Practicing Is A Waste Of Time! My Experiences Learning Japanese, Gypsy Jazz, Trad Jazz, Bebop Guitar

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[@chafrewilcha]

I listened to the entire two hour video Denis, and found it probably one of the best and certainly the most complete dissertation on the processes of getting good at one's musical instrument. Your insights on how to listen, why & how to practice and who to practice with was so excellent ... I have bookmarked this video for continual reference. There's so much I could say, (but then this would be a half hour response!) But again this was superb! Thank you so much for taking the time and effort to put this video together. Charles from Atlanta, GA.

[@DenisChangMusic]

wow thank you so much!

[@benjaminholt6640]

To your point about focusing on only the things that you need in your day to day life is such a great point. I think one of the problems with formal education is that your are told about things you "should" practice but pursuing these things can distract your from what you really need to pursue what you really love

[@bebopforsure2944]

What a communicator you are, sir! That is so caring of other people. You are actually giving motivational speeches that far exceed guitar playing. So generous of you. Thanks. BTW, I started listening yesterday evening and finished this morning .That's how interesting this is.

[@marketherton2296]

I find your video’s incredibly informative and motivating. There are certain people I try to avoid playing with because they just don’t understand rhythmic dynamics or time keeping. No matter how many times you try to guide them, they don’t get it . I am far from perfect, but I definitely have a natural feel. You are an inspiration to others and every musician / guitar player should watch these videos. Thanks Denis - keep em coming!

[@user-er3zw8ti9c]

Thanks for sharing your experience! Very impressed and useful.

[@CharlesK441]

Hi, recently found your videos due to KZbin algorithm. I'm learning so much! I started playing guitar from the age of 7. Started playing in church a few years later. I had to learn by ear whilst playing with experienced musicians. Each week we had no idea what songs were going to be sang never mind the key. At 40, at the time of this video, you're still young compared to me 😂 I can say it's not to late to learn in my case. I'm learning from all your videos. Many thanks 😊 🙏🏾

[@Alan-zi2rs]

The intro to this video was outstanding guitar playing 🎸 😎👌 🎶

[@jakemf1]

Love the videos- keep them coming- have bought many DC products

[@retardedphilosopher1271]

Thank you Denis

[@stadtlegende]

Thank you Denis! This confirms my suspicion that goal-oriented practice is the best and maybe only way to immerse yourself in the style you want to learn.

[@mattnicholls1389]

Great video Dennis. Love it. As a guitar teacher myself, the theme of this is especially interesting to me. It’s cool that you mention Bireli Lagrene and his ability to make great strides without a so called “practice routine”. But in fact it seems that he did have a kind of practice routine but perhaps he didn’t think of it terms of 30mins theory; 1hr repertoire etc. As someone who has had opportunity to observe Gypsy jazz players up close in their home environment, it would very interesting to hear your take on how these musicians practice and also how the community manages to nurture prodigies. Yet perhaps you’ve covered it other videos and I’ve missed it. Anyhow, thanks Dennis.

[@alisonCNboy]

Just finished this extra long video from my dear dear friend and teacher. Feeling super blessed about randomly met him at the NAMM SHOW few years ago. My personal story is that finishing my musically education didn’t really helped me understand what I was doing when I play with people or I just didn’t play with people enough! Living in a town that doesn’t have strong music scenes really confuses me what to do with the music I love until I met two new friends and started jamming in the park every weekend. We didn’t “teach” each other at all, but I improved so much and didn’t notice at all. Cause the other player has much more performing experience than me. It’s true! Try to play with players have much more musical experience than you is one of the best way to keep you growing! Thx again!

[@TGrif1925]

THANK YOU, D.C. I enjoyed so much food for thought, especially the ideas of limiting what I practice and immersing myself in repetition, recordings, jams, performances, and instructive criticism. (Initially, I thought I would not get through two hours of discourse. However, your guidance was so compelling that I stopped only for “comfort” breaks.)

[@DenisChangMusic]

Thanks so much!!

