For too long it’s been easy to post to social media sites but not my own website.
practicing
In the shed 2021-05-23
“The Nearness of You”, Chris Potter on “The Source” (Live), diminished stuff, “Stella By Starlight” in G.
Saxophonist Chris Potter on Practicing, Finding Your Voice, Playing Piano, Charlie Parker, Michael Brecker and Pat Metheny
Chris Potter is one of my biggest influences. I first discovered him on a Red Rodney album, circa 1994. My friend Juan found the disc in the sale bin at a Coconuts Records in Florida. In the 50-minute master class below he shares at least a dozen gems of wisdom on playing the saxophone—and jazz. If you can’t make […]
How do you know what to practice?
That lick is telling you how you feel about the music, not how Coltrane felt about the music. If you’ve ever found yourself in the practice room, horn in hand, thinking “What should I work on?”, this fantastic mini-master class from Hal Galper is for you. Some points to listen for: Where he learned vocabulary […]
How Joshua Redman practices
Check out what he says from 15:00-18:30. I posted this video before, but for different reasons. One of my students asked about what to do when his practicing felt unfocused. I explained the common phenomenon of the beginner’s curse: plenty of time to practice & not sure what to practice. Once life’s demands take some […]
An Alternative to Practicing Blues in All Keys
It’s a common question: “Do I need to (should I) practice the blues in all keys?” Nothing wrong with doing that…but, are you seeing great results from it? Here’s something worth considering… Trouble viewing video? Watch it on YouTube.