J&J on Jazz: How to Play BURNING FAST!

[@christianpaul3239]

very helpful for no matter of what instrument one plays ... Thx

[@JeffAntoniukEducator]

Absolutely. This is for ALL instruments. It's really all about how we THINK about faster tempos. ⭐

[@HB-ve4wi]

🙏🏻 thank you!

[@saldrich3226]

Good video. How well should someone know the changes before doing this?

[@JeffAntoniukEducator]

Great question. Of course, the more we know the changes, the less we have to think about them and the more bandwidth is left over to think about the TIME. That said, a good reader could do this on a song they've never seen. All that said, the true idea here is to prioritize the TIME and NOT the notes.

[@saldrich3226]

@ why, yes. It was. And deserving of an equally magnificent answer. Which you have satisfied. (Really enjoy your channel. Keep the excellent videos coming!)

[@saldrich3226]

I meant to add a playful emoji 😝

[@dennis524]

Excellent approach to playing at fast tempos and some really nice playing, thanks. Does that happen to be a V16 mouthpiece there? T7 maybe? And the reed? Thank you again.

[@JeffAntoniukEducator]

Yes, I think it's a VanDoren Java something-or-other, and Gonzalez reeds. I played those for a long time, and really dig them. Thanks for asking.

[@pickinstone]

Rhythm and pulse are everything in music and we should view all of our practice--especially tune practice--through the lens of rhythm and time. Whole notes aren't the baseline--try playing the downbeat of every 2 measures or the downbeat of every 4 measures. Playing into these landmarks in the pulse allow us to flow into the inertia of the music. Going back to the whole note idea--you can use that click to see what playing the second quarter note or the last 8th note of the measure sounds like in the context of that downbeat click. Space is the place--having good time means being aware of where you are in the time. Just some meanderings. Every time I see a video that focuses on time/rhythm, I get excited--it's about TIME we challenge the jazz pedagogy of yesteryear and place rhythm in it's rightful place as king. Good video--keep going. Scales and harmony are great, but we've got that in spades. Rhythm is still untapped--especially for us non-drummers--and incredibly DEEP (we should all be our best drummer, right?).

[@JeffAntoniukEducator]

I totally agree with you. Rhythm and time, phrasing and groove is where it is REALLY at. But, that's harder to work on in a one-way conversation like this. Hence all the good work we do inside JazzWire, our online platform. If you haven't already, please jump in to a Free 30 Day Limited access to JazzWire. I would love to work together with you in a more meaningful (and not too expensive) way. With the Free 30 Day Trial, you’ll see what we're doing behind the wall! You'll be inside in about 20 seconds, no credit card required. www.jazzwire.net/free-trial/. These videos are great, but they are a SHADOW compared to the real work and we can do together!

[@pickinstone]

@@JeffAntoniukEducator I'm an educator myself (not music--special education) and I've found that the way I learn best is from a private teacher--and I found a great one. I was just commenting on the over saturation of harmony/ chord scale based instruction on KZbin, in university, books, and elsewhere. The more you focus on rhythm in your instruction, the more you set yourself apart from everyone else. The more we focus on harmony, the more we encourage bad habits like thinking that all that's missing is the "holy scale." That, and the habit I had to push myself out of in the last 3 years: "jazz practice rubato." That's what I term the inclination of being so obsessed with scales that you totally neglect the harmonic rhythm of the tune you are studying--happens to quite a few jazz students out there. I only comment on videos worth commenting on--to do my part to help change the algorithm ;) Let's face it, the future of jazz education may not be in the books and university classes of yesteryear--here's hoping we all still play with each other regardless.

[@JeffAntoniukEducator]

@@pickinstone Thanks for the great input here! You are thinking about it perfectly I'd say!

[@owennovenski4794]

Perfectly clear, appropriately simplified, sincerely presented! I may suggest that sometimes just reading the chart fast can be a bit of a limitation (it is for me) and that memorisation can really help be a superpower for speed… and I love speed. It allows me to put those pesky concerns of pitch control to rest!

[@robstevens9590]

Cool concept! I'm guessing that it is easier to play burning tempos on the alto than the tenor. (I just got a tenor and such speeds are waaay out of reach.)

[@JeffAntoniukEducator]

Ha! Alas, the answer is "no." It's just a conceptual thing, and the instrument doesn't really make all that much difference.