[@chrisb3k1]

I completely agree. Follow what interests you AND incorporate what will help you achieve the sounds and techniques within THOSE musical interests. I don't read music, but I started as a teen with the blues, then proceeded to gypsy jazz, then a bit of bluegrass, and now I write acoustic ballads. Haha. I love it all. One very important caveat: it's those aspiring musicians whose souls burn bright with motivation that will always find the path forward. They will not need the traditional teachings methods as you describe in the video; they will always find the way forward. But young kids whose interests are scattered, as they don't yet know what their big interest will be in life, perhaps they could benefit from the traditional method (as part of a general curriculum)...at least until something grabs them and they proceed to run in that direction. But maybe by then they will be too entrenched in that method. Not sure. Anyway, food for thought. Thanks for your take.

[@OtRatsaphong]

Thanks for sharing your story and your thoughts on Immersion. Totally agree that the best way to really gain all the nuances of a style, you have to immerse yourself in the culture. I agree that age is relative. I think of guitar age rather than chronological age. The musical environment that you talk about sounds very strict. I was watching a recent interview with Sir Paul McCartney and he reminded me that we play guitar, with the emphasis on the word play. For me, at 71, being able to play is good enough, i want to encourage more people to take up a musical instrument and start playing, and over time we’ll become fluent in our chosen musical dialect of Jazz, Blues, Rock, Pop, etc… Thanks again for sharing your story. 👍

[@johncuscaden2021]

Very interesting discussion

[@swingmitchellg]

Thanks Denis!

[@DiZedQuest]

Thanks for the insight great analogy. Very clever way of looking at the learning process through complete submergence into the subject matter. Good luck with your Japanese and I too miss Dièse Onze; now living in Europe.

[@johnmc3862]

Good man Dinny!!

[@chuckrrose]

This is very valuable and rare guidance.

[@superflysoulbrother]

Its easy to see why your so loved and adored by both your peers and mentors

[@AkosTothHotClub]

I started gypsyjazz at the age of 29, singing at the age of 33, then I had 2 CDs and 800 gigs. I started to learn french at the age of 45. Denis! Check here the guy called, Steve Kaufmann, a 70 plus years old polyglott from Quebec! P.S.: In a few hours time I will listen out friend Cyrille, in Budapest, Hungary

[@gospodine]

Bravo, bonne continuation !

[@davidchamberland9538]

Thanks!

[@gospodine]

Very good content. Merci beaucoup.

[@cmpoole]

Wow these long form talks are impressive! Thank you for putting in the effort. I really resonate with your perspective on learning through necessity. The Japanese I learned living with a Japanese family in Chiba for 6 months far surpassed the French I learned taking classes in the US for 6 years. The ability to take criticism, make mistakes and correct them is so key to achieving any difficult undertaking. In the end we all have to decide what's more brutal: The pain of improving or the pain of knowing you never will?

[@chriscerna808]

Hi Dennis, this is a great video. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and your time. I totally agree with everything you’re saying. I know you mentioned you don’t like to do private lessons, but I would love to someday have a chance to. meet you and maybe play some tunes and hear your thoughts on how I can improve my playing. thanks again And. Have a wonderful day.

[@benjaminholt6640]

Yay Brian!

[@tlonik]

thank you very much

[@mr.atticus393]

Merci pour la vidéo

[@Uuur10]

