Meet Andrea Fascetti –

HI MY FRIENDS ~

IT IS SUCH A PRIVILEGE TO WRITE IN THIS FANTASTIC MAGAZINE; GREAT WORK HERE! REMEMBER THAT THIS IS A COMPLETE COURSE ABOUT IMPROVISATION, SO STAY TUNED IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THIS ARGUMENT.

I RECEIVED SOME “ANGRY” EMAILS ABOUT JAZZ FROM MY STUDENTS. THEY SAID THAT THEY DIDN’T LIKE JAZZ… I KNOW, I KNOW…
THEY MISSED THE POINT…. IF YOU DON’T LIKE JAZZ, IT’S NOT IMPORTANT, BUT JAZZ IS GREAT IF YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE A STRONG BASIS IN MUSIC EDUCATION AND BASS PLAYING.

OK.TODAY WE USE CMAJ+5. THIS BEAUTIFUL CHORD IS DERIVED FROM MELODIC MINOR SCALE. WE’LL TALK ABOUT SCALES NEXT LESSONS. NOW, LET’S CONCENTRATE ON THIS STRONG AND POWERFUL CHORD.

SPELLING IS: C E GSHARP B (IN KEY OF C). YOU CAN FIND GREAT EXAMPLES OF THIS CHORD IN BUD POWELL’S GLASS ENCLOSURE TUNE OR IN THE JAZZ STANDARD “YOU KNOW I CARE” FROM DUKE PEARSON.

NOW LET’S START WITH A HOMEWORK ASSIGMENT:

EX.1 TAKE A CMAJ+5 TWO-OCTAVE ARPEGGIO *(C E G# B C E G# B G E C B G# E C) UP AND DOWN THE FINGERBOARD AND FORCE YOURSELF TO PLAY IT VERY SLOWLY, AND WITHOUT A METRONOME. SAY THE NAMES OF THE NOTES WHILE PRACTICING. REMEMBER–NO GROOVE… NOTHING… ONLY YOU AND THE NOTES! NOW START TO PRACTICE ALL THE NOTES USING ONLY ONE STRING (WHEN POSSIBLE), THEN TWO STRINGS, THEN THREE STRINGS, AND FINALLY FOUR STRINGS. PRACTICE THIS OVER AND OVER AGAIN UNTIL YOU’VE ABSORBED THE INFORMATION, AND YOUR FINGERBOARD HAS BECOME YOUR BEST FRIEND. THEN YOU CAN INCREASE SPEED AND TAKE IT TO A FASTER LEVEL. THIS IS A GREAT WAY TO LEARN YOUR FINGERBOARD, AS WELL AS YOUR ARPEGGIOS AND SCALES. I SUGGEST YOU SING ALONG WITH ALL NOTES WHILE YOU’RE PRACTICING, TO OPEN UP YOUR EARS.

* TAKE A LOOK TO THE FIRST LESSON FOR THE CHORD CHART IF YOU NEED TO.

YES, I KNOW THESE EXERCISES ARE REPETITIVE… BUT THIS IS THE SECRET… PRACTICE, PRACTICE, AND PRACTICE: THIS IS THE KEY!

CIAO

STAY TUNED!!!

ANDREA