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Building Improvisation: Master Your Fingerboard Part II : Jazz Improvisation With Andrea Fascetti
Hi my friends!!!
How are you? I hope that you have studied hard since the last set of exercises, because in this lesson I will go on with more of the same (click for a reminder of the last lesson)… Remember that this exercises will increase your music skills; it’s not important if you are not a jazz musician. Bass players from from all around the world, various music genres, and different ages benefit from jazz education, whether in schools or private lessons. So if you dislike jazz music… give me a chance, OK?
In this issue, I will build upon exercises you learned in last lesson where we talked about Cmaj7, only this time you will have to practice it in all keys. Remember: focus this work as this is difficult; the more you practice, the better you will do.
It’s easy to play in c key, but it’s not so easy to play in Fsharp or Dflat!!! Probably, because these are keys that are lesser used. If we analyze standards or other tunes, we find that it uses the same keys over-and-over. If you start to use all keys, your mind will open wide and you will develop a good musical ear. It would be great if we transpose and practice songs in all keys… but we’ll talk about it another time.
OK, it’s time for homework!
Example 1. Take an Fmajor two octave arpeggio up and down (F A C E F A C E C A F E C A F). Force yourself to play it very slowly and without a metronome. Say the name of notes while practicing. REMEMBER: No groove… nothing, only you and the notes!
Now start to practice all the notes using only a string (where possible), then two strings, then three strings, and finally four strings. Practice in this way over and over until the fingerboard becomes your best friend. Then you can increase the speed and play it faster! This is a great way to learn the fingerboard and learn many ways to look at arpeggios and scales.
Example 2. Take Bflat and all other remaining keys and practice it. This time, no written exercises! If you are not sure of all keys, write notes on a music paper on your own.
O.K. I know… you hate me… “Too much stuff, Mr Fascetti!!!!!!!!!!!”
More seriously… I really hope you like these exercises. This stuff changes my musical life; I’ll be honored if it will change yours.
See you
Ciao! Andréa
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