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Post by Rambler on May 18, 2015 4:03:24 GMT
Has anyone got the book: The Guitarists Guide to Composing and Improvising by Jon Damian? It has a foreword by Bill. I've had it for about a year now and I'm really quite blown away by it. What strikes me is that Jon Damian appears to have been a contributing factor to Bills unique style. His use of space, motivic development instead of "licks" and his ideas about contrary and oblique motion are all very Bill. This guy is clearly an incredible teacher - you can see why he was a teacher at Berklee.
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Post by Rambler on May 21, 2015 7:13:49 GMT
Sorry I didn't mention - he taught Bill at Berklee
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Post by Melodic Dreamer on May 22, 2015 21:21:40 GMT
I remember reading about different techniques in the book, but I've never had a chance to look at it in person. I know there was a forum once before where the individual spoke about Jon putting a lot of emphasis on breathing. Learning to phrase and pause the way a human voice does due to the need for breathing. That is something guitarist often times over look. It makes me think of a sax player too.
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Post by Rambler on May 23, 2015 20:18:02 GMT
Yes, he does talk about that in the book.
The main thrust of the book is to help you break out of pattern based playing and really heighten your understanding of both composition and improvisation.
His focus on different types of movement - parallel, contrary and oblique are really evident in Bill's playing and improvising.
Also, he presents a system of motive development that I'm just starting to get my head around. It's got me thinking about that when I'm soloing though. He says the greatest improvisers treat a solo like theme and variations on the tune.
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Post by Melodic Dreamer on May 24, 2015 2:13:40 GMT
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Post by Rambler on May 29, 2015 20:34:27 GMT
Yes, I've looked at that Lee Konitz Method before - it looks excellent. I wonder what his intentions were in creating that method though - is it academic, or practical? I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who actually uses the method, and exactly how. It looks like it requires a great deal of patient study, and a genuine awareness of chord tones and scales.
When I'm improvising now I really try to develop the theme, I played with my band yesterday and when I took solos, I tried to avoid 'licks'. It's frightening how only playing that way for a short time makes my licks (when I revert to them) sound so hackneyed!
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