How To Practice Like Michael Brecker 🎶

🌟 Work with Nick:
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[@genesisthebeginningsmith7038]

This is the Alvin batiste root progression sequence. He was the first to popularize it. It’s so useful

[@woodiedouglas787]

You are right... this is what Alvin Batiste was teaching in his Jazz program at Southern Univ. The root progression.

[@nickmainella]

Nice thank you for the info! I always like to find the source of where a certain idea came from!!

[@danbunch1514]

Gary Campbell also released some pattern books, very informative.

[@walterholland1251]

I was about to say the same thing! We called it the RPE. Root Progression Exercise.

[@jaedancurcio1545]

Learned this sequence from one of his students, truly a legend

[@richardjohnson9218]

The older cats from 50s used to talk about learning your cycles.

[@eliot7397]

love it thank you

[@thomascaminito3252]

I had a professor recommend something like this to me, but the order is: 1.) Tritone away 2.) Down a half-step. It mimics the root motion in tritone subs and also it gets you all the way around all twelve keys TWICE ;)

[@kaemanmcdonald3078]

Hey thank you so much for this video! What a hidden gem!

[@nickmainella]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@olivierherment1188]

Thanks

[@wyndhl8309]

Excelentissimo ❤😂🎉

[@outinacornfield]

Lovely! Thank you!

[@bassface84]

Good Stuff! Great to know.

[@TheGumboGumbas]

Thanks!

[@nickmainella]

Wow thanks so much 🙏

[@TheGumboGumbas]

Nick. I love your content and have learned a great deal from your approach. Keep up the good work! @@nickmainella

[@sidneiramalho]

The first note of each set sounds longer and accented to me. Is that part of the idea or should one stick with evenness duration throughout?

[@rlevitta]

You forgot step #1: be a genius.

[@davidtardio9804]

I think this is a very smart way to practice, but does it help incorporate an idea into a tune? Or is that not the point?

[@nickmainella]

There are lots of ways to incorporate this into soloing David! We can definitely do a video on that 👍

[@davidtardio9804]

@@nickmainellaI think that would be a great idea! I’d love a video on this subject

[@marcel.e.c.augustin]

8:41 “The simpler the idea, the better it’s actually going to sound.” This is definitely something I struggle with when improvising. I get so busy pulling out everything in my arsenal and thinking about where to go just to get lost in ideas. This could definitely be useful. I currently go through “patterns for jazz” which uses some of the same concepts you introduced through Brecker’s book, yet this sounds much more aligned with developing my fingers in the horn! Let’s hit the practice room!!!

[@nickmainella]

Ya! Love this. Actually, Gary Campbell contributed a bunch to that book I believe…

[@moises35rodrigues42]

Qual é o nome do livro de Becker?

[@rickspyder6159]

Really cool ...another 10 years work

[@jaylozier4083]

I studied with someone who was with Michael Brecker at Indiana University, long, long ago. He said that one thing Michael Brecker would do is spend extended periods of time trying to capture the sound one of his heroes on saxophone. Then he would switch to another player, and then another, etc.

[@LennyPrice]

Brecker was meticulous about practice and that was the source of his staggering proficiency. Great video! 🎷

[@kooky74]

Ho yes! Major third sounds so cool. And in a blues that should sound great. Noted for my tomorrow exercices. Thanks for the video

[@philipperoche7746]

This is exactly what it is contained in the great book "jazz pattern" by G Cambell and al.

[@kakaloribeiro740]

Thanks for the precious tips. Greatings from Brazil !

[@geralddeloach1391]

Outstanding teaching! Very clear and applicable!

[@rustonreynolds8346]

Patterns for jazz, too. Gives you the first 3 keys in an exercise then you have to do the rest in Your head.

[@carstenboe1292]

Hi Nick. Great video and now you have one subscriber more. Just being courious how to transfer this materiale to a standard tune? Mayby a topic for another video :)

[@nickmainella]

Tune in on Saturday :)

[@giampierogirolamo7134]

Great hear training too❤!

[@poolio75]

As ever, superbly explained and so usable! Love your work Nick, thank you for sharing

[@nickmainella]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@jessebennett8299]

Does your "love" of the major 3rd interval have anything to do with Trane (and Slonimsky)? Anyway, nice if you to share all of this. Peace

[@nickmainella]

Probably 😂

[@GastonMCote]

Jeff Ellwood propose Root Progressions pdf document which is essentially an all inclusive Alvin Baptiste Approach. It is a must have. It includes scales, arpeggios, 24 4notes patterns in 4 shapes (up, Down, Up % down, Down and Up)

[@nickmainella]

Awesome thanks! Will definitely check this out. Love Jeff’s educational materials, playing, and thinking 🙌

[@champanachampana4881]

Good morning. Very informative. Thanks. Jazz guitarist.

[@SaxPracticemanJazz]

Good practice idea!!!! Thank you!!!!

[@jordantaylorreed]

Yessssss!!! Chromatic Scale Work = 💖. Thanks for the video, Nick!

[@nickmainella]

Thanks, Jordan! I'm a big fan BTW. Bring back Trading Fours!! 🎷

[@jordantaylorreed]

@@nickmainella Holy smokes, Nick! That's so kind of you! ...we're planning on it! Hope yer well!

