Theory vs playing by ear, memorizing tunes, and transcribing solos

Here are few ways I look at simplifying the process of practicing jazz improvisation.
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Bob Reynolds is a 2x Grammy Award-winning tenor saxophonist known for his work with Snarky Puppy, John Mayer, and 11 solo albums.

[@bobreynolds]

⬇ Download my 7-T Jazz Practice Pyramid-A one-page map to creatively organize your practice time-FREE at jazzpracticepyramid.com

[@ntxmt]

Whoever is looking for shortcuts, believe me, there aren't any. You've gotta do the work.

[@saxman7131]

Good stuff Bob. I'm almost 60 and the reason I'm not farther along in my playing is because I haven't done the work. There are no shortcuts. You want the prize? Do the work.

[@bobreynolds]

Amen, Scott. Amen. (If there's a trick, it's to find JOY in "the work")

[@eomer7284]

Scott Johnson why is ur picture an axe

[@gil-evens]

@@eomer7284 Because he has great chops :)))))

[@TheTWildy]

I'm 73 and have been going to the local music school for 5 years now. My reading is improving having played by ear since 1969. so is my understanding of music. Yup, work on it every day. Currently playing with two bands and a Jazz workshop. I'm loving it, and much happier!

[@zenscapeUKmedia]

With all due respect, could it be that people aren't further along their musical journey because they just haven't got the talent to create? If everything could be taught, we'd all be major league baseball, football players, stadium filling musicians, Bill Gates or Steve Jobs. How come there are no great players who studied all their lives and only break into the charts at 60 - most do it before they learnt the rules - then its all downhill from there.

[@Guitargate]

I just want to say you're a great teacher!!

[@nathanphillips3893]

I agree! Thanks for sharing this video. I am a bass player, but basically have a whole practice routine planned out based off this vid. So good!

[@johnnyloungejazz5477]

Guitargate agree

[@hosericardo]

I beg to differ. Beginners coming here are expected to know what a 3rd or a 6th is! He speaking a different language to me!

[@ClaptrapRapture]

@@hosericardo I think it's fair to say Bob's stuff is not aimed at beginners. On his website, when talking about his online school he mentions aiming it at players with 3+ years experience, and similarly the sax workshop he puts on each year specifically caters to intermediate+ players. There are good resources out there for total beginners though, Better Sax has some great content, as well as sites like Taming The Saxophone.

[@jeromeking6001]

@@hosericardo The numbers he's referring to are the scale note numbers . In the C major scale, C is the one, D would be the 2, and so on. If you count up from C, A is the the 6th. In the key of F, D would be the 6th.

[@BrazenNL]

All those questions boil down to the same thing: How can I improve without putting in the work. It's as simple as that.

[@Baribrotzer]

Or maybe not quite. What about, "How can I improve without putting in unnecessary work?" Without a good teacher and a good practice routine, you can waste time going down blind alleys, working on things you already know, and taking five hours a day to do something you could accomplish in two.

[@normanklein3155]

I don't think that's a fair statement. More like "how can I progress despite these road blocks". For instance, musicians shouldn't be criticized just because they don't have perfect pitch, they'll concentrate on attaining proficiency with relative pitch instead of endlessly working to attain perfect pitch. Its a matter of which road to choose and not putting in the necessary work.

[@bobreynolds]

Exactly.

[@bobreynolds]

definitely some truth to that.

[@mvalor2020]

or...I will work the hard way to find the short cut which is why I'm lazy and the only stupid question is the one I don't ask. Makes sense?

[@Machina.M3dia]

I appreciate this, sometimes it gets discouraging (but also inspiring) seeing monster players online who always seem to be killing it. You tend to forget all of the stuff outside of the camera rolling, but hearing from a player of your caliber that you still deal with some of the same things we do is extremely refreshing. Subbed

[@noahlaughaha]

Veritas MAN, it feels good to hear that from someone else. I felt like the only one that thought this. I'm trying to stop using Instagram (Or at least the search page, considering that's mostly what I use Instagram for) because all I see are amazing guitar players over, and over, and over again. It absolutely feels good to hear an amazing player say that they're not perfect.

