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Developing Relative Pitch-Hearing the Key

Developing Relative Pitch-Hearing the Key

$9.99

SKU: 106 Category: Ear Training Tags: ear training, hearing, intervals, jazz improvisation, video lesson
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Description

Learning to play by ear is one of the most important aspects to jazz improvisation.  When I was a young student in junior high school, I was taught from a few great method books.  The main books I worked out of were the Charlie Parker Omnibook and Patterns for Jazz by Jerry Coker.   For  a couple of years all I did was work out of these books but there was a missing ingredient………………I wasn’t learning to play by ear!  Everything I learned was from a book.  Luckily, during this time, I discovered the local library.  I would go there every Saturday and checkout a bunch of jazz albums.  I would go home and listen to them in awe of what I was hearing.  I wanted to play like that!  Somehow  my books didn’t seem like they were taking me there.  There was one album specifically that was a breakthrough for me.  It was Dave Sanborn’s album “Voyeur”.  I got it home and put it on and was amazed.  I had never heard an alto saxophone sound so cool and funky.  I remember taking my sax out and trying to play with the recording.  I must have played to that album at least 1000 times in that week.

The big moment came when I discovered that the notes that fit the song I was playing over fit a blues scale that my teacher had given me. (even though it was 30 years ago, I can still remember that it was the C# blues scale)   It was like a light bulb went off in my head.  I soon discovered that there was a blues scale that fit every song on that album.  I also realized that Dave Sanborn was mostly playing notes from that blues scale.  As I played more and more to music, I realized that this held true to most songs I heard.  Of course, many of the jazz albums had harder changes than a blues scale would fit but the other 90% of music I heard was perfect for the blues scale.

It was during this time,that I learned how to hear what key a song was in.  I was playing by ear.  I didn’t realize it then, and didn’t know if songs were major or minor.  All I realized was that for each song, there was a blues scale that fit the best.  Later in my development, I learned about major,minor and dominant tonalities.  Thanks to my early work with those blues scales it was easy for me to figure out those sounds and keys when I played with a song.

It was also during this time that I developed a blues scale vocabulary.  Practicing a scale from a page of music will only get you so far.  Hearing the blues scale played by a legend and copying that legends best ideas is a totally different learning experience.  You are learning from that persons learning.  All the years they have spent studying and perfecting their playing  is summed up in the choices they make on  that album.  When you copy their best ideas then you are learning from there learning…………much better than starting from scratch!

In this lesson on relative pitch, I take what we’ve worked on so far and apply it to figuring out the keys of a tune.  I demonstrate how to use your saxophone to figure out what key the song is in and give you many helpful hints. I take you through how you can use the Aebersold play alongs to practice this skill, hear the key of a song, play by ear and also to test yourself.  I take you through  many major and minor tonalities and show you how to start working on hearing the key yourself.  Hearing the key of a song is a fundamental building block to playing by ear.  Playing by ear, is of course what jazz improvisation is all about………..Enjoy! (29 Minute Video & Audio)

 

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Lesson Sample

https://public.neffmusic.com/Developing%20Relative%20Pitch-Hearing%20the%20Key%20clip.mp4

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I am enjoying your style of teaching, and you’ve done a great job with the videos….good sound quality and well constructed lessons.  Balances the more guitaristic material found on the majority of guitar based programs.  Jazz vocab is what I’m all about at this point in the journey.   I especially dig the fact that you’ve studied with Bergonzi…helps me see his voluminous output in a more  bite sized way.
Milton
First, I’m really excited about your materials! This site is a vast resource for any aspiring (and maybe already inspired) jazz musicians. I’m not a sax player, I play mandolin and fiddle, but have been learning jazz and playing weekly with a quintet for the past 6 months and have been struggling with all of the issues you get into in your lessons. I bought several books and lessons and plan to continue with some others as soon as I organize my practice routine. Thanks again for a great site … Read more
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Keith
Your major diatonic patterns book is great. I”m studying the first twenty patterns (first twenty pages) each day with different articulation each day and slowly increasing the tempo each week or so.  There is a noticeable improvement in finger coordination across all keys and its amazing how much more secure I feel on the difficult keys when attempting to play pieces with 5+ flats/sharps. I’m able to sort out the fingerings for these pieces now much more quickly than before, often in one or two … Read more
Geoff
Steve’s monthly lessons are entirely valuable. Without brow beating, he tells you all the stuff you deep down know you really should be working on, instead of just relying on the same old patterns. In spite of the fact that you’re taking a video lesson, Steve’s presentation is comfortable and “real”. In a little more than a year, he’s developed a library of lessons that seem to offer any player a lifetime’s worth of practice material. I’m just glad I stumbled upon it.… Read more
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Pierre
It is so refreshing to have a great player, who can provide lessons and examples in a manner which is understandable to most any enthusiastic saxophonist who is ready to improve. not just the, do this, do that, memorize this, memorize that… while all that is absolutely necessary, you go on to give reasons and examples to explain and validate why you have to do all of these things, the benefits, if you will… that is the key for me, you tell, explain, demonstrate, explain some more, you give perso… Read more
Cedric
I would like to say that in the last year my sax playing has progressed loads from your lessons. I have had a sax for about 20 years and dabbled with lessons from a few teachers and have learnt very little from them. As you have said in your lessons many teachers tell you to use the blues scale and leave it there, not even showing you the resolution points!!. I am now believing I can in time become a good improviser.
Thanks again,
Shane
Shane
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I like so many other subscribers feel so encouraged by Steve’s learning techniques; you will enjoy reading the comments of praise others have left as you too will feel that you share a common view and path. I feel very lucky to have come across Neffmusic and that feeling will remain with you as you search through a treasure trove of learning materials on offer, you will quickly find the lessons that you are suited to. You will instantly recognize the unparalleled quality of Steve’s teaching … Read more
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