Exceptionnel, Denis! Les anecdotes m'ont fait penser à Thinking in Jazz de Paul Berliner qui parle aussi de la "transmission orale" mais dans le jazz américain évidemment. C'est 100% comme ça que ça marche. Dans mon cas j'avais fini par arrêter la guitare, des cours que je prenais avec un Français, quand j'étais étudiant à Paris, illustre inconnu aujourd'hui (il a arrêté la guitare jazz par la suite pour un autre instrument) mais qui jouait à un très très haut niveau, dont franchement je n'ai pas entendu beaucoup d'équivalents. J'étais captivé par sa façon de jouer l'accompagnement au médiator et non le "comping" fade qu'on entend partout aujourd'hui et qui ne swingue absolument pas. Il avait assimilé le jazz moderne mais AUSSI Freddie Green. Beaucoup n'ont pas assimilé Freddie Green, ou font une mauvaise imitation, et quelques-un une imitation exacte sans apport personnel. J'ai recommencé la guitare il y a dix ans. Ce n'est qu'aujourd'hui plus de vingt ans après que je commence à comprendre comment ce prof faisait techniquement , et que j'ai un petit espoir d'y arriver (j'ai retrouvé un seul cours sur une vieille cassette que j'ai numérisé, dix minutes d'enregistrement qui me servent de "pierre de Rosette"). J'ai un boulot très prenant à côté mais j'ai toujours envie d'apprendre la guitare...

[@DenisChangMusic]

Merci! Il a fallu que j’arrête un peu la musique pour me consacrer à l’étude du japonais. Il faut faire des choix dans la vie! Bien sûr je continue à jouer, mais je ne bosse plus comme avant

[@uncriminel]

Merci pour tout ce travail Denis. En tant qu'ancien prof de FLE je peux facilmente faire le raprochement avec l'enseignement d'une langue et celui de la musique. Grand bonjour de Buenos Aires.

[@DenisChangMusic]

Merci pour ces mots !

[@patrickkelsch2723]

Thank you! This touched on so many important things to me, I really appreciate it. BTW, are there any particular language learning platforms or apps you might recommend in reference to working with other native speakers? I’m looking to improve my Spanish… and I’m right there with you on how limited results can only be expected on things like Duolingo etc.

[@YoshiNishio]

Denis, It was a long talk, but I did listen to your entire comment. Because I am so much like you, and it is very interesting to know someone who is so much like myself. I am Japanese.

[@DenisChangMusic]

Thank you for your comment and for watching the video! 良いお年をお迎えください!

[@serkangunturk6273]

King of the Hill.. great tv 😊

[@j.s.m.5351]

Having just moved to Germany from Montreal while trying to crack the jazz scene, this video is perfectly timed!

[@DenisChangMusic]

Oh cool! Hope to catch you at a jam this summer!!

[@patwalden78]

😊

[@alessandroberetta119]

wonderful video and guitar: is it still available? thanks for all

[@kymcarter589]

Yo Denis, Japanese second language Australian (normal whitey lol). My Japanese is near native. Having a Japanese home environment (wife and kids) PLUS several hours a day study helped. I can't agree more about immersion, I put headphones on and listened to podcasts for all my waking hours. As a result I can talk about things like nuclear deterrence and the Japanese constitution IN JAPANESE. Lol. That said, KANJI requires study and practice, immersion won't get you there alone. Thoughts? Cheers

[@DenisChangMusic]

I envy you! Well I only started reading quite recently so I don’t have any concrete thoughts about it, but to be honest, this time around, my reading is improving significantly because every time I go out, I stop and take the time to read just about every hiragana and katakana. I am also starting to recognize common kanjis too, I use a camera app to decipher the kanjis because I still don’t have the basics mastered to understand radicals and what not. I am trying to “immerse” myself in the reading world. How long do you think it took you before you felt good enough let’s say to function in Japanese society without any help? If I could start to teach music in Japanese, I’d be very happy!

[@gunnar7902]

i see the same thing almost everyday. My first languages were English and a tiny bit of romaness then as a teen i started working, learned fluent spanish to the point that hispanics think i'm hispanic but i never cracked open a book on spanish it was all from work. the ppl i was with only spoke spanish to me. later i learned greek and arabic the same way just by being surrounded by it. i have a lot of friends that have tried for years to learn arabic and studied hours and hours but they dont progress. they ask me how i learned and i dont know what to say. i just listen close and copy.

[@phenixdagemini]

Is that a mic attached to the top of the guitar? If so whats the manufacturer? Thanks

[@RobertMatichak]

Montréal …. Great advice as usual Denis. I guess you have to « live da life » you want to have!