[@DrLumpy]

Veritas My view is that EVERY musician has to learn, assimilate, become certain processes. And the three processes are simply the three components of music, rhythm, melody and harmony. The instrument in your hands at any given time doesn't define the music, it's YOUR ENVELOPMENT in those three musical concepts that define it right now, as its being played. Most casual musicians, like the email question guy, refuse/block the idea that there's something "Learnable" about music. It's strange, to me, that people can conceive that a surgeon, or bar tender or carpenter is good at his craft because he has practiced a lot. Yet they want to think that music is somehow different. They think good mosos are "Born talented". I've had more than one person say to me " You're really good, you probably don't have to practice anymore". Bottom line here, most people don't get it. The one's that do, succeed as musicians. The one's that don't will be the first to tell you "Well I'm not a REAL musician"

[@edwardpritchard1782]

I am no jazz giant, yet very good at what I do including teaching jazz improvisation. I can't read music. Technique is the nuts and bolts, everything else comes from within. It amazes me when I see some giants play standards without arrangements, from sheet music...ones I've played many times in many ways. Often I hear a song for the first time and before it's end I can play it complete with improve. Sounds like bragging but my experience differs so much from other posts.

[@edwardpritchard1782]

I guess I just don't get it. All the videos, websites, instruction books, play-along C Ds, transcribed solos and hours of practice will help but cannot substitute for whatever it is that the Me brings forth. Were I to have practiced what dominates the majority of jazz conversations I would have greater range, endurance and gigs. Would I trade what I have for that? No!

[@ejlatsaknetxis]

1:40 anyone else hearing the beginning of the giant steps solo?

[@bobreynolds]

Yup.

[@Larriex97]

Yees, it's the first phrase of Giant Steps' solo

[@vKarl71]

Your ear tells you what you want to play. Theory helps you figure out how to play it...and what it's possible to play...which, in turn, inspires your ear to expand your imagination. Nice tone you get on that tenor!

[@wookielocks]

That's a great way to think about it

[@jeromeking6001]

Well said.

[@bzen_music4823]

Being a jazz beginner, I have lots love insecurities and doubts but this video really cleared up lots of them. It’s good to see professionals sharing their learning process. Thank you so much.

[@bobreynolds]

So glad to hear it. Thanks for letting me know. :) Enjoy the process!

[@lckeeper1]

I'm an extremely casual saxophone player, though love hearing your thoughts on music (as well as your music, of course!). I really love your thoughts on music as a language. Victor Wooten wrote an excellent book called "The Music Lesson" that really emphasizes that point, mostly in the way you so eloquently described. It's a great read, even for a casual player like myself. Thanks for putting out such a great blog! (Also, excellent solo on "What About Me" during that Cheltenham show!)

[@bobreynolds]

Thanks! Victor is the man. I co-lead a summer saxophone retreat (insideoutsideretreat.com) at his facility outside Nashville and have had the pleasure of hearing him speak-and play-the lessons from that book. That language correlation didn't really hit me until I had kids. ;)

[@MakAttackMusic]

I am so glad to hear this. I've been preachin' this for years that music is pretty much a language like any other language where we learn by listening and copying what we hear! Not sure you realized it but you even demonstrated it earlier on this video before mentioning it. (change of topic) Tellin' ya, one of these days I will have the pleasure of meeting Victor the man. I have two good friends that are family friends of his and it's like DAMN IT...I'm like 1 degree away from getting to hang with such an individual! HAHA! One of these days as I continue to grow musically, I'll get that chance! ;) Love your videos. Definitely helps in my progress!

[@bobreynolds]

Thanks, David. Yeah, Vic is a powerful and positive force of nature.

[@堀井雅典]

+David Maki (David G. Maki II) さ、

[@meh12131424253535342]

As a person with perfect pitch, it's still hard to figure stuff out. Good music is like a good painting. I can label all the colors, but I don't have to.

[@meh12131424253535342]

Great vid tho. All great advice, I'm going to work on that 9th scale walk idea.

[@adrianoantunes7862]

Anyone: do you like that painting? Me: yeah Same person: why do you like that painting? Me: yeah

[@James-gk8ip]

You guys actually have it harder I think.

[@itsjoe3109]

‘You don’t give a two year old a book.’ YES, I’m a massive language lover and am about to study a Spanish degree having recently started learning the sax, the number of common methods between the two are infinite, but perhaps the most important is simply listen, absorb, repeat, and continuously and contextually flood your ears with the sounds your trying to learn whilst actively working to understand what they mean in that context. Thanks so much for your videos

[@Lemwell7]

I appreciate this. I get a sense from some people when I talk about theory stuff that I'm too much of a academic musician and not a true musician who just hears the music in my head and flows out of my playing. Those are not mutually exclusive, in fact they support each other, learning theory made my ear so much better, and learning things by ear was how I taught myself the basics of theory.

