things are expressed in relation to the history of other discourses.Statements are caught between two different forces of language (centripetal and centrifugal forces) Utterances are caught signifying towards the unitary center (centripetal) and away from it in their particularity (centrifugal). Thus each statement is a torn contradiction inside, and also most meaningful at the same time. A "tension-filled unity." Others have race-d and extended this concept, such as African-American poet Elizabeth Alexander, who contend for a space that moves away from bifucated division and towards an space of "myriad particulars of identity."(1992) Notice how compatible this dualistic tension formula is with W.E.B Dubois's notion of the African-American "double consciousness." These racial aspects of hegemony in both in the history of jazz reception and in the interactions of jazz musicians with others who talk about jazz and "music" are highlighted in Monson's work.

When jazz musicians talk about music departments, they recognize that the words "music department" means "Western Classical Music department." Western Classical form has been anointed at the recognized highest status, and therefore stands for (and crowding out) the space in which the term music has institutional meaning. So when jazz musicians request not to be pigeonholed by the term "jazz," we must recognize that they are speaking to the cultural politics of labeling, or naming..of telling, and of listening. Musicians recognize Foucault's truth that 'discourses construct the objects of which they speak', rather than represent them in some naive, simplistic way. At the same time, Monson is careful not to overstate the case of cultural theory in explaining or explicating the 'meaning of music.' If we leave the realm of the musician too often or too long, we are no longer listening--no longer able to respond in the free play of conversation/improvisation.

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This fresh look at the neglected rhythm section in jazz ensembles shows that the improvisational interplay among drums, bass, and piano is just as innovative, complex, and spontaneous as the solo. Ingrid Monson juxtaposes musicians' talk and musical examples to ask how musicians go about "saying something" through music in a way that articulates identity, politics, and race. Through interviews with Jaki Byard, Richard Davis, Sir Roland Hanna, Billy Higgins, Cecil McBee, and others, she develops a perspective on jazz improvisation that has "interactiveness" at its core, in the creation of music through improvisational interaction, in the shaping of social communities and networks through music, and in the development of cultural meanings and ideologies that inform the interpretation of jazz in twentieth-century American cultural life.

Replete with original musical transcriptions, this broad view of jazz improvisation and its emotional and cultural power will have a wide audience among jazz fans, ethnomusicologists, and anthropologists.

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Improvisation At The Piano ( A Systematic Approach For The Classically Trained Pianist) [Paperback] Review

This is probably the most effective (best) book I've read for any acquired skill.

I'm a pianist (currently working on my Masters at a conservatory) and was searching for a book on improvisation within the classical medium.I was frustrated because I couldn't find any book with the exception of this.

Thank God that I could only find this book.Yesterday, I read through most of it.The exercises are brilliantly isolated to help acquire rhythmic, harmonic, dynamic competence, etc.It demonstrates how to recognize the modes within a passage of a few to several chords, recognize how closely related they are, etc...

You definitely have to have a good backround in theory to understand this whole text, but even if you do not, the first 20 pages or so will stretch your mind and greatly improve your compitence (in terms of improvisation).

The balance between demonstration and exercise is just about perfect.Because they include multiple demonstrations before each exercise (and there are PLENTY of exercises), the exercises are never confusing or misunderstood.Within the demonstrations, great (basic to more advanced) improvisation is shown over the bassline or whatever backing your going to play in your left or right hand before you must do it yourself.They make sure to include certain key ideas within these improv demonstrations, such as outlining a certain chord with embellishment, emphasizing a certain tone, etc.

I plan on dedicated some of my time every day to this book because I believe that we are living in a time where musicians are not well-rounded like they were in the 20's-60's.... we cannot transpose at sight, improvise, understand theory like we used to.

Books like this are truly a savior to this art.

The authors Brian Chung and Dennis Thurmond demonstrate ways of improvising over classics such as the bass lines to Fur Elise and Mozart's C Major sonata, and then changing them to the relative modes etc.I agree with the person who wrote the review above me; this book will help you understand the theory behind music, which in turn helps memorize and understand the composer's compositional style/intentions.Moreso than this, it will do wonders for the ear and the ability to recover from mistakes in performance.I believe that it has potential to cut a performer's memory slips at least in half if not much less during any given performance.With proper improvisation ability comes proper ear training comes a more thorough learning of the music and less of a chance to rely on muscle memory etc....