[@vannave5761]

Merci pour cette vidéo très intéressante ! Je serais très intéressé de t'entendre parler de la contrebasse des 30s, c'est assez difficile de trouver des bassistes qui font ça vraiment bien et de trouver des enregistrements où la basse est assez claire pour bien entendre les "nuances". En tout cas, beaucoup de matière a penser et très motivant!

[@DenisChangMusic]

salut j’en parle dans certaines videos mais je ne me rappelle plus lesquelles hahaha, je pense que j’en parle dans une video qui s’appelle Gypsy Jazz rhythm ou un truc comme ça, je pense que je l’ai publié en 2019 si tu fouilles un peu dans ma chaîne

[@vannave5761]

@@DenisChangMusic merci pour ta réponse ! J'ai en fait vu cette vidéo juste après t'avoir écrit, c'était un peu comme si tu répondais à ma demande instantanément ahah. Super discussion sur la longueur des notes qui est super importante dans ce groove. J'ai écouté juste après ça un peu de Walter Page. Make sense! Est ce que tu aurais des bassistes contemporain a recommander ? Ou peut être des albums ou morceaux en particulier ?

[@justanothernguyen2334]

I mean, environments play a big factor in everything. If one is immersed in a musical lifestyle from very early it's not surprising one already "has" the theory down before one even knows it. For most of the population who are not blessed with such an innate advantage (like me) we have to try harder than those people. A LOT HARDER. We have to listen listen listen and practice everything just to make up for that nonexistent early immersion and feel "content" with what we know or lack. Double all that if you live where good music is not even appreciated by most people around you. Haha.

[@DenisChangMusic]

Indeed, for those who don’t have the environment, getting some kind of external help to help us “hear” correctly can make a huge difference. That said, I do know people who were not born into an environment and managed to get good. Statistically those people are in the minority though.

[@YoshiNishio]

I watched the interview with Jonathan Stout who has been my hero. I am interested in your playing too. I live in Washington DC, but coming Tokyo next week. Is there any place you play in Tokyo? If so I would like to come and hear you. I am planing to go to Unten 45 on Friday January 6 to hear Tsuchiya Harunobu (つっちー）。

[@PabloCardonaMusic]

44:32 that cracked me up 🤣

[@alisonCNboy]

ahhahahah i love you bro！

[@laraby78]

Was the café where you went to see the gypsy jazz group every Sunday by chance Café Phoenix? I used to work there, and that was probably my introduction to the style.

[@DenisChangMusic]

I don’t remember the name of the place, it was on Rachel, right next to Parc Lafontaine. This was over 20 years ago!

[@laraby78]

@@DenisChangMusic Ahh, I'm talking 30 years ago (I moved away in '93), a cafe above Schwartz's Deli. There were informal gypsy swing jams during Sunday brunch. I believe the guy who organized it had a band called Swing Dynamique.

[@DenisChangMusic]

@@laraby78 ooooh yes, that was before I started . Ya I know of those guys, but by 2000 the only people playing that style were those guys I talked about which is a different crowd

[@cechichan]

Yeah, the more i go thru my guitar life journey, the more i learn to associate it with other stuff i do way more natural even if guitar is my main activity ( sports for example) When i learnt english, i took 1/week lessons (+2h /week at school) for years, and after 9 years of basically 1-2h/week, i didn't know ANYTHING. And i tried within those hours + basic shool homework, i just didnt knew as a kid how to learn it better. Than memes in english became a thing and i literally just translated memes and motivational qoutes lol. Then movies with english sub, then no sub, kept translating whatever i was reading that i cared about, and now tho i live in my home country, i have at least 4h /day(a lot of the days its literally all day..les say i practice a piece and i let a tv series in the background, i hear 8h+ of enligsh in a day ) of english of reading/listening/writing etc. Great vid ;D !!

[@DenisChangMusic]

Yes! You’ve got it figured out now! It’s been almost a year since I made this video, and therefore a year since I moved to Japan and since then my level has completely exploded. Lessons are great, but being immersed and forcing yourself to learn for survival makes such a huge difference doesn’t it?

