Giant Steps: Journey Through The Real Book

[@colinroymonettemusic]

I’m a guitarist. I appreciate what you said about slowing it down. It sounds much better. Same goes for Cherokee, it’s actually a very hummable melody and swings real nice when played slowly. The melody of Giants Step also slowed down seems to pop up as sort of a melody that blows through the wind if you will. If it doesn’t sound right or feel right maybe it isn’t right, is my opinion most of the time. The album Crescent is my Fav and it’s really a blend between the two worlds. These vids are a great resource, thank you

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

Yes, exactly as you've said! And I'm glad you're enjoying my videos.

[@insidejazzguitar8112]

Loved your painter’s description of this tune. Your solo was a fascinating journey.

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

Thanks! It's a fun tune to play, once you get inside it.

[@insidejazzguitar8112]

Love your discussions and your approach. I just discovered your channel, and I’m an instant fan!

[@brendaboykin3281]

Hi, Ron. Thank you, Maestro. Just listened to your Moment's Notice presentation. These 2 together give us students beautiful insights into Trane. Door opener. Great playing, mate. Your work is ABSOLUTELY A CONTRIBUTION to the Jazz/Music community. 🌹🌹🔥🌹🌹

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

Coltrane is such a heavyweight - we all need to keep coming back to his work over time to deepen our understanding of it.

[@thedoorsforever256]

I think a few people were waiting for this one! Good job!!

[@mymusicsavvy]

Well done, Ron. Your years of work on the tune definitely show through. I don't think there's any shortcut to having this beast under our belt as improvisers.

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

Agreed!

[@DezienDrese]

"It's not just playing fast it is thinking fast "

[@AFSoar01]

Wow - that really was a deep dive. Thanks for sharing the great stories and especially a bit of the theory behind the chord changes. It's fascinating to hear them compared to Beethoven and the prismatic movement - the ballad and bossanova versions were such interesting takes... I love Tommy Flanagan's version as well!

[@rondrotos5285]

Yeah -he finally recorded it on his own!

[@randyknisely8979]

Thanks Ron, lots of ways to think about, I remember a bassist told me to try it in 3/4 which helped, gonna practice it using some of your insights now (I'll comment more when I see what happens)!

[@serginidelriofuentes]

Hey friend, did you finally manage to progress? It is such a hard tune

[@johngeast]

Great video. I ultimately made a commitment to resist playing Giant Steps proper..in exchange for regularly playing the Augmented Scale for my secondary dominants (aka Musical F-bombs). I can make wonderful short dominant combinations there..but it can sound like Giant Steps right in the middle of your song unless you craft a good melody with this augmented scale (min2nd-min3rd alternating). So this gives me pairs of semitones along an augmented line, and at any point I can roll one of those pairs up into a third tone, tonicizing it of any quality - whether back to the root, maj3, or b6 of my chord of the moment And provided I keep a V-chord in each new modulated key, I can augment right back home at any time. It's fun and easy and filled with motion and fairly unobtrusive tonal shading

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

Thanks John! It's fun to come up with personal ways of expression like you've described.

[@johngeast]

@@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 Yeah, I don't even call it Secondary Dominant, I just think, "Giant Step the note". Keep it simple

[@johngeast]

@@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 And thank you, Ron. These videos are a godsend. Lot of fun.

[@ChrisSmithSaxophone]

Thanks Ron. I do like this song, and I had heard the story of poor Tommy Flanagan being thrown in at the deep end. I'll check out his own version of it to see how he plays it when he has had some time to prepare. :)

[@larrysaidman1004]

Wonderful, Ron! Love it. Also love hearing you do it Bossa-Nova style....fits nicely into an 'easy listening' environment. One thing I can't relate to is the claim that it has no tonal center. Almost half of the 16 bars (7 1/2 to be exact) is either a II V I or a III V I resolving in Eb. So to me, it is clearly in the key of Eb.

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

It can probably be heard in this and many ways.

[@taopagan]

Great insight about this tune. It’s a fascinating speculation about the artist’s intent. Seems it probably applies to many forms of creative process! I imagine Coltrane constructing the changes as a tool - a ladder to climb, to reach something. Yet that’s the hook! The changes themselves are far more memorable than any of the improvised choruses. This must be confounding for many creators. An audience’s perception or enjoyment of a performance or a piece, what other musicians and critics focus on, elements which become slavishly or dogmatically applied - none of these seem to necessarily correspond with the artist’s intentions. Does this aspect extend to literal meaning? Such as a lyric? The late lyricist Robert Hunter seemed to think so. So much so, he conceded his songs contained meaning he never put there! In any and every event, yours is an inspirational and welcome analysis. Thank you!

[@jonniejlo]

Nice one! I enjoy your videos. When I'm learning standards I always check out your videos because the insights you present of the tunes' background are a great path to get deeper into the tune. Do you have insights into the changes "possibly" being inspired from 1937 pre-trane "Have you met miss Jones" bridge ?? #172 :)

[@nomennescio317]

Which Bethoven composition you mentioned for being pianistic?

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

Op. 109

[@alonwiesz3180]

Bossa steps

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

Yes, exactly!

[@alonwiesz3180]

@@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 love your videos and the conversation about textures is so cool, thats something im trying to explore a lot right now. Thanks you!

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

@@alonwiesz3180 Keep it up and enjoy!