Great stuff!I rarely write a review on Amazon but this book is truly deserving.I plan on teaching this text to my more advanced students as well.

I applaud the authors of this book.Mastery of an instrument should not just entail a replication of repertoire, but the ability to sightread, transpose, improvise, and know your way around the instrument backwards and forwards.

If I am able to conquer this text, I will finally be able to say that I have true mastery of the instrument.

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This unique text uses a step-by-step approach to guide the reader from fundamental concepts to advanced topics in improvisation. Each subject is broken into easy to understand segments, gradually becoming more complex as improvisational tools are acquired. Designed for the classically trained pianist with little or no experience in improvisation, it uses the reader s previous knowledge of basic theory and technique to help accelerate the learning process. Included are over 450 music examples and illustrations to reinforce the concepts discussed. These concepts are useful in all improvisational settings and can be applied to any musical style. For pianists interested in jazz, there are three chapters dedicated to introducing jazz improvisation, which can be used as the basis for further study in this idiom.

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Lee Konitz: Conversations on the Improviser's Art (Jazz Perspectives) [Paperback] Review

I am, briefly (on pages 164-5), a contributor to his book -- the author interviewed me several years ago about my feelings about Konitz, a longtime favorite of mine -- but the comments that follow, which I sent in an e-mail to the author, Andy Hamilton,a month or more ago, are ones that I would have made even if I had played no role in this book other than the minor one I did:

"Got it [the book] the other day and devoured it. You and Lee did a superb job, and as someone who used to be a journalist, I don't underestimate your contribution in terms of sound and creative organization of material,consistent attentiveness, ability to get along with/stimulate Lee, ability to set up and conduct intelligent interviews with all those other people, etc. I'm pretty sure there's no other book like it in jazz, and while some of that has to do with Lee's willingness to talk about things as much as and in the ways that he does, without your hard work and imagination and good heart, we wouldn't have this. Many thanks."

Larry Kart
Author of "Jazz In Search of Itself" (Yale University Press)

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"Meticulously researched, detailed and documented, this long awaited overview justly establishes Konitz as one of the most consistently brilliant, adventurous and original improvisers in the jazz tradition-a genius as rare as Bird himself."-John Zorn"Hamilton's work may well mark the inception of a format new to writing on Western music, one which avoids both the self-aggrandizing of autobiography and the stylized subjectification of biography."-The Wire"An extraordinary approach to a biography, with the man himself speaking for extended sessions. The main vibration I felt from Lee's words was total honesty, almost to a fault. Konitz shows himself to be an acute observer of the scene, full of wisdom and deep musical insights, relevant to any historical period regardless of style. The asides by noted musicians are beautifully woven throughout the pages. I couldn't put the book down-it is the definition of a living history."-David LiebmanThe preeminent altoist associated with the "cool" school of jazz, Lee Konitz was one of the few saxophonists of his generation to forge a unique sound independent of the influence of Charlie Parker. In the late 1940s, Konitz began his career with the Claude Thornhill band, during which time he came into contact with Miles Davis, with whom he would later work on the legendary Birth of the Cool sessions. Konitz is perhaps best known through his association with Lennie Tristano, under whose influence much of his sound evolved, and for his work with Stan Kenton and Warne Marsh. His recordings have ranged from cool bop to experimental improvisation and have appeared on such labels as Prestige, Atlantic, Verve, and Polydor.Crafted out of numerous interviews between the author and his subject, the book offers a unique look at the story of Lee Konitz's life and music, detailing Konitz's own insights into his musical education and his experiences with such figures as Miles Davis, Stan Kenton, Warne Marsh, Lennie Tristano, Charles Mingus, Bud Powell, and Bill Evans.Andy Hamilton is a jazz pianist and contributor to major jazz and contemporary music magazines. He teaches philosophy, and the history and aesthetics of jazz, at Durham University in the United Kingdom. He is also the author of the book Aesthetics and Music (Continuum 2007). Joe Lovano is a Grammy Award-winning tenor saxophonist. His most recent album is Streams of Expression.



