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Reader,
Yesterday we hosted a masterclass with Theron Brown, and I left so inspired. I stayed up late last night working on some of the ideas he showed us, and from all the emails in my inbox, it seems like he inspired you too.
Here were my biggest takeaways:
- Jazz is a language. Just as you speak, you ask questions, pause for effect, elaborate and respond. Theron demonstrated how his improvisations follow the rhythms and inflections in our speech.
- Sing your solo. Your musical instincts live "closer" to your mouth than your hands. Josh and Theron both sing while they play. Theron remarked that this keeps him from overplaying, and it helps him say something more real, rather than just playing technical patterns.
- Rhythm beats notes every time. Theron played a solo using almost nothing but a few pentatonic notes and we all wanted to dance to it. The rhythm, the articulation, the swing feel... that was what was so compelling. We spend so much time obsession about the notes we could play, where we should be spending time figuring out how to make simple melodies more rhythmically enticing.
- Memorizing licks and preparing solos doesn't make you a fraud. You're not making up new words every time you have a conversation. You learn the language by memorizing phrases, but as you become fluent, you learn to fit those phrases more naturally into your own way of speaking. The same is true in our playing. The goal isn't to play with zero preparation, but to be present in the moment with our playing.
- Don't judge yourself for playing "mistakes." When we're improvising, imperfections are part of the journey. Sometimes we play things that sound different than we intended, or even clash. Other times, those "mistakes" turn into happy accidents that sound great.
When I was in music school, I learned to disguise my mistakes by staying composed and to continue without making a mistake. But what Theron said really stuck with me. Apologizing for mistakes is your ego showing, and that kills the moment way more than any mistake could.
As a member, you can watch the replay of this masterclass anytime.
Happy Practicing.
Josh
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