[@NostalgiaSmith]

The language analogy is fundamental here; not because of how accurate or inaccurate it is, but because it reveals a deeper truth to learning how to play and later understand the mechanics of music: I'm sure we have all heard many times the expression that "this is just my way of learning (Bob even said something along those lines in this vlog) but the fact is - just like language - we actually all learn the SAME way. And furthermore, we all learn the ONLY way there is to learn. Regardless of the individual language; English, Italian, Farsi, or MUSIC, we all learn by imitation, repetition and extrapolation. Learning the language of music (scales, intervals, chords, rhythm, etc) is not the great challenge...using that learned language to express our emotional non-verbal selves is the great challenge.

[@bobreynolds]

+NostalgiaSmith BOOM!

I couldn't agree more!! :D

[@javelmorris5515]

hey i like ur pro pic where can i find it

[@musiccampwithlumpyandlisa9025]

" ...Learning the language of music (scales, intervals, chords, rhythm, etc) is not the great challenge...using that learned language to express our emotional non-verbal selves is the great challenge...." - I believe that there a LOT of casual players who absolutely refuse to enjoy the second half of that idea. Music is SUPPOSED to be about "expressing our emotional non-verbal self". But the majority of casual players just plain refuse to embrace that. It takes a lot of self confidence and just plain chops to express your emotions to strangers (an audience). Most casual players, and men more than women, aren't comfortable revealing their personal emotions. Dissect it a bit further and I think most professional musicians will suggest that it's not about "Expressing MY emotional self"... it's about "Making the music happen so the LISTENER can experience that emotional non-verbal thing". Maybe that's all a little nebulous. Maybe more simply, YOU'RE AN ACTOR when you're playing. ACT like the kind of character the audience wants to see and hear. Learn that language (scales, intervals etc) and you greatly reduce or often completely eliminate the worry about playing the right notes. Allows you to put the fingering on the back burner and allows that "Expressing emotion" thing to come to the forefront.

[@175epi]

"It's not that complicated. You just have to do the work." I don't have any tattoos, but if I ever get one, it will be this.

[@nikosmarkopoulos6633]

Dude -- what microphone are you using? And how did you process the audio? EQ/compress it at all? Sounds great.

[@jazzerson7087]

Excellent video Bob. Yeah I think part of the problem with learning jazz is that a lot of people tell you to learn scales, modes and arpeggios without a musical context. You mentioned the 2-5-1 A minor, D7 and G major 7 but you'll find a lot of teachers online will say "play A dorian and D mixolydian" etc and it doesn't really give you an understanding of *why* melody works. Your example on the arpeggios and the F# being key for the D and the B for G major was exactly the same for me in realizing why certain lines work over certain chords. Because there is a lot of crap about modes you've got to get out of the habit of thinking from the root. With A minor C and E are also key notes but theory teaches you to think A, that's what I find awkward. I'm not a sax player but a guitarist, but I find that a lot of the great solos come from sax and trumpet players. I'm currently transcribing Sonny Stitt's Body and Soul and there is a superb turn around in that over the A7 when it goes into the D major part, one of those dotting arpeggios which begins as a sort of C # minor 7 flat 5 which then descends through scale tones down to the F #, the major third which you know you can apply over the 7 chord in other keys. I thought exactly what you said, "genius"!! I wish I'd been taught that sort of thing from the beginning as I wasted probably a few years in learning scales without proper application, I couldn't solo! It's refreshing I've got to say that you say you're still transcribing and learning things like Moose the Mooche and Can't Get Started as you're a pro player. There's probably a misconception in my mind that every pro player can play like every standard in the book note for note from Ablution to Zing Went, several thousand standards in any key and improvize upon will over anything and somehow don't have to work that hard at playing so many tunes. That's something I find really intimidating because I'm trying to learn one or two new standards a week and also trying to learn pro level lines from transcribing solos over the most popular tunes. It seems eons of work and an impossible task. I know Larry Carlton has said he often learns tunes and then forgets them. The more material you learn the tougher it is I guess to maintain them long term, but certian licks will become deeply engrained in your improvisational vocab. Thankyou anyway Bob, there's a lot in this which gives me more confidence.

