finally, after finishing my studies, I am picking up a conversation (jazz piano) that was interrupted quite a few years ago. without ambitions, but only to satisfy a strong and deep musical need of mine.
in short: for now I am trying to organize my ideas and get as far as I can go on my own, as a self-taught musician. and before 'depressing' myself too early, I would like to try to understand how the greats of jazz improvised. I am particularly attracted to the bebop style. these days I have been focusing on 2 standard pieces: "a night in tunisia" by dizzy gillespie and "cantaloupe island" by herbie hancock.
from the second one, I managed to transcribe the entire piano solo (I am referring to the classic version). could you point me towards, if they exist, any web links from which I can download transcriptions of the most important solos in jazz history?
B
Bit
Member
Reply 2 by Bit
Posts
225
I'll take this opportunity to ask a question, but do you really think it is useful to work on solos (transcribing them by ear)?
I'll take this opportunity to remind you of this topic
For reasons unknown to me, the PDFs are password protected, but the passwords are listed next to each link. Consequently, take note of the passwords first, then download the three files (VERY heavy). They are about 1800 pages each; there is everything (... a lot for trumpet).
I'll take this opportunity to ask a question, but do you really think it is useful to work only on solos (transcribing them by ear)?
Transcribing solos is an extremely important exercise. It's normal to take a long time at the beginning; with practice, as with all things, you improve. It is an exceptional way to improve your ear and musicality. On the other hand, I am increasingly convinced that reading things already transcribed by others is not very good as an exercise. It is useful if perhaps one is studying someone's style, but it doesn't help with improvising better. Even with patterns, one should be sparing, because there is a risk of learning to play through automatisms, without true musical sense. They are useful for mastering scales better, but in my opinion, studying specifically through patterns isn't very good.
A
AntonioArso
Member
Reply 6 by AntonioArso
Posts
25
...I'm only reading the subject now. Piano was intended... but something useful might come out of it, especially from the last link I posted
A rich section of transcriptions on the personal website of bassist Lukas Pickford. A Berklee College of Music graduate, he puts online challenging scores not only for bass (Anthony Jackson, Jaco Pastorius, Marcus Miller [...]) but also for piano (Michel Camilo, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Bill Evans [...]), trumpet (Chet Baker, Miles Davis [...]), guitar (Stern, Kahn, Scofield, McLaughlin, Metheny [...]), saxophone (Coltrane, Henderson, Hawkins, Brecker [...]) and more.