[@cechichan]

@@DenisChangMusic Yas!!! great to hear your jap is doing well :D I want to make guitar player on a daily more enjoyable, especially mentally. Long story short if u have 2 min to read it: finished HS but wasnt really ready for guitar college nor i was sure i actually wanted to study music that way ( i took a lot of years private lessons from a ex classical university guitar teacher and that combined with all i did by myself worked great in the end anyway ) so i studied law(half assed it but passed, just to win time to get better at guitar) also i had a sport injury (sports were my first love, i wanted to make a living off of it cuz i was better at it than music at the time, way more years on it too) so..also covid hit and i was playing all day every day, not even being able to do anything else fro 2-3 years. That rly skyrocketed everything guitar and music wise. Now that i finished uni, im free as they say xD and im way more healthy and started sports seriously again ( there i learnt to focus on the joy of it and progress better than by "forcing " ) so i want to feel music like that every day. Doing a mental shift , i was so obssesed on becoming " goo enough " so i dont have to work something i didnt love, ofc i stressed myself out a lot. Now i finally am able to make the switch to a joyful guitar lifestyle, "this is the way" as u and mando said it :D !!

[@benjaminholt6640]

Sick bossa bra

[@jfar3340]

Stan ou marie de france ? ;)

[@nilkilnilkil]

Funny, I've been learning French this past year ...

[@DenisChangMusic]

Je te souhaite beaucoup de succès :-)

[@bennybonilla2864]

1:42:06 how do you spell that name?

[@DenisChangMusic]

Lorier family. Look up Sandro Lorier , Paquito Lorier, Favino Lorier, Cherry Reinhardt

[@bennybonilla2864]

@@DenisChangMusic Thank you! Just wanted to let you know when I had an Instagram, I used to copy your violin licks and play them on guitar hahah. You’re still a great musician for having participated and playing with the top gypsy jazz musicians. I hope to see you play live one day or even meet you. Thank you again, cheers!

[@Alan-zi2rs]

I learnt many years ago from a foreign swear word book " kusojiji" and I met a Japanese fella in Chester and tried out my new lingo... He was laughing cos he understood me 🤣

[@DenisChangMusic]

Hahaha

[@benjaminholt6640]

A person only needs to get their mandarin skills up to a level where they can order 豆花。Anything above that level is obsolete.

[@DenisChangMusic]

Man, they can just inject that 豆花 directly into my veins

[@murrayatuptown353]

Yes, older people can also be stubborn enough to work to learn things they might not have been willing to when younger. Channel your inner ostinato!

[@benjaminholt6640]

"Grandpa" bahahahahahhaha

[@SaccoBelmonte]

But Denis....we all know practicing is a waste of time. xD xD xD ....one thing for sure is: Practicing the wrong/useless thing, such as scales.

[@benben3210]

your grand pa was bi-curious? wait... what? WTF..!!

[@DenisChangMusic]

I guess that makes me quarter curious

[@benben3210]

​@@DenisChangMusic lol

[@guitarmusic524]

Denis, you’re a very good jazz player, but let’s see you perform Recuerdos de la Alhambra without practicing. I’ll wait for you to post it.

[@DenisChangMusic]

I did play it when I was a kid, but not very well. I’m also assuming that you either didn’t watch the video or didn’t get the nuance. The video is all about practicing very hard and efficiently but not wasting time like many people often do practicing things that don’t serve a clear purpose.

[@wilddjango]

Rubbish, I am 63 and learn everyday, like Always you have ofcourse to practise and must have a structure about what to practise I don't feel a difference in learning, now I am older, I play a lot with Young People and they learned less in the same time I did, its a matter of focusing and concentration, we older People learned from experience to learn more efficient and quicker, one advise, shut down your cellphone!!! 👌😂

[@vinceotto5163]

Thanks!

[@DenisChangMusic]

wow thank you!