[@FrankSax77]

Michael Brecker would say, "No need to practice at this point?! NO! I need to shed for hours every day to be able to do this!"

[@Herehear49]

FrankSax77: Maybe M.B. was saying that what is essential at that "point" is just to play and let it all work together. Making music is the goal. I never refer to working on stuff as practice anymore. If you are playing the right stuff it will be a combination of making music AND staying conditioned to being able to meet any technical challenges. I firmly believe that a lot of practice actually keeps us from being what we are seeking to be: musicians.

[@stanhegeman8751]

My concepts have always centered around playing the tune. A lesson I was taught was that the audience should be rewarded. If they can predict more than 50% of the time what you're trying to say, they get bored. and stop listening.. If they can't predict less than 50% of the time, they become frustrated and stop listening. It's a delicate balance. I got those words straight from Jerry Coker.

[@bobreynolds]

Yes! You just articulated something I say often: (for me) it's about a balance between predictability and surprise. If it's all predictable...boring. All surprise...also boring.

[@qwertyuiop32935]

You're right, Bob. I have perfect pitch, and it takes away a lot of the mystery of music. It makes complex stuff seem a little less impressive and harder to appreciate.

[@DojoOfCool]

Actually good to hear guitar players are not the only ones who whine and make excuses instead of just parking their butt in the woodshed and working on the music. Also your answers showing you and someone like Chris Potter are regular humans like the rest of us and the difference is work not birth with superhuman hearing or other abilities.

[@danielvillarreal_musician]

Dude I got so much out of this video, thank you!

[@NikM-sincostan]

As a student in my last year of high school in Australia, i love jazz and i want a career out of it. Never before has a genre of music made me feel so different. This video was very informative and just what i need. MORE MORE MORE! keep up the amazing work man

[@dominickruocco7412]

Hi Bob ... The guy you're talking about on the video could very well be me ... Great video , you made my day today ...

[@BobDoherty]

That’s was a WEALTH of information….and it was totally free!! You are truly passionate about music and teaching. Thanks very much!

[@Herehear49]

And then can we "make music"? Take the mystery out of jazz and you have some sterile, predictable stuff. Not that it wouldn't be a technical achievement! But Charlie Parker said learn all the nuts and bolts and then just play and "forget" that stuff. Of course it will still be at your disposal in your head but I think he meant that jazz, to be really exciting for the player, needs to include tossing the dice and see what you can come up with spontaneously. It's a self-imposed mystery to make it interesting.

[@kwamealievergreen4257]

It’s amazing how we live in an age where we can directly contact the world’s greatest musicians who are more than willing to teach and share their knowledge, and instead of taking advantage we still have people who are asking how to go about learning just the minimum required amount to acquire proficiency. Some people truly just get in their own way. “I want to bite off as little theory as possible” Jesus Christ man

[@michaelisaac7772]

Great tone / sound and that's what attracts listeners especially the non musicians. without that you may never be noticed. Advanced theory can become too scientific, convoluted and abstract. The great players have the jazz ears , nurture your ears and communicate in a way people can understand.

[@TheGrizNation]

Practice, practice, practice. Charlie Parker said he practiced for 14 HOURS A DAY for YEARS. If you want to really get near that kind of level, practice is the only way.

[@agentling1]

I'm a guitar player with pretty decent theory knowledge and perfect pitch. It really helps transcribing songs without a guitar in my hand and I'm also fine with doing it tuned down to Eb, D and C# (I'm from a metal background) but I really struggled with jazz improvisation when I was at uni. It really hurt thinking about what I was going to play in the solo because I hear the notes as intervals relative to whatever chord is going on behind and I just can't ignore it. It's like having a tuner on in your head all the time. So I'm glad to finally hear someone without perfect pitch who realises what it might actually be like.

[@martinheinsdorf]

This is the first vlog of yours that I saw, and immediately subscribed. Now I'll be busy going through your entire archive. I love the comments too. So encouraging!

[@bobreynolds]

+Martin Heinsdorf thanks, Martin.

[@sidneiramalho]

I watch this video once a week!

[@jazzflutist]

Great stuff Bob. Like your sound too. I should add, that's not really how kids learn language. (I actually learned about Noam Chomsky's Innate Theory of Child Language Acquisition in Linguistics class). Language is, to some extent, pre-formed inside the kid, much the same way as web-spinning is pre-formed inside a spider, but outside influences do play a role. Anyway, I'm just being a nit-picker (i.e. annoying) but still, I do get the "illocutionary intent" of what you're saying, and it is valid.