[@Strravigor]

All this stuff is an old story, you find it on slonimsky book « thesaurus of scale « one hundred years ago ! (worked by Coltrane etc …)

[@nickmainella]

Old but still very useful!

[@Strravigor]

And very basic , you can go much far from that

[@nickmainella]

@@Strravigor nothing wrong with the basics. Gotta have somewhere to start....

[@tophotoproducciones1]

Bla bla bla 😂😂😂

[@Balkanoscent]

Many thanks 👌🏽👌🏽👌🏽🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

[@JasonBlack-ci7yg]

Thanks for the incite, application, and share, hope to try this today Would you identify a lick I just transcribed from a guitar solo on track 2 of Jimmy Smith’s Prayer Meetin at 7:35 or 7:45 depending on the format? I also heard a tenor play the idea on another Smith album 3,5,6,5,6,1,3 - eighth triplet, quarter, quarter, dotted quarter, eighth Maybe the first the first five notes would work for the Cambell method?

[@ReeseOsborn-g3q]

Dan Zinn’s saxophone books include this type of interval training for patterns. Very good stuff nick.

[@ReeseOsborn-g3q]

Dan Zinn’s saxophone books include this type of interval training for patterns. Very good stuff nick.

[@robertfoose9453]

Also neat to use a pair of intervals, like ma2 + mi3, etc. , so up2+ up3, then start down 1, up2+up3, then down1, up2+up3, and so on. So many variations possible!!

[@echoftw]

Awesome video! As I watched I was thinking the ideas were very similar to a book I did with my teacher about 15 years ago, Patterns for Jazz. I found my copy, lo and behold Gary Campbell is one of the authors. I'm an awful practicer and usually end up "playing" more than practicing, but I'm inspired to go through that book again now, thanks for sharing these tips!!

[@ili626]

i thought i invented this system.. this happens to me all the time, since youtube has blown up with music ed stuff.

[@BlackBearCustomKydex]

Cool way to practice. I definitely used to struggle with motivating myself to practice in all 12, largely because of the looming question of what order to practice it in. Now I hardly play my horn, but as I get into the shed, it's more and more important to me that the time I spend is focused so I can get the most out of it. I'll definitely be giving this a whirl. Thanks, Nick!

[@nickmainella]

Awesome! Let us know how it goes....

[@BlackBearCustomKydex]

@@nickmainella will do!

[@sampowellmusic]

Thanks for giving me 10,000 hours worth of stuff to practice

[@johnwade7430]

Really cool - thanks for this. Makes “Giant Steps’ just that little bit more approachable.

[@jackdolphy8965]

Thank You!!🙏🏼

[@soulfulsax]

Hi Nick, thanks for the great video. Where can I download the pdf's with the practice idea's you showed in this video?

[@hurricoon]

Dope!!!

[@Zxx459]

The SOURCE IS CHARLIE P. JOHN COLTRANE....

[@davidmercer658]

Maybe start in a different place too.

[@sigterm9ki11]

I think it was also important to do it thinking, not reading. Great vid!

[@AndresLilloSax]

Nice! Aldana teach me that method, and Ive loved so much! But I recommend to do it in augmented fourth too, that wouldn’t do any damage to your playing haha

[@nickmainella]

Agreed!

[@cyschmidtslc]

Hey Nick. Thanks so much for this gem of practice thought. I’ve followed you for a long time and appreciate your cool ideas. Keep up the good work friend. Love and much respect. Cy in Salt Lake City Utah, USA. ❤️😎🎷

[@nickmainella]

Awesome, thank you!

[@Zxx459]

DONT PRACTICE LIKE ANYONE ELSE...OTHER WISE YOU WILL DOUND( IMITATING SOMEONE ELSE!)

[@nickmainella]

That’s the beauty of this. You come up with your own ideas and then you simply play them in the different intervals. It will allow you to sound like you want to sound 👍

[@beckyn9338]

Great video! So wouldn’t it provide a different sound moving in M6 as opposed to m3? I understand they are inversions of one another, but would the bigger interval not provide a new sound? Guess I have to play it. Maybe I’m just not hearing it in my head.

[@nickmainella]

I definitely think there’s something to that. I usually stop at trito ed but maybe I should keep going!

[@dudymrsax]

HI. How can I apply this wonderful exercise while playing a jazz standard? for example: if I made a minor triad on its relative shortening, can I then move with the various intervals even when the chord changes? or should I do the same thing and move to the next chord like this? for example a major chord?

[@nickmainella]

Very good question! I will definitely do a follow up on how to apply this as others have asked as well 😁

[@DoctorGZeds]

​@@nickmainellaThat would be great. Thanks for the excellent videos

[@antonioatzori875]

Bravo grazie souds good

[@martinartmeier4573]

Thank you, you're a great teacher 😊!

[@nickmainella]

Thank you! 😃

[@travel_and_explore_with_BIP]

Nice Tone man!! 🍺🍺

[@nickmainella]

🙏

[@gyamfijacob50]

I love ur play Sir

[@nickmainella]

🙏

[@barbara2800]

Love this!!! ❤

[@nickmainella]

Glad you liked it!

[@JulioARodriguez]

Thanks!

[@nickmainella]

Thanks so much!!

[@Jaujau933]

Mike Brecker was a KING of saxophone, but this video? 😴😴😴😴😴

[@nickmainella]

😂🤣 why do you keep watching my videos if you hate them so much? Have a great day!