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Jazz Violin Glaser/grappelli [Paperback] Review

This book would a fantastic way to understanding how six great jazz violinists improvise - if only there was easy access to the recordings.Even when I have found cds available that have the same title as refered to for the transcriptions, they don't always have the track that has been transcribed.What this really needs is to be packaged with a cd recording of all the tracks transcribed in the book.If anyone can suggest an easy way of getting hold of all these tracks please do so.Perhaps Amazon could even compile a list of where to find these specific tracks on cd?Any one wanting a more tuitional guide that you can start using strait away, see Jazz Fiddle Wizzard.

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A comprehensive method for playing "hot fiddle," including accurate transcriptions of solos as played by Grappelli, Joe Venuti, Eddie South, Jean-Luc Ponty, and others. Plus revealing interviews and photos, many never-before published.

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Lennie Tristano: His Life in Music (Jazz Perspectives) [Hardcover] Review

It is unfortunate that a scholarly treatment of Tristano in book-length form has not appeared until now.Thankfully, the author's decade plus study on Tristano provides, for the most part, a thorough treatment of one of jazz's most enigmatic figures.A word of caution, though: This is not a biography, despite what one of the blurb-writers states.Shim accurately subtitles her work "His Life in Music."Thus the reader should keep in mind two important results of this focus.First, there really is not much depth to Tristano's personal life.There is definitely information that the average reader (like me) would not have come across before.But do not count on coming away from Shim's book feeling like you knew the real man--like, say, in Donald Maggin's "Stan Getz: A Life in Jazz."And that may be a good thing, as I remember having a difficult time ever listening to Getz in the same light after reading about his horrid personal life, especially the way he mistreated his wives.
The second result of Shim's focus is that she disproportionately dwells on serious musical perspectives regarding Tristano.There are 50 pages of sheet music of various Tristano numbers, which is great if you can read music, but rather worthless if you cannot.Also, Shim writes for people schooled in the theory and practice of music.Here's an excerpt from page 185, where she is discussing "Line Up": "The passage in III:1-3, starting with A major and constructed sequentially in 6/4, is striking in that the first chord of the song form is harmonically displaced, betraying the expectation for the tonic chord."Well, sure.

Although I was disappointed in not learning more about Tristano's personal life, Shim does devote a good amount of space to addressing Tristano's chronic complaining at his lack of recognition, as well as his blunt critique of the racial politics involved in jazz.Shim aptly points out on page 116 that "Tristano attributed the problems of his career, including the lack of public recognition, mainly to external forces instead of acknowledging his own choices."Indeed he did.But I think an opportunity was missed here.Had Shim dug deeper into Tristano's personal life, she may have been able to answer the question of why Tristano eschewed public performances while complaining about not being recognized.Shim's treatment of the racial bias within jazz begins well, but she ultimately toes the politically correct line, giving a free pass to the blatantly racist statements of Miles Davis and Dizzie Gillespie.

Shim is at her best--at least for the average reader--in the way she assimilates the countless interviews into the narrative.It's interesting to read various musicians reflect on Tristano and his legacy.I especially enjoyed her treatment of Tristano's students.Most of them appeared to have remained individualistic enough, thus defying the criticism of a Tristano cult, but Warne Marsh is revealed as pathetically slavish in his reverence for Tristano, even going so far as to mimic his voice and movements.

Ultimately, this is an excellent book, despite the limitations any particular reader may have.Shim is a scholar, and the writing style and the focus she maintains on her subject demonstrate that.The real pity is that relatively few people, even in the jazz world, will likely take notice of Shim's work, and Tristano's legacy will continue to languish.

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“In Lennie Tristano: His Life in Music, Shim has provided a comprehensive biographical and analytical account of one of jazz's most important and most frequently misunderstood figures. Her insights into Tristano's personality are well nuanced, and the focus on his teaching makes a unique contribution to the history of jazz. This vividly written study is likely to become a standard work."
-Brian Priestley, author of Chasin' the Bird: The Life and Legacy of Charlie Parker and coauthor of The Rough Guide to Jazz“Eunmi Shim's book is clearly a labor of love. Her thorough examination of Tristano's teaching is particularly important, for no one previously has assembled the thoughts of so many former students. Her illuminating transcriptions of, and commentaries on, Tristano's solos are also valuable. Lennie Tristano is an important contribution to the literature on jazz."-Thomas Owens, author of Bebop: The Music and Its Players“Comprehensive, objective, and acute in its judgments, this is the biography of Lennie Tristano we have been waiting for."-Larry Kart, author of Jazz in Search of Itself