[@SaxMike71]

I think this is one of the most important and encouraging videos I’ve ever watched on improvisation. I’m a chronic over-analyzer and am plagued by overthinking *everything* when it comes to trying to improvise, so thank you for being so kind and open as to share your wisdom and helping to dispel some persistent myths that I struggle with.

[@joseceraia]

Try without thinking.That is what what the greatest do.Don't think about scales etc... You have it or you don't, and when somebody does not have it build in since birth, he will never have it. Music is Art !

[@CliffieVanR]

That idea of playing the chord up and the scale down is dynamite. I'm going to try that next time I practice - I have a feeling it's really going to open things up for me.

[@sonjaspackenberger9250]

The guy whose email Bob is discussing is either a genius on the level of Mozart or a crap musician. My bet is on the latter. I used to think very similarly, which was just a way to justify my own bullshit to myself. It's like saying you want to be a writer without learning any language. Except no one will enjoy 300 pages of gibberish.

[@marcoguitarsolo]

Great video. I can definitely trace back my periods of greatest musical improvement to when I did the most transcribing. I don't remember the licks, but I developed my ear and learned the language.

[@RaulCragg]

Great lesson. This are concepts that I have been thinking of, it is wonderful to hear it from a great professional. Hearing, choosing, practicing, the best way to keep up with the musical language (I am a language teacher myself).Thanks a lot!

[@mattybannond5947]

Thank you for this. You are a brilliant teacher, who really understands the challenges and realities of being a hobby musician, trying to learn the instrument and the music alongside work / other commitments. Great video.

[@ianwhatmough150]

Bob this was a brilliant discussion to the question I thoroughly enjoyed hearing your perspective. I too primarily play by ear and do my best to transcribe from recordings (on the fly). I am now in my mid 40's and continue to do this but have now become more serious about theory as I can grasp concepts easier now than when I was young. I too had the II,V,I epiphany, although it was more recently.

[@flightwithoutfeathers4682]

I have always wanted perfect pitch. You just changed my mind. That is a fantastic way to think of it.

[@alfonshomac]

I started by ear and now I've become better at theory. It's amazing how long a route I took for very simple things. Particularly being a guitar player... learning a ton of chords and chord voicings. When I understood stacking thirds... I felt so dumb. Theory looks like more work but it's actually less.

[@Fred-le7bl]

I am a tenor sax player and a speaker of a few languages. Your analogy to language learning is really good. So many people say: "I would love to learn French", but when you tell them they need to conjugate/memorize a few verbs so that they can express basic thoughts and then build vocabulary, they typically give up, because conjugating, like playing scales, is no fun. But there is no short cut. I seem to have near perfect pitch for languages and a good ear for music, but certainly not perfect pitch. The two are linked. People who are tone deaf for music are usually deaf for languages, as well. To improvise better, I need to take your advice on becoming more conversant with all the scales and especially the chords on my horn. Our ears will take us only so far.

[@detorrissi]

this man really knows what he's talking about! tanks you Bob

[@stasmaksimov9531]

That was a Michael Breakers lick. From album Michael Breaker

[@arnieus866]

Just discovered your channel. It is intriguing to delve into the mindset of other musicians. You are a great communicator with and without your sax. Nice description of a balance between left and right brain while improvising. Left brain - in the box. Right brain - "what box?".

[@MegaChasbo]

I am a first-time listener of your videos - a beginning jazz pianist. Love your down-to-earth matter-of-fact way of explaining. Super helpful insights!

[@thomasmorarre9193]

I was on youtube looking at something else and when it finished this video just came up. I am so glad I stayed to hear what you have to say. Your two cents (as you put it) is well done and I feel like your approach to music is excellent. Thanks for the encouragement and good advice.

[@xaipezaipe]

Your honesty got me to subscribe and like.

[@benc505]

New Bob Reynolds t-shirt idea: “Do The Work” accompanied by your signature, of course 😁 Maybe add some musical notation accent graphic ... or not.

[@saxman3336]

Thanks for this vid Bob, much appreciated, all the way from St.Lucia in the Caribbean.

