I Was 30 Years TOO LATE On This | The Janek Gwizdala Podcast

[@eliomanunta3826]

Hi Janek, after three years of not playing, I decided to start again by watching your videos. I bought three of your books, devoured your videos and podcasts. You explain everything so well, and your musicality is fantastic. Every time, you make me want to practice. Thank you from the bottom of my heart

[@ralphmanak]

For a while it was 20 years, then 25, now 30. One theme across the years has been this: rather than proclaiming how it is, you consistently describe what and how you're learning, and with an approach that gets deeply into process and results. While there are different schools of thought regarding learning-and indeed everyone finds their own path-one strength of your approach in sharing your process, Janek, is in showing a way, or ways, to find/discover/uncover one's own path. As they say in the vernacular: priceless.

[@vlr-bn6]

One of the best podcasts of yours that I watched, Janek. Thank you for sharing your experience and deep insights about musician's lifelong jouney and not thinking while playing. "Hearing them think" is a very good way to put it.

[@jlo2667]

As always, a lot of great information here. Two things... First, I've been spending a lot of time lately practicing playing shapes in a five fret chromatic box. Say frets 8-12 or C to E on the E string and across the fretboard. Then playing as much of an exercise in that constraint as possible. Really works the brain and fingers. Secondly, I've also been practicing with weekly goals and it's been helping greatly. Structuring my practice routine more like my gym routine. Like you, I've found by zeroing in on one or two topics for a week at a time really helps cement it in my brain. And over a few weeks to months allows for much greater understanding of musical ideas etc. without feeling overwhelming. As always, thanks for sharing such valuable information. Up until now, this would have been exclusive to private students of yours, but with the help of the internet and most importantly, your hard work in sharing, we can glean a thing or two from a master such as yourself. Now to do the work. Happy practicing, John

[@ja773r]

Hi Janek. I played drums for 45 years. Over the last 9 months I started to play bass due to a long term injury which was making it harder and harder to sustain my drumming life. But yes in my last two years of drumming I made massive improvements using a very similar method. Doing a lot of simple motivic playing at 50 bpm trying to become super fluent with simple ideas which I would then try to blend into one another seamlessly. Then of course I would try to milk each idea using variations. All this I would enjoy doing first at tempos around 50 to really try to feel the health of the phrase or the groove. I now try to use similar ideas while practicing my bass which I have fallen head over heels in love with. Thanks for your wonderful work x

[@laurenceblackadder3103]

Sounds beautiful Janek, you always create something incredibly melodic

[@Bassic778]

"I can hear you thinking" makes sooooo much sense!!! Priceless!!!

[@BeatsAndGuitars]

You make things so easy to understand Janek. Just simple and to the point. Partly why, as a guitar player I have so many of your books

[@erlinggarcia3035]

Have you consider Reading for ASMR. you have very unique voice and can help a lot of people reading for relaxation. hope you consider this option. txs

[@janekgwizdala]

😮 I haven't. Although I did make audio books of some of my very first books in the beginning... Maybe it's time to start doing that again? 🧐

[@joannalewis5279]

​@@janekgwizdalathey have a good point

[@laurenceblackadder3103]

The incredible players you mentioned Herbie, Dizzie, Bird, Chick, Wayne, Coltrane, Miles, Charles Lloyd are not only in that 0.01% of improvisers they are also at the forefront of jazz composition and I feel one hugely informs the other

[@SimonGrantUnltd]

Thanks Janek! …love the details about your process. I am trying to develop the discipline to stop and push the record button when important ideas arrive but it always ends up being an afterthought- ugh. Thanks for sharing- love this channel.

[@edwardeatmon325]

Top shelf information bro, it makes us better players and better listeners

[@SeniorFeliz]

I'm having a lot of fun just tying it all together when I practice I'm kind of baddie I go from harmonic scale to whole-tone scale to diminish scale to augmented scale model playing and I just love it I'm on a journey of exploration and I'm a perfect example of 30 years too late I didn't start playing bass till 2015.

[@GuitarTechniquePatterns-v3d]

Great insight into your hard work

[@jarnoverhoeven3118]

Wrt recording, TC Electronic used to have the Wiretap pedal, really easy to put that last in the loop and simply stomp if something interesting comes by to record it. Bought a few for 30 euros each when they stopped making them.

[@janekgwizdala]

I have a wiretap also. They’re great. And like all things that are great, almost every company out there seems to find a reason to stop making them. 😑

[@tomrastikis4617]

Just finished “Effortless Mastery” that was a great read! Seeing your video is making it apparent to me I’m on the right course for my continues learning. Thanks for all you do!

[@janekgwizdala]

YES!!! So great to hear. What an amazing book.

[@soulfred]

Seems a "From Practice To Performance" appendix, thanks!

[@andrewsmedley-brown7463]

Hi.Thankyou for this, interesting and, being a new subscriber, consistent with what I have had the pleasure of so far. I am a bass player who finds the mystery and practice and the learning process throughout fascinating and have thoughts and questions like anyone else on how to improve comprehensively. I will contact you on my conundrum which this podcast brought to mind again. I saw and listened to you at Essaouira this summer and am glad to find you teaching on KZbin. Thankyou for now, Andy.

[@_B_E_A_D_G_C]

Always love the amazing knowledge you give us ! Any plans on hitting Switzerland or somewhere close by for tour in the end of 2024/ 2025?

[@janekgwizdala]

The closest I'm getting to Switzerland this year is Germany for the guitar summit in Mannheim on September 28th. I definitely want to add CH to the 2025 schedule though. I'm hoping the new album I'm working on will be worthy of some tour dates next year.

[@christoskechris3509]

That lick can work over the odd bars on A section of Giant steps. The #5 is 3 of the new key

[@rockstarjazzcat]

Always learning. 😉

[@SeniorFeliz]

31:32 yeah I find I have to stumble at first a lot before I get to Even Flow then things start to flow naturally

[@Bassic778]

Great playing, tone, and tutorial!!! It's humbling to see someone as talented, skilled, and experienced as Janek emphasize the importance of practicing!!! Your videos are a constant reminder that no matter how good we are or THINK we are, WE'LL NEVER BE GOOD ENOUGH TO NOT PRACTICE!!!

[@rubensleite9384]

❤❤❤

[@JordanIs.Online]

I’ve had effortless mastery on my bookshelf for a year and haven’t read a page haha maybe it’s time to change that as I loved hearing your thoughts on it. I wonder, if we take one phrase or idea and hammer it for a week, does that mean not to practice anything but this? I’ve so many things I want to practice, learning different jazz tunes, walking practice, even just understanding the theory a bit more. Maybe I need to find a way of adopting multiple ideas into one?

[@janekgwizdala]

I think it’s different for everyone, and certainly different depending on where you’re at in your career. I don’t necessarily need to concentrate on learning more standards or transcribing walking lines as much as I did when I was 19. A lot of that instinctual stuff we learn from that process no longer makes sense to commit tons of time to because of my age and what my career and my music demands of me now. If I was 20 all over again, I would still work on multiple things during the day, but my process for language programming would be more dialed in the way I’m approaching it now, and it would probably make up the bulk of the time spent with the instrument.

[@JordanIs.Online]

@@janekgwizdala appreciate your thoughts and reply! Something to think about!

[@joannalewis5279]

I like your exercise videos. Actually that's not true. I like your videos.