Saxophone Forum


by Gumptious
(40 posts)
18 years ago

Help with hearing chord changes

This is a little bit in the other discussion I started, but I hope this gets a little more specific. Heres my problem...I know all the chords and their progression in the jazz music im playing. My problem is that I start to solo and get playing, and I can't hear when it changes to say...the G7 measure from the D7 measure or whatever. I know all the notes to play in each measure, and I can hear when they switch when I just listen to the rythmn section, but how can I improve or help my ability to know when you switch while I'm soloing? I can't concentrate on soloing and concentrating on what the current chord is. How can I improve this? Also, is there any easy way to get better ideas while soloing and playing "better" licks during improv? Or does this just come with time? Hope I explained my situation clear enough. Hope you all can help. Gump

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  1. by Mlenox
    (36 posts)

    18 years ago

    Re: Help with hearing chord changes

    Quality of my ideas improve when I stopped soloing over band in the box or Jamie A. recordings and started practicing with recordings of the masters. Try to solo along with miles davis, art pepper, muligan, trane, monk, ext. Sometimes just solo, other times copy them, other times try to answer their lines, and be creative. That should help improve your ideas. Following the chord changes, I struggled with this same thing for a while. There are a list of things you could start working towards, and they all will take time before they can occur naturally in your music. Learn to sing the head and then sing it in your mind as you solo. You will focus a little less on what you are playing at first but you may find that actually your ideas improve. Try to always hear the 4, 8, and 16 bars in the music. Get to the point were you not only hear or count each 8 bar group but your feel it. Work towards feeling that 8 bars just went by and now you are going on to the next 8. Practice this both as you solo and as listen to music. Figure out what make the B section different then the A section and then listen to those changes. Once you can keep track of the 8 bar phrases and the form of the song, then you start to go for the chord changes in the 8 bars. The Johnathon Lorentz who teaches at Castleton College has an etude study where you take the chord chanes and walk through the arpeggios on eigth notes changing the chords at the right time for the song. Dont write out what you will play put improvise it with a metronome to keep you honest. You can at first slow the song all the way down to simple slow, and then as it becomes easier crank up the tempo. This excercise has helped me improve in following the chords changes as I blow over a song. Most of us practice our arppeggios but the act of putting them into the form of the song really helps to take it to the next level. But mostly importantly keep playing. Learning to improve is like learning a new language. You memorize your vocab words and rules of grammar first and then you practice for years before you can have a natural conversation.

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    1. by Mlenox
      (36 posts)

      18 years ago

      Re: Help with hearing chord changes

      Sorry about the numerous typos. Is there a way to edit our own post?

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      1. by tsax_player
        (76 posts)

        18 years ago

        Re: Help with hearing chord changes

        Do you have any piano experience? It is a good idea be able to comp changes on the piano. I'm not saying you should go buy a Mantooth or Corea book just learn basic voicings so you can see what notes change and hear them at the same time. This also will make you available for certain gigs. There have been many occasions were a certain show band needs a horn player and keyboard. That means they pay less money not hiring two cats and you make more (and have security in the gig). something to think about Tracy

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