[@koostq]

Fascinating what you said about your friend boiling down the American Songbook to 16 chord progressions! Would love to hear more about that! Love your work! Greetings from Bulgaria!

[@MrGuto]

that is well covered in this book: www.amazon.com/Jazz-Theory-Handbook-Peter-Spitzer/dp/0786690305 Peter calls them Harmonic Cliches

[@koostq]

GRibas Thank you! Will definitely check that out!

[@RyanBreaker]

You put it in a way that makes me feel like I can get back into it. Thank you!

[@bobreynolds]

never too late! :)

[@alexredman1]

This video is so wonderful. As a classical player my whole life, this makes me want to transcribe and learn some tunes.

[@SRHMusic012]

Interesting about memorizing tunes, for me learning some theory and common chord progressions has made it far easier and faster to figure out and remember tunes. The theory gives a framework to work from, like a song has some basic changes and then a b7 borrowed chord in the bridge etc. So the theory provides a framework to make it so you don't have to remember as much detail.

[@danielirilarry]

Great video! I felt like listening exactly what I needed to listen. Thank you!

[@FabrizioPeretti]

We, italians, are able to communicate with whatsoever. Just sayig. Ya know, the gesture thing...

[@bobreynolds]

😂

[@AndresLilloSax]

Suscribe...! Great information... Thanks a lot. - Andrés Lillo Sax

[@edmcglaughlin9194]

Morten Lauridsen Lux Aeterna, reference: excellent! All good info.

[@MichaelBB]

"Pre-Hearing" the KEY concept here. When the mystery is less and less mysterious, and more music is clear, this is an enhancement for you as a player. The audience is supposed to be enthralled, but we, as players must have as few mysteries as we can unveil to ourselves. MBB

[@davidburckhardt7672]

Hi Bob. This video is BRILLIANT ! Playing jazz in a nutshell. The way you put together all the pieces in a pragmatic and humble way is sooo refreshing. Thanks a lot, really.

[@blueberrymuffinscottage]

I really like the style of your videos. They're not like a private lesson or a class, it's more like when I go into my instructors office with a question, a she whips out her horn and some manuscript paper and just helps me figure out stuff

[@jeromeking6001]

Absolutely 🤗

[@funkchunk2701]

At some point everyone as a kid tries to learn how to play an instrument - because parents insist, school requires it or the kid himself is curious about it. The reason that some kids progress and others is because those enjoy the PROCESS of learning even with all it’s tedium, while most other kids just feel frustration and NO enjoyment.

[@bobreynolds]

SO true.

[@johnnyloungejazz5477]

It is a language , this guy can teach, many can play but few can teach

[@Bregnevej34]

What a great video! Thanks :)

[@xborrascax]

That stuff you said about transcription really opened my mind up to it as a drummer...

[@brianfielding9358]

Excellent teaching, thank you!

[@robinreidmusic]

Great lessons Bob. Love your playing, and get my students to listen to your videos so they realize that I am not just making this stuff up. It is language completely, and then practicing the language on our instruments. Thanks for the great lessons

[@Ana1yst]

I got more from this video and I'm not a sax player but it fits guitar as well.

[@raffaelelitterio5370]

Beside all the tips, your sound is astonishing!

[@willschmit]

glad to gain perspective on memory as a language skill rather a disqualifier. And since I'm going to Italy..Musica dolce! Tanto da imparare. Divertiamoci!!

[@mvalor2020]

Now I don't feel alone. After 18 years without touching a TS and only playing by ear I can understand where he comes from since I too am 60 with no formal training. Your instructions in this video are gold!

[@duncanjohnson712]

Wow! Every time I watch one of your vlogs it feels like I'm being kicked in the butt! Haha! But it's so amazing and inspirational! Thank you so much for sharing your gifts and blessings with us all to learn from! I am a tenor sax player from Cape Town, South Africa (Mind the piano in my profile picture. I was arranging at the time). Also, I have a short question but would rather like to email you, if that's okay. Keep these videos coming! It's definitely helping loads of people!

[@jazzwonderboy]

Cool vid but have to take issue with the original question and where it comes from. "I'm an advanced player on all other levels w/ tremendous musicianship"... writes the questioner - unconsciously echoing Donald Trump with his modesty. Well, arguably you're not an advanced player mate, if you cannot play non diatonic / blues chord changes or be bothered to expand your limited theory knowledge without short cuts. The teacher is pretty generous answering this at all.

