Joined: 27 Nov 2012 Posts: 193 Location: Richmond, VA
Posted: Wed Jan 13, 2021 8:05 pm Post subject: It Could Happen to You (and other stuff)
Hey y'all, it's been a loooong minute since I've been here on the forum, but I did want to let any interested parties know that I am posting daily content on YouTube--performances of standards, spontaneous compositions, tutorials on trumpet playing and musicianship (for various levels), live shows, etc.
The latest offering (hot off the presses as of a couple hours ago) is a solo rendition of "It Could Happen to You". Please check it out if you feel so inclined. Cheers, and enjoy!
Nicely done. I especially love the break you played into the first jazz chorus and how you similarly introduced the second jazz chorus. That was unexpected. Simple but very fluid. I wouldn't have thought to play it that way so this gives me a direction to explore. _________________ HERMOKIWI
Joined: 27 Nov 2012 Posts: 193 Location: Richmond, VA
Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2021 8:08 am Post subject:
HERMOKIWI wrote:
Nicely done. I especially love the break you played into the first jazz chorus and how you similarly introduced the second jazz chorus. That was unexpected. Simple but very fluid. I wouldn't have thought to play it that way so this gives me a direction to explore.
I actually wouldn't necessarily think to do it, either (even though I did it, lol), but it just happened to fit the flow of the story at that moment. Otherwise, those ideas might sound contrived and forced. _________________ --
Mr. Victor X. Haskins http://victorhaskins.com/
Joined: 27 Nov 2012 Posts: 193 Location: Richmond, VA
Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2021 8:26 am Post subject:
HaveTrumpetWillTravel wrote:
Great video channel! You should post it to the trumpet reddit also.
Thank you! I will be sure to do that. You sound like you use Reddit more than I do--how often would posting content there be considered good Reddiquette (lol Reddit+etiquette)? _________________ --
Mr. Victor X. Haskins http://victorhaskins.com/
Joined: 03 Feb 2020 Posts: 107 Location: Los Angeles
Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2021 9:53 am Post subject:
Wow! What an inspiring performance of a great standard! Thanks for the link to your website, which I look forward to exploring. _________________ Jim19043
1998 Bach Strad L180S72
GR 3MX
Nicely done. I especially love the break you played into the first jazz chorus and how you similarly introduced the second jazz chorus. That was unexpected. Simple but very fluid. I wouldn't have thought to play it that way so this gives me a direction to explore.
I actually wouldn't necessarily think to do it, either (even though I did it, lol), but it just happened to fit the flow of the story at that moment. Otherwise, those ideas might sound contrived and forced.
In improvisation the more thinking you do the worse off you are, so the idea is to do exactly what you did: Play it without thinking about it. Which means that you are hearing it that way and spontaneously expressing it.
Sometimes I hear things and I think, "Man, how did he even think of that? How does he hear it like that?" and, of course, he didn't really "think of that," he played it spontaneously because that's the way he hears it. So the real question is, "What did he listen to that ingrained that into how he hears it?"
A good example is Clay Jenkins. It's mind boggling to listen to him play. I would not even begin to know where to start to try to develop to imitate him. That's one of the beautiful things about jazz improvisation: There are so many ways to hear and express it. _________________ HERMOKIWI
Joined: 27 Nov 2012 Posts: 193 Location: Richmond, VA
Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2021 10:59 am Post subject:
HERMOKIWI wrote:
victorhaskins wrote:
HERMOKIWI wrote:
Nicely done. I especially love the break you played into the first jazz chorus and how you similarly introduced the second jazz chorus. That was unexpected. Simple but very fluid. I wouldn't have thought to play it that way so this gives me a direction to explore.
I actually wouldn't necessarily think to do it, either (even though I did it, lol), but it just happened to fit the flow of the story at that moment. Otherwise, those ideas might sound contrived and forced.
In improvisation the more thinking you do the worse off you are, so the idea is to do exactly what you did: Play it without thinking about it. Which means that you are hearing it that way and spontaneously expressing it.
Sometimes I hear things and I think, "Man, how did he even think of that? How does he hear it like that?" and, of course, he didn't really "think of that," he played it spontaneously because that's the way he hears it. So the real question is, "What did he listen to that ingrained that into how he hears it?"