Lennie Tristano occupies a rare position not only in jazz history but in the history of twentieth-century music. Emerging from an era when modernism was the guiding principle in art, Tristano explored musical avenues that were avant-garde even by modernism's experimental standards. In so doing, he tested and transcended the boundaries of jazz.In 1949, years before musicians such as Ornette Coleman and Cecil Taylor took credit for the movement, Tristano made the first recordings of “free jazz," a new kind of group improvisation based on spontaneous interaction among band members without any regard for predetermined form, harmony, or rhythm. Then, in the 1950s, Tristano broke new ground by his use of multitracking.Tristano was also a pioneer in the teaching of jazz, devoting the latter part of his career almost exclusively to music instruction. He founded a jazz school-the first of its kind-among whose students were saxophonists Warne Marsh and Lee Konitz, and pianist Sal Mosca.With its blend of oral history, archival research, and musical analysis, Lennie Tristano sheds new light on the important role Tristano played in the jazz world and introduces this often-overlooked musician to a new generation of jazz aficionados.Eunmi Shim received her Ph.D. in musicology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is now Assistant Professor of Music at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. This is her first book.



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Play Piano in a Flash: Play Your Favorite Songs Like a Pro -- Whether You've Had Lessons or Not! [Paperback] Review

I'm 43 years old and have never played piano before. That is, not until now. I got Scott's book about 2 months ago after seeing his special on PBS. The reduction from 2 staffs to a single staff with chord symbols made sense to me, so I took a chance. And boy, I'm glad that I did. As others have said, the book is very entertaining and helps build your confidence that "Hey, I can really do this." Page 36 is especially helpful in showing you how determine finger placement for all major, minor, seventh, etc. chords.
So, armed with this new-found knowledge and confidence, I made another wise decision. I ordered several "fake books" by Hal Leonard Publishing (all can be ordered through Amazon) containing the lead sheet music with chord symbols that Scott suggests. I now have "Your First Fake Book," "The Best Fake Book Ever," "The Ultimate Fake Book," "Gospel's Greatest," and "The Ultimate Christmas Fake Book."
Now, here's where I get to brag. I have learned 14 new songs in just over a month! These are the songs that I have learned in the order I learned them:
Alexander's Ragtime Band
Do-Re-Mi
When The Saints Go Marching In
Seventy-six Trombones
Blue Suede Shoes
Maria
Beauty and the Beast
Can You Feel the Love Tonight
Angels we Have Heard on High
Auld Lang Syne
Away in a Manger
Frosty the Snowman
Deck the Hall
Do You Hear What I Hear
And the best part is that I have learned them all by heart now. That will leave my books free for those who want to sing along because all of the books I have mentioned come complete with the lyrics. As you can see, I'm quickly trying to learn some Christmas songs to impress my family and friends this year.
Now, here is the best part for you. I know you can do it too. I spend just one hour per night practicing. It usually takes me 2 nights (i.e., 2 hours) to completely learn a song and to start to play it reasonably well. Almost every night I spend the first part of practice playing my entire repertoire before going on to the next song. This system seems to work very well for me.
I know you can do it too. Scott is right. The best way to learn chords is by playing them in songs. Bless you, Scott, for unlocking the dream. I love the piano!
P.S. My 6-year-old son has been taking traditional lessons for 2 years now. He is currently learning a little 2-liner called "Grumpy old Troll." But I can see a little envy in his eyes when I sit down and whip out a nice version of "Beauty and the Beast." We may start to have a problem if he sees his father getting too good too soon.

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As seen on public television stations nationwide, a revolutionary new approach to playing non-classical music on the piano.
Have you ever wished you could play the piano? Well, now you can! Scott"The Piano Guy" Houston teaches you to play the way the pros play, in a style enormously simpler than traditional classical piano and with an absolute minimum of note-reading. By focusing on playing the melody with the right hand (one note at a time) and simple chords with the left hand, Houston gives you the tools you need for a lifetime of musical enjoyment. Best of all, your tour guide to this adventure forces you to have fun along the way!

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