[@jazzwonderboy]

In fact Aimee Note addresses this very problem of apparently "advanced" musicians actually having a very poor ear and is pretty cutting about it in her video about whether you can play Rudolf the Red nosed reindeer on your instrument by ear ....

[@artofbrass]

Hi Bob, this video is really interesting. Thanks

[@bobreynolds]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@andreyfloryanovich1419]

As always, your ideas and info is invaluable. Much thanks! Also, I'm so glad you kept the pillow from your last video!

[@benc505]

Just rewatching this for the idk’th time ... gold!

[@martinhoff2762]

Fantastic video Bob! Took me a long time to grasp some of these concepts. Hope this guy listens. (one almost 60 year old to another) Martin

[@dondraufi]

Besides the amazing tips you give you inspired me to practice. As simple as it sounds I think it's amazing that you made me grab my guitar and get to work. Thanks for the impulse!

[@PhilipPoland1987]

This just hit exactly the things I've been thinking of recently. Thanks for the valuable thoughts Bob!

[@brittanyatterberry]

LMAO! "Good luck speaking to Italians"... OMG!! I've heard people say they speak their own language so many times... I think it boils down to just fear, laziness, and denial of how a person plays. People want Microwave speed with Oven baked results; right? lol

[@jad5eswonderland]

I have no idea how, but you just make me so much less stressed about being a jazz musician. The way you break things down and explain them is so methodical and easy to understand that I feel more confident in my abilities and my future practice (rather than terrified as I usually am)

[@saxofix4456]

Made so much sense of this! 👏🏾👏🏾 love your tone sir

[@benchboys5335]

fuckin' love this guy

[@johnwilliams2900]

What a great message about developing you playing. You said a mouth full about how to practice and learn your craft. Beautiful stuff. Thanks

[@bobreynolds]

🙏

[@corybelcher]

Bob this is really awesome of you to share. Thank you kindly for the words. Really appreciate it

[@stetsongray1975]

Sir: You have emphatic hair, impressive pitch, and a relatively succinct pitch in teaching.

[@silver10m10]

Small bites. The most intimidating part of any learning process is the beginning. Learning how to break things apart is the most important process. Focusing on 1 bar can be very illuminating.

[@passionfreakz6827]

Having both helps.I used to use mainly theory but When I started playing my favorite players solos by ear my playing took off.

[@Nagelsguitardesign]

Thank you very much for this brilliant lesson. This is teaching at its best, combining an amazing span of chops and inner thinking for musical expression. Great job!

[@KeithCopeland778]

A great real-world practical tutorial!!! I never thought about playing scales in sixths! Brilliant! Learning music, like any language, requires putting in the work to learn how to speak and, more importantly, communicating!

[@billysetiawan369]

thx bob such and inspiration and ur advice really help me in my own music development..

[@ryantogia4440]

one of the good things about these vlogs is that you weren't born as a super human musician, but you have worked your but off

[@Ryan98391]

Thanks for acknowledging that it's ok to have relative pitch.

[@RogelioEscobar]

dude. this is great and makes me feel better about my playing and how I learned. I definitely need to get in the shed again but man need to find the time between gigs and my job as a Band teacher gets crazy. thank you and I enjoy listening to you brother!

[@DonyaLane]

That was refreshing! So glad I stumbled upon you. (Oddly, you popped up in the cue as I was listening to some classic Crosby, Stills and Nash songs, so I clicked on your vid.) You're a smart and wise teacher and musician. BTW, I also went to Berklee (but I'm a lot older than you, so we weren't there at the same time). Loved your analogy about going to Italy and deciding not to speak Italian. LOL Brilliant! I subscribed.

[@bobreynolds]

Thanks, Donya. :)

[@DonyaLane]

Sure, man!

[@StompL7]

thank you for inspiring me to transcribe. i want to be able to play that guitar !!

[@lawrievanniekerk9748]

Good words Bob! Thanks!

[@conmondunn41]

You are a gem, thank you for being so plain without trying to "create your own system" which is often what players trying to reach for more get fed. Also, your pitch describing basic chord progressions before you play "I Can't get started" Is spot on lol. Almost/Sometimes perfect pitch is probably the reality of what most musicians experience. Appreciate you and your playing Bob!

[@MichaelEBeard]

That was very helpful and informative.

[@bobreynolds]

So glad!

[@MusicbyCiaran]

Terrific video, Bob!