A good example is Clay Jenkins. It's mind boggling to listen to him play. I would not even begin to know where to start to try to develop to imitate him. That's one of the beautiful things about jazz improvisation: There are so many ways to hear and express it.
Couldn't have said it better myself! I will add that, for me, I intentionally want to do things differently EVERY time I play. I am pretty aware of what I have done before (because I recognize the pathway as familiar) and I'll make sure to go in a different direction. The sweet spot is the middle ground between turning the brain off, and analyzing every note/rhythm/harmony/choice in real time. _________________ --
Mr. Victor X. Haskins http://victorhaskins.com/
I love that Miles Davis quote before the recorded take of "If I Were a Bell" where he said, "I'll play it and tell you what it is later."
There's speculation about what prompted the quote and what he meant by it but it certainly describes one view of the improvisation process, that you don't have time to think it through while you're playing it, that you just play it and leave the analysis for later.
I know in my own case that in improvisation I'm not analyzing anything while I'm playing it. It just happens spontaneously the same way speaking extemporaneously happens.
Of course, you can prepare for improvisation by analyzing it in advance, studying the theory and mechanics of the music, working out licks and patterns, etc., but when you're doing it thinking about it can really mess you up because there's usually too much lag time between the thought and the expression. Transcending the analytical with spontaneous expression is a real crossroads for players. _________________ HERMOKIWI
Joined: 30 Jan 2018 Posts: 1021 Location: East Asia
Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2021 2:33 pm Post subject:
victorhaskins wrote:
HaveTrumpetWillTravel wrote:
Great video channel! You should post it to the trumpet reddit also.
Thank you! I will be sure to do that. You sound like you use Reddit more than I do--how often would posting content there be considered good Reddiquette (lol Reddit+etiquette)?
I think on the trumpet reddit there have been folk who posted pretty regularly (lick of the day, Trent Austin was doing a daily Christmas thing, etc.).
Joined: 27 Nov 2012 Posts: 193 Location: Richmond, VA
Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2021 8:28 pm Post subject:
HaveTrumpetWillTravel wrote:
victorhaskins wrote:
HaveTrumpetWillTravel wrote:
Great video channel! You should post it to the trumpet reddit also.
Thank you! I will be sure to do that. You sound like you use Reddit more than I do--how often would posting content there be considered good Reddiquette (lol Reddit+etiquette)?
I think on the trumpet reddit there have been folk who posted pretty regularly (lick of the day, Trent Austin was doing a daily Christmas thing, etc.).
Ah, thank you for putting that in perspective. _________________ --
Mr. Victor X. Haskins http://victorhaskins.com/
Joined: 27 Nov 2012 Posts: 193 Location: Richmond, VA
Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2021 8:32 pm Post subject:
HERMOKIWI wrote:
I love that Miles Davis quote before the recorded take of "If I Were a Bell" where he said, "I'll play it and tell you what it is later."
There's speculation about what prompted the quote and what he meant by it but it certainly describes one view of the improvisation process, that you don't have time to think it through while you're playing it, that you just play it and leave the analysis for later.
I know in my own case that in improvisation I'm not analyzing anything while I'm playing it. It just happens spontaneously the same way speaking extemporaneously happens.
Of course, you can prepare for improvisation by analyzing it in advance, studying the theory and mechanics of the music, working out licks and patterns, etc., but when you're doing it thinking about it can really mess you up because there's usually too much lag time between the thought and the expression. Transcending the analytical with spontaneous expression is a real crossroads for players.
I dig--we have two different approaches to communication. It's wonderful to observe the differences in how folks think about things to arrive at our respective 'solutions'! _________________ --
Mr. Victor X. Haskins http://victorhaskins.com/
Joined: 22 May 2007 Posts: 2655 Location: Anacortes, WA
Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2021 10:45 am Post subject:
Quote:
I love that Miles Davis quote before the recorded take of "If I Were a Bell" where he said, "I'll play it and tell you what it is later."
I've been listening to Miles a lot lately working through the years. I also saw a documentary thing about Kind of Blue. Watching and listening I realized what he did was give everyone space to create on the spot. Not playing licks, but truly creating something "of the moment." That being said, as I move through the years I hear him doing something that he's done before in another song. So even though it might be "in the moment," what you've done and internalized still carries forward. Whatever I listen to has a way of working into my vocabulary coming out spontaneously. _________________ Richard
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